>>35812893Again, I'm referring to the first stage. Even Chikorita has neck spikes, toed feet, and different colored eyes. Slapping on "black oval eyes with white circle highlight" is something I love but because it's so simplified you need to add just a bit more detail instead of just lugia chest + ears and call it a day. I think it's just how plainly the flippers are shaped compared to Seel's or Lapras'.
You'll noticed that even in later designs like
>>35809766 's pic that they add eye color besides just leaving the oval eye design solid black in order to give it life. Pikachu is also occasionally depicted as having brown eyes instead of pure black, and Eevee has switched between brown and maroon.
