Starter Pokemon Will Never Be the Same
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 เม.ย. 2024
- Over the course of 9 generations, starter Pokémon have "evolved" in the way that they're designed. In Pokemon Red and Blue, they started out as basic animals with elemental powers, with Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise. Over time, it became normal for the final stages to have a gimmick, such as being a wrestler, singer, etc. With each generation of Pokemon giving us more and more outlandish starter designs, as we can see from the starters of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, I wanted to take a look back at that progression from simplicity to increasingly more gimmicky starters. If you enjoyed this Pokemon Video Essay, make sure to like and subscribe for more Pokemon Content!
My videos are all about Pokemon! Whether it be Pokemon battles, Shiny Hunting, Pokemon tier lists, Pokemon quizzes and challenges, or gameplay ranging from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet to Pokemon Firered or Emerald Nuzlockes, you can expect all things Pokemon here on the Fargus channel!
#pokemon #Pokémon #pokemonscarletandviolet - เกม
Wanted to echo what I said in the video that starters becoming more humanoid and more like characters is NOT necessarily a bad thing, I’m just making the point that we may never see starters that don’t have that trait again which makes me a tad sad. I love some starters of newer generations, especially Decidueye, Greninja, and Rillaboom and think they are amazingly designed Pokémon.
If you’re new here and like Pokémon though feel free to subscribe and check out the channel! I’ve got a nuzlocke on the way that I can’t wait for everyone to see! And be sure to like the video if you did enjoy it!!
Really wish gamefreak actually gave a fucc
I personally think Fuecoco is the best designed Fire starter since Charmander. Skeledirge is also one of the few final forms (other than Charizard and some of the grass starters) that is not humanoid in any way.
Turd gen of Pokémon are fugly
It is.
And it's all Blaziken's fault
Fuck Blaziken
I like the themes of the modern starters designs but I just wish that gamefreak would stop giving them humanoid appearances and make them look like larger creatures or animals like the older starters.
I’ve had these exact thoughts for years now. Ever since Gen 6, starters have stopped feeling like species and started feeling like characters. I agree that it would be great to see them go back to something that feels more like a believable species of animal, and that yeah the starters with the best balance between species and character is definitely Gen 4.
At least Skeledirge is the only “new” starter Pokémon that keeps its animal traits (ie quadrupedal instead of bipedal/furry)
I think the Gen 7 starters were good
@TylerChou230 What's with Pokémon fans thinking pidedal=fury. If you see a pidepal Pokémon and think fury, it says more about you than anything else.
@@hailthequeenFMwho the fuck thinks that?
@hailthequeenFM WAY too many people think bipedal animal=furry. That's why people call certain pokemon "furry bait", even though it's a kid's game, why would they try to bait furries.
Remember when squirtle was just a cute turtle but the anime decided to turn him into a delinquent in charge of a group that terrorised a community?
You could do that “because” there wasn’t a pre established character.
They quite literally did this with scorbunny in journeys with him leading a gang stealing from trainers to give out food to poorer pokemon that literally has no ties to his football character trait
@@sagenido yeah but you’re missing the point. Squirtle was an asshole, everything he did was for selfish reasons, a scorbunny fulfilling the Robin Hood stereotype isn’t the same as taking the risk to portray your characters with negative traits.
Now had they portrayed Scotbunny as a football hooligan, where every time their team lost they would rampage through town that would be hilarious, even has an easy hook, Scorbunny gets shown what it’s like if it’s team does nothing but win. It gets bored.
Seriously though the gen 1 starters had such cool stories
Bulbasaur was this cool big bro figure to the pokemon in the garden
Squirtle was this gang leader
Charmander was this pokemon who was abandoned and taken in by ash (why had this happen 3 times?)
@@sagenido genwunners don’t like to hear facts. They just like to complain lol
The reason why the bird is with skeledirge is due to it being excess energy from the starter line itself. In crocalor it's an egg.
Some birds have a co dependency on crocs in real life to get food from their teeth and by doing so clean the crocs teeth in the process.
Same thing here
good to know! thank you!
@@FargusPhil Skeledirge is best boi of gen 9.
If I had to choose favorites, it'd go Squirtel, Chickorita, Torchic, Turtwig, Snivy, Froakie, Rowlett, Sobble, and of course Fuecoco.
@@rockowlgamer631 I agree with everything except Chikorita, but well it's your opinion and I respect it
people just don't read the Pokedex entry and then start assuming why does it have this in it design.
@@FargusPhilPokémon aren't beating the illiterate allegations.
Inteleon actually isn't based on "guns." Its based on James Bond and super spy films in general. XD
Honestly, the starters in gen 8 were amazing at representing Britain, better than any series
@@degreeskelvin3025 exactly! I think gen 8 and 9 are trying to give respect to the cultures they are drawing inspiration from. And the bird on Skeledirge’s head is a reference to the Nile crocodile which is a pretty bomb design
Gen two failed mostly because they had awful movesets
Arguably among the best base forms though, and pretty solid middle forms.
its a crime that feraligatr didnt get a dark type in later gens
@@applepeel1662 it’s a crime he didn’t get it in gen 2 it’s not like he got ice typing either plus dark type debuted in gen 2 so it would have been perfect
Meganium needs to be a Fairy type so bad.
Gen 2 was one of the best stop caping
I appreciate gen 5 starters for basing their designs on different cultures as Unova is based in America and America is a melting pit of cultures.
Pot*
great point!
I’m happy gen 5 went Back to gen 1 routes in terms of designs. Gen 5 starters being actual animals was cool to see after gen 3’s humaniods. Gen 5 has emboar sure but it STILL looks like a Pig unlike Gen 3’s Blaziken being a literal man and not a chicken anymore.
America is not a melting pot. Some jew wrote that in 1908 so they are less likely kicked from here due to their scams
America has absolutely no shit culture
Emboar is based off of the Pig demon Zhu Baije that Sun Wu Kong encounters along his journey and a chinese general Zhang fei from the romance of the 3 kingdoms. Unova's starters were supposed to be melting pot of eastern and western designs as seen with their designs which makes me like them alot compared to the other gens.
I personally don’t mind the second role they have to fulfill. I just really hate the fact that most of them are becoming humanoid less animal like.
I don't like the humanification, at what point do we have to give them the right to vote
It’s like gorilla it’s human like but at the end of the day it’s just a gorilla
@@chadgosier4999 thank you for explaining pokemon to me chad
Starters are better when they resemble monsters not humans.
They're animals, fake animals also.
@@thezemag Nope WRONG cuz when Gamefreak DID do that y’all HATED the Unova starters A Snake 🐍 & a water starter on all fours 🦭 & emboar that’s literally pig Blaziken. Y’all get what you asked for from hating gen 5 being the last beast/animal trio to now furry starters we’ve been getting since gen 6😂
Humanoid starter pokemon never bothered me.
I don’t care what people say about meowscarada I love it
While I don't necessarily hate the new approach taken for starter Pokémon I'd like to see less humanoid designs. I remember someone interpreting these design as the Pokémon taking traits from it's trainer upon evolving, but I prefer my starter to just be a pet that becomes cooler looking upon getting stronger. There are some animals with which the antropomorphic design works like frogs, which have a similar anatomy to humans, or birds which are bipedal by default but you know, a goat that for one is just a goat that happens to spit fire just works. It also helps convey more than one single personality rather than the one you're going to assume from a design like that of more recent starters.
And before someone accuses me of disliking the new generations' starters know Emboar was my first starter and I love all of the Alola trio
1:06 that was back when the lore was basic
The more they expanded the lore and worldbuilding the more they got creative with character concepts
All these things tie in together
Emboar is sick far better than Blaziken in terms of design. Gen 5 starters are a top notch for being actual animals. A snake & water starter on all fours being overhated bc of emboar being the 3rd fire fighting and bipedal is dumb. Emboar looks cool & still looks like a pig compared to gen 3s humaniods.
Your point it legit. Look all gen 3 starter , they're bipedal.
The problem I have when the pokemon become character or job is what happen when you have 2 more in a environment. Do they have the same like and traits
decidueye's the only starter i've really clicked with in the entire 3D era, aside from Hisui's variations of old favorites. it's not so much the simplicity vs complexity (i love the johto trio) as it is how intensely humanized they are - galar doesn't have a starter trio, it has a panel at ConFuzzled.
You never got to know them and gave them more of a chance u just dismiss them
U need to use them more and spend more time with them
The point of the franchise is that they are partners and friends not pets
Maybe ur just prejudice
Then they're not pocket monster that you got catch them all
the water type starters have been wack as hell last couple of years
Ong gen 7 had the last good water design imo
They haven't been good since Greninja tbh
@@DrJones0801 i agree
I think if there wasn't such a nostalgia bias towards gen 1 that gen 3 would be the most popular trio. That or gen 4. Just pure perfection. They all look sooo badass.
IMO the only generation where all 3 are straight up S tier, peak pokemon
I disagree hard. Blaziken and Sceptile really ruin gen 3 starters imo. Swampert is perfect, it just looks like a monster. But a big humanoid martial art chicken is no different from a humanoid ninja frog to me.
@@GamenessViejo That's all cool and everything, doesn't change the fact it proves this all started with the gen 3 starters in Blaziken.
@@GamenessViejo I prefer Sinnoh and Kanto, but Johto has my favorite starter in Feraligatr, unfortunately is has a bad stat spread.
@@FargusPhilthat’s every gen imo
I find it easier to bond with my starter when their design isn't telling my what their personality and traits are supposed to be like. The design doesn't have to be simple, but it does have to feel neutral, to give space for its identity to grow as our journey together progresses. I want a pet that feels like a creature, rather than a humanoid with animal features (and a profession for some reason). Then again, I am pretty much a boomer when it comes to this topic, and I guess the good folks at the Pokemon Company know what the kids want, and what will sell the most lunchboxes.
I think a lot of folks are more drawn to the first gen starters because of the nostalgia factor. If these starters were to appear in gen 9, they wouldn’t get the same respect that they would today and the Pokémon community would call them lazy designs
Tbh, while I definitely do want more traditional starter Pokémon that are humanoid, I don’t really mind the humanoid designs (inteleon and meowscrada are my favorite mons as of recently) but having an actual cat starter (water type ofc) that doesn’t stand on two feet would definitely be cool.
Because they become less monster collection and more rpg party member
Sports, Acting, & Music, that's what the Gen 8 Starters Represent, basically things you'd see at a Theater/Stadium >.> Y'know like all the Gyms in the Region?
Also the Magician, Singer, and Dancer Themes all Work into Celebration!
I mean, the gen 1 starters all kind of look prehistoric.
They are monsters
Looks at turtle 😐: Yup this heres a pachycephilasuarous jr or white turtle for short
@@TheReZisTLust what are you on about
prehistoric canons?
They're pet.
I love the Alola and Paldea starters, but Galar’s are so plain in their types and the region they are associated with makes me mad (mainly Charizard).
Now the old Starters aren’t perfect either, sure Bulbasaur, Squirtle and the Hoenn Starters are great. But the Johto Starters also have plain types, and Charizard makes me mad.
What's wrong with the galar region being based on the UK?
@@Xinneon It’s not that Galar’s based on the UK. That’s good. My problem is Dexit and the Charizard thing. Charizard was the only Pre-Gen 8 Starter that didn’t need Home or DLC to be available. And even then only the Kanto, Hoenn, and Alola trios are available with DLC and Home, so you can’t get the Johto, Sinnoh, Unova, or Kalos Starters.
The bird on Skeledirge is supposed to represent a Plover. It's a kind of bird that will stand on an Alligator's snout. They create a symbiotic relationship, the bird eats leftover food from the alligator's teeth and acts like bait for the alligator to get food.
Does it count as another pokemon tho? That's what really make me confused
@@geogreyepa7674 no, I'd say it's more like a feature. I always looked at it like the bird was fire. I may be wrong but I don't think it actually attacks.
@@RenegadeGamer89 so the bird is control by skeledirge?
I really don't like humanoid pokémon, and they keep getting more and more humanoid. I'm 33, and I've followed pokémon since gen 1, so I've felt they're differentiation through the years. Since gen 6, my favorite starter is Skeledirge, probably because since then it's the least humanoid, but I'm still bothered by the exaggeration in his details. I like simple, rustic pokémon. From new generations, I like Pokémon like Glimora, which looks like and early gen pokémon. I much much prefer older starters. But really I'm just commenting to help grow the channel. ;)
I'm kinda the opposite the simple designs are boring to me but I dont like hyper humanoid mons then can be human like just not straight up a human in a fursuit (lopunny)
@@vernessawashington9007 I can excuse lopunny because of the playboy reference.
Glimmora is super cool, honestly. I don't mind the overall more detailed designs, but what does bother me is that (especially for Litten and Sprigatito), you're often going from a cute animal that I'd love to pet to something that's so human it feels weird to even think about it.
I don't dislike humanoid designs, Lucario and Floragato are very cool. But some just feel TOO human.
Ok but then you have the machamp line which is just buff dude essentially. Or even jynx is humanoid. Then there is hitmonlee and hitmonchan. Those are the main humanoid pokemon i can think of from gen 1, but the point is that there has always been these humanoid designs they are just more talked about now because of the starter pokemon being more humanoid.
@@giantenemycrab1192 Most likely, it's because they're starters, you use Machamp exclusively if you want, but many people want to keep their starters until the end of the game for tons of reasons, so they end up feeling forced to use a Pokémon they dislike it.
Honestly, it doesn’t bother me that we’re going down this route of starters being identified by their other role instead of just being an animal for two reasons.
A. These roles help make them stick out compared to other Pokemon, and in a good way. Gives them an identity that isn’t just “fire fox”, “water penguin”, or “grass owl”.
B. The formula has proven to work , at least for me, as it gave me plenty of personal bangers. For example, Cinderace is one of my favorite pokemon ever, in my Top 4. It’s a rabbit with soccer player elements blended together. It takes things I really like of both the animal and role and fuses them into a Pokemon I enjoy a ton. Like how can you not love it igniting pebbles into fireballs? That’s incredible!
That being said, I get why people would love the starters being just animals. Hell, I like some of them too. But the idea that these identities are ruining starters now I think is wrong. It’s moreso they can give more or take away from the starter that I can understand
Exactly I totally agree, decidueye is a fantastic Pokémon and it has that extra element too. So I don’t think it’s ruining them at all, that’s why I said it’s not necessarily a bad thing! Just wanted to take a look at that evolution and how it’s impacted starters in both a good and bad way
It seems like you can also see how together the three tie to their region. For example, the sinnoh trio relates to myth and history, and sinnoh is tied deeply to that, or how the galar trio is based on British entertainment because of how the gym challenge is such a big deal in Galar especially
I don't mind the starters feeling like characters, I just wish they weren't _always_ like that. Wish we could have more animalistic ones every so often.
Out of all "character starters" Cinderace is the one I feel the most mixed on. Sure, a fire rabbit that is also a football player is a good idea, but the execution and design I find lacking compared to other fire types and character starter and for me he especially suffers from comparisons to a certain series' main fire foward, its flame striker if you will.
Personally, I'm glad for the gradual changes of starters, I've been playing since Gen 1 and giving them the design based on real world and mythology, they started to feel like partners not just magic monsters with few exceptions.
Edit: Love my Meowscrada
Erm actually the first 3 starters are based on pets you have lizard,turtle and frog🤓
9:15 delphox is a mage
That’s different than a. Magician
Meowscarada is based on stage magicians which is just smoke and mirrors it’s not real magic it’s a deciever
Also skeledirge being a funeral singer is very unique imo
Also quaquaval is a samba dancer not salsa
It’s based on Brazilian culture
Emboar and Incineroar are also slightly different, Emboar is more of a sumo wrestler, while Incineroar is more like a wwe wrestler
They basically became less animalistic and more human like
You know something always bothered me about the starters the past few years and after watching this, your thoughts perfectly explained what I was feeling. They feel overly complicated while being too simple as well. Makes sense why Bulbasaur/Venasaur are still my favorite.
You should check out Lockstin and Gnoggin. He does a deep dive into each starter
need to check those videos out! I used to watch him a lot a few years ago
Just popping in to say as always be said a million times before:
*The Gen 3 starter trio is as absolutely perfect as you can get.*
A very well thought out video with ample research. kudos to u!
And I'm thankful for that.
The Chickorita line’s simplicity is why it’s my favorite line, with the Sprigatito and rowlet line close behind
Personally I think ever since gen 5, the starters never seemed like pokemon that fit in with the rest of the cast. So much so that I end up benching them most of the time
This video made me remember/realize what I loved about pokemon gen1-4
This video is so great love your channel
The humanoid design trend is very much an uncanny trend,
not to say that there werent any hunanoid designs like from the start we had the machop line, the hitmons, Jynx & Mr.Mime.
But it was sortof justified since the psychic types are bizarre & alienlike while many fighting types were based on fighting styes,
But the gen 8 & 9 starters end up looking like they are wearing fursuits (not Fuecocos line tho, a burning beast all the way)
In other words, modern pokemon tend to feel more like a Digimon instead of being a Pokemon.
I am biased with Gen 7 and I think they’re all really cool(decidueye is my favorite) but I don’t mind Gen 8 either
Decidueye is easily one of the best starters ever
@@FargusPhil fr
8:47 that movement is wild😅😂😂
He has a bird because crocodiles are known to befriend birds so they “clean” their teeth
My issue with gen 8 starters is how shallow their movepools were. I like how the starters over old had diverse move sets as it allowed them to be that ol’reliable
Did the gen 5 starters actually get signature moves? What were those moves? And how was the introduction of hidden abilities a knock on those three? It was a mechanic widely distributed amongst most Pokemon, and included all of the previous starters
Emboar got Heat Crash, Serperior got leaf tornado, and Samurott got razor shell! It wasn't a knock at all, I just meant that the hidden abilities they got weren't special to them like the gen 6 starters
@@FargusPhil oh yeah, heat crash for sure, but those other two moves weren’t exclusive. I don’t believe they count as signature moves
@@FargusPhil I must admit tho, based on the short list of Pokemon that learned leaf tornado and razor shell that the moves were probably designed with the starters in mind. Probably what happened in gen 6 too so that’s honestly totally fair
If your saying theme: (just my opinion)
Gen 1 could be fantasy style with lizard with wings, a walking flower and turtle with canon.
Gen 2 could be realistic with crocodile on water, weasel torn as fire, sauropod ate leaf.
Gen 3 seems like a martial art to me with fire as karate, water as sumo and grass as kung fu nunchuck.
Gen 4 historical icon
Gen 5 mix of jpn chs history and martial art with fire zhang fei, water samurai, grass as an emperor that uses grappling judo
Gen 6 more like a kingdom theme where u choose knight, ninja or wizard kingdom
Gen 7 obviously circus where there’s stuntman wrestler, clown and the archer that shoot apple on top of head.
Gen 8 more like rare occupation
Gen 9 entertainer
I literally played through scarlet without using my starter lol 💀
LMAO fair honestly
You should give them a chance that’s on u
The point of the franchise is that they are partners and friends not pets
Maybe ur just prejudice
Me too (but Violet). My partners were Clodsire, Houndoom, and later Lokix. The starters designs didn't speak to me. I like the basics, but their evolutions were meh...especially Fuecola. It is so awful to look at for me.
Which starter did you choose? Sprigatito Fuecoco or Quaxly
"This isnt a change that happened overnight." I'd disagree. The X/Y launch was such a hard reboot to the series after Black and White failed. They knew exactly what they were doing with their Rogue/Knight/Mage starters, and youre right, we can't go back.
Thank you! I been saying for years how Gen 2 starters big problem is that they're too plain and man Mega forms would've combatted that so hard.
I find funny that the lastest Pokémon Gen are more designed to be their own characters instead of being their own species and still no new Mystery Dungeon have arrived to exploit that. Personally I don't like them to be characters but I don't like them to be just an animal with an elemental detail either, I prefer a perfect balance, but good enought for people to add them any kind of personality, I have read a webcomic of a naughty Abra, it was hilarious how it caused a lot of trouble to the trainer 😄.
Also you missed several details and design inspirations like the fact meowscarada is based on ouss and boots or skelederges bird is based on the fact crocodiles have symbiotic relationships to birds in the whiled to name a few
Like I said in the video, I am aware that there is a reason for that aspect of the design but I think it looks clunky and isn't as easy to understand that inspiration for casual viewers
@@FargusPhil ah I see
@@FargusPhilI think that forces them to do research and dive deeper into the lore
1:06 that was back when the lore was basic
The more they expanded the lore and worldbuilding the more they got creative with character concepts
All these things tie in together
The thing about pokemon designs, in my opinion, is that no matter if a pokemon has the most intriguing concept or mythological/folkloric inspiration, if the execution is bad then the design fails as a whole.
Most people, especially casuals, are also not gonna bother looking up why Skeledirge has a random bird on it´s head.
@@HimekoIzayoi true I suppose but execution is still subjective I think vanilux is stupid but stuff like real world inspiration adds actual measurable sorta aspects to it
I miss the starters being chunky. These skinny starters don’t do it for me
I think it would be cool if they made starter Pokémon with a different elemental triangle just to shake things up. We all know the grass/fire/water triangle but it would be fun to start with something different
I literally just realized it but i think skeledurges bird is because there is a type of bird that has a sybiotic relationship with crocs, and they also used it to be the microphone. This realization made me like skeledurge a bit more.
The starter Pokemon design have definitely got more interesting over the years
I would argue less interesting.
@@skaylingop9673 to each there own
@@skaylingop9673 quqaval would like to talk
You mean more furry
@DarioCorselli dude there animals,how could they possibly be categorized as furries
The bird is a reference to real live birds that sit on crocodiles and eat bugs that tend to gather around their eyes.
0:42 been a thing since gen four arguably gen one if you count there cryptid theming
Venasaur is a living dinosaur cryptid
Charizard is a fire salamander
Squrtle is based on a minogami
Gen 2 has the theme of the past totodile literally evolves into a caveman crocodile
Gen 3 is nature
Of course you all know the rest
Ps. The reason charizard isn’t dragon type is because its not one in the fire salamander myth there mistaken for dragons so charizard is that brought to a cartoony pokemon style
The first 3 gens were the true Pokemon experience.
Except for gen 3,gen 3sucks and is overrated
It makes me tear up not even about the quality of any of the Pokemon but the fact that they're all obtainable across 7 generations of games. Even the most forgettable of Pokemon are not forgotten and are even updated. Classic handheld main series Pokemon is my favorite rpg series for this reason.
The themes of Gen 8 starters was based on Britain.
Water - 007
Fire - Soccer
Grass - 70's Rock and Roll/Beatles
I think something between the gen 4 and 6 would be ideal!
If you think Gen II’s starters are simple, you should see the Gold and Silver Space World 1997 build’s starters. Only Chikorita made it to the final build, although it’s middle form was different
Like what you did with the music❤
Imo Gens 1-3 were the best ever. All the pokemon from starters to the legendaries were the best looking etc. Gens 4 and 5 were alright tbh, I liked them too but just not as much as 1-3. Gens 6 onwards not so much. Still played those as well but honestly nothing beats 1-3.
Oversaturation is what's killing Pokemon.
Later generations still had some good Pokemon designs, but you're right, you had to look outside the starters and legendaries by necessity in order to find them. The beginning and end of regional Dexes has just plummeted straight into the toilet.
For me, pokemon feels like they left out the monster part of their name and go full on character design instead. Wish we'll see more "pocket monsters" instead of "pocket characters" in the future
I have mixed thoughts on modern starters too. Personally, I like the idea of Galar's starters, being pretty simple with real world inspiration, but execution wise they dropped the ball a bit
Also, this video was very well constructed. You earned a sub, keep it up Bruv 🔥💯
That’s a great way of putting it, the execution was definitely off (except Grookey & rillaboom, I actually really love them). And thank you! Much more to come soon
I personally love Inteleon, and don't really see why people don't like it. It looks like a Basilisk lizard
Heliolisk is actually one of my all time favorite pokemon! Not to knock inteleon but heliolisk is a much better basilisk pokemon in my opinion. Gmax inteleon though is honestly kinda cool
@@FargusPhil Heliolisk is a frilled lizard though isn't it? I also love Heliolisk though, but Inteleon is such a cool lizard Pokemon to me. Mixing lizard traits with spy traits was top tier imo
Nah it was unique tying in the British culture specifically
I’m with you my man. Make Starters Great Again
I Personally think that most gens did a great job because even when the implemented a trait it made sense for the Animal they chose about Gen 4 Torterra does a pretty great job because it honestly it shows it's concept and is totally believable to exist in the Pokémon World Infernape when you think about it a simple fire monkey like simisear or Darmanitan they are Fire monkeys but luck any sort of greatness so adding the mythological Monkey King really does the Difference because now more than that is your Guardian has a design to prove it and Empoleon is an Emperor Penguin what better concept could they think than have an influence from a real Emperor and one that traveled the sea is just nice implementation Gen 5 Serperior did well a regal flower snake is a good concept because both snakes and plants are symbolism that we see through out the history in royalties Emboar design is a bit weird but instead of Ground they went with Fighting the concept of fighter tries to implement a Warrior most likely western design in my opinion did a good job but the fighting type was what ruined it Samurott honestly it's hisuian version does a much better job on its design
Gen 6 7 8 9 is we're the design were the ones than went with concept first but worked great with Chesnaught Grenninja representing Knights and Ninjas but Delphox went overboard with an idea that Braixen did way much with of Dark Magician girl vibes Decideye was a very amazing concept because not only it did Robinhood but also got inspiration from Greek Mythology as well with Athena using a bow and Owls being her Signature animal Incineroar is just perfect he might be wrestler but it shows also its dark type by following the concept of countering the previous starters is their answer to their trope Primarina wrong doing is that it looks too feminine which kinda kills it and like Delphox is over designed Gen 8 I think giving items to Pokémon is a little ridiculous like Rilaboom is useless without its drums or what if they Break and it's kinda ugly and simplistic unlike infernape which is very good Rillaboom is boring without its drums Cinderace is good Simplistic but gives nice bugs bunny vibes and the concept of football it might be weird but at least is something that is acceptable to say is possible since honestly football is something that any Person or animal is going to play with just give a ball to a dog or a Dolphin and they will play around with it Cinderace shorts in my opinion add to the design and without the current starter trope it is quite an interesting Pokémon as for Inteleon a slick Lizard is nice the concept of Spy it is farfetched but I still okay because a lot of lizards shoot their tongue at incredible speeds the gun fingers are the exaggeration but is really to personal opinion here I think Inteleon needs to be in a Pokémon Movie we're a Galarian Spy and his Inteleon try to take down an evil syndicate would be awesome and the only that would Inteleon justice and finally as for generation 9 Quaquaval is the only one that does fit with its concept o because is a peacock and they use dancing to mate or fight so being a capoeira dancer is very good and clever but it's the current starter trope that kills it Skelliderge is very nice designed if the changed its flames and not have the bird change into a mic it would be awesome and it's the first instance we're the design doesn't allude to any trope rather is the move that creates its problem and Meawscarada is like braixen goes fully the Dark Magician girl way and that is because honestly we live in a date and age we're Waifus sell and also people who Braixen or Meawscarada like Pokémon so the Pokémon company follow what today's world likes the tried with Primarina Delphox but they were not successful I honestly I strongly believe that these kind of Pokémon ( Braixen Delphox Primarina and Meawscarada are the ones that do the greatest offense to the current starter trope and ruin the other two members of their respective region) Inteleon could fit there too but the Difference is that its concept looks Gender Neutral and is clever but really needs to fulfill its concept that is inspired by Spy films to have its own film to show the Pokémon true Potential as for the ones that say Incineroar I say that it's cartoon like look would really loved if the five Pokémon I mentioned didn't exist and might be the only one that is also Great Competitive which can really help a Pokémon. So Chesnaught Grenninja Decideye Incineroar Cinderace Skelliderge and Inteleon are great showcase of their trope and all would really be more loved if Delphox Primarina Inteleon and Meawscarada went for animalistic appearance and Rillaboom didn't had its stupid drums. Gen 4 and 5 really were animals first and concept as an addition and the first three Gens did a good job but they also are locked to the fact that they cannot move too much away from their concept exception to this is Charizard and the Gen 2 starters which are really versatile in their designs Charizard can get 50 different forms and still look amazing proof of an amazing Pokémon no wonder Charizard is loved by everyone ❤
Gen 1 will forever be my favourite
The OG
I love watching Pokémon finally start to use more Digimon looking designs .. Digimon always had the designs on lock 🔥
Tbh a "Pokemon Zero" where they reboot the game in all aspects is probably long overdue. Take the evolution of Final Fantasy as an example. I don't exactly like those games, and if I'm being honest I like the standard turn based combat a lot... But Nintendo could definitely get away with ONE single mainline entry where they just toss every single old idea in the trash and remake the whole concept, then try to sell that new idea entirely on its own merit as a new idea and not as the next gen in the series
I recall someone saying that Skeledirge’s head a stage. The bird is a singer and the flames on it’s head are pyrotechnics
I heard the reason Meowscarada is a magician/jester is because Spain had famous Jesters from a local from Spain who used frequent a toy shop i worked at in a mall, i dunno if its true or not but there was a famous jester named Calabazas, who was a jester in the court of King Philip IV of Spain depicted in a famous painting.
It would be cool to see Starter Pokemon be based on Anime Characters
A good mix of both is the way to go. Diamond & Peral/XYZ did it great.
NOTHING beating gen 1 starters
how many pokemon come and go. the connections Ash had with Squirtle, Bulbersaur and charmander where on another level.
I personally wanna see a different type trio for gen 10, like fairy, fighting, steel. It would be a nice change of pace imo
That's the reason why I didn't evolve my starters since Gen 4 :D
I personally tend to like more of the newer starters because of how they tend to go a little extra. I mean it’s not like you can capture them in normal gameplay so giving them that extra touch seems warranted. Also I do feel the gen 8 starters should have been dual typed so they can get more aspects to them, and probably be better received by most players ( I want my water/ghost inteleon).
nothings holdin me back from meowscarada
I think the lil bird could be representing the birds that rest on top on crocodiles and hippos maybe?? 🤔
Gen 8 was a nod to certain british entertainment. I actually appreciated inteleon being a nod to 007 lol. Gen 4 still my favs tho
Delphox is actually based on Delphic origins which explains why it can see into the future.
One other point i would like to highlight as a change in starter Pokemon or atleast on final stages is how now they make sure one starter is faminine, one is masculine and one is neutral. I guess it was a bit hinted in gen 5 (serp being a bit feminine and embore looking more masculine and sam looked neutral) but gen 6 onwards there are clear masculine like chestnut and incineroar, one feminine like delphox and primerina , one neutral like graninja and decidueye
Mango starters are house hold child pets… lizards, frogs and turtles. They have a theme too
Quaquaval is one of the most visually offensive Pokémon I’ve ever seen
Gen 8 was the first pokemon game I actually took my starter out of my team and that hurt my soul
I think you missed an important element
The change started with Gen 4
And what Pokémon started in Gen 4
Lucario: a clear furry bait
1:06 that was back when the lore was basic
The more they expanded the lore and worldbuilding the more they got creative with character concepts
All these things tie in together
I have to disagree here, this is Pokémon. The lore and worldbuilding isn't expanded. There barely is any.
In any way, normal Pokémon are still mostly "magical animals" especially in the games. This is fine for _actual_ Pokémon characters, but many people don't like the Pokémon themselves being so humanoid and personified because they never were "characters" in the games.
I don't hate them, but it definitely feels off because designs like Meowscarada and Incineroar just feel way too human. I just want a cute little cat, why does it have to suddenly turn into a guy!? It feels very off to consider it a pet/companion when it just looks and behaves like it's a human...
About Primarina being a sea lion thing, Gaijin Goomba had it covered.
I grew up with Pokemon, since the 90's and i seen Pokemon change through out its timeline, especially Ash himself till he finally finished his journey to which still baffals me.
So, I did not see too much of the issue with the Starters that we have currently, hence designing new Pokemon is becoming not easy anymore, therefore the best way to bring new Pokemon species at this point is adding variants because it would make more sense to add variants to Pokemon that may had a different appearance at a certain time period.
Over all, I did pay attention to your whole video, therefore you elaborate the issues very well in a professional way from a Artist's stand point and additionally, i do agree to an extent if i have to be honest even as someone that grew up with Pokemon ( 34 here still enjoy).
Gen 1 is different times. Bulbasaur is the old times (like dinosaurs, I think)
Charizard is the mid times (when dragons were first things or smth)
And blastoise is the newer times. With the metal
All gen 2 starters resemble some types of dinosaurs
The rest I forgot
9:57 i always forget how large Venusaur is
The sword and shield starters do mean something remember Galar is based on the UK Inteleon was based on James Bond English Spy, Rillaboom is based on punk rock bands from the UK there is history there and Cinderace is based on football players UK favourite sport
Although they are regressing in terms of design, they sure make them competitively much more viable which I love to see
definitely, if only they stayed viable for vgc after they reintroduced all the legendary threats. Incineroar obviously gets past all that though lol
It’s not regression they have gotten more creative because they put a bigger emphasis on lore
It is a regression, they‘ve gotten more and more ridiculous. I wish I had never seen this disgusting freak called "Primarena". Why, just why? 😖
If they put out the gen 1 starters now, I don’t think people would like them as much as they do.
Pokemon designs these days are actually way better and more creative than before.
I liked gen 8 a lot, and I thought it had some great designs, but it was the first gen where I didn’t like ANY of the starters
I think a lot of what you say rings true for Pokémon design in general, they have become overly characterized or at the least complex, if you look at gen 3 -5 they have some more designs like say ludicolo or infernape but they are are few and far between making them stand out from the simpler but still great masses, at the same time though they aren't overly complex or charactized if you compare ludicolo to quaquaval for example there both dancing ducks but nobody thinks of ludicolo as a dancer first its a secondary aspect of the design, where as quaquaval as much as i like it is a dancer that happens to also be a duck
Skeledirge is supposed to be a crocodile type Pokémon the bird supposed to symbolize a plover bird which is a species of birds that get their food source by picking bits of it from crocodiles teeth
Crocodiles and alligators will keep their mouths open so the birds can clean their teeth for the reptile. They get a clean mouth that they can use to hunt more prey and the bird gets a meal The bird on its head is really just a toothbrush.