>>52803225Having a lot of different inspirations != having a lot of disparate design elements. At the end of the day Ludicolo is a furry oval with a duck bill wearing a sombrero, his design isn’t all that complicated.
Skeledirge suffers the same problem as most of the post-Gen 3 starters, they’re way overdesigned and overdetailed compared to most other Pokémon. Look at any of the starters from gens 1-3, they all have one, maybe two large and distinctive design features, usually related to their element (Blastoise’s water cannons, Meganium’s flower, Typhlosion’s fire mane).
Gen 4 started adding on some extraneous complexity in the final stage (Empoleon’s frilly apron pattern, the ring around Torterra’s shell, Infernape’s shoulder/wrist/knee pads) and it’s just been all downhill from there.
