>>55557742you've got the talent for pixel art but I think the bigger problem is that most of the designs in OP just don't look like Pokemon, I can't put into words what does and doesn't make something look like a Pokemon, but I think the simplest designs work the best.
The water cow is still the best example of simplicity done right. Big eyes, simply details of some swirls and spots, just two colors, it works. I think the little hedgehog ball guy next to them also works, but the second stage starts deviating and the third stage is just straight yu-gi-oh monster. Only other thing I can recommend is try doing bigger eyes more often, designs like row 2 column 7, and 4,5 also aren't bad.
