When it comes to the world of PokemonThere is no water-type quite as useless as Magikarp though That didn’t stop one talented fan from coming up with a unique regional variant that could be much more useful. Despite how popular it is among the community, Magikarp is one of the bigger “meme” Pokemon since its move set is particularly weak. When first catching a Magikarp, the only ability it has is splash, which does nothing, but those who persist in leveling it will eventually unlock Tackle, which is only marginally better.
Over on Reddit, user qobrosii shared a picture of their take on a regional variant of Magikarp and the artwork is so good that One can easily imagine that it is in the 10th generation Pokemon Games.
The artist explains that they envision the Magikarp as a normal/earth-type, suggesting that whatever place it spawns in is forced to evolve away from needing water to survive. Qobrosii also explains that their Magikarp will evolve into an Earth/Dragon GyaradosHint that they are already developing artwork to illustrate the change.
Regional variants are very popular
But some Pokemon players aren’t fans
Introduced in Pokemon Sun and MoonRegional variants allowed developer Gamefreak to go back to the drawing board for older Pokemon and give them a fresh coat of paint, often even tweaking them mechanically. The Pokemon community generally received the twist well, leading to variants returning in Sword & Shield, Legends: ArceusAnd Scarlet and violet. But despite the popularity, Many believe Gamefreak runs the risk of leaning too heavily on the new designs.
While some regional variants like Alolan Sandshrew and Galarian Pontya have garnered a lot of praise from players, some believe that the changes are too extreme. Many designs, especially for Hisuyan variants, have been criticized for changing too many aspects of the original Pokémon.Prompting users to question why a variant was needed when Gamefreak seemingly wanted to create a completely different pocket monster. Despite these concerns, regional variants aren’t going anywhere and will likely be featured in the next game in the series.
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As for Magikarp, the Flowering Fish is still one of the most iconic water types in the whole Pokemon franchise, meaning it would be the perfect contender for a new regional variant. One can only hope that Gamefreak recognizes the popularity of Magikarp and gives players something new to grab. Even though it’s incredibly useless, one can’t help but admire the idleness of that splashing fish.
Source: qobrosii/reddit