>>35656050It seems likely to me that you're unaware of just how many Pokémon are modeled after real animals.
What makes them Pokémon isn't that they're not at all like animals. Look at all of the stage one birds that are based on real birds. What makes those Pokémon different than animals are the way that they go beyond what real animals can do. They stretch the concept based in reality and are gifted with abilities that animals couldn't attain.
Caterpie is modeled after pic related and both are known to produce a foul smell as a defense and to molt several times before they change into a butterfly. But Caterpie is larger and has an even more extreme appetite. Caterpie can shoot string at its enemies. Caterpie has crazy foot suction cups.
Many Pokémon are modeled after animals that are real, or creatures taken from folklore. How close they are to looking like the real thing can vary wildly. Sometimes this makes the relationships between Pokémon in an ecosystem easy to flesh out. Take it with a grain of salt, but don't just be arbitrarily mad that we have cool fantasy versions of actual animals.
