Normal Pokemon review request: Pomumon, Parasaurmon, and Toropiamon?
I guess GameFreak's going back to a more Gen 1-ish style for Gen 10, though even by Gen 1 standards these new 'mons are pretty detailed. In Pomumon's case, the legs and teeth especially feel more intricate than we're used to with Pokemon designs, and the overall look isn't as "friendly" as most Pokemon.
Regardless, I like the concept here a lot. It's a dragon fruit that's also simultaneously a dinosaur (mostly in the face area with the Archaeopteryx beak) and a weird little bird (I mean all birds are dinosaurs technically, but you get the point). The way the dragon fruit's "spines" form the feathers is really cool, and I love the longer striped leaves at the back, which remind me of bird-of-paradise feathers. The purple/pink/green palette is also really nice.
Parasaurmon is decent, though I don't like it quite as much. It keeps with the dinosaur theme by becoming a parasaurolophus, but all of the bird-like elements have been lost (except for one singular feather), which I think is a shame. It also loses most of the fruit aspects aside from a few small bananas by the head, which are easy to miss. The color palette also changes drasticallyβI don't mind the orange, but at the same time I kind of wish it was pink just to tie into its pre-evo more.
However, I will say that I like the markings here a lot. Fur is an interesting touch, and the parasaurolophus/jaguar combo is both very jungle-y and just an interesting blend of traits to begin with.
Okay, now THIS is what I was hoping for with Pomumonβsomething that expands on the theme while still retaining a large amount of plant-like aspects, which were mostly missing with Parasaurmon. Toropiamon has a lot going on with it, almost borderline too much, but the plants tie it all together. Lilly neck collar, twin-tailed bromeliad flowers, and pineapple scales all come together for a very colorful and very pretty design. It also retains the jaguar fur and markings from Parasaurmon, so it's not completely devoid of animal influence, either. Just a really neat creature design all around.
My only nitpick is that I feel like the blue claws could've been pink or red, but then again it's supposed to be a colorful tropical plant so that's not a huge deal.
It's kind of crazy to give a newly-released Pokemon a mega right off the bat, but hey, why not? Mega Toropiamon (also known as Hydramon) is really cool. It leans into the dinosaur aspects and mixes them with dragons to create, as the name implies, a hydra, with two "fake" heads and one main one. The main head has a Frilled Lizard flower collar, and the whole design invokes carnivorous plants without it literally being one.
More importantly, however, is the giant chest mouth. What a cool feature; I've never seen a venus-flytrap monster put the mouth anywhere but the head.
My only nitpick here is that the colors could've afforded to be a little brighter, as it feels a little dull compared to the rest of the line; a brighter green and a little more yellow on the claws would've helped.
Overall, some really good if not slightly unconventional Pokemon designs. I can't wait to see what else we get in Gen 10!
