The beloved starter trio from the Gen 3Pokemongames has gotten a bit of a shake-up thanks to some popular fan artwork that reimagines their designs if they swapped types. Even decades after their introductions, the plethora of starter Pokemon from throughout thePokemonseries' history remain popular subjects of fan-made artwork, with some creative fans merging different creature designs and others even imagining what some critters could look like in a warped alternate universe.
Fan art has been a massively popular thing among thePokemoncommunity as a whole since as far back as the franchise’s inception in the 90s, and it remains the most popular method for fans to express their love for their favorite creatures as well as the series as a whole. No shortage of fan artwork also helps make clear just how timeless many Pokemon really are. While some of the more recently introducedstarters from modernPokemontitlesmay not be quite as iconic, a lot of the starter Pokemon from the series' earlier generations don’t seem to have diminished in popularity over the years, with artists never failing to discover new ways of redesigning them.
Such designs tend to garner a ton of appreciation from fans of the franchise, and for good reason. A fantastic batch of artwork recently shared by the artist known as kaltzer freshens up the designs of the Hoenn starters and their evolutions by switching up the types they use, and the resulting designs look just like what fans might have expected to see from some ofPokemon’s older games. These alternate-universe creature designs represent Treecko and its evolutions as Water-type Pokemon, the Torchic line as Grass-type, and the Mudkip family as Fire-type instead.Plenty of otherPokemonfan artworkhas taken a similar approach, with some artists redesigning their favorite starters around some unexpected types.
Hoenn Starters and Their Evolutions With Types Swapped
When it comes to official variations of existing Pokemon, some of the more recent installments of thePokemongame series have proven that even the most unbelievable creature designs could potentially come to life in the games in one way or another.Gen 9’s Paradox Pokemonare a great example of how existing Pokemon can get a pretty extreme makeover. These rare and very unusual types of Pokemon quite literally hail from different timelines according to in-game lore, which explains howPokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Paradox Pokemon represent familiar Pokemon that appear to have come from a different time period altogether.
There are also regional variant Pokemon, genetic offshoots of existing Pokemon that are different in appearance and capabilities thanks to the unique environments they live in. Fans are hoping to see a ton ofnew Pokemon like this in the upcomingPokemon Legends: Z-A, the next major title in the series that’s set to release later this year on October 16.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A
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Pokémon Legends: Z-A is an ambitious new entry to the Pokémon video game series, releasing simultaneously worldwide in 2025. A new adventure awaits within Lumiose City, where an urban redevelopment plan is underway to shape the city into a place that belongs to both people and Pokémon.
