Welcome back to Curious Archive. This video is the  second half of a series exploring the biology and  

ecosystems of realistic Pokémon. The Realistic  Pokémon art project was created by the talented  

RJ Palmer, aka ‘Arvalis’ I have links below  where you can follow and support his work.  

This second round of redesigns features amazing  biological details and an even wider variety  

of Pokémon. And please remember the disclaimer  from the first video — these realistic lifeforms  

are an exciting speculative exercise, but not an  attempt to somehow ‘improve’ the stylized designs  

of the original games. They’re just fun alternate  takes that imagine Pokémon in something closer to  

real world anatomy, even if these lifeforms are  more fantastical than what’s likely to appear  

in nature. So, let’s jump into part two of  our nature documentary of another world,  

and return to the astonishing domain of realistic  Pokémon… Beginning with Gen II starters, we have  

Meganium and its pre-evolutions. The designs of  these creatures take inspiration from sauropods,  

but also from modern tortoises. And while  tortoises have evolved to eat grasses,  

Palmer imagines the long necks of Meganium help  them reach their preferred food of treetop fungi.  

And speaking of fungi, the antennae at the end  of Meganium’s nostrils are actually a unique  

strain of fungi — which Palmer states the titans  have a symbiotic relationship with — although  

the exact purpose is unknown. In contrast, the  flower-like structure on the front of their shell  

is not a plant but a brightly colored frill that  mimics flower petals. This might seem strange,  

but animals camouflaging themselves as plants  has been documented numerous times in nature:  

like insects whose wings have  evolved to resemble leaves.  

Up next, we have Typhlosion and its pre-evolutions  — reimagined with greater detail and anatomical  

plausibility. In its claws and fur pattern, this  reimagining resembles a cross between some sort of  

badger and a sun bear. Palmer imagines Typhlosion  feeds primarily on Combees hives, and the wax  

from the hives has a chemical reaction with  Typhlosion saliva to create a flammable substance.  

Typhlosions then use their tongues to coat their  quills in this chemical, and then they light them  

on fire using specialized flint-like teeth. The  blazing quills are an intimidating display, and  

can burn for long periods thanks to Typhlosions’  fire-resistant coat. A really original concept.  

And the last starter from the Hoenn region is  Feraligatr and its pre-evolutions, rendered  

in all their reptilian glory. Not surprisingly,  Feraligatr is most analogous to earth alligators  

or crocodiles. Palmer imagines this lifeform  as a large opportunistic carnivore, lurking in  

coastal estuaries and frequently traveling between  salt and fresh water habitats. I’d watch my step  

near rivers with these giants around. Moving  beyond Generation II, we have the incredible  

desert-dwelling Flygon. Palmer envisions that  this swift aerial lifeform possesses a helium  

bladder that helps the large organism achieve  flight. Flygons skim the surface of the desert,  

looking out from behind a red transparent  membrane which protects their eyes from the sands.  

And on the ground, near some other interesting  desert fauna I’ll let you classify on your own,  

we can find a Trapinch and a Vibrava — both  reimagined to look like they could more feasibly  

be early stages in a Flygon’s life cycle. In  this alternative world, millions of years ago,  

large prehistoric Pokémon stomped across the land,  now known to scientists in the form of fossils.  

Taking inspiration from the games, Palmer imagines  recent technology has revived these long extinct  

species — like the mighty Tyrantrum and the  lumbering Bastiodon: pictured here locked in  

combat in poses reminiscent of classic dinosaur  art. Not surprisingly, Palmer has based his  

Tyrantrum off the T-rex, and has reimagined  its beard as a scaly soft-tissue pouch that  

could flare out to intimidate rivals. It’s easy to  imagine these creatures living in the primordial  

landscape of the Pokémon world 100 million years  ago. It almost makes me want to visit a Pokémon  

natural history museum. Another fossil Pokémon you  might find at such a museum is that of Aerodactyl.  

Now resurrected as living creatures, the  Aerodactyl are known by Pokémon paleontologists  

to be a vibrant shade of purple, and to  possess early proto-feathers on their necks.  

Elsewhere in this image, one can spot an Archen  and a Cranidos— further fleshing out the world  

of prehistoric Pokémon. Deep in the midst of a  past ice age, the mighty legendary Pokémon Kyurem  

reigned supreme. Here, Palmer has redesigned  the stylized armor of the original as more  

biological plating. Though Kyurem was a  creature of almost insurmountable power,  

the legendary beast Raikou — imagined here as a  Smilodon like ice-age hunter — would sometimes  

take the risk and try to ambush this titan. Though  the bite of a Raikou could take out most Pokémon,  

Palmer imagines it had less effect on Piloswines:  depicted in this image as ice age megafauna with  

coats so thick they provide a natural defense from  the teeth of whatever else might be stalking the  

tundra. In modern polar and mountainous biomes,  one might find the elusive Abomasnow — portrayed  

as a curious, heavily furred biped that Palmer  imagines were unknown to Pokémon scientists until  

the turn of the century — when a specimen  was at last documented. Sharing the frigid  

biosphere with these seldom-glimpsed creatures  are the elk-like Pokémon Winter Sawbucks,  

and the penguin-like delibird. And another  lifeform in this image is the infamous Mr. Mime,  

reimagined as a species somewhere between a frog  and an axolotl. And honestly? I find this redesign  

a bit nicer to look at than the original.  Lurking in the cave systems, one can find  

Noivern – a species that is a dragon-type in the  games, but that Palmer has reconceptualized as a  

creature more closely related to bat Pokémon  like Swoobats. A single Noivern can claim  

miles of cave systems as their territory, scaring  off competitors with booming sonic frequencies.  

Swoobats are their smaller cousins — and look  much closer to a bat here on earth. And if you  

look closely, you can see Joltiks clinging to the  fur of these species. Palmer imagines these small  

arachnid Pokémon can create static charges by  nestling into the fur of fluffy Pokémon. Pretty  

creative! One massive Pokémon Palmer redesigned is  Onix and its evolution Steelix. Instead of being  

made of literal rock, the Onix is depicted as a  massive serpentine lifeform with rock-like scales.  

Likewise, a Steelix isn’t fully metallic —  instead, exposure to its natural environment  

transforms its scales into shiny, metallic-looking  armor. This process almost reminds me of a  

Scaly-foot Snail — a type of marine gastropod  that incorporates iron sulfide into protective  

scales on its body — almost like a natural suit  of medieval armor. I could see Steelix perhaps  

undergoing a similar process to form its own  protective scales. And holding onto dear life at  

the end of these creatures’ tails, you can spy a  Sableye — reimagined not as a ghost, but as a tiny  

primate with strange eyes similar to a Tarsier.  Palmer describes this species as attracted to tiny  

things, which unfortunately for this Sableye,  included the metallic scales of a Steelix.  

Under the waves, the aquatic leviathan Gyarados  takes on the role of apex predator in almost  

any aquatic ecosystem they inhabit. This creature  recalls the more biologically feasible design of a  

deep-sea Oarfish, which can grow up to 26ft, or 8m  in length — smaller than this version of Gyarados,  

but still pretty incredible. Palmer imagines  the marine biologists of this world for decades  

didn’t realize the comparatively tiny Magikarp  were early forms of Gyarados, which makes sense.  

Nearby, a greater underwater ecosystem flourishes:  including Cloyster, a squad of Tentacool, and a  

Relicanth — all looking closer to their real-world  animal influences. Returning to legendries, we  

have the awe-inspiring Pokémon Zapdos, an enormous  bird with an incredible electric discharge.  

Instead of being an elemental deity, this version  of Zapdos has an extreme capacity for electric  

retention — seeking out thunderstorms high in  the atmosphere and gathering electricity like a  

living lightning rod. Another electric Pokémon  is Raichu, the evolution of Pikachu that also  

looks quite rodent-like. And as you might have  already spotted, this image also contains voltorb  

reimagined as a pokeball mimicking armadillo, and  Magnemites and Magnetons as magnetic crabs with  

red and blue colored claws. Truly hilarious  designs for some of the most outside-the-box  

original Pokémon. Another ancient and seldom seen  legendary is Lugia, redesigned as a lifeform with  

more streamlined, aquatic features. One of my  personal favorites, this guardian of the seas  

looks like something from the Plesiosauria order —  just even mightier. Near Lugia are some additional  

underwater species like Qwilfish and Seadra, all  of which have far more anatomical detail than in  

their original designs. In the skies, the immense  legendary Yveltal — redesigned here as a more  

avian super-predator – casts a shadow over most  flying types when it comes out of hibernation.  

In designing this ancient creature, Palmer took  inspiration from the late Jurassic feathered  

dinosaur Yi Qi, an animal whose wings are perhaps  the closest thing nature has ever produced to a  

dragon’s. Swooping just out of reach of Yveltal’s  claws are Latios and Latias. With this duo,  

Palmer has merged the stylized airplane-like  elements of the original designs with the anatomy  

of various real-life bird species — creating more  plausible, but still agile looking lifeforms.  

And in the other corner of this image, you can  spot a scalier-looking Salamence, whose wings,  

according to Palmer, are formed from membranes  extended over an enlarged set of ribs. This might  

seem far-fetched, but real-life gliding lizards  are capable of gliding flight thanks to a set of  

wings that are indeed supported by their elongated  ribs, as you can see by this skeleton. And since  

we covered Groudon in part one, we have to  touch on its oceanic counterpoint Kyogre — which  

looks awe-inspiring in realistic detail. Palmer  imagines this legendary as a leviathan somewhere  

between a whale and the absolute largest of marine  reptiles. To catch prey, Kyogre can use a dazzling  

bio-luminescent display to lure in smaller  species like Tentacruel. Above the feeding Kyogre,  

a swarm of Frillish and Jellicent drift by, their  anatomy much closer to that of an Earth jellyfish.  

And if you look closely, you might have spotted  Sharpedo — whose stylized body has been reworked  

with a design that takes inspiration from sharks,  of course, but also Ocean Sunfish — a strange and  

truncated looking organism. This Sharpedo is going  up against the nautilus-like Omastar — another  

prehistoric species that was recently revived.  And as our grand finale, we have the mythical  

and legendary Rayquaza, looking truly epic  in realistic detail. This mighty serpent is  

exhibiting an unknown display of bioluminescence  as it soars through the air — a sight that would  

be intimidating to behold. Exactly how such  a creature is capable of flight is unknown,  

and would likely require a variety of specialized  flight organs. Believe it or not, there is a type  

of snake called a Paradise Tree Snake that can  glide by leaping off trees, holding its body flat,  

and curving in a way which allows it to briefly  coast through the air. Rayquaza, of course,  

is taking this to a new level. And there’s  an entire aviary of flying types flocking in  

Rayquaza’s shadow — including Pidgeot, Braviary,  and others — all of whom look much more like birds  

here on Earth. And with that, we’ve covered  the majority of the Realistic Pokémon project.  

If you want to dive even deeper into this  world, there are extra designs – including  

some additional legendries — on RJ  Palmer’s site and in his artbooks,  

so check the links below if you’re interested.  For now, this is the final part of the series.  

Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this entry,  please lend your support and like, subscribe,  

and hit the notification icon to stay up to date  on all things Curious. See you in the next video.