One Pokemon fan has created a family tree featuring Water Bird Pokemon, theorizing how they may have evolved over thousands of years. Game Freak and The Pokemon Company are no strangers to introducing a number of different forms of established monsters in the mainline Pokemon games, such as regional variations and the battle-specific evolutions, Mega Evolutions.
For Gen 9, the developers designed a number of new Paradox Pokemon that were introduced to Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet. These monsters look similar to established Pokemon, such as Jigglypuff and Misdreavous, but are altogether different beings that are much harder to catch and have different class types. One fan of the franchise has taken the evolutionary line one step further.
The artist known as Alex_Fantastico on Reddit has created a family tree tracing back evolutionary lines of the Water Bird Pokemon including Spearow, Wingull, and Quaxly to show how the lineage of each Pokemon could have come to be. The in-depth chart fills in the gaps by imagining how certain monsters might have bred with other similar creatures to create the monsters fans know and love. This huge undertaking has been presented in a pixel art style that is not unlike the official sprites created by The Pokemon Company.
The family tree isn’t the first one in the series as Fantastico has previously documented the ancestry of Otter Pokemon as well as other evolutionary lines. Fans seem to enjoy the artist’s work, with many of the comments praising the art style and the humorous names, such as Whyduck and Whytheducknot given to the parental stages of Psyduck and Golduck respectively.
Pokemon fans have been creating their own versions of pocket monsters for years, and even though the official roster has hit over 1000 creatures, the community is still able to bring their own creations to life. Recently, a fan has created a Paradox version of Wailord that builds on the simplistic Gen 3 whale by giving it a Sharpedo-style makeover.
It seems Game Freak and The Pokemon Company are keen to explore ancient Pokemon themselves. Pokemon Legends: Arceus introduced Hisuian forms of creatures such as Ursaluna, a third-stage evolutionary form of Teddiursa, which can only be evolved in the historical setting of Hisui. While the creature seems stuck in the past, recent data mining shows that Ursaluna could be making its way to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet at a later date.