(A new way to look at Gardevoir. Image by Caretaker-of-Myth)
There was one old complaint that the new Pokémon looked like Digimon. This was most evident during in past Generations and not Generation 6, from my experience. It’s probable that there are certain people who held on to this belief, and you will likely see those believers on a non-Pokémon forum, at least. This stigma is viewed more as an insult because imitation isn’t exactly known for being a good thing, as opposed to originality. Due to Pokémon’s mainstream popularity, there will definitely be fans who would defend their favourite series.
For more on this, let’s read on.
Justification of an Insult
In order for an insult to work, there would need to have some justification as to why they are made. I have three points thought of, and that’s coming from a Pokémon fan, so these reasons might not be accurate to what complainers think.
One reason that certain people might think that Pokémon look like Digimon is how future Pokémon have more complex designs. Before Generation 5 existed, Reshiram and Zekrom were considered alien because they have a somewhat complex design. This holds true to Dialga and Palkia beforehand. The Digimon creatures have always been complex in design, so it’s understandable why this could be thought of in the place.
There is definitely a good reason Pokémon designs are becoming complex. With the progressively better hardware that hosts the Pokémon games, designers are able to depict Pokémon with more details and colours that couldn’t be done before. Timburr’s plank animation couldn’t be possible in past generations, nor could Vivillon’s region-detecting wing patterns. The complexity of Pokémon made any future designs more diverse and interesting.
Perhaps another justification is that Digimon had been an established franchise longer than Pokémon was, thanks in part to starting off as a digital pet toy. Because of this, you can only have one creature per device (that could evolve), but at least there are a variety of them. Pokémon, on the other hand, started as a video game on the Game Boy, and the difference is that you have more creatures to choose from. The concept of fantasy monsters as pets is a similar concept, and there are possibly some Pokémon and Digimon that share the same inspiration.
Still, when something is created earlier, it doesn’t mean that imitation is involved. The concept are the same, but the inspiration that led to their conception is different. Digimon, as stated earlier, is meant to be a virtual pet. Pokémon, however, focuses more on the battles between link cables, and collection.
The last justification is the belief that the designers ran out of ideas. There are complaints that Pokémon ran out of ideas, which may or may not be related to the idea that Pokémon look like Digimon. After all, one could reason that if you don’t have any ideas, you copy others.
This one doesn’t seem to have much of a basis, considering how most of the Pokémon designers are not the same between every Generation. Ken Sugimori is one of the consistent designers, but most others are different people, since different people are able to bring different ideas to the table. Another thing is that there are more Pokémon designs planned by those artists, but not everyone made it into the games, meaning that there are several ideas we haven’t seen yet.
Difference in Style
When it comes to styles, there is a distinct difference between Pokémon and Digimon. Looking at the official art for both series, some differences could be spotted. Pokémon’s official art have always been drawn by Ken Sugimori, and they have often been more natural- and fluid-looking, which is helped by the shading and muscle definitions of the Pokémon.
Digimon’s artwork is provided by Kenji Watanabe (at least the last time I checked), and their official artwork for their creatures look more artificial in comparison, likely to highlight that being digital meant that they are not meant to be realistic. The line art for the Digimon is thicker than Pokémon, and the shading is reminiscent to a plastic surface.
From this, it’s clear that one artist’s style does not match another, as they have their own way to interpret their respective creatures. It’s true that not every creature are designed by one artist, but they help to make them feel like they belong to their respective franchises. Because each artist is consistently generating artwork for the creatures, fans have came to recognise whether something is a Pokémon or Digimon based on their style.
The recognisable style of a Pokémon or Digimon is not just influenced by one artist. It is also based on how each creature is designed. Pokémon tend to resemble the sources they are based on, without deriving too much from the source material. For example, Pidgey resembles a sparrow, Sandile resembles a crocodile and Mudkip resembles an axolotl. They have some nuances that make them more than just an animal, such as Sandile looking like a criminal with the eyeshades and stripes.
For the Digimon, they are usually more mechanical-looking. It’s not unusual for them to have some form of weaponry or armoury, especially in their later evolution stages. A lot of them are also humanoid in stature, reinforcing that they are not really animals. Indeed, a Digimon is meant to be a partner for only one character, not a team as is the case for Pokémon. The eyes for smaller and cuter creatures such as Agumon and Patamon are distinct as well.
Because of the style difference, it is clear that the audience that like them are different. Pokémon’s more diverse range of creatures is meant to appeal to everyone, especially children. Digimon’s is meant to appeal more to boys who are interested in strong creatures, due to the edgy style, although other types of audiences are not ruled out, should they be interested for this sort of thing. Of course, there are the smaller creatures as well, which could appeal to them, although it doesn’t seem that they are the main focus.
Other Side of the Coin
When you think of this complaint, one of the things you might be thinking is: what do some people think of the new Digimon? Do they think the new Digimon resemble Pokémon, in the same way that some people think Pokémon resemble Digimon? This is, to be honest, difficult to answer for me. From what I gather by asking some of my Pokémon fan friends, nobody thinks the new Digimon look like Pokémon. Maybe that’s what the sheer minority think, like Cutemon resembling a certain Pokémon, but otherwise, the complaint is something you hardly see.
Because Digimon is a more anime-based franchise as opposed to, say, Pokémon and Yu-gi-oh (I brought Yu-gi-oh in here for a while to emphasise this), the fans of Digimon are generally more interested to the plot of Digimon, and as such, the Digimon to them, are more of characters, so they don’t think of Pokémon as something to compare, mostly, simply because the Pokémon anime seems inferior to Digimon, since the former had a subtle focus on marketing, while the latter focuses on storytelling to stand out, I imagine.
In short, the way Pokémon and Digimon operates are different, since the appeal of both franchises are different, and with that, a different type of fan group.
Positive of the Statement
If there is one way to backfire an insult, it is to see it as a compliment rather than something condescending. As I have said earlier, imitation is often seen as being bad since it meant something lacked originality, but there could be some positive traits in Digimon.
One of the things could be that the monsters that might look like Digimon could appeal to those who like Digimon. I am not saying that they would look alike that it’s hard to tell the difference, but one that is in a similar design philosophy as them.
As a Pokémon fan that isn’t well versed with Digimon, it’s difficult to think of the positives that could be had when Pokémon look like Digimon, so this section would be short.
Conclusion
In conclusion to the statement that Pokémon look like Digimon, it is largely baseless because there is nothing concrete about that being true. Instead, this statement is more opinion-based, since someone could say this because that’s what it looks like to them, even if they have their reasons.
What do you readers think of the statement that Pokémon look like Digimon? Voice them out in the comments below! I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I have writing it.
Thanks for reading.