The Pokemon franchise features around 900 total pocket monsters that can be encountered throughout the franchise's many installments. This enormous number of possible creatures gives fans what may be an unparalleled opportunity to make tributes to their favorite Pokemon. Now, one Pokemon fan has made a mech version of the fan-favorite Pokemon Lucario.
Lucario is known as the Aura Pokemon, and its distinctive bipedal canine appearance makes it easy to recognize. It is a dual-type Fighting/Steel Pokemon that was introduced in the Gen 4 games as an inhabitant of the Sinnoh region, with its egg distributed to players by the trainer Riley. Keen-eyed players can also spot Lucario and its baby version, Riolu, wandering around the Hisui region.
Redditor shunixe shared a piece of highly detailed fan art of Lucario--specifically, a robotic "mech" version of Lucario. This isn't the first time fan artists have reimagined Pokemon as robots, but it may be one of the most visually striking. Shunixe's depiction of robot Lucario appears to take heavy inspiration from the mech suits of the Metal Gear Solid series, particularly Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance. The result is equal parts animalistic robot creature and disciplined steel fighter.
In the fan art, shunixe translates Lucario's black and blue fur, gray spikes, and even its canine paws into metallic equivalents. The Pokemon's head is left largely unchanged, save for a new neon color scheme for its pale blue-on-dark black eyes, the equally bright blue insides of its ears, and the shiny crests sticking out of its back. However, the rest of Lucario's body appears to be sheathed in a high-tech bodysuit with hexagonal blue armor plating. Its limbs appear to be either wrapped in or made from slabs of black plastic with pale blue detailing. Under the armor plating, more black surfaces can be glimpsed, and the creature's long blue tail appears to be made of multiple segments hinged together.
The Pokemon is shown in a dramatic martial arts pose, which is typical for Lucario. However, shunixe also opted to give the creature a neon blue staff to hold, which is rather unusual since Lucario is often shown fighting with its bare fists and feet. The Pokemon's iconic spikes are represented as pointer gray sections of its robotic armor. Interestingly, these spikes appear to be less pointy than the spikes on the biological Lucario. Finally, the robotic endoskeleton of this Lucario is visible at its knees, between the black plastic calf and the blue knee plate. This serves as a mildly unsettling reminder of what this Lucario actually is.