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Regional Variants/Alolan Forms Discussion Thread

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Blue Saturday

Unfurl your Blessed Wings!
Honestly, not gonna front, Marowak and Meowth are both pretty passive design changes. This is something I feared, these Alola forms would only go to Gen1 'mon in an effort to make them more relevant and possibly reel in nostalgics while putting little amount of effort into many differences for these forms. It almost seems like something that could be done to possibly appeal to GO fans in a sense. Unfortunately these Alola forms clearly mean the Gen1 dickriding ain't ending any seen and I had enough fanservice / gen-shilling to last a lifetime in Gen6. I really wanted Alola to most stand on its own feet and not piggyback off past regions and their Pokemon to mainly generate hype and activity.

On the other side of the coin, despite Alola Meowth being just a color swap of Meowth, I do like the lore attached to it about it being the color it is due to royalty on Alola breeding them that way. Literally reminds me of Purrloin, cat, walks on hind legs, troublemaker, purple.
 

radjess331

Reptile Keeper
But Cobras don't detach their tails. Their defense against mongoose is venom and their size.

Cobras aren't colubrids so they don't strangle prey or predators.

Cobras rely solely on their venom.

If Arbok had to adapt it would either get camo that keeps it hidden or bigger fangs or stronger venom to be able to take down predators.
 

Thepowaofhax

Well-Known Member
But Cobras don't detach their tails. Their defense against mongoose is venom and their size.

Cobras aren't colubrids so they don't strangle prey or predators.

Cobras rely solely on their venom.

If Arbok had to adapt it would either get camo that keeps it hidden or bigger fangs or stronger venom to be able to take down predators.

Do Pangolins live in the middle of arctic-like conditions? Do real foxes spew fire? Do snakes/glass lizards have the power to shoot a large amount of leaves with large amounts of powers? Do sandcastles trap creatures in real life and sap out their life? No? So does it really matter if an Alolan form doesn't make sense, or new Pokemon for that matter?
 

XXD17

Draco rex
Marowak sure (different color and a overall thinner body plus a mark on its forehead), but the only changes to Meowth appear to be color and slightly smaller eyes (and that's assuming the eyes don't look bigger when they are wide open). Sandshrew and Sandslash got a good deal more than that (the coating of ice armor for both, ice ears for Sandshrew and the curved claws for Sandslash).

Not saying its a bad thing, but Alolan Meowth is definately the most minimalistic when it comes to the changes in Alolan forms thus far.

Honestly, I'm holding out for Alolan persian...if it looks distinguished enough, I will look past Alolan meowth for looking underwelming...

Seems like Pokemon Blue exclusives have Alolan Forms: Meowth, Ninetales, Sandslash. I hope Victreebel and Magmar would have one too.

If this means anything, I hope these are exclusive to one game and have their counterparts from Red exclusive to the other...that means primeape, ARCANINE and arbok....

Honestly, not gonna front, Marowak and Meowth are both pretty passive design changes. This is something I feared, these Alola forms would only go to Gen1 'mon in an effort to make them more relevant and possibly reel in nostalgics while putting little amount of effort into many differences for these forms. It almost seems like something that could be done to possibly appeal to GO fans in a sense. Unfortunately these Alola forms clearly mean the Gen1 dickriding ain't ending any seen and I had enough fanservice / gen-shilling to last a lifetime in Gen6. I really wanted Alola to most stand on its own feet and not piggyback off past regions and their Pokemon to mainly generate hype and activity.

On the other side of the coin, despite Alola Meowth being just a color swap of Meowth, I do like the lore attached to it about it being the color it is due to royalty on Alola breeding them that way. Literally reminds me of Purrloin, cat, walks on hind legs, troublemaker, purple.

It's also a reference to artificial selection, which is a variant of natural selection (which may result in adaptation), which may ultimately lead to evolution (like actual evolution rather than the pokemon version) which seems to be a major theme in ton of these pokemon Alolan form or not...
 
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Thepowaofhax

Well-Known Member
Honestly, I'm holding out for Alolan persian...if it looks distinguished enough, I will look past Alolan meowth for looking underwelming...

I might use Alolan Meowth anyways. It looks like my cat in real life, minus the cream colored spots on my cat.
 
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Bguy7

The Dragon Lord
I had really hoped GF would not push the dead mother thing further with alolan marowak, even though once I saw fire type I knew, in my heart of hearts, that they were going to shove her into a volcano or something. Last chance, holding out hope for a became a ghost type so it could not be easily killed and then stay with babies.... but I'm not holding my breath.

The personal theory I have right now is that predators are the reason a Cubone's mother dies, so this change to be resistant to predators would help it live, so you're not to far off if I'm right. It's also possible that the Ghost-Type just has nothing to do with the Gen I ghost at all. The type might just come from correlation between bones and the dead, and therefor ghosts.

That being said, I'm not sure I see the problem. Cubone's dead mother is the centerpoint of the Pokemon's lore. It's in literally every one of its Pokedex descriptions, and manifests itself in the physical design of the Pokemon itself via the skull and bone club. Asking Game Freak to not push it is like asking them not to push the fact that Groudon can expand the land or Kyogre the sea.
 

JVLightningLover

Veteran Trainer
Honestly, not gonna front, Marowak and Meowth are both pretty passive design changes. This is something I feared, these Alola forms would only go to Gen1 'mon in an effort to make them more relevant and possibly reel in nostalgics while putting little amount of effort into many differences for these forms. It almost seems like something that could be done to possibly appeal to GO fans in a sense. Unfortunately these Alola forms clearly mean the Gen1 dickriding ain't ending any seen and I had enough fanservice / gen-shilling to last a lifetime in Gen6. I really wanted Alola to most stand on its own feet and not piggyback off past regions and their Pokemon to mainly generate hype and activity.

On the other side of the coin, despite Alola Meowth being just a color swap of Meowth, I do like the lore attached to it about it being the color it is due to royalty on Alola breeding them that way. Literally reminds me of Purrloin, cat, walks on hind legs, troublemaker, purple.

I don't see passive changes, I see clever ones.

Alolan Meowth is a reference to the American Russian Blue. You see, after World War II, the Russian Blue (a breed of bluish gray cats) was brought stateside. However, its numbers were limited, so the modern Russian Blue was bred via cross-breeding with none other than the Siamese cat, which serves as the basis for Meowth and Persian alongside the maneki neko. All that being said, the Russian Blue is still a somewhat rare breed, which could explain why the Alola Royal Family value their particular breed of Meowth.

As for Alolan Marowak, I enjoy the thin, almost zombie-like design. As far as I can tell, it is based of the Hawaiian myth of the "Nightmarchers". The Nightmarchers are the spirits of departed warriors, that appear bearing torches during the nights of Kane, Ku, Lono, Akua, or Kaloa (those are different phases of the Hawaiian lunar calendar). They are also said to appear before their relatives, even during the day, when it is time to guide them into the afterlife, which connects back to Marowak's connection to Cubone.

All in all, I like the direction they took. They may seem subtle, but clearly a lot of thought went into these new designs. I say kudos to Game Freak on this one!

But Cobras don't detach their tails. Their defense against mongoose is venom and their size.

Cobras aren't colubrids so they don't strangle prey or predators.

Cobras rely solely on their venom.

If Arbok had to adapt it would either get camo that keeps it hidden or bigger fangs or stronger venom to be able to take down predators.

I know cobras aren't colubrids, but I did take design elements from certain colubrids when designing its patterning. Besides, I was also drawing influence from Koga's Arbok in Pokemon Adventures, whose special pattern allowed it to regenerate, and who could control its detached tail, as well as Agatha's Arbok who had access to a pattern that granted improved Speed (which I used in my Alolan Arbok's design). I put a lot of different influences into my design to try and make something interesting, but you are entitled to your opinion :)
 
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Zaide

Well-Known Member
In a way, these Alolan forms are based on Darwin's theory of evolution, and the observations he has made. Based on this, one shouldn't expect too much non-passive differences - and yet, they still are doing a great job at not just changing small details, to give them a fresh breath while still keeping the original clearly recognizable. These changes are more than I would have expected had we been teased about Alolan forms earlier (without anything being revealed).
 

UmbrionKnight

Well-Known Member
I'm fine with these new forms, but there might be some designs that aren't that great. I believe Mega Aerodactyl needs redesigned for example (I don't think it has a good looking design), but you can't blame theme since it was a new thing that was being tried.

Another thing is that I hope that these new ideas don't eventually lead to a game formula that becomes too expanded and vast to function. If it gets too clogged up, it might lose the charm that it has carried. However, that probably won't happen for a long time.
 

G4Pokefan

THE AURA IS WITH ME
Wow! To those that guessed/were sure of the Meowth and Marowak changes and types I salute you! You hit it right on the nail!

The fish Pokemon though, its larger form could've easily been its evolved form, but hey. That's what GF wanted to do. We''ll see how this plays out!
 

Cuddy

Cyndaquil Master
I am wondering of if the Alolan's Cubone will only be a Cubone without the skull. It makes sense that Alolan's Marowak is already dead and the skull is still on it. The other thing is that mark on the Marowaks skull. What does it mean?

Another Question I am going to ask is what if they have a Alolan's Electabuzz or Magmar? Will they have the evolve forms and pre-evolve forms in Alolan style too?
 

JVLightningLover

Veteran Trainer
I am wondering of if the Alolan's Cubone will only be a Cubone without the skull. It makes sense that Alolan's Marowak is already dead and the skull is still on it. The other thing is that mark on the Marowaks skull. What does it mean?

Another Question I am going to ask is what if they have a Alolan's Electabuzz or Magmar? Will they have the evolve forms and pre-evolve forms in Alolan style too?

Excellent question. Well, Alolan Magmar seems like a strong possibility, given the prevalence of volcanoes in the region, but I see it having an Alola Form, and by extension Marmortar having an Alola Form, but not Magby. I love the little guy, but I think they'd want to keep Fire as a Type on the line, and keeping Magby untouched is an easy way to start that off. Here's one way I could see it going down:

Magmar: The hot, active volcano found on Akala Island serves as an ideal environment for Magmar. Do to the heat and magma it absorbed as a Magby, Alolan Magmar is far faster than its foreign counterpart, and is more resilient to physical attacks due to the earthen armor that formed on its skin as it bathed in waterfall-like outpourings of molten rock. The fresh magma coursing through its veins will seal up nearly any wound that is inflicted upon it.

Magmortar: It launches concentrated balls of magma at anything that dares intrude on its territory. Due to this protective nature and its intense power, the people of Alola fear Magmortar. In the days of old, those who lived near the volcano would throw sacrifices of Berries and valuables over its rim in hopes of appeasing the Magmortar that lived there.

Type: Fire/Ground

Ability: Regenerator

Hidden Ability: Competitive

HP: 75
ATK: 95
DEF: 83
SPA: 120
SPD: 57
SPE: 105

And it is sketch time! https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9ubJh8cUutBZkdjdDh4T1lOcTQ/view?usp=sharing
 

Sabre_King

Well-Known Member
I am wondering of if the Alolan's Cubone will only be a Cubone without the skull. It makes sense that Alolan's Marowak is already dead and the skull is still on it. The other thing is that mark on the Marowaks skull. What does it mean?

Another Question I am going to ask is what if they have a Alolan's Electabuzz or Magmar? Will they have the evolve forms and pre-evolve forms in Alolan style too?

Having Alola forms for the electabuzz and magmar lines would be awesome. I can possibly see the pre-evos inheriting an alola form as well, while the typings for each maybe switched, while each line also inherits a dual type such as the electabuzz becoming fire/rock due to the volcanoes and environment, while the magmar line would become electric/ice due to the one island containing a vast snowy area. That would be my predictions if the electabuzz and magmar lines receive alola forms.
 

2dtyplosion

Well-Known Member
The more gen 1 Alolan forms they reveal the more I'm starting to not care for them. X and Y were already a huge love letter to gen 1 and we'll probably get a ton more gen 1 alola forms instead of maybe giving gen 2 starters new forms.
 

Alexander18

Dragon Pokemon fan
Alola Kingdra - Ice/Dragon with Adaptability. Kingdra of Alola have adapted to ice cold temperatures in water due to an oil spill that happened which forces them away from their normal habitat.
If Kingdra line is confirmed to not have Alola form then replace it with Lapras or something.
 

applemania

Well-Known Member
Instead of Megas for the Johto starters, it would be interesting to give them all completely new types and not just shift the regular types around. The only other perfect circle is Flying/Fighting/Rock so i'd like to see:

Chikorita: Flying (with a giant feather sticking out of its head)
Totodile: Fighting
Cyndaquil: Rock (with gem shards jutting out of its back.)
 

Nunn

Pokermanz Meister!
Arbok: Typically, Arbok frighten any would be adversaries with their fearsome belly markings, and this held true in Alola for several years. However, when Gumshoos was introduced to the region, it was undeterred by this normally intimidating display, and it and Yungoos tore through the Arbok population of Melemele Island. This led to Alolan Arbok adapting means to outwit its newfound predators, notably a tear away tail it can detach at will should an enemy bite down on it. This loss of limb is no big deal to Arbok, as it can regrow its tail overnight.

Type: Poison/Dark

Ability: Infiltrator/Regenerator

Hidden Ability: Rattled

HP: 60
ATK: 85
DEF: 59
SPA: 40
SPD: 79
SPE: 115

And now the sketch :) https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9ubJh8cUutBT0VmU3NPNDRQWU0/view?usp=sharing

That's a very neat concept at all, but I don't see Gumshoos causing problems for Arbok, there is just too much of a size difference. And Gumshoos is an ambush predator, not really the type to quickly burn through another population.
 

Ichneumon

Active Member
Instead of Megas for the Johto starters, it would be interesting to give them all completely new types and not just shift the regular types around. The only other perfect circle is Flying/Fighting/Rock so i'd like to see:

Chikorita: Flying (with a giant feather sticking out of its head)
Totodile: Fighting
Cyndaquil: Rock (with gem shards jutting out of its back.)

I really like this idea and want it to be true.
 

RedJemFlash90

Johto champ
Alolan Marowak might be one of my fav designs ever, amazing. So far I'm loving this Alolan form concept way more than mega evolution. I hope the flying/fighting Dodrio and Fighting Abra end up being real
 

Sakuraba

Well-Known Member
Instead of Megas for the Johto starters, it would be interesting to give them all completely new types and not just shift the regular types around. The only other perfect circle is Flying/Fighting/Rock so i'd like to see:

Chikorita: Flying (with a giant feather sticking out of its head)
Totodile: Fighting
Cyndaquil: Rock (with gem shards jutting out of its back.)

I'm against this idea. For one reason.

As far as I understand it, Alolan forms aren't any stronger than regular forms. At least in numbers. An Alolan Marowak would still have the 425 BST of a regular Marowak, just rearranged. But Megas add a 100 BST to the Pokemon. Having the Johto starters with an A-Form would basically make them weaker than the Kanto/Hoenn starters.
 
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