Many pieces of Pokemon fan art make their way onto the internet every day, and this includes a recent Heracross pre-evolution design that’s been grabbing fans’ attention. Despite being introduced all the way back in Generation 2, the Bug/Fighting-type has yet to receive an evolution of any kind, but the bright side to that is Pokemon fans have had free rein to imagine all the different forms Heracross could transform into.
Pokemon as a franchise has long relied on introducing new forms for existing pocket monsters to grow its immense roster beyond creating brand new Pokemon, whether it be through new evolutions, Mega Evolutions, or regional variants. Then there are pre-evolutions, evolutions that precede established Pokemon on their evolutionary line, such as Pichu which evolves into Pikachu, Munchlax which evolves into Snorlax, and Smoochum which evolves into Jynx. These tend to come with smaller and often cuter designs that can add new life and personality to older Pokemon in ways distinct from regular evolutions.
With Heracross lacking any evolutions (not counting its Mega Evolution form), Reddit user jonnyloaf took the opportunity to share their concept for one, a pre-evolution they said was inspired by a dream they had. Their piece of Heracross fan art depicts a small unnamed beetle standing on four noodly legs and boasting a stubby horn and antennae. These do a good job of conveying a less-evolved version of Heracross, which boasts a bipedal stance, beefier limbs, and more exaggerated features, while maintaining familiar features like the blue shell and large yellow eyes. It’s clear at a glance which Pokemon this one is supposed to evolve into.
With over 1,900 upvotes as of this writing, it’s clear that jonnyloaf’s pre-evolution is a hit with the Pokemon Reddit community. Most of the replies to their post praised the design and how adorable it is. Others, meanwhile, tried to come up with names for it like "Heracriss," "Tinycross," and "Heracute." Additionally, other users stated how they’d love to see this pre-evolution become an official thing. Considering another evolution-less Gen 2 Pokemon Dunsparce finally received an evolution in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, it’s certainly possible that Heracross could get a similar evolutionary treatment in the future.
For the time being, though, that’s purely in the realm of speculation. The current Pokemon lineup is pretty much set now that the latest mainline titles are out, and it’s unclear when exactly that will change with the introduction of new pocket monsters. For now, fans are going to have to hop into Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and figure out how to trigger the glitch that made one Heracross shrink if they want their little blue beetle fix.
