A Wandering Merchant: Tips for A Volo Playthrough
Finally getting around to completing Legends Arceus, I wanted to do a Volo playthrough. While his team is a modified version of Cynthia's team (trading out Milotic/Gastrodon for Hisuian Arcanine), it's still a feasible playthrough.
A Volo playthrough with his entire team can be done pretty easily in SwSh. If Growlithe weren't unlocked until you get the National PokéDex, you could have done his team in a BDSP run. While in Scarlet and Violet, you won't have access to Togepi or Roserade, so replacements will need to me made.
I will be approaching this post a little bit differently from my other playthrough posts. Mainly due to the fact that I haven't started my own playthrough yet.
I think I know which game I'm going to do it in. However, since you can do a playthrough in more games than Raihan or Diantha, I wanted to address which games you can do a Volo playthrough in a separate post from what I plan to do. It will also give me the chance to go over what changes, if any will be needed. Especially when it comes to the Sinnoh games.
What is His Team?
Volo’s team is nearly identical to Cynthia’s. It consists of Spiritomb, Roserade, Togekiss, Lucario, Hisuian Arcanine, and Garchomp. Hisuian Arcanine replaces Milotic. In universe, it most likely that, while Feebas could be found in present day Sinnoh, they weren’t around in Hisui during the events of the the game.
Whether or not it’s evolution method also contributed to Feebas not being in the game (both the high beauty stat and trading with a Prism Scale), I’m not entirely sure. Though I wouldn’t be surprised. That said, with his team being almost identical to CYnthia’s, it would make picking possible alterations/alternative choices easier.
Are Any Changes Necessary?
Short answer: Yes and no.
Like a lot of character specific runs, it will depend on the game. In Volo’s case, his run will be relatively easy to do with little to no alterations needed. The best way to look at it is, “Can you play as Cynthia and is Arcanine available?”
The only real difference will be which form of Arcanine you use. Hisuian Arcanine is only available in Legends Arceus and Scarlet/Violet (thanks to the Teal Mask DLC). Because of that, if you do this playthrough outside of them, you will need to swap out Hisuian Arcanine for Kantonian. The only other Pokémon that may give you an issue is Spiritomb depending on how far back you’re doing the playthrough.
Which Games Can You Easily Do a Volo Run in?
Based on what I’ve gathered from Serebii, you can do a Volo run as far back as Black 2/White 2. Platinum if you don’t mind replacing Hisuian Arcanine with Giratina and most likely needing a replacement for Spiritomb due to its encounter method. Theoretically, you could do it in Black2/White 2 via trades, but according to Serebii, “To get these trades is rather convoluted”. So while I would like to say that you can do a Volo run in Black 2/White 2, I would probably advise against it. With that in mind, the games where you can do Volo’s whole team include,
Sun/Moon,
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon,
Legends Arceus, and,
Sword/Shield
Legends Arceus will be the best game to do this in.
However, if you wanted to do this playthrough outside of Legends Arceus, Sword and Shield will be the easiest. Especially in the case of trading and/or transferring since it still has access to it’s online features and Pokémon Bank. I mention this since Sun/Moon and Ultra Sun/Moon, will require a trade for Spiritomb, which you’ll have to trade or transfer from Gen 6. If you still have Pokémon Bank (prior to the 3DS eShop’s closure), and/or have someone who yo can locally trade with, this will be a good solution. That said, with one exception, trading and transfers shouldn’t be that necessary.
What if You want to do a “Modern Hisui”/Sinnoh Run?
https://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/7/7b/Volo_HS.png
You can do a Volo run in the Sinnoh games. The only issues are, Arcanine being unavailable until you get the National Dex and obtaining Spiritomb being pretty challenging or just not possible on the DS games. There are a few alternatives for this, one of which will still keep his Legends Arceus team.
If You’re Playing DPPt or BDSP: What Could You Swap Arcanine Out For?
This will depend on which game your playing. Diamond, Pearl, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl do not have a lot of Fire options, but you can replace it with one of the ones they have so that you aren’t losing a type/coverage. While in Platinum, there is one canonical choice you can use during the main game. It will just be a late game addition. Also, to avoid a Volo run becoming a Cynthia run, Arcanine should be swapped out for a different Pokémon.
Platinum: Giratina. Platinum is the only Sinnoh game where you will get Giratina during the main game. As such, you can still do a Volo run with every Pokemon he's used canonically. It'll also be at level 47, so it will level up alongside the rest of your team once you catch it.
Diamond/Pearl/Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl Fire Alternative: For these games, I’d say Rapidash/Houndoom/Infernape, Dialga/Palkia, or Crobat. Sinnoh is notorious for not having a lot of Fire types, some of which aren’t available until you get the National Dex (Platinum did fix this, but even then, there were give or take five Fire evolution lines). Brilliant Diamond/Shinning Pearl keeps Diamond/Pearl’s Regional Dex, only adding Houndour/Houndoom in the Grand Underground. It might not be an ideal amount, but you do have a few options. Rapidash and Infernape will probably be the better options since you get Ponyta and Chimchar pretty early on. Infernape will probably be the preferred option since it’ll be a good counter for Togepi’s Steel weakness in BDSP and it’s Ice and Rock weaknesses in both games when it evolves into Togetic and later Togekiss. But if you don’t feel like using a starter, Ponyta can be caught relatively early. It can be caught on Route 206, a.k.a. the grassy areas beneath Cycling Road, which is accessibly after you beat Gardenia. Or on the side of Route 211 outside of Eterna City. So you can have it as early as the second gym with Roserade covering alll of it’s weaknesses. Houndoom is an option that can be obtained prior to the National Dex in BDSP (it might not be registered since it’s part of the National Dex, but it can be caught with the Regional Dex). Houndoom would be a good option for the battle against Lucian and Fantina.
Diamond/Pearl/Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl Giratina Alternative: Dialga/Palkia could be an alternative to Giratina since you won't be able to catch one until after you beat Cynthia and get the National Dex. Dialga will help with Rock and Ice coverage as well as Fairy in BDPS. It’ll only have two weaknesses in Ground and Fighting, which can be countered by Roserade and Togekiss. Palkia will help against Fire, Rock, and Ground and will have a quad resistance against Fire. Dragon and Fairy being it’s only weaknesses, which can be covered by Togekiss and Roserade yet again. Both have their benefits, so it won’t really matter which you use.
Diamond/Pearl/Brilliant Diamond/Shinning Pearl Friendship Alternative: This may sound like a generic choice since a few antagonists and rivals use one (Cyrus included), but I would suggest Crobat. Zubat can be caught at the beginning of the game before the first gym and if you play your cards right, will evolve into Crobat before it reaches level 30. It will make Volo’s team a little Ice/Electric weak, but Crobat can help with Fairy coverage alongside Roserade and could help cover Togepi’s Fighting weakness in Gen 4.
These are just some suggestions for Arcanine replacements. If you feel like replacing it with something else, that works too. The only other Pokémon you may have issues obtaining is Spiritomb. Specifically during the DS era. So I do have a suggestion for an alternative if you aren't able to obtain it.
If You’re Playing Through DPPt: Can’t Obtain Spiritomb?
This Pokemon has a pretty notorious encounter method in it’s debut games/region. You have to encounter 32 unique characters/NPCs in the Grand Underground and react with the Hollowed Tower on Route 209 after putting the Odd Keystone on it. The biggest issue, specifically in the DS era, is how you encounter those 32 unique characters.
I've never obtained a Spiritomb in Platinum, and since the DS’ online feature has been discontinued for quite a while now (2014), I'm not sure if it's possible to do this with just NPCs. So unless you know someone who is willing to trade theirs, know 32 people locally, or are willing to start 32 separate files in a separate DS (and getting to Eterna City each time), you’ll probably want to go with another option.
In the event you do decide to do a DPPt run, there’s a pretty easy solution. Unlike with Arcanine, Spiritomb can be replaces with a different Pokémon Cynthia used. The only two Volo doesn’t use is Milotic and Gastrodon.
Gastrodon: Between the two, I personally would recommend Gastrodon due to how easy it is to obtain one. Shellos can be caught pretty early on, you can catch a West Sea Shellos outside of the Valley Windworks before your battle with Mars, and it only needs to get to level 30 to evolve. Also, since it has two different forms, you could use the East Sea Shellos/Gastrodon (Blue and Green) instead of the West Sea Gasatrodon (Pink and Brown) like Cynthia does. As a Water/Ground type, it’ll only have one weakness, a quad weakness to Grass, which can be countered by Togekiss.
Milotic: If you want to use Milotic, you can. I just recommend Gastrodon because it’s easier to obtain. Especially in DPPt. Feebas, much like in RSE and ORAs, can only be caught in a certain location on certain tiles that change daily. That location being Mount Coronet BF1. This is a bit later in the game, but once you’ve caught it, evolving won’t be too difficult. DPPt (and by extent BDSP) is the last time it uses the “max out it’s beauty standard and level it up” method. That’s mainly because these were the last games (not including remakes) that had Contests and Beauty being a category.
This is strictly if you’re playing through Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, assuming Spiritomb’s encounter mechanic is unobtainable due to circumstance. In Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, you will have the benefit of being able to connect with others online in the Grand Underground, will be able to trade online, and have access to Home.
What Do I Think are the Preferred Games to do a Volo Run in?
It will really depend on how authentic of a Volo run you want to do. If you want the most canonical playthrough, go with:
Legends Arceus: It gives you what the other Sinnoh games won't by letting you use his team (minus Giratina) during the main game.
Sword/Shield: It would be the most accurate game outside of Legends Arceus since the only main difference being the regional Growlithe you use.
Platinum gives you the option to use Giratina during the main game and, outside of Growlithe, the only Pokémon you might have to change is Spiritomb.
BDSP makes getting every Pokémon but Growlithe possible. Filling that last slot will be necessary with a few alternatives could be Dialga/Palkia as a Giratina alternative, Rapidash as a fire alternative for Arcanine, or Crobat to add another friendship evolution.
Scarlet/Violet could be an option, but neither Roserade or Togekiss are obtainable. One could be replaced with Giratina, via Home, while the other could be replaced by Gastrodon or Milotic. I had considered doing my Volo playthrough here. However, while I could replace Roserade (even though it's one of my favorite Sinnoh Pokémon and my first ever shiny), I wanted to use Togekiss.
If You Don’t Mind Swapping Pokémon Out, What Game Would I Recommend Doing this Run in?
I would say Scarlet/Violet. While X/Y, Sun/Moon, and Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon may require very little, if any changes, they are currently in a similar position as Diamond/Pearl/Platinum (and by extent HeartGold/SoulSilver, Black/White, and Black 2/White 2). As of April of 2024, the 3DS the eShop and online features have been discontinued. So unless you had Bank before then, obtaining some Pokémon may be a lot more challenging to obtain if you don’t have someone to trade with locally or don’t have a second 3DS to do it yourself.
In Scarlet and Violet, you will be able to use Spiritomb, Hisuian Arcanine, Lucario, and Garchomp. You’ll probably want to transfer over a Hisuian Arcanine as early as possible since you won’t be able to get the one Perrin gives you until after you beat Blood Moon Ursaluna. Which won’t happen until you get 150 Kitakami Dex entries, beat Perrin, and defeat the level 70 Ursaluna. So I would recommend wither sending one over from Legends Arceus or, if you have the Hisuian Growlithe from Perrin in a different file, sending it over through Home.
This leaves two Pokémon needing to be replaced: Togekiss and Roserade.
What Could You Replace Togekiss and Roserade With?
Similar to Platinum, you can swap Roserade out for Giratina. You will have to send one over from Home since it isn’t one that Snacksworth will give you the treats and clue for (even if he did, you’d have to beat The Indigo Disc). Since Giratina will be level 70 when you first catch it, you may want to wait until you’ve got a good number of badges before adding it to your team.
As for Togekiss, I’ll recommend Sylveon. You won’t really lose coverage wise since it’s a Fairy type (as opposed to a Fairy/Flying) since H. Arcanine can cover the Grass and Bug coverage Togekiss’ Flying type covers. It would also fit into how half of his team evolves from high friendship at one point (Lucario, Togekiss, and Roserade). From what I’ve heard, it is one of the better Fairy types competitively. I’m not a big competitive player, but as someone who’s used one casually, I’d say that it’s pretty good casually too.
In Conclusion
With Volo’s team being very similar to Cynthia’s, you can do a Volo run in any game you can do a Cynthia run in. Changes that will be needed will depend on the game. The main change in regards to Arcanine is which version you use. Unless you’re playing through a game where it isn’t obtainable until the National Dex (ex. DPPt and BDSP). For Spiritomb it will depend on if you’re playing a game passed the DS and 3DS (without Bank). The only game that will require replacements is Scarlet/Violet where Togekiss and Roserade aren’t an option, DPPt where Spiritomb’s encounter method won’t be possible, and Arcanine not being obtainable in DPPt or BDSP until you get the National Dex.
For me, I’m planning on doing a Volo run in Sword/Shield and Scarlet/Violet. I have a few back up files on my Switch so it’s just a matter of starting one up. I’ll probably do it in Shield in place of the Saguaro run I was doing on my second file (my main being saved for a Psychic run), and on my third file/account in Scarlet since my second file is a Lysandre run I’m thinking of keeping.
If this helped you out and/or gave you a general direction for what to do in your own Volo playthrough, I’m glad that this helped.
