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Hot take:
THIS is how you should design your early game Normal type shitmon
It is based on a simple animal, the groundhog, but contains elements of another animal or two (in this case, the meerkat or prarie dog).
It takes a trait of that inspiration and turns it up to 11---that of being a monitor. Unfortunately, it doesn't learn many sound-based moves, not even Hyper Voice, to match the traits of its inspiration, but it still learns stuff like Screech.
It also has an inspiration from human life, as Pokemon should---in its chest pattern, which is obviously the reflective coat worn by safety personnel, from Airport traffickers to road workers. It even lights up on its own, and is reflected in its ability Illuminate. But it's not wearing an actual vest---it is, again, a fur pattern.
So, in short, Watchog is the patrician's early game Normal type that has yet to be matched in terms of the quality of its design, and should be a beacon, a shining example for all successors to follow.
I don't even like Unova.
