It happens every generation, Gamfreak tries to rehash the greatest hits using traits of other pokemon to try and make another hit that will spark further fandom and recognition of their current Pokemon game.
While this generation seems to have more Gen 4-6 inspiration, you can still find inklings and traits of the vintage classics of Gen 1. Gaefreak may have dropped it with the animation of Sword and Shield, it definitely was no Breath Of the Wild like Pokemonfans hoped for, but they provided some interesting current takes on Gen 1 pokemon. So here are 10 Galerian from Pokemon Sword & Shield that obviously take from the classic gen.
11 Nickit = Vulpix
Nickit is like the skinny malnourished version of Vulpix. You can tell it’s tiny so it brings out that cute feeling but it looks quite similar to Vulpix even in default stance. Nickit looks much more cat-like and a combo of Fenican in a more sly way. It has more the feeling of Sly Cooper but with a lot more sass. Big surprise that it’s a fire type, almost like red-foxes are turning into a stereotype.
10 Chewtle = Squirtle
Think Squirtle but a jackass, like most snapping turtles. Makes sense creating a snapping turtle pokemon but it’s funny that it has to be blue, to make nostalgia go nuts and love the snapping little dirtbag because he reminds you of your starter, but it’s certain Chewtle doesn’t like you the same way. You’re just the weirdo who beat the heck out of it one day and now it follows you around while you poke at it with a feather duster. Or you’re just very chewy lunch for it.
9 Yamper = Growlith
An electric dog that’s supposed to draw your eyes to it to make money off of merchandise. It a sort of mix of a Wiener dog, Pikachu, and Growlithe. It makes no sense why there has to be one dog pokemon per generation, in no place on earth is there only one type of dog, this is especially true for a nation whose motto is “Gotta’ Catch Em All!”
It’s disappointing of Gamefreak to not a special dog trainer whose whole team is dog pokemon. This is just an outdated practice of Gamefreak to only bring in one dog a region and made even worse without the National Dex.
8 Morpeko = Pikachu
Oh boy, Pikachu cloned itself again, and it’s another angry little chipmunk that’s ticked off that it looks like a Pikachu. Another Gamfreak-ism to copy Pikachu in every region so that anything related to a common rodent automatically makes the region a walking death trap of electrocution. Thus one feels more like a gen 6 Pokemon where they tried to force it then give it a gimmick. It even comes with electric pouches.
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6 Tympole = Poliwag
Tympole follows much the same formula for Poliwag being a first form frog Pokemon, but in design also resembles Poliwag more than it needs to. Multiple variations of animals in real life happen but talking an art form such as Pokemon where there trying to come up with a memorable things like similar colors and similar design choices like the concentration of the Pokemon being based around the big circle on the body with a face that’s also on it take away its individualism. The colors are also very derivative with the blue body and white tail.
5 Seismitoad = Politoad/Poliwrath
Seiesmitoad is another fighting frog and much like Gamefreak thought they missed out on making one out of Politoad and have been regretting the mistake ever since by making more fighting frogs or most any final form frog type pokemon into a fighting frog. It’s design is much like Politoad but with similar type to Poliwrath. It’s hard to understand why in the Pokemon universe Gamefreak has to make every frog a fighter who wants to deck you.
4 Blipbug = Caterpie
It’s just Harry Potter-pie or a literal book worm black Caterpie. An interesting combination but it’s reference to Caterpie, and maybe even Weedle, is obvious in the design: the big head, big eyes, stringy body with little dots for feet, and an arrow on the head. Again for a bug type, it’s wishful that they would have more of a bug appearance rather than pasty palette and set dimensions to help add more variety. It simply looks like a geeky Caterpie with a bowtie, cute and all but not very memorable.
3 Corvisquire = Pidgeotto
Much like the first gen, and like in all gens, Covisquire is this region’s 3 evolution bird pokemon. Corvisquire looks stunningly like just a dark or evil Pidgeotto, to the point where you could get away with calling it a Galarian form of Pidgeotto.
While ravens and crows are cool, it loses that with extra colors such as the blue which loses the visual look if you don’t know what a Corvid is and what it means. It looks very close to a Pidgeotto mixed with a Spearow with a bucket of black paint thrown over the amalgamation.
2 Coalossal = Golem
Another pokemon you could argue is simply a Galarian form with its similarities to Golem. It looks like a standing Rhyperior combined with a Golem to get this Pokemon. Of the evolutionary chain that’s similar to the Geodude line this form really strikes it as looking like a similar form from the angular head, rocky features, the roundness of its body, the hunched over neck, and mouth shape really give it that Golem look. Slap a coat of coal on a Golem raised in a mineshaft and this thing would be what sees the light of day.
1 Indeedee = Chansey
Literally, another Chansey style blob that will become a Chansey replacement on the Pokemon television show. Oddly enough sticking with the dark tone palette that all the other non-gen 1 pokemon seem to go by, with a bunch of nearly black colors combined with lighter highlights. It’s a funny thing having the National Dex cut but still have copy pokemon throughout the game of pokemon that aren’t in the generation. It’s starting to feel like a “here’s my OC pokemon” scenario, but instead the fans usually have a lot of genuine creativity in their designs. Indeedee is reminiscent of another Chancey replacement making this Pokemon another Galarian form given its own name again.
NEXT: The 10 Best Dark Type Pokemon
