A Pokemon fan created a fan art that gives a Dragonite-themed makeover to Dragonair. The Pokemon franchise has thousands of Pokemon and evolutions, and it's not uncommon for fans to have debates about finding several of them inconsistent or a bit pointless for some reason.
Even as a Gen 1 Pokemon, Dragonair holds its own as a sleek-looking Pokemon. This Dragon-type is a serpentine reptilian Pokemon with sky-blue scales and a white horn on its forehead. On each side of its head Dragonair has a small wing, and three blue orbs adorn its body: one on its neck and two on its tail. Possessing a gentle aura that gives it a mystical appearance, Dragonair evolves into Dragonite starting at level 55. In addition to being a Pokemon seen in all generations of the games, Dragonite in the anime is also part of the best Pokemon team assembled by Ash.
User kaltzer posted on Reddit a fan art showing what Dragonair would look like if it were more like Dragonite. Instead of the snake-like body, this Dragonair has four legs, and instead of the blue body with a white underside, the makeover gives the Pokemon the same yellow color as Dragonite. While the wings on the head were kept, they changed to a green color, the same as Dragonite's wings. The horn on the forehead has moved up to the top of the head, and the Pokemon has gained a pair of antennae similar to Dragonite's. Previously the same user went the other way by imagining Dragonite with a Dragonair-themed makeover.
The kaltzer fan art got good reception among the members of the official Pokemon subreddit. While Dragon-type Pokemon can make players laugh, the comments on the post said things worth noting. One pointed out that it would be an interesting Dragonair for a Pokemon game with a China-based region. Another user raised the theory that Gyrados and Dragonite were swapped during Gen 1 development, hence the different designs. Despite this, other users pointed out inconsistencies in this theory. Another user praised the fan art for not only recoloring Dragonair but giving the Pokemon a whole new look.
Kaltzer's idea makes Dragonair even more beautiful, but for different reasons than the original form. The user manages to both keep the Pokemon's adorable look and make good use of Dragonite's visual context. It's a makeover that makes some fans imagine this Dragonair as a character from Mulan, with a good chance of competing to be one of the best Dragon-type Pokemon existent. The fan art also satisfyingly plays with the idea of "what if," something in which the Pokemon community has a lot of experience for always imagining creative alternate versions for their favorite Pokemon.
