I decided on choosing Chespin long ago. The little bugger's cheerful looks and adventurous feel hooked me. I was here for the the months of speculation, the pondering over the type and appearance of his evolved forms. Quilladin appeared, and in spite of my initial reaction to his ghastly Sugimori art (the ingame model is goofy but endearingly so, it looks more like a Pokemon and less like a football mascot/balloon), I stood by my choice and I was eager to see the final form.

Chesnaught did not disappoint. Warrior-themed, Grass/Fighting, spiny-armored glyptodont is about as good as I could've asked for. The little adventurer is all grown up and looks awesome. His stats seem solid and what we know of his movepool shows promise. The color scheme confused me though. Where'd all the green go? He's a Grass Pokemon, and chestnuts are green.

Then, in doing my homework on the matter, I found this picture and others like it. Fuck me. GameFreak knows their shit. Aged, ripened chestnuts turn a pale, yellowish-brown color and open up. They even have that differently colored trim along the opened edges that Chesnaught has stylized on his armor. He's designed with this in mind, because he's not a fresh, green, little chestnut seed anymore. He's an older, seasoned warrior, bursting clean out of his battle-hardened shell and ready to kick some ass.