On the topic of video game dinos: thoughts on the Pokémon based on extinct dinosaurs? (not just fossil, some dino mons aren’t fossils) They are fantasy creatures, so they aren’t necessarily subject to scientific accuracy, but I’d still be interested to hear your thoughts on them!
so like, I've never got into pokemon, I liked it when everyone did at the start but I started getting annoyed that people were obsessed with frankly uncreative fake animals when real life was so diverse and crazy and ignored. yes, I *am* that annoying of a person
but! I am married to one of the biggest pokemon fans ever! so I am tagging him in! @plokool
that said I like that one of the tyrannosaur pokemon has feathers. A+
Tyrantrum is such a cool design, and I really like Aurorus and Amaura too. I'm very happy that Archen and Archeops exist. I find the Gen IV fossils a little boring but not bad. Meanwhile I don't care for the Gen VIII fossils. I get the intention, reflecting the early mistakes of paleontology, but I was really hoping for a duo based on Iguanodon and Megalosaurus. As for ones based on dinos outside of fossils, I'm sure I'm forgetting some but off the top of my head. Obviously Tyranitar is based more on things like Godzilla than a real modern T. rex, but it's a neat design given that inspiration and it has a cool retrosaur feel. I actually kind of like that they gave Baxcalibur the same treatment, since it's a creative way to avoid the confusion about what Spinosaurus looked like. Plus they combined my favorite dinosaur and type so I can't complain. Tropius is just...odd overall. Not bad, just weird. Banana tree sauropod that can also fly? I'm sure there are more that I'm just blanking on right now because there are so many Pokémon and I've had a long day, but feel free to ask if there's anything specific.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the gen 3 fossils and the not-quite fossil Relicanth, if that's alright
Sure! I was sticking to the dinos for the original ask, but I can definitely talk about those too.
-Anorith/Armaldo - I love Anorith and I think it's so cool that there's a Pokemon based on Anomalocaris. Armaldo is a cool design by itself but honestly I'd have preferred if Anorith's evolution kept more of its original design inspiration, rather than turning into a weird bipedal beast.
-Lileep/Cradily - These are pretty cool too. Crinoids need more attention and it's awesome that they got their own Pokemon so early. The designs are solid and suitably weird looking. Really, my only critiques are that I personally prefer Pokemon that are a bit more mobile and dynamic, and that while I get why they're grass types, I imagine it's a bit confusing to people who aren't otherwise familiar with crinoids and think they actually are plants.
-Relicanth - I really like coelacanths in real life, so I'm glad Relicanth exists too. The design is solid, the brown color scheme is maybe a little dull but it suits the theme, and I love the treasure map aesthetic. I like that it's rare in-game and you have to dive down to get it as well. I'd love to see Relicanth get a regional form or something special like a mega evolution or gigantamax someday
