Creative takes on Pokemon names leads to “righteous” new designs

There are heaps of talented artists within the Pokemon community – constantly putting out fresh takes on beloved video games, favorite characters, or even creating their own Fakemon designs.

One thing that usually remains consistent in Pokemon art is the use of standard designs – meaning Pikachu is usually displayed as an electric mouse with yellow fur and lightning powers. It seems like common sense, but a recent community piece has flipped this expectation on its head.

Being shown off by a creator named @magikdex on Instagram with the tagline “New Pokemon, Old Names”, talented illustrator @an_artist_astray offered entirely unique takes on fan-favorite Pokemon Vileplume, Eiscue, and Aurorus, creating entirely new Fakemon to match the names.

Eiscue, for example, was transformed from the ice cube-wearing penguin into a fluffy Saint Bernard, being dubbed the “Rescue Dog” Pokemon. It’s perfectly themed around the mountain rescue pup, pulling clever inspiration from the original Pokemon name.

Pokemon fans were impressed by the original artist, lavishing praise on their inspired takes and pointing out their favorites. Some were clearly long-time fans of the art trend, with one excited viewer commenting, “I LOVE this series. So fun!!”

Another fan lamented that they’d never see these designs in a modern Pokemon game, saying, “I really hate how Pokemon won’t do great designs like these”.

One Pokemon fan listed their thoughts on each design in order, dubbing Vileplume as “sick”, Eiscue as “righteous”, and Aurorus as “ferocious”. Eiscue stood out in the comment section as the clear favorite of the viewers, with many feeling it was a big upgrade on the original critter.

Seeing unique takes on existing Pokemon is always exciting as a fan and it’ll be great to see how this translates to the next mainline game in the series.

Pokemon Legends Z-A holds a lot of potential for new designs – either through Mega Evolutions or rumored additions to the Pokedex – so there’ll be plenty of new source points for talented community artists to sink their teeth into.