Hey, Sun and Moon starters were revealed and GF continues the proud tradition of making shit tier water starters.
Let's celebrate with some Gen 2 Pokemon. Because they are also terrible. Where did I leave off? The baby Pokemon?
Fuck me.
Pichu: Hey look, it is a Pikachu with a body made out of weirdly geometric segments. Seriously, that round head and ears are terrible, and the black collar is pretty ugly too. 2/5.
Cleffa: Okay, this baby is actually pretty decent. It's what a young Clefairy should look like and, perhaps more importantly, it is actually cute. The proportions are all fantastic. The line of evolution is really smooth. This is probably hands down the best baby Pokemon. 4/5.
Igglybuff: Kill it with fire, please. This terrifying fetal abomination is just... bad. And the red eyes are immensely upsetting. Like, why? And why does a triple bun thing turn into Jigglypuff's little swirl? And why the swirl tattoo? Just... ugh. 2/5
Togepi: The design concept is kinda neat, but the overall execution is bland. It's basically a round body, flat face design. That said, the design on the egg is kind of a neat fantasy egg and Togepi's crown thing works well with the cracking of the egg. 3/5.
Togetic: I don't get what's happening here and I don't like it. Body shape is all sorts of terrible. Why does it suddenly have wings? Why is it white? I'm asking why a lot. Look, it sucks. 2/5
Natu: Is fucking rad. The weird pokemon stylizing of animals works well here because Natu is modeled off stylized art. The absolute roundness of it's body is a bit off-putting, but I just think the whole concept gels super well. 4/5.
Xatu: And we lost it. I like the stylizing still, but they overdo it a bit here. I think it's the black collar that's a step too far, really, especially with the eyes already there on the chest. I'm also not really fond of the shift for a more humanoid form (though the wings as robes thing is cute) and I still find the perfectly round head off-putting. hook on the beak and evolution of the head feathers look good, though. 3/5.
Mareep: It's a super cute sheep design (and the blue goes well with the white), but I'm not at all sure what those ears or tail are really supposed to be. And the more I look at them, the more I think they just straight detract from the design. I think just the tail would have been good. The ears are really odd. Stil, it's adorable. 4/5.
Flaffy: I do not understand Flaffy. It works as an acceptable transition between Mareep and Ampharos body wise (going upright, losing fluff, etc) but... why is it pink? Why is the tail bulb blue? This thing does not -at all- look like an electric type. Though it does make me wonder if just making Mareep's ears and tail blue would have helped sell those pieces. I dunno, I'm expending a weird amount of words on what is basically a super forgettable middle evo. Colors are stupid, everything else does it's job. 2/5.
Ampharos: Well, I don't quite how we get from Mareep to here, really, but I count Ampharos among Gen 2's better pokemon. The flipper arms are weird, but eh. Something about the overall design speaks to me. It is one of those designs I consider very "Pokemon." Colors are solid, red bulb on the tail works for an electric type and the red gem on the head creates a bit of something that isn't symmetry, but is similar. Body is nicely broken up by various small design things - white belly, black stripes, etc. Shape is good, though mouth is in a weird place. But the more I look, the more those flipper arms are driving me nuts. 4/5.
