Many Pokémon fans fell in love with Hoenn’s kickin’ chicken, but apparently, that was never the franchise’s intention.
A recently translated blurb from Pokémon artist Ken Sugimori, the man who designed the Hoenn starters, has revealed that the now iconic Blaziken was meant to disappoint fans. Sugimori stated that his intention was for the fire starter’s final evolution to be “fierce and hard to look at,” in stark contrast to its adorable first form, Torchic. Rather than enjoying the starter’s growth from chibi chick to roundhouse rooster, it was Sugimori’s intent for trainers to feel a sense of disappointment and loss at seeing such a cute Pokémon turn into something so menacing. The joke appears to be on Sugimori, however, as Blaziken became popular enough to earn an even fiercer mega evolution in the Hoenn sequel Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire that left few, if any Pokémon enthusiasts disappointed.
Blaziken, Combusken (Blaziken's middle evolution form), and Torchic appeared simultaneously in the 2002 Nintendo games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and the anime’s sixth season, Pokémon: Advanced. The starter was used by major characters like May and Harrison, as well as Rafe in the 2004 movie Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys. Both the Gen 3 games and anime were popular enough to warrant a trip back to the Hoenn Region for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, but despite the positive reception, it hasn’t had quite the sticking power of other generations. Only Gardevoir made a recent list of the top 10 most searched Pokémon in the United States, with Gen 1 dominating the list and overshadowing the other oldies of the franchise.
Pokémon is still going strong over two decades later, with the new anime Pokémon Horizons just debuting earlier this year. The series is the first without the iconic Ash Ketchum as its protagonist, instead following a young trainer named Liko. Some fans believe that Liko is Ash Ketchum’s daughter, but a recent episode of the series debunks this theory, distancing the new series from its predecessors. Horizons is accompanied by the games Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the first in the franchise to implement an open world. Its fire starter, the tiny crocodile Fuecoco, features another progression from cute to creepy as it evolves into the fire-ghost type Skeledirge.
Pokémon Horizons is currently only available in Japan, but Ash Ketchum’s final episodes as the protagonist of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series are available to stream on Netflix.
Source: Comicbook.com