>>56685160>entirely new art direction and character desjgn>new art style of high contrast no outlines>after receiving a ton of feedback on gen 2's perceptionThe devs were pushed out of their comfort zone and made to make something new, fresh and different.
Also plenty of gen 2 Pokemon look unfinished, it's highly dependent on the build. Spaceworld 97 was designed so the dex could be in some form of a "complete" state, but other in between builds aren't like that.