Is Vivillon the Devil?
Abstract
In the words of the shortest abstract ever, "probably not" 1.
Introduction
Some believe that Vivillon is the devil because its number in the Pokédex is 666. Interpreting biblical prophesy is always challenging because it is not always clear what is literal and what is figurative. This report shows the analysis of what is known shows a logical fallacy, combined with existing research, to suggest Vivillon is not the devil.
Analysis
Chapter 13 of Revelation refers to a beast that comes out of the earth. It is commonly believed that this beast is in fact the devil. For the scope of this report, this will be assumed true. What the Bible says about the beast and the number 666 is as follows 2:
The verse says that the beast has a number which is 666, but not that something with the number 666 is the beast.
In terms of Boolean logic, if A = something is the beast from the earth and B = the something's number is 666, then A implies B (A => B). We cannot think of it in reverse. B does not imply A. If B is not true, then A is not true, but that's the only inference that can be made. Just because Vivillon has the number 666 does not mean it is the beast from the earth. The only thing we know for sure is that Vivillon's number is 666, but that does not necessarily mean anything. As shown in Figure 1, it is possible for things to have the number 666 without being the Beast Out of the Earth that the Bible describes.
Figure 1. Categorization of Vivillon and the Beast Out of the Earth.
Comparing the beast to Vivillon in terms of their actions does not support your conclusion. The beast appears to have fire power, but according to researchers of TV Tropes, Vivillon instead possesses powers such as poison, psychokinesis, and wind 3. Serebii, fellow Pokémon researcher and ally of the Project Pokémon research institute, reports that the only fire type move Vivillon has is Sunny Day, which can hardly be compared to fire power 4. While this does not necessarily prove Vivillon is not the beast, it is at the very least evidence to suggest otherwise.
Conclusion
There is not enough evidence to suggest that Vivillon is the beast referenced in the Bible. The very premise relies at best on faulty logic, and there is evidence to suggest Vivillon does not possess the powers used by the beast. In order to prove or disprove the claim beyond all doubt, either the true beast would need to be identified or conclusive research would need to be performed to determine if Vivillon has the potential to use fire or regulate commerce.
References
http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2014/01/shortest_science_papers.html
http://biblehub.com/niv/revelation/13.htm
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanonPokedex/Scatterbug
http://serebii.net/pokedex-sm/666.shtml
[Edit/Moderator Note] Since this thread is actually pretty on-topic to Pokémon, I'm moving it to the Pokémon Franchise section.