>>44847373Every Pokemon now has a lot more thought put into its design, lore, character, and role in the Pokemon universe. They are less about being members of species, and more to do with being characters or mascots. Look at Phanpy, for instance. It's a generic little elephant with some rubber connection. Cufant, conversely, is an Indian copper statue elephant with a tea motif that also serves a role in digging, construction and demolition. This Pokemon is orange ordinarily but it turns green in the presence of water and rain through oxidation. When Phanpy was designed, Game Freak probably just requested an elephant that has a rubber tire aesthetic with Rollout. It has no significant role in the series outside of that. All of Phanpy's dex entries are stereotypical destroying things with its body/trunk and bathing itself with its trunk like an elephant would. Compared to Cufant, Phanpy is far more banal. And the entire Gen 8 dex has this hidden underlying substance underneath every Pokemon now.
