>>24565698All of these are missing something that makes Pokemon what they are. It's hard to put my finger on what it is exactly. Part of it is the complexity of the designs, the intensity of the color palettes, and the lack of overall "cuteness." This last one is a big one - most Pokemon have a warmth or gentleness about them, even the final-stage ferocious ones, and every one of these end-stage monsters here looks to be an absolutely merciless, majestic ass-kicker.
The biggest thing for me here though is that Pokemon are all based on clear concepts, either alone or mashed up with others, all drawn from real animals, objects, characters, etc. I'm having a tough time recognizing those here. I can make out a swordfish Pokemon, and an earwig, I think. I see a pun on "A rolling stone gathers no moss." I see a few monsters based on identifiable plants. And that's it. I have no idea what any of these other things are supposed to be, aside from "Generic cool lizard #5."
All that being said, I think these monsters are cool as fuck. Looking at these is a bit like peering into an alternative universe where instead of Pokemon, there had been another major monster collecting franchise made by completely different, albeit talented, people. I'd play a game with these, it just wouldn't be Pokemon.
