These Realistic Pokemon Will Make You Want to Put on Your Running Shoes

If you've ever wondered what Pokemon would probably look like in real life, one man who goes by the name Arvalis (pronounced like marvelous, and real name RJ Palmer) on DeviantArt, has been hard at work making depictions. In fact, he's made so many that he has two different art books for sale; Realistic Pokemon Vol. 1 and Realistic Pokemon Vol. 2. He's done over 100 Pokemon and has recently made a twitter post giving followers a head's up that he will be publishing even more drawings this fall. Just as a word of explanation, we will replace the idea of levels with age since this is supposed to life-like. 

It's a little intimidating to imagine if Pokemon were real. Could you imagine playing Pokemon Go and, as you turn your phone to find that animated model of Weedle, you see it sitting next to a real Mewtwo right in front of you? If that still doesn't sound scary to you, wait until you get to the end of this slideshow.

Squirtle - Wartortle - Blastoise

The lovable water-based starter from the first generation in Kanto, Squirtle, in the top right, is childishly enjoying the presence of a baby Magikarp. As it hits age 16, in the bottom left, it looks a little bit more aggressive. By age 36, it has become a full Blastoise. Judging by the average life of many turtles, there's still a lot of years ahead for this Blastoise.

Below you can see RJ Palmer as he makes his illustration in Photoshop. He notes that the work took him 15 hours to finish, but he has compressed it to 16 minutes for you to enjoy the process. 

Charmander - Charmeleon - Charizard

The second lovable Pokemon starter from Kanto, Charmander, is depicted slightly different from the animated version in regards to body type. In the games and shows, he's seen to be a little bit chubbier. Keeping true to the real-life factors though, RJ Palmer took the dragon-type design to its base of origin as it shows reptilian features. It almost looks like a Basilisk, which if you're a zoologist or a mildly decent Google searcher, you'll know the irony is that it is very skilled at running across the surface of water. As it ages through its 36 year cycle, reaching maturity as a Charizard, you can see that it would cause panic if it started moving its hunting grounds into your neighborhood.

Below you can see RJ Palmer as he makes his illustration in Photoshop. He notes that the work took him 12 hours to finish while doing a live-stream, but he has compressed it to 9 minutes for you to enjoy the process.  

Bulbasaur - Ivysaur - Venusaur  

The third and final first-generation starter from Kanto, Bulbasaur, is a tough looking little lizard with its light-hearted green plant bulb on its back. But it quickly loses its cuteness. Ivysaur, in the far bottom left, looks like it could really do some damage if you ran across it in the wilderness. The really intimidating things in this picture though are located in the middle and slightly above Venusaur. Do you see those bees? They're larger than a human head. And Venusaur himself/herself looks pretty tough.

Below you can see RJ Palmer as he makes his illustration in Photoshop. He notes that the work took him 15 hours to finish, but he has compressed it to 16 minutes for you to enjoy the process. 

Gyarados

While I already have a strict rule about not going into the ocean past my thighs, due to sharks, if we learned there were populations of Gyarados Pokemon also lurking about, I wouldn't go deeper than my toes. It has a short temper, and if it also had the ability to turn into a Mega Gyarados, nothing would survive around it. In RJ's depiction, it looks to be purely water-type, therefore it does not have the perk of flying, unless it's Mega form would allow the Dark power to give it some form of the ability. I'm no scientist, and maybe Larry Everett of GameSkinny could "science the shit out of it," but with the body similar to a snake, I'm sure it would be ridiculously fast underwater!

Steelix

While RJ didn't include any teeth in this drawing, its probably for the greater good. The addition would probably cause nightmares. Add the teeth and a weird mutation, and you would have a real-life Tremor causing mass chaos. Being made out of steel would mean nobody could use a cement wall or dynamite to kill it. We could try to huddle up on giant boulders, but seeing as that fits into their wheel house, I don't see that being any safer.

Totodile - Croconaw - Feraligatr 

Totodile in the bottom right looks friendly and playful but quickly changes with age. Even in the middle stage of life, Croconaw, looks like a vicious little monster and is already bigger than the average human. The long bright fins of Feraligatr would be the ultimate heart-attack to see while swimming; a shark is horrifying, an alligator equally so, but to see a hybrid of the two would be unfathomable. If Pokemon were real, the stock price for indoor pool manufacturers would shoot through the roof; no natural water would ever be safe again.

Below you can see RJ Palmer as he makes his illustration in Photoshop. He notes that the work took him 50 hours to finish (the same time it took to make Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise combined), but he has compressed it to 3 videos, each roughly 23 minutes, for you to enjoy the process.  

Ninetails

The wolf-like elegance carries through with Ninetails, even though it's supposed to be fox-like. As Pokemon has taught us through generations, it usually is extremely friendly as long as it is treated with respect. If you could acquire one while it was still a Vulpix, I believe it would make the most bad-ass pet with its ability to understand human speech and keep you warm with its internal flame if it crawled up at the foot of the bed. 

Kyogre

Part of the Weather Trio, Kyogre is the mascot of Pokemon Sapphire. If Pokemon were real, maybe Team Aqua would be as well, which would spell disaster for the real-world. While habitat enthusiasts would appreciate its ability to create more water environments, Earth is not in a great position to receive too much sea elevation (Plus, this means greater populations of Feraligatrs and Gyarados,). Its potential beauty would make it a much appreciated addition to the ecosystem, though, if we were to simply ignore the many negatives.

Eevee

An extremely mysterious Pokemon, Eevee has the ability to turn into 1 of 8 different types of Pokemon due to its unique genetic build: Umbreon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Flareon, Espeon, Glaceon, Leafeon, and Sylveon (from left to right in the picture, without the inclusion of Sylveon). It adapts to the environment it lives in when its final form is decided. Some look friendlier than others, but, as a pet, the ability to prevent its change would be the more promising choice as it looks ridiculously fluffy and innocent as Eevee.

Below you can see RJ Palmer as he makes his illustration in Photoshop. He doesn't note how long the work took him to finish, but he has compressed it to 15 minutes for you to enjoy the process.  

Mewtwo

The history of Mewtwo being scientifically made from a pregnant Mew would be completely believable if society wasn't already extremely suspicious of aliens. This model of it in realistic form is truly intimidating, not to mention its possessed powers and psychic abilities.

Mew looks extremely innocent in this depicted form, as it also does throughout the animated Pokemon universe, but I don't foresee it being able to combat efficiently like in the latter. Just look at what a Mewtwo encounter would look like below. This is why it is debated to be the strongest of all Pokemon, aside from the original genetic make-up of Mew who possesses the DNA of all Pokemon. 

Conclusion

For the greater good, it's best that Pokemon will stay in the world of video games and television. They have always been a loving bunch for many people growing up (and having been grown up), but the transition they make into the real-world is fairly scary to think of; not to mention they would probably carve us out of existence in a short time. Perhaps a virtual reality game would deliver the ultimate experience while keeping us completely safe. Pokemon Go has done a decent job creating a real-life simulation of Pokemon. But for now, we can all sleep safe knowing there isn't a Mewtwo lurking in the woods by our house, or a Gyarados in our favorite swimming spot...hopefully.