I feel like you missed an important aspect of the shift to the "Plushie Era." Pokemon from Gen 6 onward needed to be designed for animated 3D models. This meant that a lot of the designs pushed to be easier to render and animate- and some Pokemon even had design changes between gens 5 and 6. Many of the older designs just don't look as good in 3D, or were too detailed to model properly in 3D.

I wish others fans realized what you said about how Pokémon’s target audience is essentially kids and that they aren’t necessarily trying cater to old fans

I always found Black and White one of the more interesting eras to analyze because since it has all new pokemon, there's alot a parallels to old pokemon that really show off how game freak has changed design principles. For example, Muk and Trubbish are both pokemon based on piles of waste, but because Trubbish has rounded eyes and features, as opposed to Muk's pointy eyes, it comes off less threatening and more cute

I personally like the "Abstract Era"- still animal-like, but more explicit about what they represent as a type. Blitzle looks like an electric type. Munna looks like a Psychic type. Instead of "the body has fire" Charizard, the flowy "tendrils" of Reshiram embody fire.

This is the best video on the topic I’ve seen, especially pointing out technical aspects and providing necessary background. Feeling like an educated dissection, rather than an opinion piece. Although it makes me remember why other monster tamers haven’t taken off or lasted to the same degree, Pokemon’s designs vary in “visual personality” as I call it, while other IP’s tend to be too homogenous as in there isn’t enough variation in the number of “cool”, “cute”, “bizarre”, “scary” monsters.

I definitely felt there was a design shift from 2 to 3 and 5 to 6 but never really knew why until now

The best take on pokemon design on youtube.Instead of just bashing the newer generation because nostalgia and cartoony and humanoid he instead focused on what each era of pokemon design meant for the series we either love or love to hate.Great vid

I love gen 4 pokemon 😭 This was really cool and the breakdown of each era's style helps me figure out why I feel the way I do towards particular pokemon. I've always loved Ponyta but not Blitzle as much, and its because of the details you pointed out. Will be interesting when I look through the entire pokedex again sometime with these new "eyes" of mine.

As a hobbyist creature designer, this video is very much enlightening and makes me want to look over my past designs and figure out how to implement some of the concepts from this video. It’s really interesting and I appreciate you sharing your insights on Pokemon design! I have been trying to also look at Pokemon for inspiration, but I don’t think I was looking at it in a way that was actually breaking down the design and figuring out how it works. At least I have a better starting point now lol. Keep up the good work!

My thoughts and opinions of each generation's set of designs: • Gen 1: A diverse smorgasbord of unique, recognizable creatures. Many are abstract concepts, but are approached from a naturalistic perspective like you said • Gen 2: I have a few favourites from this gen, but aside from the cross-generation babies and evolutions.. I'm not really a fan of the majority of this Pokédex. Some of them are either too simplistic, too dull-colored, or were barely shown off in their debut generation.. • Gen 3: The graphical shift to the GBA definitely contributed to the designs of Hoenn. This was my first generation, and there is just so much uniqueness and creativity in these designs...not to mention COLOUR. This dex is a pack of Skittles! The designers were playing around a lot this gen. • Gen 4: Hints of design simplification can be seen in some designs, as if foreshadowing the Plushie era. Some designs are really dialing in on the "appeal" factor. Pokémon like Lucario, Infernape, Luxray and Garchomp are examples of Pokémon that truly exude coolness • Gen 5: A "soft reboot" for the franchise, this gen is quite experimental. More designs have become "concise" in terms of detail. Pokémon start becoming designed with unique personalities in mind as well. The Pokédex 3D apps show some large-scale experimentation with how Pokémon would appear in 3D • Gen 6: 3D modelling and animation is now a main design factor. The amount of detail is carefully considered. Thanks to Pokémon Amie, Pokémon now have to demonstrate even more appeal and character • Gen 7: Comparable to Gen 6. But now with a greater emphasis on marketability especially with some of the "friend-shaped" Pokemon • Gen 8: Pokémon are becoming more exaggerated in their designs, and are further pushing the boundaries of what a Pokémon design should look like. This Pokédex is quite divisive, and not just because of Dexit lol • Gen 9: Even more exaggeration and experimentation (literally) this gen. Probably the most divisive a Pokédex has been so far lol. There are a lot of Pokémon I either just don't care for or vehemently dislike. No offense to the designers, but some of the Paldea mons just feel like first passes..

Gen 1 designs are timeless in my opinion, especially in the original ken Sugimori illustrations.

I really like this division of the design styles and it helps with some of my own mental grouping of the generations. You're a brave one to take pot shots at any particular generation though.

I have to admit that the 4th generation is one of my favorites in terms of design. Not because of technical reasons, but just because I think most Pokemon in that generation look very "cool", like for example Infernape, Lucario, Luxray, Electivire, Drapion, and even my currently favorite Pokémon, Roserade. I also love the charm of the smaller Pokémon too, for example, Starly is my favorite "starter bird", and I also really like Buizel's design (but not much Floatzel).

These are my absolute favorite topics on Pokémon, I’m so upset my algorithm didn’t recommend this

I feel like Pikachu’s design even followed these 3 eras. He went from a chubby, anatomical design to a more balanced version with its head closer balancing with his body, and then his current version that is chibi or plushie all the way.

All ages Pokémon is such a one of a kind unique franchise

I didn't really think that I had a favorite gen in terms of Pokémon design, but then I did a test to figure out my favorite Pokémon, and I found that most of my faves are gen 1 and gen 2 Pokémon, and the ones that are from gen 3 and later have pretty simplistic designs that would've fit in gen 1 and 2, Pokémon such as Breloom, Swablu, Rotom, Slurpuff, Solosis, Eiscue, Audino, Whimsicott, and Bewear

While I like the concepts and designs for many of the newer generations of pokémon, there was always something that just felt "off" to me. These types of videos have helped me understand! It's the art style! With the early generations, the artsyle made the creatures look more realistic, like a real (albeit fantasy) animal you could actually picture roaming around the wilderness; with the newer generations, while the art style is cute, they look closer to OCs or caricatures rather than actual living creatures that would inhabit this fictional world. While neither artstyle is wrong or bad, the problem arises when the two contrasting art styles are right there next to each other in the same game. I'd love a couple of games with cohesive art style in either direction; in one game they could take the older pokémon and convert them into the newer, cuter art style, while in the other game (the one I would be most excited for) they take all the newer pokémon and convert them into the older, more realistic art style with more appropriate detailing and proportions. I personally would find it super cool to see some of the newer pokémon (Sobble or Nickit, for example) in the more classic style, and vice versa.

This video helped me understand art design

What a great video! I have favorites from every generation of Pokémon, but 1&2 have always appealed to me the most and not only because of nostalgia. I think your observation of how the designs are more naturalistic really nails it. I tend to (generally) prefer “lightly stylized” creatures over full blown abstraction. Really great breakdown of these design eras!

Basically, kids these days prefer cartoony styles vs the 90s kids that liked a little realism.

This was very lovely to watch and all of the graphical presentations were on point! I love that we can hear your excitement at times when you get to thing you enjoy!

thanks you for actually giving valuable information an not just a video saying you dont like the modern pokemon era. now i understand more about character design and i appreciate more some designs

id say my favorite gens of design are 3 and 7 with a sprinkle of every other gen lol

Seeing the process of this video, how it was born and where it ended up was so exciting! I'm so happy with this end result! Can't wait for more!!

im a pokemon designer just purely as a hobby, and ive dedicated HOURS to studying the style(s) of pokemon and replicating them throughout their different eras. this is without competition the best breakdown ive seen, and it makes me want to revisit my old (and current, lol) designs with a renewed knowledge of what makes them tick!! great video!

Really appreciate your insight and approach here! Would love to hear you break down more of their design work, ecology, or anything that catches your eye! Thanks for a great video!

You mentioning real gems in the abstract era and showing my #1, Maractus ❤

Really enjoyable video ! I think I've gained a more solid appreciation for the modern era. I do hope you get around to making a video on the Ultra-Beasts, I think they're extremely interesting with how much they push the boundaries.

I was just looking into the differences between styles and came across this video! It's a wonderful breakdown of the design principles and gives a good explanation for why things have gone to a much cuter visual format. I think naming it the "plushie era" is incredibly apt! I grew up at the optimal time for Pokemon's release (I was 10 when red and blue came out) so it's certainly a franchise I'll love forever, and it's fun to see how it's grown since it's inception. I'm partial to the earlier, more natural designs myself, but this later era is nice visually too. I'll be certain to incorporate some of these techniques in my own work in the future. Thanks for the great vid!

Very nice analysis. I'm personally one of those people who kinda prefers a mix of the later "classic era" designs with a majority of the "abstract era," but I've had many favorites across all eras. Especially loved hearing you touch on some of the creature design elements, like weighting, color usage, and finding the focal point. Would love to hear you touch on Megas, Ultra Beasts, and Gigantamax in terms of design.

Good overview! Design wise, gen 1’s shapes and relatability make it my fav!

This was a very well done video. My favorite Era is the Abstract Era, it's the one I grew up with. So I guess that's why lol, Gen 5 Specifically.

I would appreciate a lot more pokemon themed videos, this franchise has a lot to offer when bringing the design topic

2:23 this kangaskan for me is so cute it's so happy it looks so friendly to me you know, i can't say for sure but i like it brings me happy feelings look at it :)

This was outstanding! Thanks for clearly putting in so much time and thought into this. It really shows!

You taught me some design principles! It's really helped me clarify my own design goals in my head. I also appreciate Empoleon's design concept and strategy so much more with the explanation provided in the video.

this is the best video on youtube. thank you so much for this breakdown

I actually grew up with the series, having been given a Gameboy Color for my 6th birthday back in 1999 and with it a copy of Red, but though I'm an old fan I can't dent my preference towards the newer generation designs. Of course, I'm not saying Gen 1-4 were bad, they were all good, but as an adult who loves stirring up those imaginative juices for stories, seeing them being more creative with their designs has been a treat. The Ultra Beasts in particular blow my mind in 2016; they looked so alien and unlike other pokemon. But one of my favorites has to be Eternatus, that Lovecraftian beast made my jaw hit the floor when I saw it for the first time. I remember thinking "Is this really a pokemon?", but it was, and it looked amazing.

Really good video :) , I havent seen many people cover weighting in designs so this was very useful ! thank you :)

I think its also telling that the 2nd most profitable franchise is hello kitty, you can tell pokemons over time been taking cues from sanrio and making more “cutesy” and pastel merch in the plushie era compared to the more “boy” merch of the earlier gens

I’ve been looking for good videos on Pokémon design and this is one of the best I’ve found so far, thank you!

this was very insightful, thanks for the breakdown! :)

Venonat has a far less cluttered design than Aromatisse. Venonat’s fur is more jagged, but it is consistent and does not distract the eye. The contrast between the smooth and jagged fur of Aromatisse pulls my eye in different directions making it unpleasant to look at.

This was a really informative and interesting! Pokemon has gone through such a big journey and I love to see people analyzing that journey. Definitely subscribing for more content like this!

I’d love to be a creature designer. I love art as much as I love architecture so it was a difficult choice to make. I ended up choosing the one that’ll be the easiest to get a career 😅

i LOVE this video, and checked your channel to see its your second one, THIS level of production value is AMAZING

This is an awesome analysis video. I would love to see a part 2

Really really good video man, keep it up!

Man the difference between blitzle and ponyta.. that's what kills me

Probably the best video I’ve found on Pokémon designs, thanks for the vid

One of the best examples of contrast done right is definitely the Gen 2 Gastly family, _especially_ Gengar. That thing really lives up to it's category of "Shadow Pokemon", being almost entirely black, with evil red eyes and a pale white grin, plus some purple highlights.

15:52 Pokémon has made 800 million dollars from the anime? That’s wild

I've been waiting for this video for about 12 years, and it's as great as I ever dreamed.

Great analysis and very well put together. Came by this video randomly but a definite subscribe.

Fantastic analysis in this video! Thanks for sharing your insight :)

This is such a great video. Johto has my favorite designs out of all the gens. It keeps gen 1's quaint, somewhat naturalistic and angular design and makes them so colorful and vibrant. I recognize that in the newer gens (esp the abstract era) really cool design choices were made and that there was a lot of thought and creativity put into aforementioned designs, and yet... my favorite pokemon is a pile of vines. I wish all the "purely cool" amd intentionally super-cute designs would resonate with me as much as the slightly goofy ones but they just don't I'm a bit scared of being perceived as a genwunner (despite not even being alive during the nineties) because of that, but oh well. To each their own. Or maybe I just prefer the og retro artstyle and not the designs themselves, who knows Edit: Shoutout to the Reggies, the Golett line, the Venipede line, the Meltan line, the Honedge line and the Drifloon line, though!

This is a great video! Does a good job explaining art and design principles without being overwhelming! Would love to see that video about the "alternate" forms like z-moves and the like.

Good call in the conclusion. Paradox Pokemon are clearly Gen 9's answer to how to create an appealing twist to designs without radically shifting the core principles. They'll likely continue to introduce gimmicks like this in each generation (Mega, Dynamax, Paradox, etc.) to push the design language and gameplay features without having to make any permanent changes to the core formula.

I greatly enjoyed listening to your analysis. I'm an aspiring concept artist and it's great to hear your thoughts as a professional. As someone who grew up with the franchise, I've always appreciated the newer and innovated designs of newer Pokemon. It'd be super interesting to hear your thoughts on Gen 9's roster! Also, I just discovered your art and I'm loving what I see! Can't wait to dive into your work some more! 😍

Interesting! Seeing videos like this explains why I like the original so much more than the new Pokemon. They look like actual living creatures and not plushies. Plushies migjt be fine for something like Neopets but it looks so strange when placed in a real world setting.

This a really well made video, and thanks to it, i finally figured out why i always had the feeling that a lot of designs felt to cutsey or soft, in their shape language or how some pokemons feel a lot less "animalistic" Also i assume that they based this Pokemon in a actual sea slug called sea bunny 16:21 lol

What a great in-depth video! Really opened my eyes on the design choices they made and why, like the example between ponyta and blitzle! Obviously, I love the quaint look of the early designs as they’re reminiscent of real animals, but I also love the abstract era as they can get more creative of what a pokemon can be! As no surprise, the plushie era might not be my fav as the rounded features can get repetitive. I remember seeing a tweet criticizing the mouth style between alolan raichu and meowth compared to the original counterparts as being too simple and now I can’t stop thinking about that when I see them. I think it’s a little concerning when designs get more corporate, but i understand why as they wanna appeal to younger audiences! I’d say it can hinder future designs, but I’m sure they know what they’re doing when they still make cool original pokemon like Dragapult (and I’m a sucker for Appletun tbh) But anyways those are just those thoughts as I started playing pokemon with Sapphire and FireRed.

This video essay is so cohesive, entertaining and interesting at the same time!

The best video I’ve seen in a while about Pokemon.

This was a really interesting and well made video. For me, I find all 3 of these eras to have unique qualities that make me love them all, I can't say for certain which one i like the most. They all have their unique identity and charm and none of these are superior to one another, just different. (For me atleast)

I knew every generation "felt" different but I couldn't verbalize or even cognize how - I just chalked it up to different directors and designers' personal styles, but seeing it as eras of design evolution based on that basest driving form of innovation, marketing... well, it puts things into perspective and confirms a lot of my intuited guesses. As someone who literally counted Pokemon as my (only) friends in childhood, I've learned to embrace the "new" generations with "aww, that's kinda nice" sort of detached mindset and just enjoy the cute pageantry of it all. I wasn't sure you were going to make more videos because it'd been quite a while, glad you're sticking around. As someone who really appreciates good design/engineering (in whatever discipline I find them in), I'm glad you can help me name a lot of what I just vaguely grasp at. How about a video idea? I was playing Hades and pondering all the "new" Shin Megami Tenseis and thought - the same mythical and historical figures can be interpreted in a variety of ways depending on authorial intent and the zeitgeist of the week - how does that extend to their visual design?

Great video Sam! I'd love to hear your take on Monster Hunter creature design as well, there's a lot to unpack there!

Really interesting vid. I enjoyed your analysis a lot.

Amazing video great work!

beautiful video, easy to understand and clear

Thank you for this video! It was very informative! 🥰

this was really interesting!

fantastic video!

i feel like the open world pokemon games from now on might have a new art style to convey that there living creatures in a open world and there might be new design philosophies due to that

Great video man

This is the most unique video ive seen on Pokemon.

While we are no longer their key demographic, our generation continues to support this franchise. Just like we should not complain when they don't specifically go out of their way to appeal to just us, they should remember we do not have to buy their merchandise. If they forget us completely, they may find fewer people buying their goods. Just look at Star Wars and Marvel...

Imagine "Who's that Pokemon" without distintive silhouettes

This is a really amazing video.

Loving your vids, dude! This was pretty interesting to watch, I hope you cover ultra beasts because their designs are wacky as hell. XD

NICE!!! Thank you!

Thank you. I've always said that about generation 4.

A good number of my favorite designs are actually from gens 6 and 7, despite having grown up with the series. Many Pokémon fans around my age seem to feel that Pokémon design has gone downhill, and have very rigid ideas of what makes them "good" or "bad". They tend to favor more simple, aggressive looking designs that are essentially animals with a bit of color or flare to them to them to qualify them as fantasy monsters. They look down upon Pokémon that aren't strictly androgynous looking or anthropomorphized in any way. They dislike what they call "Pokémon with jobs", referring to Pokémon with concepts based on professions considered artistic and creative that require certain talent. They say that they are unable to picture these Pokémon as individuals with personalities. It feels like there's no room for creativity, for uniqueness, for Pokémon based on concepts or mythology rather than animals with elements slapped onto them. Pokémon fans no longer have the depth of imagination to project onto anything but the most blank slate of Pokémon designs, and blame the designs rather than their own lack of imagination.

Oh neat another vid.

This is a great video, very clear even for people like me who know nothing about art. One criticism I would have though, about the era you call the "plushie" era (when the art style goes corporate as you state in the video) is that it breaks away from the world it was born from. While pokemon started as an original concept, a new world with interesting, varied and expressive creatures that were made to fill up an imaginary world, I get the impression that the creatures being created now are not made to fill up an imaginary world, but very real bedrooms. Those of the children the plushies are going to be sold to. What I mean is: the imaginary was the fuel. Now the profit is. Of course that doesn't mean the art has become bad, or the concept less captivating. But the approach bothers me. I guess it's because I'm getting older.

I love most gen 4 pokemon designs. Gens 1, 2 and 4 are my favorite; gens 3, 7 and 8 are a mixed bag for me and gens 5 and 6 mostly suck imo.

Great video! you produce quality content, excited to see what you do next. One thing though, when mentioning gimmicks why did you mention ultra beasts instead of regional variants? Ultra beasts are for all intents and purposes just regular pokemon with a bit more out-there designs (still worth talking about but not really fitting with the point you were making about different forms to keep things interesting), while regional variants pretty much embody the idea you pointed out about keeping designs fresh (for example it's turned some pokemon I've never really cared about like Marowak or corsola into some of my absolute favorite). In my opinion it's the perfect example of how to modify designs in that way, much better in overall quality than megas and g-max because the inspirations for the designs tend to be more thought-out due to needing to make sense within the context of the region. (Just my opinion).

Counter argument for Gen 4: Munchlax came from it.

great productionvalue and breakdown

interesting idea for a youtube channel. I'm eager to learn more about the designs in videogames.

I mean.. I might not be the target audience anymore but I have a feeling adults are the ones actually BUYING most of the merchandise.. sooo.. meh.. my nephews favorite Pokémon are mostly gen 1-4 because that’s the majority of Pokémon merch I own that he sees. He’s only 9 but he can see the clear difference in styles and his most used phrase for the plushie era is “aunt Susie that’s for baby’s”

I wish I found this earlier, like, this was uploaded right on my birthday.

yh your really just reminded me how peak gen 7's designs were. IMO best pokemon designs in the new era (second to megas but overall gen 7>gen 6). Gen 7 was on par with the heavy hitter of the middle era like gen 3 and gen 4 in terms of designs

I still love the first 3 gens, specially Hoenn, but I really love the Pokemon designs from the current era (gen 6 to now) I dont care what people say, I grew up since it beginnings in Gen 1, so its not like I grew up gen 6 to be bias with my opinion. Both Gen 4 and 5 were the point that I almost fell of from Pokemon, I did bought the games, but hardly played them, gen 6 brought me back and while I still didn’t exactly love the game I felt it more fresh than the pseudo-reboot of Gen 5, but gen 7 is the one I really enjoyed Pokemon again and both Gen 8 and 9 continued with trend. The other day I was doing the list of favorite Pokemon from each type and most are from gen 6 onwards, and for example even though I love Gardevoir design I still prefer the Mega-Gardevoir design

Exactly what we were told at school! Most big franchises are focused on designing characters for toys, not for the games/movies. Cant really blame them, they got to earn their money in some way haha. Amazing video Sam!! You really gave me so much inspiration for new projects!

Video: these new Pokemon are supposed to be more recognizable for children. Children: I never seen these Pikachus in my life.

You just got a new subscriber

Bro just casually dropped a banger and dissapeared

Sweet Video Bro