One artistically talentedPokemonfan created a short video showing what he thinks Lechonk fromPokemon ScarletandVioletwould have looked like if it had been designed for Gen 1. This is one part of a larger series showing howvarious Gen 9 Pokemonmight have looked in the Generation 1 art style.
Lechonk is the grey and brown Hog Pokemon introduced in Generation 9. Players will find it roaming the Paldea region in 2022’sPokemon ScarletandViolet. A Normal-type Pokemon resembling a pig, its Abilities include Aroma Veil or Gluttony and the Hidden Ability Thick Fat. Lechonk can evolve into the more powerful Oinkologne starting at level 18.
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TikTok user pokeillustrator shared a video showing his idea of whatPokemon ScarletandViolet’s Lechonkmight have looked like ifPokemon’s lead artist Ken Sugimori and his team had created it in 1995. The retro-inspired Lechonk is a lighter shade of grey and lacks the brown circle on its face. It still has the brown tips on its ears, but they are longer, thinner, and swept slightly to the side. Its nose is flatter, giving pokeillustrator’s Lechonk a more ball-like shape, and the artist redrew its pink hooves as white. The Italian fan artist also redrew Lechonk’s eyes to be black dots, with the yellow under its eyes simplified into dots.
Pokeillustrator has an entire series of videos showing how he thinks assorted Gen 9 pocket monsters would look in anearlier generation’sart style. Some of these redesigns are even more radical than what pokeillustrator did with Lechonk. For example, Scarlet and Violet’s ridable Pokemon Cyclizar and Koraidon had their tires reduced to black patches on their necks. The latter was also fatter in pokeillustrator’s version. Many of his other illustrations lean closer to the realistic animal side of Pokemon designs, downplaying Gen 9’s more cartoonish aspects. Quaxly, Fuecoco, and Greavard are among the most extreme examples, having their oversized aspects shrunk to a more plausible scale.
Pokeillustrator’s version of Lechonk is something of an exception in this regard, keeping essentially the same proportions. His Lechonk is also much cuter than its cannon counterpart, losing the Gen 9 Pokemon’s somewhat tired expression. The retro artwork additionally looks flatter than the original, lacking the modern design’s more elaborate use of shadows and perspective. Overall, it’s a good recreation of the art style used in earlierPokemoncards andthe first few seasons of thePokemonAnime.
Pokemon ScarletandVioletis available on Nintendo Switch.
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