Today we are featuring a series of realistic Pokemons redesign characters by a talented DeviantARTist arvali, that may leave you seeing the cute little fantasy creatures in a whole new light, personally i love them! Making realistic Pokemon is really hard, these re-designs really make you wish that the pokemon were real. How strange yet familiar they look…

Blastoise

The big challenger with a more realistic take on Blastoise is of course, his cannons. After spending some time researching animals that use projectiles, a squid’s jet really seem to fit the idea. Blastoise is supposed to be able to aim his cannons and fire water jets to propel himself in a direction, very much like a real life squid. So he intakes large supplies of water through his mouth and stores it in a specialized organ in his chest under the shell. Blastoise primarily eats shellfish, earning his nickname as the shellfish Pokemon, he holds onto a Shellder in this case and blasts water to help him pull it off its rocky home. Squirtles start out primarily aquatic and as they grow they eventually become semi terrestrial and lose their developed swimming tail in favor for a heavier counterweight tail. Wartortles spend much of their time drifting motionlessly after meals to facilitate the tremendous growth, sometimes for months. As a result coral sea fans often take root on them, especially on their head.

Bulbasaur

I really ran with the lizard idea and he ended up like a cross between a Horny Toad and a Scutosaurus. The way I figure it is that they have an endosymbiotic relationship with a very large type of flower. The flower reeks of death, the fumes can even be toxic and keeps large predators and competition away; however it attracts insects which brings food for the young Bulbasaurs. Venusaur is 6’7″, though are actually taller as their flowers can vary in height and are not measured. They also use their tusks to dig up roots much like wild boar.

Charizard

I wanted to make sure he looked reptilian not saurischian, so I pulled design elements exclusively from reptiles. You guys should definitely check out a Kaprosuchus, it certainly wouldn’t be a boar. I also made sure to add little wing nubs on the pre-evs so that its not as jarring a transition. As Charizards get older, more or their tail envelops in flame. When a Charizard reaches an old enough age it will completely ignite and burn itself to ash. There are responsible for the occasional brush fire.

Lapras

I imagined it to look like some kind of a big calm and friendly seaturtle mixed with a oceanic dinosaur.

Mewtwo

He was created in an attempt to clone the ancestral Pokemon, Mew. Mew’s origins are not known, what is known is that within its DNA lies the building blocks to all Pokemon. Mew has the appearance of an embryo and it seemingly never ages. Mewtwo did not receive this genetic perk. At first hatching it appeared to be a perfect success, though the clone started growing. It eventually grew too strong to be kept under restraint, in its escape destroyed the research facility it was created in. In this purge it freed other undeveloped Mew clones. The cloned sludge, left without a body or identity, yet still with the incomplete building blocks of all Pokemon wander aimless seeking others of their kin. They are known as Ditto and have become a plague on wild Pokemon, killing an absorbing their prey and filling their broken DNA with strains from the world’s Pokemon species.

Design wise, I really wanted to bring the theme of birth and life into Mew and by extension, Mewtwo. They both have an umbilical cord ending in a placental brain wrapping around their tail. Mewtwo shares traits with many other Pokemon species as Mew was never supposed to grow, so it took on traits of various Pokemon from its genetic party bus of DNA.

Eevee

Eevees are one of the most unique Pokemon, possessing extreme adaptability. When left in the wild, their surroundings shape their physical form. They are capable of extreme growth in a matter of a few years with radical shifts in their anatomy. When under tutelage of a trainer, Eevee can remain unchanged if kept in a stable environment.

Dragonite

Upon research I’ve discovered that Dratini looks suspiciously like a salamander tadpole, everything just fits into place. Pretty much the only time in nature a vaguely serpentine creature transforms into a reptilian looking critter.

The way I was looking at it is that Dragonites are very rare in the wild as it reaches maturity at around 55 years old. They can be trained into maturity much faster than they grow in nature. Dragonites are exceptional swimmer and are very strong ambush predators, using their powerful legs or tail to propel themselves at prey. They often are mistaken for taking flight when really they just jump great heights.

Gengar

Ghosts are not real, the aim of this project is to take elements from the real world and incorporate them into a Pokemon. I like the way these look, they look like the Pokemon they are to me. I like the idea of animals being mistaken for something much more mythical. Though they still have their fair share of fantasy, these versions are not ghosts. They are magical animals mistaken for ghosts. There are only five bat Pokemon, yet there are many more butterfly Pokemon. It should be no big deal if I interpret these are bat-like critters.

Arcanine

Arcanine is the mightiest of all fire types. There are tales of great fire dragons and giant birds lit aflame, but Arcanine is the most powerful confirmed to exist. They have garnered their nickname as the “Legendary Pokemon” as they are extremely rare in the wild and have only recently have specimens been evolved in captivity. The the key to the the development of an Arcanine is that the juvenile state, Growlithe, needs to ingest volcanic soil. In the wild Growlithes will unknowingly consume volcanic soil through ingesting gastroliths from the stomachs of Torkoals.

Reshiram

I thought it would be cool to portray Reshiram as sort a proto-bird. Maybe as like an ancestor to Ho-oh is what I was thinking. He has been adorned with silver bangles which he was worshipped by. He is considerably less mammalian than you may be accustomed to, but I thought it would look strange if I threw a goat head on a dinosaur bird body.

Nidoking

Nidoking was always a pretty cool looking pokemon, though I never used him in a game until I played FireRed last year. This Nidoking here is grumpy because he has been left with the kids. There is also a mischievous Pikachu that has taken advantage of the Nidoking’s colorblindness and snuck its way into the family.

Scyther

I always saw Scyther as a very dinosaur/dragon looking critter with some bug parts. It has come to my attention that others did not see it this way, they saw him as more of bug.

Garchomp

Probably among the most difficult Pokemon to make look somewhat realistic, those arms man, those arms. Its pretty loose and sketchy, but I thought it deserved more than Tumblr. Here is a joke just for any paleo artists that may see this; you could also call this a Carcharodontosaurus carcharias.

Druddigon

He came out as sort of an unholy abomination of a Dracorex, Therizinosaurus, and Miragaia. The idea really clicked when I thought of the “wings” as dermal plates, which makes more sense anyway as Druddigon cannot fly. I also gave reason to the bright red head, he is a carrion feeder and has just finished picking over a Deerling.

Tyranitar

I thought it would be very cool to see a more ankylosauroid Tyranitar. I threw in a cute little Larvitar as well.

Zoroark

Zoroarks secrete a greasy hallucinogen that coats their mane. This toxin can be absorbed through the skin and causes predators and would be prey to see them as a much larger Pokemon than they are. Sometimes their toxin can coagulate into turquoise lumps in their fur, these are known as Zoroark beads and are quite valuable as a recreational hallucinogen. They are notorious for feeding on Natu as they cannot fly yet and Xatu are ground laying birds. Natu’s psuchic abilities have no effect on Zorua and Zoroark. Diglett is ready for his closeup.

Honchkrow

Honchkrows are a medium sized bird that largely feeds on carrion and bug Pokemon. Males display a very large “beard” and can puff it up while pulling their head into their chest to intimidate other males and gain favor of females. During mating season, the males with bash their crests against one on another. They will continue to do this until one of their crests cracks, deciding the victor. Honchkrows have taken their namesake after the tendency of them to lead flocks of Murkrow, these groupings are called gangs. Murkrow will start to grow into a Honchkrow when given access to a dusk stone. A Murkrow will rub their bill on the stone causing their crest to develop as a response. Venipedes are an especially delectable treat to Honchkrows because they are a stupid pink millipede beetle.

Aggron

Aggron are very large, very defensive terrestrial omnivores. Aggron young, hereafter referred to as Aron, live largely in cave ecosystems. They have very large eyes for their build and are most often found hiding in crevices. They lack the offensive capability of their older counterparts. As the Aron grow, the juvenile state is called Lairon. Though Lairon share the same susceptibility to attacks from more advanced elemental Pokemon, their hide has greatly thickened, even growing sail like forms on its back to appear larger and more of a threat. Lairon are most frequently spotted in the open air caves that often surround the regional Pokemon Leagues.