>>42913448>>42913521>>42914416This is kind of hyperbolic. I was here when it was first leaked, and everyone thought it was "obviously fake" because of its strange angular design that made it look like a bad 3D model someone made on their own, and the tongue replacing previous design elements from its pre-evolutions. People actually compared it unfavorably to fan designs of what the third stage would be, and to Frogadier, thinking it was too much of a departure and a strange combination of clashing design elements, with the strangely thin angular head, as opposed to the overly bulbous features such as its eyes, legs, and tongue, and basically solid colors with no variance in shading, etc. Pretty much everyone hoped it was fake, or at least unrelated to Froakie.
To be fair, after its design was officially revealed, it was more well-accepted since it was more clear how it was supposed to look, and how the elements were supposed to work together. But to me, it will always look like a bizarre, unwieldy creature tbqh. It's a very unconventional design for a starter, and maybe that's why it ended up standing out and becoming popular, but a lot of its popularity does seem planned and manufactured, as initial reception to its design was actually somewhat poor.
