Talented Pokemon Fan Redesigns Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur

The Artist's Redesigns

A particularly creative Pokemon fan and artist is garnering quite a hefty amount of attention for their impressive redesigns of Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur. The classic evolutionary line - one of the most recognizable in the franchise - has been tweaked or updated in a variety of ways, and is being met with an overwhelmingly positive reception.

Some of the very first Pokemon created in the entire long-running franchise, the dual-type Grass/Poison trio also hold the spots of the first three entries in the National Pokedex. While the massive fan-favorite Pokemon were initially unavailable in the new Gen 9 twin titles, players can finally catch Bulbasaur and its evolutions in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet a year after their release, thanks to the recently launched The Indigo Disk DLC.

The creative redesigns of Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur come from a Reddit user vomitfrog, who posted their drawings of the creatures onto one of the site's primary Pokemon pages. The artwork largely retains each of the Pokemon's original designs, but with several noticeable changes. Bulbasaur appears more infantile than before, with seemingly shorter limbs and a lack of claws or teeth. The Ivysaur features a more aggressive look than its predecessor, sporting a pair of horns akin to a horned toad, along with a more pronounced bud stem.

The Venusaur redesign is perhaps the most drastic, although it is still instantly recognizable as the powerful Pokemon. This version features some sort of scaling around its legs and ears compared to its usual small bumps. In addition to a more angular head, the redesign adds a second set of horns which are smaller than the first. The biggest change is arguably Venusaur's flower, which features a more frayed edge and purple splotches throughout. One of the most common compliments according to the post's comments section is that it was painted in the original Ken Sugimori watercolor style of Pokemon.

Reddit quote is loading

The post on Reddit

Emulating the Art Style

Regarded by many Pokemon fans as the franchise's overall best art style, Sugimori's signature watercolor Pokemon artwork has seemingly seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years, with many fans trying their hand at emulating it. For example, one Pokemon fan recreated Baxcalibur in the old-school art style, creating a unique blend of a Gen 9 Pokemon redrawn in the original Gen 1 motif.

Creative Re-typing

In addition to being reimagined with updated designs, Pokemon fans have been flexing their creative muscle with complete re-typing. One imaginative fan redesigned Bulbasaur as a Rock/Fire-Type, turning it and its evolutions into lava-spewing monsters with stone skin. Considering how popular the evolutionary line has always been, it should be exciting to see what type of fan art is created for them next.