Pokemon fans are a creative lot, often cobbling together impressive creations to show off to other fans. With a franchise that's now more than two decades old, it's impressive that anyone can still come up with unique concepts for fan art, though a recent creation circulating on Reddit proves that the community isn't creatively tapped yet. In fact, this specific piece of art opens the door for an entirely new breed of Pokemon fan creations.
User Shunixe posted an image of a "Mecha Lugia" concept on r/Pokemon, a subreddit dedicated to the franchise where fans regularly share this sort of creation. Mecha Lugia is, of course, based on the Legendary Pokemon Lugia, who has become one of the most iconic creatures that the franchise has to offer since debuting in Pokemon: The Movie 2000.
Shunixe's design appears to be inspired by other popular mechanical creatures. Mecha Lugia is almost a cross between a Gundam and one of the robotic animals from Horizon Zero Dawn, with steel accents and an arrowhead pattern spreading throughout its wings and torso. There's even seemingly some Overwatch art inspiration in the creation, making the piece of artwork an impressive amalgamation of recent science fiction work.
Mecha Lugia (OC) from pokemon
While it isn't common, an armored Pokemon isn't unheard of. The Pokemon anime has shown armored Pokemon a few times in the past, though typically for nefarious purposes. The most famous of the bunch is undoubtedly Mewtwo, whose armored appearance has been shown in the first Pokemon movie and Detective Pikachu. Mecha Lugia has a lighter appearance, though, which makes it look a lot less threatening than the dark armored look that Mewtwo typically boasts.
Those that have chimed in on the creation in the comments have been almost universally positive. Most of the commenters picked up on the design influences, with the Horizon Zero Dawn art aesthetic being called out the most. The universal positivity has to be a reassuring sight for Shunixe, though, as fan art can garner some tough feedback from time to time.
The next Pokemon game goes in the complete opposite direction of this artwork, though. Pokemon Legends: Arceus will take gamers deep into the past, putting them in the shoes of the first Pokemon trainer. It's a departure for the series, showing the world of Pokemon in an entirely new light. While it's a walk back from the aesthetic that fans are used to, that might be a good thing.