>>50612957>why is everything rounder and cuterBecause culture started shifting HARD around this time. Moe was becoming truly marketable thanks to contemporary multimedia like Sanrio's belt, and Pokemon was born at the rugged watercolor era's end. It had to adapt in order to stay relevant in the Japanese market. In similar vein, with Dragon Quest Monsters now on the market as its own entity, Pokemon had incentive to branch out into its own style away from Toriyama Eyes as to not tread too far on the turf of the old guard. Pokemon DID owe its existence outside of Tajiri's vision to games like Dragon Quest 5 after all.
>why is everything gimmicksWhen you have over 900 Pokemon, you have to fall back on giving every Pokemon a unique design quirk, signature move, signature ability or some other notable aspect so it'll stand out from the rest.
