Teaptapp has been modelled!!!
This little Steam-type Pokémon likes hiding in ceramics it scavenges to protect its fragile body. It plays a similar role to Flabébé, where it's a 3-stage monotype of a new type that players encounter early in the game to introduce them to that new type. Because of this, it was important to think about what things are commonly and abundantly associated with gasses: balloons, steam engines, teapots.
Now, balloons are already covered well by Jigglypuff (now Steam/Fairy) and Drifloon (now Ghost/Steam) and steam engines are more dramatic, so are covered by the likes of later game Pokémon like Arketan Golurk and Registeam; but, I had an idea for a Ghibli-esque sprite that could do 'teapot Pokémon' in a different way than Polteageist and feels more approachable for the early game, as this little sprite can easily be in and around towns, with even quests to track them down because they stole important items from people.
They very much play on imagery of nisser, gnomes, and brownies; but, I wanted to be careful to keep them Steam-types and not Fairy-types (Arketa already has a Fairy-type nisse, being Komptu). Teaptapp occupies a space in-between Fairies and Ghosts, referencing how even the etymology of some sprites refers to them as creatures that could be blown away in a breeze. Gases like steam and fog are common imagery for fairies and ghosts, but can be something unique unto themselves.
As Teaptapp evolves, it swaps its teapot for bigger and bigger ceramics, much like a hermit crab and its body gets larger with gaseous overflow, resembling a beard you might see on a gnome. All of this imagery helps to reinforce the idea of a gas Pokémon to help players understand this type before introducing more nuanced uses of it like Arketan Kecleon (neon gas).
