How VOLO & Giratina Traumatized An Entire Generation Of Players..
Deep in the endgame of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, just when players thought they’d reached the climax, the true nightmare appeared—Volo and his Giratina. The battle started tough enough, with Volo’s stacked, Cynthia-like team pushing trainers to their limits. But then came the twist: Giratina, the Renegade Pokémon, rising from the shadows for not one, but two brutal phases. Healing items ran dry, teams fainted one by one, and the eerie music only made it worse. For countless players, that fight was a gut punch—a sudden reminder that Pokémon could still be terrifying. Volo’s obsession and Giratina’s overwhelming presence carved their way into memory, leaving an entire generation shaken, frustrated, and in awe of one of the most unforgiving challenges the series had ever thrown at them.
Thumbnail inspiration:https://pokemonblog.com/2025/09/14/video-chapter-6-of-the-arceus-arc-coming-soon-to-pokemon-masters-ex-volo-alt-giratina-revealed-as-a-new-sync-pair/
34 Comments
Lembrei o presidente de Sword and Shield. Ele parece amigável no começo e depois invoca um DRAGÃO DO TAMANHO DE UM PREDIO
OK, but Volo being the villain wasn't that surprising. Not with one eye being constantly covered by his hair.
There's no flinching in legends arceus
how does one even achieve that haircut
Serene grace? There is no serene grace in legend arceus 🤨
Honestly… Y'all so weak 😭🙏
Beat it first try, it's a CHILDRENS GAME BRUH 😔.
The ONLY excuse for struggling with this battle, is if you're:
A) A Speed runner.
B) A Nuzlocke player.
C) An Actual Child.
(Isn't there an Alpha Lucario lvl like… 65-75 just a bit before this??? How did y'all struggle ?)
Bro, I finished Legends Arceus like, 2 days ago, and this fight was a nightmare! I lost 3 times with my team I used to beat the game (Hisuian Decidueye, Hisuian Voltorb, Basculegion, Alpha Lopunny, Rapidash, Hisuian Braviary), then tried making a team to counter his team (Alpha Infernape, Sylveon, Gyarados, Alpha Electabuzz, Alpha Hisuian Goodra, Alpha Hisuian Zoroark) and lost about 4 times, then I combined both teams (Hisuian Decidueye, Alpha Lopunny, Rapidash, Alpha Hisuian Goodra, Alpha Hisuian Zoroark, Hisuian Braviary) and it still took me 5 tries to beat him, I literally had to grind until my team in the 80s!
When i first saw Volo as an evil person i immediately thought of Luke. From the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Both hate the gods, seeking power to destroy and rebuild the world with the thought that they could make it a better place. Somehow i beat Volo on my second try (still dont know how, in my second playthrough it took like 5+ tries).
Volo NOT ONLY gave me trauma, BUT HE ALSO REAWOKEN MY CYNTHIA TRAUMA THE MOMENT THE PIANOS STARTED
I knew from the start I couldn't trust Volo. I just knew, but I didn't expect an 8-mon team with him. I was spoiled on that, and never got to that point on my first playthrough.
However, in my second playthrough just earlier this year, I forgot WHEN the fight would take place, and I was unprepared with only 3 mons. They were all level 100, and I had a plethora of healing. Idk how, but I tackled and won the entire fight in one go mostly with an Alolan!Ninetales, and I forgot what rhe other two mons were. I think maybe H!Zoroark, and H!Liligant, but I really can't remember. Ninetales was my ace, and she never left my party.
THAT DAMN THUMBNAIL GOES SO HARD
I heard it was really bad and was dreading the fight while completing the post-game. Then I attempted the fight. I don’t know if I just accidentally put together a really good team or what, but I did not find it hard in the slightest
Abilities aren't a thing in Legends Arceus
I didn't play legends. I haven't played any pokemon game since the very first ditto raid event of Sword/Shield. I refuse to believe modern pokemon made an actually difficult battle.
I’ve been a longtime Volo fan for around 3 years. 3 years of INSANITY to the point I divide my life into 2 categories: B.V. (Before Volo) and A.V. (After Volo)
I’ve always been a more story-focused player, so seeing a video that CORRECTLY analyzes both his fight and his compelling character is so so SO refreshing and awesome to see!!!
Being insane as I am, I also want to point out some other things about his character that set him apart from a lot of the Pokémon villains before him!!
• First, his relation to the Celestica tribe. Due to the strife between the Diamond and Pearl Clans, Volo’s people were either driven out or killed in the conflict, leaving him and Cogita as the only remaining survivors. This storyline can be pieced together from the Old Verses scattered across Hisui, making it easy to miss for casual players. However, this actually makes it better in my opinion! It feels like you’re collecting fragments of something you shouldn’t be, a past you don’t want to see proof of. Volo’s actions, while extreme, make even more sense if you think about how his people were essentially colonized. Obviously this doesn’t excuse him trying to delete the entire world, but GOD it makes me very ill.
• Secondly, while his team is a reference to Cynthia’s no doubt, I also find it interesting that said half of his team consists of friendship evolutions. His Togekiss in particular is stated in the Pokédex to be capable of sensing emotions, if I recall correctly that is, and same goes for Arcanine in some sense I think? In game he is called a Pokemon wielder, as if they are purely tools he could dispose. And while his team might truly just be a reference to Cynthia, I personally also think that he cares about them more than he lets on. I also think his Togekiss is more than just “a bad egg.” Misguided, perhaps, but IDK I find it interesting is all.
• With the last two things in mind, I think there could be some parallels between Giratina and Volo. Volo states in game before the battle that “he wonders why he was forced to live through such things.” This implies he feels abandoned by Arceus, which could very obviously tie into Giratina’s banishment. Both were discarded by Arceus, ignored in favor of a random 15 year old picked off the streets. Understand him or not, that’s GOT to hurt on some level LMAO
Anyway with my rambling aside this was an amazing video from both the perspective of a story fan and a gameplay fan! I lost 27+ TIMES to this freak and lived to tell the tale,,,, I think we should all be proud of the victory.
Volo was insanely hard but I beat him my first try.
i still havent beaten volo yet
Lmao I thought I beat the game and I never even knew that this fight existed
Spritomb ❌
Sprit tom ✅
Me who went in blind and inly used 4 pokemon and won first try….. my pokemon were hisui typhlosion at lvl 65 , luxray at lvl 67 , snorlax at 59 , floatzel at lvl 71
Only typhlosion fainted and it was to spiritomb
This was a perfect video man… you brought up trauma i had forgotten and reignited my love for legends arceus… my siblings and I have always agreed on how legends arceus was the best game to come from pokemon and how different and innovative it was for the genre. I'm happy to say it took me 3 tries to beat Volo, but I will say that I was spoiled to what was coming. I prepared for the fight and still lost a few times, i just wish I could have experienced it on my own. You spoke the truth though, this was the turning point for most casual players, going from casual to competitive and all it took was betrayal and trauma hahaha
is Cynthia Volo? Like it’s the same team, known hard teams, hair is the same, similar body type. volo is gonna live forever and we never seen them inn the same room.
title should be "How VOLO & GIRATINA Traumatized Another Entire Generation Of Players"
I… Swept this fight with the Garchomp from Alabaster Icelands. Brought it up to level 90 and fed grit in speed and attack. Fun fact: Togekiss is immune to both of Garchomp STAB. It is not immune to a crit stone edge.
I actually got frustrated at this fight 😂 I was trying to figure out which order to send my pokemon and what mons to even bring to have enough to take down two giratinas
It only took me like 6 tries and my whole strategy was, what pokemon can I bring to one shot everything? Cresselia was my TANK. After 1-2 tries I gave up and resorted towards using legendaries 😂
I was able to one shot everything, using strong styles and making sure I can tank at least one attack. Togekiss was never a problem for me, from raichu to whatever else I switched to, I was faster and able to one shot it. I was mostly at level to 2 levels below Volo
This wasn’t even that bad, Cynthia was decently more challenging to me than Volo. That piano still haunts me to this day….. I’m 25 (the fact that there is Exp. Candies along with Rare candies along with easy ways to make money in LA, it was significantly more easy to lvl grind in LA than Diamond Pearl or Platinum. Volo doesn’t spam full restores, and doesn’t have hypertrained pokemon like she did in the remakes of Diamond and Pearl. He might have maxed effort levels but it still wasn’t nearly as frustrating as Cynthia spamming Full restores.)
I’m pretty sure I only lost 4 times to Volo with my very non optimized team which was underleveled.
I think I beat it first try, but because I had a shiny Froslass that became one of my favorite pokemon in particular because it absolutely abolished Giratina and some of Volo’s team. A few items, but I don't think it was more than a revive or two IF that. I prepped my team with good moves and coverage for sheer fun, and used style well, apparently. I think I two shot Giratina, might have one turned it with agile style then strong, probably Icicle Crash on my Froslass
Dude was FUN to fight, I just did what I'd done before and maximized the amount of turns I got through speed and style, dropped supereffective damage against whatever he had because I got lucky with my amazing move/type coverage on my team, and GLASSED Giratina, I told it to call the ambulance, but not for me, and I SWEAR I one shot it with an Icicle Crash in one of it's forms, Froslass SOLO'D Giratina and cemented it as easily one of my top favorites even more than it was before
Best of luck to anyone fighting those two, prep and make sure you have good moves, and ABUSE style, it's incredibly satisfying to watch Giratina come out, then watch it get instantly taken out, get back up, and CRUSHED
I wasn't traumatized.
🤣
Sure he was annoying but not unbeatable.
I ran through Volvo with my alpha garchomp mainly
Never had a problem with Volo, I was more traumatised with satchel guy.
Abilities aren't really a thing in PLA, you're literally overthinking that part. This makes a decent chunk of pokemon significantly easier to deal with. Like a Gyarados not having intimidate,Golem or graveler not having Sturdy and Drifblim not having Aftermath. Volo's Togekiss doesn't have Serene Grace, you're just unlucky.
Also,Poison types aren't weak to Fairy types,it's the other way around. You're probably thinking of Psychic types. I can't remember if it Volo's Roserade even had Shadow Ball since I had raised my team to something like lv93 or something like that,having completed basically everything else,assuming the game completely ends then,so I just blasted through Volo's team and then Giratina. Even having a "Oh,this is gonna be fun." When Giratina changed into Phase two.
Played this yesterday for the first time yesterday. Knew from others that voli was bad and would bring giratina, but origin form shocked me. Happened to have cresellia on my team by chance and figured the moonbeam/heal and obscure trick but clutched the fight with 4 hp on alpha Vespiqueen after maybe 6 trys and using items for once. Certainly the most fun Ive had in a Pokémon battle.
Ok buddy we get it.. you keep going the whole 22 mints talking the same thing smh 🤦