Let's talk about Pokémon designs

Xen

is a Community Leaderis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnus
Wi-Fi Leader
The first thing that popped into my mind when I first saw Zeraora (the mini sprite during the USUM leaks) was that it looked like a love child of Shiny Lucario and Mega Scizor.

I can see the Digimon similarities though.
 
Nah, it's feet aren't big enough to be a digimon.

1518664721440.png

1518664778272.png

1518664813878.png


Although it's not like your comments are without merit, as while I don't think it looks like Renamon, it does look oddly similar to something
1518665284855.png

Meicoomon, already considered a rip-off of Gatomon by the Digimon fanbase.


Although maybe the problem is just dilution as nothing about it really stands out to me. It's a fine but rather generic Eastern 'mon design that we've seen before. I honestly feel it looks more like this 'mon from Yokai Watch
1518665932113.png

Komiger, it's even lighting attribute too.


Perhaps because they are all basing it off the same mythology (Yokai Watch specifically admits it's supposed to be a Komainu guardian statue).

Now, not to suggest that Gamefreak is losing their touch, it's just that this one isn't their A-game like Decidueye for example (to specifically suggest a recent addition).
1518665426355.png

But it is pretty hard to top a ghost owl archer based off an extinct Hawaiian stilt owl. You have to work to get a design that clever.
 
Let's see if, simply with two pictures, people can figure out what I'm going to be talking about in this post.



Made your guess? Alright, let's talk about these two Pokemon. Vikavolt and Lurantis have a few things in common. They're both Totem Pokemon, first of all, but in this context, they're both agile and able to move quickly, as shown both in their designs and in their Ultra Moon Pokedex entries.

Ultra Moon Dex (Vikavolt) said:
Vikavolt flusters opponents with acrobatic flying maneuvers. This creates an opening for it to deliver an electric beam attack.
Ultra Moon Dex (Lurantis) said:
As it slashes into its enemies, it looks like it's dancing. Its elegant appearance has led some to call it the most glamorous Grass Pokémon.
Vikavolt and Lurantis share one more thing: absolutely abysmal base Speed stats, with Lurantis at 45 and Vikavolt even slower at 43. And I simply have to ask... why?

Let's step back and take a look at what Speed means as a stat. It's pretty universally accepted that it's not actual movement speed, since if it were then Pidgeot's apparent Mach 2 flight speed should top the charts. The general consensus is that the Speed stat refers to reaction speed and maneuverability; this explains Escavalier's flying around at high speed with base 20 Speed since it likely takes awhile to accelerate. But this explanation still contradicts the Pokedex entries, as shown above; this leads me to believe that Speed is a more specific version of the "reaction time" hypothesis, being the time between a Pokemon receiving the command to attack and it actually using the move. In other words, Pokemon that can quickly prepare and use their moves have high Speed, while those that can't have low Speed.

Anyway, now to talk about their actual designs. In general fiction, I love agile characters that can quickly get into and out of a situation. Every D&D character I've ever played has had Dexterity as their highest or second-highest stat. Many of my favourite Pokemon are frail sweepers. And when I saw Lurantis, I was so excited to finally have a fast, frail Grass-type Physical attacker, especially one that looks as cool as it does. And I'll admit, Lurantis is still very high on my list of favourite Pokemon (just not as high as it would be with better Speed). Vikavolt's design and typing, on the other hand, simply screams a high Speed stat with its wings and angles, and I carried Charjabug all through Moon in order to command an acrobatic railgun stag beetle. Now, I understand why they're slow. Lurantis, though it looks remarkably ninja-like, only pretends to be such in order to deter predators, while Vikavolt is, as someone on IRC once described it as, "a Harrier jet with a railgun on its face", two things that are notoriously sluggish. But dammit, it's within my rights to be disappointed.

Well, I guess I'll have to wait until gen 8 for my fast physical Grass-type Pokemo-

oh screw off, nothing about this thing's design suggests either of its types
 

Pikachu315111

Ranting & Raving!
is a Community Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributor
Well, I guess I'll have to wait until gen 8 for my fast physical Grass-type Pokemo-

oh screw off, nothing about this thing's design suggests either of its types
Well it is an Ultra Beast.

Then again, it's made of paper and paper is made of trees, thus Grass-type. No idea where the Steel-type comes in. Maybe in Ultra Forest the trees/plant-life have ore deposits within their genetic structure?
 
Well, I guess I'll have to wait until gen 8 for my fast physical Grass-type Pokemo-

oh screw off, nothing about this thing's design suggests either of its types
Which is funny considering Kartana is one of the few Ultra Beasts whose full typing makes sense (Grass because it's made of paper, Steel because of its blades). Buzzwole is the only other one whose full typing you can clearly see just with its design and dex entries.

(You could make a case on Xurkitree, but what throws off is that it looks like it has a secondary type -namely, Grass- when it doesn't. Or Celesteela, but the problem is that since it's a bamboo spacecraft that shoots up like a rocket upon fully growing, it has like four or five different types that fit it lol)
 
Last edited:
I've always hated designs where the Pokemon's arms are just stumps. It's fine when the first form or two have that (starters and such, since there's time for them to grow proper appendages), but I feel like a final evolution (or ones without an evolution) should have some basic features.

Things like:



(also: Vileplume, Ampharos, Blissey, Delibird, Plusle/Minum, Volbeat/Illumise, Spinda, Whimsicott, Meowstic, Togedemaru)

I realise it's common in anime, but I've always felt like it's pretty lazy design. Especially when some of these learn punching moves. I find the idea of Wigglytuff, Blissey or Illumise using Focus Punch pretty silly...
 
Last edited:

Pikachu315111

Ranting & Raving!
is a Community Contributoris a Top Smogon Media Contributor
I've always hated designs where the Pokemon's arms are just stumps. It's fine when the first form or two have that (starters and such, since there's time for them to grow proper appendages), but I feel like a final evolution (or ones without an evolution) should have some basic features.

Things like:



(also: Vileplume, Ampharos, Blissey, Delibird, Plusle/Minum, Volbeat/Illumise, Spinda, Emolga, Whimsicott, Meowstic, Diancie, Togedemaru)

I realise it's common in anime, but I've always felt like it's pretty lazy design. Especially when some of these learn punching moves. I find the idea of Wigglytuff, Blissey or Illumise using Focus Punch pretty silly...
To be fair, Emolga does have fingers and Diancie's arms are split into a sleeve-looking arm and a hand with a thumb.
 
Oddly, Incineroar often gets flack for it's gigantic humanoid hands, so it's damned if you do damned if you don't.

Now, in Incineroar's case it's to make it easier to animate it's over-the-top poses on a 3DS screen (as if they weren't gigantic, it would be hard to see the movements of the fingers).


And as someone whose taken an art class can tell you, hands and feet are hard, like next to faces they're the easiest body parts to screw up and go complete uncanny valley on. So animators cutting corners with paw hands and noodle limbs may not be your cup of tea, but it's a bit presumptuous to call it "lazy design." More like stylistic choices. Butch Hartman (of Fairly Oddparents) addmitted that he gave children or childish character big heads but older ones short and squatted heads to draw contrast between the kids and adults, not that he had something against human proportions.
1519006603856.png
1519006649695.png


I bet these cutemons were designed on a similar principle.

But even if they weren't, games aren't made with unlimited time and budget, so sometimes you get stubby limbs since how in the world are you going to show five individual fingers on an original Gameboy sprite? Or even a 3DS polygon model without blowing them up to Incineroar cartoonishly big?

But why not, let's give all our cute-mons realistically proportioned features. Surely this won't backfire in the slightest!

OH DEAR ARCEUS WHY

1519005879192.png

PUT YOUR SHOES BACK ON! YOU PUT YOUR SHOES BACK ON, RIGHT NOW!!!
 
Last edited:

Tenebricite

Leader of the Pawniards
is a Top Tiering Contributor
OUPL Champion
Well it is an Ultra Beast.

Then again, it's made of paper and paper is made of trees, thus Grass-type. No idea where the Steel-type comes in. Maybe in Ultra Forest the trees/plant-life have ore deposits within their genetic structure?
That would be a lot more interesting and complex than just making it a steel type due to it being a katana pokemon.
 
View attachment 102561
PUT YOUR SHOES BACK ON! YOU PUT YOUR SHOES BACK ON, RIGHT NOW!!!
While I completely appreciate budget/technology limitations, I don't think it applies here.

Look at Clefable for example.

Its sprite from Gen 1 clearly show some digits. They're not big hands with full knuckles and joints. Just basic features, some pixels that are arranged a certain way to prevent the arm just being knobs. That's a design choice, not a budget/technology one.

There's also Lickitung with a little thumb and a palm.


Or all the Eevees with their tiny toes


Or Politoed, with the two bumps that act as paws.


Or Miltank with very simple hooves.


Or Gardevoir with indents to illustrate basic fingers.


Or Stantler, Grumpig, Floatzel, Lopunny, Azelf/Uxie/Mesprit, Audino, Gothitelle, Emolga, Florges, Aromatisse, Furfrou, Sylveon, Komala... all of them could have had stumps, but a little extra detail made them have simple features without breaking the game.

So while that Kirby picture is equally funny and terrifying, I'm not saying I prefer fully scaled hands and feet. Just... something.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top