Pokemon is one of Nintendo's biggest IPs, which has grown into a worldwide phenomenon over the past few decades. Following the hype surrounding the latest mainline games in the series, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are finally out, bringing forth a whole new region for players to explore and 107 new Pokemon to catch and train. These games have marked a new milestone for the Pokemon franchise, as for the first time ever, players can roam about in a fully open-world Pokemon region and encounter Pokemon in the overworld.
While there are hundreds of returning Pokemon that can be encountered in the Paldea Region, the backbone of the game's success remain all the new interesting designs that GameFreak has created. Like all generations before, Paldea has a good mix of new Pokemon designs, with most of them having been well-received. Here is a look at five of the best new Pokemon designs from the Generation 9 games that are based on animals.
5 Espathra (Ostrich)
Generation 9 has brought Pokemon fans another ostrich Pokemon in the form of Espartha. This flightless bird has one of the most intriguing designs out of all the new Pokemon introduced in Scarlet and Violet. Espartha is a pure Psychic type Pokemon, whose design takes inspiration from the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra.
It has a light purple body, covered with white fur and orange wings. It also has yellow hangings on top of its fur, resembling a Queen's attire. Its eyes have a strikingly beautiful blue color, which really gives it a ferocious look. Espathra has a base stat total of 480, with a high-speed stat of 105.
4 Great Tusk (Mammoth)
In addition to Paldean Forms, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have also introduced Paradox forms for Pokemon, which are either the past or future versions of an existing Pokemon. One of the best Paradox designs belongs to Great Tusk, which is an an ancient relative of Donphan. Great Tusk is based off of Mammoths in real life, as evident by its humungous tusks.
It has a grey body, with thick purple plates stretching from its trunk to its tail. Additionally, there are red accents all over its body which really adds a great contrast to the overall design. Great Tusk is a Fighting/Ground type Pokemon with a solid base stat total of 570. Great Tusk can be encountered as one of the five Titan Pokemons in the game, but is exclusive to the Scarlet version.
3 Chien Pao (Snow Leopard)
Chien-Pao is one of the four legendary Pokemon called the Treasures of Ruin and is a Dark/Ice type. The name Chien-Pao is possibly a combination of two Chinese words, Jian meaning sword, and Bao meaning leopard. Chien-Pao has a menacing design that is obviously based off of a combination between a snow leopard and a saber tooth.
It has a white body covered with blue dots, and two swords hanging from its mouth mimicking the fangs of a saber tooth. It is said that the hatred of people perished by the swords in its mouth gave this Pokemon a form. Chien-Pao has a base stat total of 570 which includes a high base speed stat of 135.
2 Skeledirge
The new starters are all a treat to look at, but out of the three, Fuecoco's evolutionary line is simply the most creative and attractive design-wise. Skeledirge is a Fire/Ghost type crocodilian Pokemon, and the final evolved form of Fuecoco. It has a 530 base state total with a high special attack of 110. The red and white color scheme on Skeledrige's body really highlights its typing. Its shiny form replaces all the red with a bright pink color, giving it a vibrant look.
Skeledirge is also known as the singing Pokemon due to its love for singing. Its head is also home to a little fiery bird which starts out as an egg on Crocalor's head but gains a separate soul upon evolving and then it starts to coexist with Skeledirge. It has a very strong typing and access to some pretty powerful moves like overheat, and shadow ball. It also has its own signature moves called the Torch Song.
1 Palafin
After decades of uproar, GameFreak finally listened to Pokemon fans and introduced a dolphin pokemon for the very first time. Palafin is the evolved form of Finizen, both of whom basically have the same light blue color scheme and design, with the exception that Palafin has a heart on its underside. But there is more to this fish than what meets the eye. Palafin has a unique ability called Zero to Hero which allows it to change its from and turn into a super-dolphin.
Palafin's Hero form has a base stat total of 670, making it one of the strongest non-legendary Pokemon ever. But to access this form, players have to first use Palafin in battle and then switch it out. Upon Plafin's re-entry into the battle, it will have gained its Hero form. This is a very fun gimmick added to an already unique Pokemon design, making Palafin the best new Pokemon design to come out of Generation 9. It also has a cool shiny form as well, where the Zero form has a light purple color scheme, while the Hero form gains a black and blue contrast.