Let Micaiah Say Fuck

@joe-spookyy Ben and Socrates

@gooseontheinternet Chamomile and Beefy

@runawayy-rat Bartholomäus and Emo

@theunholystromboli Macrogryphosaurus, Xenoceratops, and Graciliraptor

@techlecticwtch Solas and Dorian

@merlyn-bane Roslyn and Rizzoli

@logictoinsanity Luna and Buttercup

@hagsthehag Orphie, Psyche, Calypso, Ariadne, and Eury

my sweet ladies Bonnie, Mira, An, and Tula

and of course, the irreplaceable

Neil,

The project started with the stage one starters; I knew I wanted to go with "parsnip that evolves into a scarecrow, fishing cat (based loosely on the irl fishing cat), and furnace dog". It took a couple iterations to get Hookit to look like a "fishing cat"; I kept wanting to give it a fishing rod tail, or a crab pot body, but eventually I landed on giving it a little bobber. The Pebull line's ears are meant to invoke a pickaxe!

These guys were named with the help of my friends!

Snippet -> parsnip, snippet

Stalkling -> corn stalk, stalking

Stranstill -> strand, stand still

Hookit -> hook (line and sinker), kitten

Filine -> fish, feline, (hook) line (and sinker)

Sinkurr -> (hook line and) sinker, curr, "grr"

Pebull -> pebble, bulldog

Anvull -> anvil, bulldog

Crucibull -> crucible, bulldog

Since sdv has *so* many chickens, I felt they were the perfect opportunity for a split-evo line ala eevee; I could make a design for every chicken, but not have too many "repeat" lines. First draft didn't include the "hat" inspiration, and while I liked them well enough, something was missing; I went looking for a set of sdv items that were related but diversified, and landed on hats (although I ended up with - and suspect I'll still end up with - a few other 'mons based on hats! imo, it just makes sense for sdv, a game with a very collectible hat system). Notably, Eboniken was a *struggle* to get right, and Ceruleken was originally based on bluegrass (maybe I'll still make a design based on bluegrass?)

Scramblet -> scramble, omelet, -let (as in small)

Ivoriken -> ivory, chicken

Sienniken -> sienna, chicken

Eboniken -> ebony, chicken

Ceruleken -> cerulean, chicken

Magnifiken -> magnificent, chicken

The decision to include regional forms happened when I was making a duggy-based fakemon; diglett was already too perfect a template. In addition to being based on the sdv grubs dropping rice shoots, the Paddycane line is also based on the real life rice weevil; hence Weemill's silly little nose! Weemill line was also named with the help of my friends :)

Dignition -> dig, ignition

Paddycane -> rice paddy, rice cane, paddycake

Pupacane -> pupa, rice cane

Weemill -> weevill, windmill

The slimes were hell on earth to figure out 😭Lots of revisions, lots of passes (the only one I got right first was the tiger slime). Early on, conceptually, I had them as another five-way split evo; but since that would be repeating Scramblet's role, I decided to make it a form shift instead. Since I still needed more direction, I settled on a) using forageables, b) modelling each one after a different animal kingdom (to keep them distinct) (amphibian / arthropod / bird / mammal / reptile), and c) modelling the original 3 off of pre-existing pokemon, with the lore idea that they'd be mimicking that pokemon's shape for protection/to fool predators/prey (fern form is based on politoed, frost form on galvantula, and lava form on doduo).

They also originally had a goofy little pre-evo based on the slime egg + slime item, but I ended up cutting him to make them more distinct from Scramblet.

Jelicacy -> jelly, delicacy

I tried picking a secondary inspo for the hat mouse, but it turns out that mouse, pikaclone, and hat is enough inspiration on its own! (I also tried giving it the hat mouse's green hat, but it just didn't look right)

Meesellats -> "meese" (incorrect plural of mouse), "me sell hats!"

With sdv having two colors of cows, but no clear distinction between them, I decided to combine them into a two-headed calf; I looked for another "two things combined" item in sdv to pair them with, and landed on the glow/magnet/glowstone ring. Early Duetoro didn't really "feel" like a pokemon, so it went through a couple passes; same for Deuxlap, who didn't give off the idea of "rings" until 1) the hooped ears and 2) a friend suggested literally adding a little ring shape onto its tail.

Jemsbok and Bezore are based on a "mountain" goat (hence the quartz/refined quartz). I wanted Hewe/Lamillin to stand out from the typical quadruped ungulate bodyplan that the other two had, so they went in the more amorphous/humanoid direction. Deuxlap was named by a friend!

Deuxlap -> dewlap, deux (french for two)

Duetoro -> duet, toro (spanish for bull)

Jemsbok -> gemstone, gemsbok

Bezore -> bezoar, ore

Hewe -> hue, ewe

Lamillin -> lamb, millinery

A trash-raccoon is such a given idea for a fakemon in general, so I combined them with sdv's Trash Bear to give the line a little extra something. First pass didn't really scream "garbage", so their tails went through a second pass to mimic an overflowing trash can.

Every unown form mimics a different letter in the junimo script; on clean-up, I gave them ragged edges for a more interesting contrast with base unown, and to make them look more like secret notes/scraps of paper you might find while adventuring. "Wandering spirit" felt like such a perfect ability for a secret note fakemon too :)

Raccuse -> raccoon, reduce

Rayuse -> raccoon, reuse

Racycle -> raccoon, recycle

Legendary fish also went through a lot of passes; trying to keep their designs looking legendary, like fish, like their typing; still not 100% satisfied, maybe I'll redesign them eventually? I gave them all little swirl patterns to unify them some more, and they all have some kind of head ornament to mimic a "crown".

Since the in-game lore for the mutant carp is that it's literally a... mutant carp, I figured I'd better draw on pokemon's own mutant 'karp! Magikarp is colored like a real-life cork bobber, and Gyarados is loosely based on/posed like the curiosity lure + quality bobber, but I didn't feel they were strong enough inspiration to include on the actual inspo sheet.

Winchier -> winter, glacier, sheer cold

Etalily -> eternity, lily

Anglumn -> angler, autumn, glum

Krimsuna -> crimson, tuna, monsoon

Thought about integrating grapes, ancient fruit, or even the community center as a whole into Lumino, but I figured it was cuter to go the more simple mythical/grass type route with a lil' fella that more closely resembled the actual junimo. Biggest hurdle was getting the face to both look like a junimo, and like an actual pokemon.

Lumino -> luminous, junimo

Up until this point I'd been giving every coop/barn animal exactly two stages (one for sdv's "baby" form, one for its "adult" form), so I figured it was time to shake it up; the itty bitty friendship rabbit could stand on its own, and the pig - with the potential to evolve into a full-on giant boar - could have three stages.

Haluck had two versions, and my friends helped me decide on the "little freak" (their words, lol). Inquill wouldn't have been possible without my friends giving crit/ideas; with my gf's help we were able to get him looking more like sdv squid-ink and give him a little more personality :D The pigs went through a couple minor design changes, mostly exaggerating their body shape. I like to imagine Mycranium using its plow-tusks to overturn land and look for more truffles :)

Haluck -> hallux, hare, luck

Quakwil -> quack, quill

Inquill -> ink, quill, inkwell

Truffill -> truffle, till, "fill up on"

Pompigor -> pompadour, pig

Mycranium -> mycelium, cranium

Metamor went through quite a few iterations, as I waffled back-and-forth on making it an original fakemon, a regional Minior, or a regional Falinks. Eventually I decided to keep it as an original design, but between the ability and the name there's definitely argument for it being a convergent form of Minior.

Metamor -> metal, armor

And last but not least, some more skull-caverns-y monsters! Sikull was originally loosely based on the calico egg, but that facet got lost as I worked to make it less like a regional duskull and more like its own creature. Scarapace's colors were tricky, and it takes a lot of design elements directly from pokemon like Heracross, Pinsir, and Scyther; at the same time, I wanted to give it a little bit of a "wise mentor" vibe; an established swordsman/patrolling guard who can't be taken out with a single hit. A little complex an idea for a two-stage bug, but I think his little mustache makes it work!

Sikull -> sickle, skull

Wraiward -> wraith, wrap, ward, wayward

Patrerve -> patrol, hors d'oeurves

Scarapace -> scarab, scary, carapace

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