Let's Talk About Pokemon - Venonat and Venomoth

048 - Venonat

Another cute bug!! Arguably cuter than Paras, but with a line concept that's notably more straightforward. It's another Bug/Poison type, this time as a strange, buggy gremlin monster whose only identifiable insectoid features are the compound eyes, antenna, and the muzzle and teeth eluding to insect mouths. The rest of it is simply a big, purple fuzz ball with little nubby limbs.

Venonat is pretty nebulous, but I do think it's at least loosely based on woolly caterpillars, just, broadly. And naturally, I'll sing praises for Venonat in how it sports rare features you don't usually see on bug Pokemon, especially those pupiless, compound eyes.

049 - Venomoth

Just as Butterfree seem to be capturing the concept of butterflies as a whole, here's Venomoth, here to represent moths on a broad scale. And it's a decent little moth critter! With a trident-horned head that kinda looks cool, almost like applying a dragonhead caterpillar's horns to a fully-grown lepidoptera. Though it does seem to follow the general idea that moths are the duller, less exciting and more nocturnal cousins of butterflies, with its more monochromatic colors, all of which are different muted purples.

These two for me are kinda in the same camp to me as Fearow, where I think they are far too often overlooked, but I'm not exactly wild about them myself. Just while I don't love them, I do like them better than their own, more recognizable counterparts. I do see perhaps why it doesn't excite anybody; it doesn't excite me either, but I do at least think between the head shape giving it a hint that this isn't quite as friendly as butterfree, while also giving a more subtle hint of danger. It's based around the concept of spreading the dusty scales that make up a moth's wings actually being a poisonous dust. Which, sure, decent enough idea. It's cool and I wish it got more attention, though yeah, not like I don't see it as super exciting either. I just like it! A regular amount!

Personal Score: 7.5/10

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