For today's entry in the Paradex, the Windows 98 Clown Lion: Porygon-Beta, a prototype of what we now know as Porygon2. It feels so fitting to reimagine this as an in-universe prototype, complete with my own headcanons about the Porygon familiar to most trainers in this world.
Design Notes: Coloring was changed from muted tones (not shown) to the vibrant colours of Porygon's true form. Detail and shading were added compared to the old color palette. The Trade evolution is based on how Porygon evolves into his finished forms. This photo does not follow the GBC limitations.
Bonus Lore: The Machine Learning driver was never fully scrapped – traces of its functionality remained in Porygon2 but were written off as mere glitches. An error in what we now call the Dubious Disc reawakened the driver, an accident that – after major tweaks - resulted in the Porygon-Z we know today.
As a bonus, unrelated entry, the one that I'm not proud enough of to let stand on its own: Conqoyst, Slowking's fallen crown, separated from it in battle (which can canonically happen). With a completely unedited sprite and a somewhat obvious inspiration, it makes sense for me to pair this with the simplest entry in the Paradex.
Bonus Lore: The variant of Conqoyst that forms a Galarian Slowbro or Slowking is in fact the same Pokémon, but the Galarica Spices in Galarian Slowpoke’s body have significantly altered its biology. A Galarian Conqoyst cannot be separated from its host without crippling or killing both – in fact, most researchers consider Galarian Slowbro or Slowking to be a single Pokémon rather than two.
