All gallery posts in Mixed and Other

December 31th (Option A) - Nidorina

I hope no one's surprised. Nidorina will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever be replaced as my all time favorite. Too many years in the running that can't be undone. The hardest part was actually choosing WHICH Nidorina, because there's two I like most. So for the benefit of Nidorina kind (and bias), I did both.

Option A: What you get is a slightly more wild animal-like Nidorina traded against the fact that she doesn't wear the face of a common Nidorina. If I were to use TvTropes' Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism, she sits in between Funny Animal and Civilized Animal. You should know enough about her otherwise. Loves kids, food, Nidorino, don't mess with her kids, or else she'll become downright psychotic.

Nidorina is from Poke Tales.

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December 30th - Bellsprout Bell

Of all entries, this is the only one that was chosen due to outside influence. Maybe because I don't really care for big musclebound Pokemon almost as a rule. Granted, "Hardcore" is up for interpretation.

I just went with what I knew, and I find Bellsprout to be rather admirable. He's an approachable all around cool guy, but is otherwise really disciplined. He's like Ryu with a social life. Despite his frail body, he can still hold his own with swiftness and cunning. Bellsprout, as a character, has gotten me interested in Bellsprout as a species. It's pretty much the Nidorina cycle all over again.

Bellsprout is from Alternate Universe, and is also inspired by the Pokemon of the same name from my friend's copy of Pokemon Gold.

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December 29th - Sigilyph

I think this one called for scariest. TBH I don't really think any of them are scary except maybe Beedrill for practical reasons, but I'll compromise with "unsettling". When I first saw this thing pop up in Pokemon Y, I literally said to myself "what the hell is that thing~" in a low, uncertain tone.

If MissingNo had a physical form, it'd look like Sigilyph, perhaps crossed with Claydol and Deoxys, which were Pokemon I used to consider weird back then. And that's on top of looking like Double from Skullgirls to begin with. Needless to say, I caught one, and now I'm rather attached to it having gotten past the fact that it just shouldn't be.

Sigilyph was going to appear in a comic that's been canned, but maybe I'll still use him elsewhere. Currently, he is inspired by the Pokemon of the same name in my copy of Pokemon Y.

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December 28th - Nidoran Schneider

Is it time for Saturday morning cartoons? Don't be ridiculous, they generally quit that a long time ago. No, this woman rolled out of bed at two in the afternoon on a Tuesday, now engrossed in midday airings of Steven Universe (which has now ended, by the way). A curiosity: if a Nidoran has bedhead, does that make them more lethal? Didi and her sister get along so well, especially at a time when they need each other the most. Two peas in a pod, really, which shows that a familial bond can sometimes be the strongest one of them all.

Didi is from Alternate Universe, but really gets some time in the limelight in the Dumb Big Sister, Stupid Little Sister comics.

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December 27th - Porygon

It's only fitting that I use pixels to illustrate Porygon, another ancient favorite who I still think is too cool for school. Seeing that he's composed of polygons, he can shapeshift and resize with relative ease so long as it's within his poly count. You know what makes illustrating Porygon better? Thunder Force IV BGM. Space Walk is the best thing to ever blast itself out of the YM2612. My apologies to Sonic the Hedgehog and Streets of Rage.

Porygon is from Poke Island.

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December 26th - Bulba Clarke

Bulbasaur was my first starter ever back when Red and Blue were first released, and whenever I'm given the option to choose Gen I starters again, I always pick Bulbasaur without fail. Case in point, Pokemon Y. You don't know how happy I am that Sugimori made Bulbasaur cuter starting with the Fire Red/Leaf Green games. I'm never switching, now.

Ms. Clarke is such a darling. If I ever had a Bulbasaur of my own (assuming Pokemon existed), I'd hope it was just as nice as she is. Despite being just as chatty as Nidorina with Nidorina, she still makes a nice, calmer contrast to her and the rest of the young adults. In fact she's probably closer to Nidoqueen, though a lot more outgoing and less introverted.

Bulba is from Alternate Universe, and is also inspired by the Pokemon of the same name from my friend's copy of Pokemon Gold.

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December 25th - Lady Mew

Having to watch over an entire private island is hard work, especially when you have to answer to higher ups like Houou. No one said this job was easy. Alternatively, I wanted to call this picture Pink Cloud.

Mew, much like many other of my type-based favorites, has never been replaced as my favorite legendary. I find it hard to top. It's cute, it's design is so simple a child can draw it, and it learns everything.

Lady Mew is from Poke Island.

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December 24th - Goku

If something like WarioWare were personified as a being that's typically silent, it would be Goku. Goku is all that Japanese absurdity you may have seen in places, but as a character himself mostly stays in the background, so that when he does show up it's just that much stranger. Definitely the strangest and least consistent denizen of Dokio in that he may grow additional body parts he never had or go way way way off model for a panel, or just bend reality in anyway he feels like, all while not saying anything. You could say he's BaBeat in Pokemon form. Perhaps even the spirit of BaBeat?

Gulpin's design is undeniably Japanese. It just has to be some kind of in-joke westerners aren't wise to. I gotta hand it to them for basing a creature off of either an emoticon or throwaway gag face, which is why Goku turned out to be the way he is, rather than playing the "eats everything" angle straight. I mean, so do a lot of Pokemon, there's nothing unique about that.

Goku is from Chibi's Corner.

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December 23rd - Giselle

While I wouldn't say she was forgotten, Giselle was a character who was largely untouched since the end of Poke Legends. I always liked Girafarig, I mean Kine had one in AU, though lumped with the rest of his background, seldom seen captures. It wasn't until I brought her back from the grave for Rhythmic Pop'n that I started to take reinterest in Giselle. She was mostly placed in that game as a left field "bet you didn't see this Pokemon coming" entry with a fitting song to go along with it. She has interactive potential, afterall.

Giselle is sort of worldly in a more, wildlike way and isn't too interested in domestication when she can travel the world as she pleases. However, her tail is just antagonistic and hates everything, moreso if it makes Giselle happy. The tail intentionally drives any potential friends away just to keep Giselle alone. And when she's not being hateful, she's being a smartass. Perhaps that pun was intentional, I dunno anymore. It must be awful to live with a second head that goes out of its way to spite you.

Giselle is from Poke Legends.

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December 22nd - Ampharos

A jaunty gait, a hearty laugh, and a luxurious head of long flowing fleece. Ladies and gentlemen, Ampharos is back.

The reason Ampharos was chosen as a favorite Mega Evolution is mostly because it's a concept that is way too new, and it's not like I finished Pokemon Y or even battle enough to care when this picture was made. In fact, the only other Mega Evo I've touched so far was Lucario, and I just don't care about Lucario. Mawile, Kangashkan and Audino could've been considered had I actually reached them (in fact, these days I'm pretty sure Kangashkan or Audino would be my selected choice). It also helped that at the least, Ampharos retained its charm and simplicity to a degree.

I don't recall much about Ampharos, being the Pokemon of the day in Poke Legends, but I think he was a beacon of some sort? That's gonna require me looking it up. What I can say is that he certainly never Mega Evolved. The concept was unheard of back then. Then again, so was any more than 251 Pokemon.

Ampharos is from Poke Legends, whereas the Mega Evolution is mainly hypothetical.

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