Highlights
- Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and Pokemon Legends: Arceus are breaking traditions and changing the Pokemon formula, with The Indigo Disk set to break even more.
- The characters Volo and Kieran share similar stories, both starting as seemingly helpful characters but becoming obsessed with power and going down a dark path.
- Both Volo and Kieran’s actions have consequences, with the main character eventually defeating them and ending their plans. Kieran will have a chance to change his story in The Indigo Disk.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet recently got their first expansion in the form of The Teal Mask DLC, and The Indigo Disk should follow in the coming months. In many ways, Gen 9 games are similar to Pokemon Legends: Arceus, as both were the most proactive among modern titles when it comes to breaking the mold and changing the old and trusty Pokemon formula. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet broke many traditions, with The Indigo Disk already set to break even more, and their connection to Pokemon Legends: Arceus is made even more apparent thanks to the story of Ogerpon and the Loyal Three, which focuses a lot on Kieran – a character that’s very much like Volo.
When the game first came out, Pokemon Legends: Arceus was believed to have one of the best boss battles in 2022 thanks to the fight against Volo on top of Mount Coronet – all for the control of Arceus’ Plates and a chance to catch the godlike Pokemon. Volo’s story doesn’t start with him as a villain, as in the beginning, he appears to be just a merchant willing to help players with a few potions, although he doesn’t shy away from battles with the main character. In Pokemon games, Volo and Kieran’s stories are not only similar in how they begin, but also how they end.
How The Teal Mask’s Kieran and Legends: Arceus’ Volo Share Similar Stories
At the beginning of The Teal Mask DLC for Scarlet and Violet, Kieran appears as a very shy character who is also kind and good-hearted, showing the main character his passion for the story of Ogerpon and the Loyal Three. In the DLC, players initially learn that the Loyal Three are heroes who defeated a raging ogre after it relentlessly attacked the town of Mossui in Kitakami, and they sacrificed their lives to cast it away to protect the citizens.
However, this is the opposite of what happened, as players discover. Even before this discovery, Kieran was always fascinated by how strong the ogre from the stories must have been to go up one against three, and it’s implied he identifies with the creature because he thinks they are both outcasts. By the end, players realize that Kieran’s obsession with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet‘s Ogerpon is founded on the fact that he sees the critter as powerful more than anything else, as he too strongly desires to be stronger and stronger – something that seemingly takes him down a dark path.
Likewise, Volo in Pokemon Legends: Arceus is obsessed with power and even blinded by it, to the point that he thinks he is the chosen one, and refutes the idea that the main character might have been given a quest by Arceus and not him. Volo’s hubris makes him act impulsively, stating that no matter how long it takes him, he will get to meet Arceus and “conquer” him. Throughout the game, Volo’s actions get increasingly worse, and it’s eventually revealed that it was he who opened the rift on top of Mount Coronet by forcing Giratina to do his bidding.
In a sense, Volo brought ruin upon himself, as the rift was what prompted Arceus to call the main character across time and space to its aid, and it is the player who eventually defeats the merchant and makes his plans go belly up. Similarly, Kieran’s darkness is something that Ogerpon might have sensed, ending up with the Pokemon bonding with the main character over the kid. While both are very compelling characters in Pokemon games, Kieran and Volo are ultimately two sides of the same coin. The difference is that Kieran will appear in The Indigo Disk too, having a chance to change his story.