>>56446765Genuinely would've been my 2nd favorite Grass starter, bumping down Decidueye.
I don't know what it is, but Zarude's design just clicks with me. It looks really, really good.
Unfortunately I don't believe it was ever planned to be a starter. Last I checked, they make the final forms first, then work backwards.
So they made Rillaboom, then Thwacky and Grookey. Rillaboom would've been set in stone as a starter at that point. Any resemblance Zarude has to the lesser forms is coincidence.
But MAN Zarude would've been cool. Maybe just replace the designs though, like keep Rillaboom's stats, abilities, and moveset.
Because also last I checked, Zarude sucked competitively, whereas Rillaboom has been booming since it got its Hidden Ability.
