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OshyHikari

c l a r i t y
Gardivoir and Machamp are Humanoid, this duck ain't. Idk why you guys throw that around with this but I feel ya'll don't know what it means in Pokemon.
Exactly. Just because a starter is bipedal, doesn’t mean it’s strictly humanoid. I blame the disaster that was the Galar starters for ingraining this horrid mindset.

Annoys me too how Skeledirge became the most popular Paldea stater because of the “at least it’s not a humanoid” excuse and being the long-awaited quadruped final stage Fire starter. To me, it’s my least fave because I just don’t like how blocky it looks, but I don’t treat it as objective facts.
 

Mythical-Moonlight

I just ran, I ran all Night and Day ~
What I would like though is to not have another cat/croc/bird/turtle choice. Go for something new. We haven't had a dog starter Pokemon as yet (Fennekin is a fox people. Not a dog. Vulpes vulpes). I think an elephant starter would be amazing, though we have now had two Paradox Elephant based Pokemon and an elephant in Gen 8 plus Gen 2's. So many potential new starter Pokemon, and we need something different.
I'm still surprised we don't have a legitimate Dog Starter yet. That seems like something we should've had years ago

I would personally like a Bat starter. With a Vampire/Dracula theme
Annoys me too how Skeledirge became the most popular Paldea stater because of the “at least it’s not a humanoid” excuse and being the long-awaited quadruped final stage Fire starter. To me, it’s my least fave because I just don’t like how blocky it looks, but I don’t treat it as objective facts.
Except I'm pretty sure Meowscarada is more popular than Skeledirge. (Just going off of how much fanart Meowscarada has compared to the other 2 and Meowscarada is also usually on top of every fan poll I've seen thus far)
 

Tsukuyomi56

Sky High Knight
Exactly. Just because a starter is bipedal, doesn’t mean it’s strictly humanoid. I blame the disaster that was the Galar starters for ingraining this horrid mindset.

Annoys me too how Skeledirge became the most popular Paldea stater because of the “at least it’s not a humanoid” excuse and being the long-awaited quadruped final stage Fire starter. To me, it’s my least fave because I just don’t like how blocky it looks, but I don’t treat it as objective facts.
Not sure whether it is due to Gen 7 and 8 tossing us humanoid-ish final starter evolutions with Incineroar, Primarina, Cinderace and Inteleon tending to draw quite a bit of ire. To those tired of “humanoid starters”, Skeledirge feels like a breath of fresh air adopting the more beast-like designs of the Gen 1 to 5 starters.
 

OshyHikari

c l a r i t y
Except I'm pretty sure Meowscarada is more popular than Skeledirge. (Just going off of how much fanart Meowscarada has compared to the other 2 and Meowscarada is also usually on top of every fan poll I've seen thus far)
I'm certain that Skeledirge is the one winning all the polls though, mainly for the sole fact it's the "not-humanoid" one of the three. I'd be more interested to see which one is most popular in Japan though, because that will probably dictate the marketability factor of these starters.
 

EmeraldArcanine

#TeamScorbunny
Not sure whether it is due to Gen 7 and 8 tossing us humanoid-ish final starter evolutions with Incineroar, Primarina, Cinderace and Inteleon tending to draw quite a bit of ire. To those tired of “humanoid starters”, Skeledirge feels like a breath of fresh air adopting the more beast-like designs of the Gen 1 to 5 starters.
In all fairness to incineroar I wouldn't call that "humanoid". It's a muscular anthro cat, or what some would call it, "Furry bait". (Joking ofc but still, I do make a point) Primarina isn't even slightly humanoid, it's clearly a mermaid sea lion and there's no real humanish aspects to it outside the mermaid inspo. I don't think I could call Intelleon or Cinderace humanoid either. Standing upright or something doesn't automatically make it humanoid.
Human stance sure. But if you want to call it something, just call it furry-ish. And furries aren't humanoid unless the design really screams it.
 

Orphalesion

Well-Known Member
I mean, that's Pokemon for you. Generally, you don't ever get a 1:1 interpretation of the original animal, even cases like Ratata and Dewgong still have little flourishes that make them stand out from their original counterparts. For what it is, Mightyena is actually a pretty close interpretation of a Brown Hyena as it has all of its notable traits like the bald stripe down the back, the fur going past the body like a longcoat, and the exposed legs. It having a different stance and color scheme doesn't really change that, especially the latter since as you said the shiny has a brown color scheme anyway if you want that.

And again, it and other such designs being mistaken for a dog or wolf is a misconception that happens with multiple Pokemon, other monster franchises, and even in real life regardless of how close they look to actual canines. Hyenas themselves get mistaken for canines despite not being related to them at all since as you said they look similar to them, so I don't think that's something that can ever be avoided even if Mightyena or a future Hyena Pokemon was 1:1 with one.
Still, a spotted or striped hyena Pokémon would be much appreciated. If we can have a million different butterfly/moth and dog Pokémon, then we can have both a striped/spotted and a brown hyena.
 

Captain Jigglypuff

Leader of Jigglypuff Army
I like Quaquaval. It actually decimated the Fairy Revavroom with Ice Spinner destroying the Misty Terrain it had set up and then took it out with two Aqua Steps.
 

Spider-Phoenix

#ChespinGang
Here's hoping Litten and Sprigatito get a water type water friend at some point.

Hopefully soon and it won't take as long as Torchic and Piplup had to wait until Rowlett came.

Bonus points if it's bipedal and half-dark type in the final evolution.

============

As a final note, I don't mind bipedal final evos for starters. To be honest, I tend do prefer them over the quadruple ones as they tend to look a lot cooler. Just my opinion though

I'm still surprised we don't have a legitimate Dog Starter yet. That seems like something we should've had years ago

Fennekin?

Eevee from Let's Go?

Foxes or not, that still as close to dog as one can get.
 

Taodragon

Training Anaylst
Still, a spotted or striped hyena Pokémon would be much appreciated. If we can have a million different butterfly/moth and dog Pokémon, then we can have both a striped/spotted and a brown hyena.
I don't disagree at all, my point was more that Mightyena is more hyena-like then it's being given credit for.

I'm certain that Skeledirge is the one winning all the polls though, mainly for the sole fact it's the "not-humanoid" one of the three. I'd be more interested to see which one is most popular in Japan though, because that will probably dictate the marketability factor of these starters.
We'll probably know within the next few months. SwSh had both the Nintendo Dream and Pokemon of the Year polls that shown Japanese and International reception to the Pokemon respectively that came out early the following year of its release, and while I'm not sure we'll get the latter again, the former usually has a poll at least once per generation.
 

EmeraldArcanine

#TeamScorbunny
Fennekin?
Not a dog, a FOX, specifically a Fennec. Not Canine, Vulpes vulpes. Like Vulpix. (It's literally in the name of that one after all. Foxes are not dogs.)
Eevee from Let's Go?
As much as people want to try to keep lumping the Eeveelutions into one single thing, it is not a dog or a fox, it is meant to be a mix of different animals and thus you can't just put Evvee and co. into "They're dogs/foxes and no other option". *Points to Espeon and Vaporeon*
Eevee and its evolutions are is its own thing. People can disagree with the truth all they like. :p

So yeah, there's no starter that screams surefire "dog" yet. And I and I'm pretty sure the person that brought it up means DOG dog, like Lilipup and Stoutland and the new ghost doggos and Furfrou. Not a "I think it's a dog so it is and I say it counts as a dog" dog.
 
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FlygontheRavager

#1 Pokémon Anime Fan!
Exactly. Just because a starter is bipedal, doesn’t mean it’s strictly humanoid. I blame the disaster that was the Galar starters for ingraining this horrid mindset.

Annoys me too how Skeledirge became the most popular Paldea stater because of the “at least it’s not a humanoid” excuse and being the long-awaited quadruped final stage Fire starter. To me, it’s my least fave because I just don’t like how blocky it looks, but I don’t treat it as objective facts.
No, it’s been around for awhile now. Since Delphox came around in Gen 6, at least. And like a lot of things that started with Gen 6, it’s only grown worse (and will only continue to grow worse).
 

Pokefan_1987

Avid Pokemon TCG Card collector.
There's no such thing as a "Worst starter".
Every Starter is someone's favorite you know. And each one appeals to a different group of audience

It's actually all sorts of annoying to see these kinds of posts going around as if they're objective facts

You guys are being completely overdramatic.




(And Idgaf what anyone says Inteleon will NEVER be creepy to me! :mad: )
Inteleon is actually great. The kinda worst is Sprigatito, it didn't escape the meme of not turning into a bipedal in it's two evolutions.

But least favorite is Emboar. Strong but i hate fat, it reminds me of how i am overweight (too much bread and sugar in my diet)
 

Ophie

Salingerian Phony
And it may be flamboyant, but I don't think that makes it some gay stereotype as I've seen some argue. It fits a suave, makes-the-ladies swoon dancer about as well, just with a silly prancing run thrown in. It's focus on dancing, colorful appearance, etc. are all more common as male bird traits for wooing females, or just for mutual wooing when the sexes look the same.
Something I want to point out is that it looks flamboyant to North Americans and many Europeans because there isn't anything quite like it in the culture, but there are plenty of male dancers like this in Brazil, who are not seen as flamboyant or stereotypically gay, but just...male dancers. Quaquaval's design, while it looks effeminate to those unfamiliar with Brazilian culture, shows that Game Freak did their research and made something true to its origins without fear of it looking strange to others. And as you said, it's common among birds for the males to be flashy and showy and the females be drab and dull (whereas it's the other way around for most mammals and reptiles).

It reminds me a lot of how people complained about the Viking-themed Perrserker last generation, that people didn't understand why Galar would have a Pokémon themed on housecats and Vikings. Cats were important parts of Viking voyages and were treated as respected crewmembers, and the British Isles not only had a long history with Vikings, a lot of Viking ancestors still live on the British Isles to this day.

I'm certain that Skeledirge is the one winning all the polls though, mainly for the sole fact it's the "not-humanoid" one of the three. I'd be more interested to see which one is most popular in Japan though, because that will probably dictate the marketability factor of these starters.
Generally, it's the base forms that the Japanese fans go for (not the ones doing PvP, mind you, but the ones who just like the designs). There are a few exceptions, like Blaziken over Torchic or Greninja over Froakie, with Braixen being the one middle stage that's more popular than the base or full form, but for the most part, you'll see the base forms marketed the most. Expect to see WAY more merchandise of Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly than Meowscarada, Skeledirge, or Quaquaval (though Floragato might become the ensemble darkhorse due to it being the only yo-yoing Pokémon so far).
 

OshyHikari

c l a r i t y
Generally, it's the base forms that the Japanese fans go for (not the ones doing PvP, mind you, but the ones who just like the designs). There are a few exceptions, like Blaziken over Torchic or Greninja over Froakie, with Braixen being the one middle stage that's more popular than the base or full form, but for the most part, you'll see the base forms marketed the most. Expect to see WAY more merchandise of Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly than Meowscarada, Skeledirge, or Quaquaval (though Floragato might become the ensemble darkhorse due to it being the only yo-yoing Pokémon so far).
We'll see what the Japanese part of the fandom thinks about the final evolutions, even if it is often clear the unevolved Pokemon are marketed more over there. It's just that I'm keen to hear which one they prefer the final evolution of, and which final evolution is unpopular enough or which unevolved stage is "the next Piplup" enough to deem that starter as doomed to staying unevolved in the anime.

I think after a month, we can conclude that Fuecoco is the most popular Paldea starter in the western market due to Skeledirge being the long-awaited quadruped fully-evolved Fire starter that everyone had dreamed of, and the only negative comments at best that I hear about it is that it's "too blocky" while Meowscarada and Quaquaval still seem to find themselves labelled in that "furries" camp that Delphox, Cinderace and Inteleon often get slapped with. Sprigatito is probably second place in popularity since Meowscarada still has its fair share of fans as well even if going bipedal turned others away. Quaxly sadly is probably meeting the same fate in the West that Tepig, Chespin, Popplio and Sobble are due to a heavily unpopular final evolution. I have seen several Quaquaval fans too, but not as close to the amount of Meowscarada fans. Skeledirge is OK at best for me, I actually love the other two more.
 

Taodragon

Training Anaylst
One thing I'll note on this conversation is that just because the fanbase is vocal on which starters they like; it's not always reflected in actual data. Dewott is often praised over Samurott but any major poll taken has the latter beat it by a huge gap, Incineroar is often pointed at for being the main example of Starters being too human-like but it always place highly, and finally, if you were to listen to the fanbase on the Galarian Starters Rillaboom should be the most popular and Inteleon the least, but Rillaboom always performs on the lower side and Inteleon (and Cinderace) score much higher. Quaquaval having the most vocal hate of the bunch doesn't necessarily mean it's the most unpopular, it just means it has a vocal group that doesn't like it. For all we know, the polls could come out and it's on top while Skeledirge is on the bottom, or it could be vice versa, or some mixture of the three. It's not conclusive yet, and I'd wait until we get more tangible results then hearsay to get a good idea of the standing of the Starters.

I will say though, despite Quaquaval having a very vocal group against it, it also has many who adore it and defend it. It seems more 'base breaking' if anything.
 
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EmeraldArcanine

#TeamScorbunny
His big butt ruins it for me
Feels out of place
peafowl-c81b7e9ee1bd425999643fb5f3031c3a.jpg

Again. =.= Peacocks and birds in general have a notable butt area behind the legs.
It's supposed to look like that.

Something I want to point out is that it looks flamboyant to North Americans and many Europeans because there isn't anything quite like it in the culture, but there are plenty of male dancers like this in Brazil, who are not seen as flamboyant or stereotypically gay, but just...male dancers. Quaquaval's design, while it looks effeminate to those unfamiliar with Brazilian culture, shows that Game Freak did their research and made something true to its origins without fear of it looking strange to others. And as you said, it's common among birds for the males to be flashy and showy and the females be drab and dull (whereas it's the other way around for most mammals and reptiles).

It reminds me a lot of how people complained about the Viking-themed Perrserker last generation, that people didn't understand why Galar would have a Pokémon themed on housecats and Vikings. Cats were important parts of Viking voyages and were treated as respected crewmembers, and the British Isles not only had a long history with Vikings, a lot of Viking ancestors still live on the British Isles to this day.
Agreed, I referred it in the pre-release spoiler thread to as culture clash which I think fitted really well with the reaction to Quaquaval's design. I'm an American and thus we unfortunately are used to the gay stereotype because it's done so much in media. In actuality it made sense for Quaquaval to look pretty, he is a bird and all. I'm not familiar with the Brazil Carnival dances myself outside of like.. watching the segments of it on Rio. Which looking back on it Quaquaval's design is a lot like the Carnival dancers in that movie which is really neat knowing that now. :O

In their research it might help educate some on a country's culture and whatnot too, in a way. And just things that go on there. Like how in Galar, based off Europe sports have an inpact there, and the Pokemon battles reflect that. Similar to Alola. It's kewl.
 

Sarefan

Hylden General.
It took me some time to get used to the Quaquaval animation, but he's really grown in me over time.

But in my own headcanon, my Quaquaval moves more like a capoeira martial artist than a carnaval dancer.
 
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