003. Venusaur

Something happens when you get a third evolution, apparently. You get a 3D render for better or for worse. Venusaur to me has always been this lethargic, slow-moving, beast of a creature. As opposed to Ivysaur's problems with looking too much like a Bulbasaur or Venusaur, everyone seems to understand it's flattened body type.

The first card I want to point out is Mitsuhiro Arita's Base Set one. While I don't think it reads "Venusaur" all too well, there is something special (perhaps it's just nostalgia) about that fat, grotesque blob there. It looks so animalistic. A lot of pokémon designs give them an inherent character (as I mentioned in the Ivysaur post), whereas this illustration just makes it look like a basic creature. It's too charming to me.

Some other I want to just touch on are Shin-Ichi Yoshikawa's Expedition Base Set card and it's goofy fern hair. Hajime Kusajima's EX Crystal Guardians card has some nice things going for it but I feel the head is just off place. Finally, Masakazu Fukuda's Dark Explorers card just flat out looks like a knock off pokémon. It's probably just the style of it where it stops looking like fan art and starts looking like it's trying to be something else.

This is a great way to show a third evolution. It means business and it's coming at you. Those first two stages loved battling and enjoyed it, this one here needs to battle because it thrives off it. The great lighting, the nice use of color from the green focused Venusaur to the brown landscape and foliage. Wow is this a great illustration. The plant isn't even in it too much but that body just screams Venusaur.

This one's got a nice overhead view going for it, although I wish we were looking into the top of the plant more than we are. The little indications of a razor leaf are nice and it just feels like it's planted firmly on the ground. Again, the only thing that really bothers me is that the plant and the actual body seem to be at two different perspectives.

What? What the heck is going on with this weird green color that's used for the vines, leaves, and background? What'chu know about contrast? Not much apparently, there are splotches of color just everywhere. Your eye doesn't really know what to do or where to go when looking at it. Also, don't look at that mouth too much or you'll realize it's a tad lop-sided to the left.

Comment on your favorite, least favorite, and anything in between in the discussions.

002. Ivysaur

I enjoy Ivysaur's design but I feel compelled to mention that it skirts really close to just being a larger Bulbasaur. I have this thought in my head that when pokémon evolve they become larger but there's some key differences in their body design, but maybe I'm wrong. Regardless, it's obvious that the Ivysaur artists seem to have a little trouble finding what makes Ivysaur Ivysaur. It's body stretches out a little wider (although not as much as Venusaur), it get's some more weight to make it's body more stocky, and it seems to get a little more intimidation factor in the expression.

Some artists can really get show Ivysaur without relying on the plant. Ken Sugimori's base set, Hisao Nakamura's EX Crystal Guardians, Atsuko Nishida's EX FireRed & LeafGreen, and plenty others. If you cover up the plant you can still see an Ivysaur in there. They really understand the body type and rowdy-ness of it. 

On the other hand you get Mitsuhiro Arita's Intro Pack (which is a great looking card in it's own right, but relies on the plant), Sumiyoshi Kizuki's EX Crystal Guardians, and even Ken Sugimori's POP Series 2 all give off a fairly strong Bulbasaur vibe. If you covered up the plant you could probably get them confused fairly easily. Then you have the artists that get a little too closet to venusar: Midori Harada's POP Series 3 and Shin-Ichi Yoshida's Best of Game cards get them a little too fat and lethargic. 

So the head is a little elongated to give the impression of Ivysaur's body type but not too much to make it look like a Venusaur. The composition is great with the diagonal ground plane and Ivysaur bounding. throw in some, what I assume, streaks of wind and razor leaves and there you have it. This pokémon is battling and it loves what it's doing.

There was a couple I could consider for Runner-Up but ultimately I went with this one. I think Hisao Nakamura did a great job of showing an Ivysaur without relying on the plant. The body looks distinct enough from Bulbasaur and Venusaur's and it looks a little more rowdy, which is how I've always pictured the species. You've got a crazy tangent with the ear/right fern and the mountain but it's a good piece.

What is going on here? Some weird sideways kick? It's crazy flat and it just feels all around amateurish. It almost seems like someone saw the Bulbasaur line and wanted to use a similar idea for their hit new IP Compact Beasts. Since the art style is so simple it gives off this weird impression that it's Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur all in one.

Again, discuss your favorites, least favorites and anything in between in the comments.

001. Bulbasaur

So I'm going to preface this by saying that, as best as I can remember, my first Pokémon was Squirtle. Although I've been trying to retroactively change that to Bulbasaur. There's just something about a dinosaur-thing with a plant growing on his back. Whenever I've played a 1st Gen game recently, Bulbasaur was my choice.

As a whole, it's a pretty good set and a nice one to start off one. Nothing in particular grabs me and says "This is the best" but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There's a lot that I really like.

Mitsuhiro Arita's Bulbasaur from the base set is classic in that it was the first Bulbasaur card and that it's pose is really lively. Just by going off his illustrations for Bulbasaur here (Base Set, Intro Pack, Dark Explorers) it really shows his ability to give them energy and character.

There's some nice alternative art for Bulbasaur. Sachi Matoba's Expedition Base Set card really showcases some nice color and texture. Tomokazu Komiya's card is a fun look into Bulbasaur gathering sunlight. The vibrant orange sun contrasting with Bulbasaur's blue-green skin, not to mention that goofy, angry expression. Sumiyoshi Kizuki's EX Crystal Guardians card is a little too plain for me and I don't really like the outline texture used there.

All in all, I'm surprised there's only three cards utilizing Bulbasaur's vines. There's tons of opportunities to use those to help a composition and get some easy movement in the piece. But, hey, as the first pokemon, Bulbasaur's cards do a great job of showing the adventure that is yet to come.

I think this image sums up a lot about the magic of Pokémon. A strange creature with strange abilities, utilizing them for energetic combat. The slanted horizon line brings a lot of energy to the piece and the Bulbasaur moving with one foot on the ground only adds to that. I wish Naoyo Kimura would have utilized the vines a little more in the composition, breaking into those mountains, going out of the frame, etc., but in the end other than the space up top and the left vine/mountain almost making a tangent it works well. 

I kept going back to this card art but I just couldn't put it as the winner. The overhead perspective adds a great layer of actually looking down on one of these crazy creatures and the Bulbasaur looking ahead with that smirk puts it into a context that the viewer isn't fully aware of but the Bulbasaur looks content in what it's doing. Whether it's traversing the river on the adventure or gearing up for a battle, like with the previous card art, it shows a lot of the magic of Pokémon.

There were a few cards that battle for this spot. I'm not a huge fan of photo cards, either from the Pokémon Snap contest or just of statuettes (DPt-P Promotional cards). I'm also not a big fan of artwork just edited into a photo of flowers or the like (EX Team Magma vs. Team Aqua). Ken Sugimori's got some great Pokémon art, and he should considering he's the character designer and art director for the franchise, but this card just doesn't do it. A blown up image of one of his Bulbasaur drawings jammed into the frame and that weird movement(?) blur coming from it? It just looks stiff regardless.

Discuss your favorites, least favorites, and anything in between in the comments.