There is an ongoing research project in astronomy to launch probes based on Volcarona into Ultra Space. Their use of internal fusion power allows for journeys of theoretically indefinite length, and their many eyes offer mounting points for an immense array of cameras. The engineering problems in enhancing a Volcarona's body to withstand the pressures of launch and survive the hazards of space have not been solved, and the Ultra Wormholes are closed as of this writing; scientists remain confident, however, that these issues are surmountable. Official communications strictly eschew the phrase 'Iron Moth' in describing the project, a taboo which has not remotely prevented media use of the term, nor deterred speculation from Occulture enthusiasts that the first of the future Paradox Pokemon is not remotely far away.
The puzzle, of course, is that the Violet Book places Iron Moth not in distant space, but in the skies above this world.
Perhaps the launch failed, and the mechanized pokemon, oblivious to its true location, continued to observe the planet it was flying over and send signals home. Or perhaps Ultra Space curves in strange ways, and what was thought to be the path to another world was merely a grand circle. Nor can one rule out an extraterrestrial origin; the same qualities which make Volcarona so promising for astronomers make it possible that a breeding pair has already survived a journey through Ultra Space, and Earthlings need not be the only ones capable of mechanizing a pokemon.
None of these explanations, however, have gripped the public quite like the "theft hypothesis" – the notion that intelligent life on the planet that Iron Moth was meant to observe hijacked its cameras and sent it back where it came from, puzzled by the knowledge that they, too, are not alone.