Pokemon Fan Designs Impressive Shellder-Based Evolution

A talented fan artist imagines what might occur if Shellder bit Pokemon other than Slowpoke, merging with them to create unique evolutions. The Pokemon franchise has had many interesting ideas for evolutions over the years, though quite a few of them have since been abandoned, much to fans’ dismay. Some of these concepts have no bearing on actual gameplay, but are only present as Pokedex flavor text, as is the case with Slowpoke evolving into Slowbro with the help of Shellder.

The gray mollusk Pokemon’s role in Slowpoke’s evolutionary tree is a unique concept in the franchise, one that has only occurred in this singular instance. Slowpoke’s Pokedex entries state that the lazy Psychic-type only gains the inspiration necessary to complete its evolution after a Shellder bites its tail. According to the lore, Shellder and Slowpoke share a symbiotic relationship, and every evolution of the pink hippopotamus-like Pokemon involves it in some way. Shellder appears on Slowbro’s tail, Mega Slowbro’s body, Galarian Slowbro’s arm, and Slowking’s head in both its forms.

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By Hamza Haq

In a recent post on Reddit, user Lyndorr shared artwork depicting multiple Shellder-based evolutions for various Pokemon from across generations. The illustrations masterfully blended the physical characteristics of the base Pokemon, Shellder’s grey armor-like design, and the possible type combinations that would result from a marriage between the two. Users were quick to heap praise on Lyndorr for the professional-grade artwork and thoughtful designs that would look at home in an official Pokemon game.

Pokemon Fan Artist Imagines What Shellder Bite-Based Evolutions Would Look Like

Among the new Shellder-fused Pokemon, commenters were particularly impressed by Narwail, an alternate evolution for Wailmer that has a gray horn on its head. Other favorites included Simsalabim, a Kadabra with a Shellder hat in the shape of a crown, and Guk, a Grimer evolution with sickly green coloration and a toxic barrel strapped to its back. Many users were of the opinion that these new designs could easily serve as branching regional forms for the Pokemon in the next game.

Pokemon fusions aren’t a new concept by any means. In fact, it’s one of the more famous subgenres in the franchise’s fandom. One of the most popular fan games of all time, Pokemon Infinite Fusion, is based entirely around this premise. What makes Lyndorr’s artwork stand out is that it uses existing lore to justify its fusions, giving hope, however slim, that these new forms or a version similar to them might one day receive Nintendo’s official stamp of approval.

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