A skilled artist and Pokémon fan has been working to give all the Starter characters a digital crochet makeover, and the adorable results show the design style would be perfect for future Pokémon games. Multiple franchises have turned real-world crafts into game designs over the years, including games like the Paper Mario series, the knitted world of Little Big Planet, and Yoshi's Crafted World.
One doesn’t have to go very far on the internet to find Pokémon-inspired fan art. A quick search on any content creation site like YouTube, DeviantArt, or Reddit will reveal hundreds if not thousands of pieces of fan art dedicated to the decades-old franchise. Pictures, sculptures, animations, and t-shirts are just a few of the creations made by such passionate fans. Even the materials vary, from clay to LEGO, pancakes, and even yarn. There have been many Pokémon fans who've turned the series' characters into crochet creatures, with one even going so far as to recreate 500 crochet Pokémon.
Redditor Kooale325 has taken crochet Pokémon one step further, turning Starters into digital animated art that wouldn't look out of place in a future Pokémon game. Kooale325's latest creation is the Generation 5 Tepig, but they have previously covered other Starters including Bulbasaur. The attention to detail and proportion is phenomenal, but what elevates these crocheted creations is the incredibly lifelike animation. Everything from the natural shadows to the reflections in their button eyes gives these crochet puppets a hypnotic sense of realism. As of now, Koolale325 has made the Starter sets of all but three of Pokémon’s named regions, with Kalos, Alola, and Galar coming soon.
The smooth, realistic animations show that a crochet art style could be an interesting new direction for future titles in the Pokémon series. As mentioned, Nintendo already has first-party titles with a yarn visual aesthetic: 2010's Kirby’s Epic Yarn for Nintendo Wii, which received a 3DS port in 2018 entitled Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn, and 2015’s Yoshi’s Wooly World for the Nintendo Wii U. Outside of Nintendo, the gaming industry has also tailored a few experiences as well, with Electronic Art’s Unravel and, of course, Sony’s Little Big Planet series. Since the yarn aesthetic seems to have already proven its novelty, it would not be so farfetched to one day see an in-game crocheted Farfetch'd.
While it’s fun to imagine new directions for a series like Pokémon, such a decision would ultimately be up to Nintendo. One thing is certain, fans will continue to show their love for the franchise in every way they can. Much like the Pokémon games that inspire art, the work will always be enjoyed and appreciated by members of the community. And if one style happens to inspire a new entry in the Pokémon series, all the better.