#paradex

hii hihihi o/

17. fics you’ll continue next year

For the seventh and final entry in the Paradex, it finally lives up to the name of Baby Pokéganda with four unused Baby Pokémon, plus a baby form of Kotora edited from a prototype Pichu.

Myaa was originally created as its own post, and the Gender variation is based on the original sprite for Koonya. The three different coins surrounding the original sprite seemed to be a study rather than an actual part of the model, although art that draws it as such is valid.

The regional forms of Canta and Trevul (aka Mikon) are more than simple palette swaps, as much work was needed to get their coloring to work with the palette limitations I constrained myself to.

The sprites for Norowara and Pangshi (Middle and Right) gave me so many ideas, all of which I later realised were literally just prototype forms of Banette. So, in honor of these sprites, my headcanons about Banette gave rise to the sixth entry in the Paradex: the many forms of Banette.

Design Notes: the name Norowara, which literally translates to Straw Doll, has been repurposed as the name of the plushie that has become associated with the name of Banette.

Today's entry in the Paradex is perhaps the most overthought: the bell-festooned cats, Jingell and Bellboyant. The first entry in the dex to require more room than my template permitted, this design originally had even more text to it than the pictures above. I'm entirely convinced that the only reason these Pokémon were scrapped is because they're hard to draw with the GBC sprite limitations.

Bonus Lore: Bellboyant has a reputation for being fierce and uncaring. This myth is perpetuated by people who’ve never seen or heard Bellboyant’s graceful charms and its tenderness toward loved ones.

Design Notes: The original designs for their signature moves are listed under the cut.

Today, I bring you the most sprite edits I've made over this whole Series (originals below for comparison): not only an unused version of Bellossom, but an early version of the Hoppip line reimagined as an alternate Vileplume from an undiscovered region (Hoppip, Jumpluff and Skiploom, in order.) The original sprites are below.

Design Notes: the Pink and Black coloring was adopted to make Bellossom feel like the natural continuation of the line, unlike the Johtonian variant of the Pokémon. The hardest part was making the coats of Gloom and Bellossom, as well as editing the cotton bud out of Gloom's head.

Bonus Lore: It is unknown how this forme of Oddish made its way to this continent. Some researchers speculate that it drifted across the ocean as a swarm of Oddish, a trait somehow inherited from the local Hoppip population, despite this behaviour never having been observed.

Is it a Wooloo? Is it a Mimikyu? No, it's the third post in the Paradex, the Ghost in Sheep's Clothing: Baacade! My first thought upon looking into the eyes of this lupine cutie was Tangela, but then I realised who this truly was: Mimikyu, five generations early.

Design Notes: These two are pretty much perfect - no design changes were necessary, save for a couple of pixels specifically to make it stand out against the Type box. To clarify the Trainer Memo: Baacade's unique method of evolution requires it to form a bond with its trainer, then be left alone for a while.

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.

It's no secret that I love all things relating to unused Pokémon designs. The thought got stuck in my head, then... What would they look like as complete Pokémon? What's their story?

So, over the next seven days, the Paradex will be releasing alongside my regularly scheduled reblogs - the Pokémon that never were, reimagined with fully-fledged Pokédex entries and slight sprite edits and a little extra lore. And first on the list, perhaps the most famous of all: Kotora, the friend-shaped electric tiger cub.