>>58468315I don’t think the franchise has necessarily shifted to having more intelligent partners vs animals (Gen 1 still had very humanlike mons like Machamp, Jynx, and Mr. Mime), but moreso the design philosophy has shifted to allow larger inspiration changes between evolution stages.
In the earlier gens there was very consistent inspiration as a mon evolved. Bulbasaur is a frog with a plant on its back, Venusaur is a frog with a plant on its back. Machop is a lizard strongman, Machamp is a lizard strongman. Azurill is a blue water mouse, Azumarill is a blue water mouse.
Over time this has expanded to have larger changes between stages, though. Seedot goes from an acorn to a yokai, Piplup gains a bunch of regal features, etc. This has progressed to having jobmons, who heavily change between stages to add a brand new inspiration, and starters are the most primed for this because they usually start out so basic.
