Let's Talk About Pokemon - The Squirtle Family

007 - Squirtle

Something about Squirtle just makes it fare better in my head than Charmander ever has. It feels funny, considering the two look dangerously close to one-another, but I do think it's a visage that just suits Squirtle's design language a little better. Squirtle's all about the sturdy but still round shapes, with a domed skull, cartoon turtle shell, and the swirl swoop of a tail. I in part wonder if English localization saw that and thought up the name "Squirtle" not just because it's a mish-mash of "Squirt" and "Turtle", but also it sounds like "squirrel".

I think the beaked mouth also gives Squirtle's design a bit of bite, even if it still isn't much real-estate on its face, but it is a touch of the real thing that makes the fictional design feel like a fine adaptation.

008 - Wartortle

Wartortle is largely the same design as Squirtle, but a little bit taller, plus with angry eyes, but it also includes those odd little swoops for "ears". Plus the swirled tail turned into a puff of "clouds" or "mist" sprouting from its behind, which adds an unexpected tinge of elegance to an otherwise "cool dude" kind of design.

What it is likely a reference to is the minogame, an animal from Japanese folklore that is a turtle that has a tail made of seaweed and/or algae, and it lives for 10,000 years. But to mention something a little funnier, the Pokedex also mentions its tail is where it stores oxygen while underwater, which could very well be a PG reference to how some turtles can actually breath through their cloaca.

009 - Blastoise

It feels odd, then, that Blastoise just drops almost all of what Wartortle was going for, ditching the ears and cloudy tail in favor of its shell opening up to reveal two water cannons, looking alarmingly inorganic for an otherwise very biological Pokemon. Like, is that made of external bone, or something? One would have to assume so, with a turtle's shell being part of its skeleton, and Blastoise never got retconned into being a Water/Steel type, like it feels like it should be, in retrospect.

I think the dropping of the mythical elements a mild shame, because you could have kept the cannons AND the swirly tail, you could pass it off as something like "smoke" or steam "exhaust" from the pressure of shooting projectile water out of its own body. And in this case I think they could have reasonably gotten away with it, since Blastoise's design is notably more simple than Venusaur's.

Otherwise, I do think it's at least a pretty solid design. It feels convincingly built like a tank, with its big body contrasted by its somewhat stubby limbs. It almost looks a bit like it's meant to be an especially cool-looking fire department mascot, if those ever cared to have mascots. Or at least ones that weren't dogs. Hell, I could 100% buy that this is THE number-one fire-fighting Pokemon, in-universe. The line's a bit all over the place, but Blastoise is kinda cool, at least.

Personal Score: 6.5/10

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