Pokémon Gen 4 Starters Drawn By AI Create A Beautiful Nightmare
AI illustrations can be strange, especially when trying to draw Pokémon. The Gen 4 starters undergo fascinating changes when used as a prompt.
When the Gen. 4 starters from Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are drawn by AI, things can get very strange, very fast. The Nintendo Switch remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl are set in the Sinnoh region and feature the starter Pokémon Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup. These turtle, monkey, and penguin Pokémon evolutionary lines follow the traditional Grass-, Fire-, and Water-type triangle and become dual Grass/Ground, Fire/Fighting, and Water/Steel types when fully evolved.
There are online tools out there that allow people to input words and have an AI generate an image based on what was written. Different art styles and themes, such as pastel or etching, can also be selected to further distinguish each piece. The results range from unique, abstract works to unsettling pictures of an AI attempting to recreate a human-made design. This is especially the case with Sinnoh’s starter Pokémon.
Inputting a particularly popular Pokémon into the Dream app by WOMBO will usually result in the right general shape and color scheme because there’s more information for the AI to retrieve. The Sinnoh starters, while well-loved, aren’t nearly as renowned as long-time classics such as Pikachu and Charizard. Letting the Dream app generate images based on the Sinnoh starter Pokémon results in pictures that are interesting “what-if” designs as well as images that are entirely outrageous. Regardless of the result, though, it’s fun to hypothesize about what kinds of Pokémon the Sinnoh starters would have been- or what kind of games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl would have been- if these designs were the real deal.
Pokémon Turtwig Drawn By AI Is More Aquatic
A tranquil starter Pokémon Turtwig overlooks a lake. Although still plant-like, it appears to be getting more in touch with its aquatic roots. Water is, after all, a necessity for all life, but especially so for this seedling turtle Pokémon. A starter Pokémon with two starter types is unprecedented, but anything is possible in this fictional Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, including a Grass- and Water-type Turtwig.
Grotle: A Smiling Pokémon Designed By AI
One of Pokémon’s greatest unsolved mysteries: just what is Grotle smiling at? While professors have pondered over this puzzle for generations, Grotle continues to smile. In actuality, Grotle seeks to teach the world an important lesson: Why one smiles isn’t what’s important, but that they continue to smile and give life their all.
This particular Grotle doesn’t seem to have a clear connection to the Grass-typing right away. It isn’t much of an issue, however, as Grotle is one of the “awkward middle stage” evolution Pokémon that tend to appear in the starter lines. Grotle will still fit in as it continues to smile the day away.
Torterra The (Floating) Continent Pokémon Drawn By AI
Torterra, known as the Continent Pokémon, has at last taken to the skies. This version of Torterra seems fitting for the last world of a Final Fantasy title as part of the earth rises to where only the best airships can reach. Perhaps if the Pokémon series went full fantasy setting, this version of Torterra could have story relevance as the games draw to a close. A similar scene featuring giant Torterra did make an appearance in the Detective Pikachu movie, so Torterra as a literal continent isn’t unheard of. This Torterra has taken an almost fish-like appearance, continuing after the AI-designed Turtwig’s connection to water. Thus far, Lotad, Lombre, and Ludicolo are the only Pokémon to have both the Grass- and Water-typing, making it a rare and exciting choice for this AI-designed Torterra.
Pokémon Chimchar Designed By AI Steps Into The Flames
This AI-designed Chimchar appears far more reptilian in nature than simian. Its back is turned as it makes its way into a fiery abyss. What will Chimchar find in there? What is it even looking for? A sense of self, perhaps? Or something more? Although not entirely unique, as the Fire-typing already has an iconic reptilian in the form of the Charizard line, AI-drawn Chimchar’s stature gives it a Pokémon vibe all the same.
Monferno Designed By AI Becomes A Skyscraper Pokémon
Monferno as drawn by the AI takes all of the previous Chimchar’s “Pokémon vibes” and throws them out of a very high window, as not even the Shard-inspired Duraludon looks as architectural as Monferno’s resulting image. Perhaps tired of falling into the Fire/Fighting starter pattern that faced the Pokémon games starting with Ruby and Sapphire all the way until Black and White, the AI’s take on Monferno would certainly be Fire/Steel. This typing is even rarer than Water/Grass, with only one Pokémon species boasting it to this day: Sinnoh’s own Heatran.
Infernape Drawn By AI Is A Small Cat-Like Pokémon
Perhaps Monferno’s skyscraper days were just a phase because the AI’s Infernape doesn’t seem to belong to the same evolutionary line of Pokémon at all. It appears to have the face of a cat and the body of a bird, sitting in a field. It’s actually quite cute, making it more fitting as a part of the AI-designed Chimchar’s evolutionary line rather than Monferno’s.
This evolutionary line is one where human choice would be necessary to remove Monferno and perhaps use it as a standalone design rather than allow the stages to remain as-is. Without the skyscraper, the Pokémon Chimchar and Infernape as drawn by an AI feel like they could be a duo of adorable Pokémon. Infernape would be the middle evolution, with a final evolution to follow.
Piplup Is Still An Icy Penguin Pokémon When Designed By AI
The AI’s take on Piplup is a charming penguin surrounded by snow and lights. Although the first stage of starter Pokémon evolution lines has always been monotype starting with Gold and Silver, Pokémon Red and Blue had a dual-type starter with the Grass- and Poison-type Pokémon Bulbasaur. It wouldn’t be entirely unprecedented for this version of Piplup to be Water/Ice. The design’s splashes of red give it a unique visual element to distinguish it from a plain penguin.
The AI Struggles To Draw The Pokémon Prinplup
When the AI tries to draw Piplup's Pokémon evolution Prinplup, all that appears is darkness with a glimmer of light. Prinplup is another “awkward middle stage” evolution Pokémon; like many peoples’ “awkward teen years,” perhaps the AI-designed Piplup line wants to forget those often embarrassing times. Maybe it’s already forgotten them. But the shining light promises that Empoleon will emerge from the darkness.
Empoleon Designed By AI Is A More Frightening Penguin Pokémon
Maybe Empoleon should have remained hidden because this AI rendition is quite frightening. Instead of lights like in the Piplup piece, there are dark figures in the distance behind Empoleon. With a stern glare from a glowing yellow eye, this Empoleon could easily be a Water- and Dark-type like the X and Y starter Pokémon Greninja. Without the unspoken rule of starters maintaining their initial type, this Empoleon could even be Dark- and Ice-type, a combination only shared by Sneasel and Weavile. But even as a Dark-type, this unsettling design would need to be reworked into the signature series art style to fit into a game like Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, where even “scary” designs like Giratina feel like they come from the same setting as cuter designs like Pachirisu and Gible.
