A Gen 4 ‘mon from Pokemon Diamond & Pearl has received a striking change thanks to fanart – some players are hailing it as a drastic improvement, but others may not agree.
One of the reasons Pokemon designs are so incredible is that they can take grotesque elements of nature or boring household objects and turn them into likable creatures. This is why the horrifying Cordyceps mushroom was turned into the loveable Parasect, and the floating tumbleweed became Bramblin.
There’s an aspect that nearly all Pokemon share that adds to their appeal: they have eyes. There are some exceptions of course, like Staryu and Starmie, but the vast majority of Pokemon have facial features that make them seem friendly to humans.
However, some ‘mons could be improved by removing their eyes. This was proven by a user on the Pokemon Subreddit named IsaacTheAverage, who shared their design of Carnivine, the Gen 4 Grass-type Pokemon, with its eyes removed, giving it a more monstrous feel.
Surprisingly, many users in the thread found this change to be an improvement. “I have to agree. It gives it more of a plant like pokemon feel,” one user wrote, while another agreed, “It also gives it that bangs covering eyes vibe that I think also adds more charm.”
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“It makes it look more terrifying tbh. Reminds me of the plant from little shop of horrors. It’s unique tho,” another user wrote, while one said, “That’s really good. Reminds me of the chompers guy from Plants vs Zombies.”
Not everyone agreed with the shift. One user in the thread said, “Gotta Disagree here, maybe if he had different eyes, than the googly ones, but without the eyes it straight up looks like a Horror Flick monster,” while another wrote, “Noo! Then he can’t see how much I love him!”
While Pokemon Diamond & Pearl fans might have overlooked Carnivine if they hadn’t encountered one in their own playthrough, it had a big presence in the anime – being one of James from Team Rocket’s overly friendly Grass-type Pokemon. The eyeless redesign might have made it a bit too gruesome for kids, especially when it’s chomping on James’ head.
