21. Opabinia
In general, it'd just be nice if Fossil Pokemon touched on the Cambrian Explosion again, but the Opabinia would be one of the ones I'd like to see the most. These things had a weird trunk-like proboscis that they used to scoop up prey.
As a Pokemon: I like the idea Armaldo had going where it's a rather literal land adaptation of a Cambrian animal. An Opabinia Pokemon could easily follow suit and give us something with big, thick legs, its fins arranged a big like ears, and having its proboscis acting as a literal trunk to make the thing look like an elephant!
22. Jaekelopterus
While we're on the subject of the Cambrian Explosion, these scary dudes were 3 meters long and were basically giant sea scorpions. In fact, they're one of, if not the largest arthropod ever known to exist. And as you'd figure from their appearance, they were fierce predators too.
As a Pokemon: I feel like the “turn it into a land animal” approach would take something unique away from a Jaekelopterus Pokemon, since at that point you might as well be making a scorpion. But a Poison/Rock sea scorpion that turns into a behemoth not too much unlike Golisopod would be rad too!
23. Assassin Bug
These mini-beasties have one of the most distinct faces among insects, with their rod-like head and folded proboscis. They pounce onto prey, and with their proboscis, inject digestive fluid that dissolves another insect's innards for it to drink.
As a Pokemon: This one in particular is called a Wheel Bug, which I've also in envisioned having a motorcycle motif where the big hump in its center is a literal wheel that it spins to travel quickly. And seeing a mating pair in person, where the smaller one rides on the back of another, got me thinking you could also have an evolution where it gets a second wheel bug to act as a side-car.
24. Narwhal
I don't know why this one isn't in the game yet either. It really looks like it aughta be a Gen 1 Pokemon, now that I look at it.
As a Pokemon: I've always liked the idea of a Water/Ghost Narwhal that wears the wreckage of a ship like a helmet, and has the bowsprit serving as its “horn.”
25. Mantis Shrimp
The is one of my biggest wants for a new Pokemon. Not a mantis nor a shrimp, it has a mechanism in its arms that store up energy before releasing it as a punch that moves faster than your eye can blink. They use this to knock prey unconcious, if not just shattering their shell or killing them outright. They're notoriously difficult to keep in aquariums because they can so easily shatter aquarium glass if you're not careful. There's also a species with more scythe-like arms similar to their namesake mantis.
As a Pokemon: I'd personally rather have it as a Bug/Water type, but given punching is its entire thing it probably would end up being Fighting type. Either way, you could definitely model it after boxing motifs or take cues from circus strongmen, with its antennules posing like a mustache.
26. Harvestman
Another arachnid that's often mistaken for a spider, and is also known as “Daddy Long Legs.” They're also said to be one of the most venomous arachnids on the planet but their fangs are too small to penetrate skin, which is also false; they're entirely harmless to humans. All sorts of misconceptions about these guys! What they CAN do is group up in huge clumps that look like hairy growths on walls and other surfaces, no doubt seen in a number of videos online about how terrifying they are when you bother them and they scatter.
As a Pokemon: I think a harvetman Pokemon could work well under the Alolan Exeggutor treatment where it stands ridiculously tall on super long legs. And to sweeten the deal, the main Pokemon itself would be the “daddy” of hundreds of little babies that live on its body to form a beard, which springs to life for certain attack animations.
27. Blue Sea Dragon
This species of sea slug is one of the prettiest nudibranchs out there, and that's saying something with how pretty nudibranchs are. They float upside-down toward the water's surface eating man-o-war tissue, the stinging cells of which then get converted into its own weapon to give it a nasty sting as well.
As a Pokemon: It could easily fit in as a graceful Lapras-like Water/Dragon, Poison/Water or Poison/Dragon creature, but a fun twist on that would be that it's perpetually and visibly upside-down at all times.
CONTENT WARNING: Mention/description of animal abuse
28. Glass Tetra
The fish most famous for having see-through skin, these fish are sadly victims of good ol' capitalism where they're essentially poisoned for a profit as they're caught in droves and injected with dye to make them look pretty and colorful. This practice kills 80% of them in the process, and the remaining 20% are sold in pet stores because of how popular they are as pet fish.
As a Pokemon: Pokemon's not been a stranger to having Pokemon based on the harm people tend to do to animals. It's recently turned out to be likely that Shuckle's initial concept was based on snake wine, and there's a theory that Sandaconda is at least loosely based on the awful practice where some pet snakes are essentially bred to be born with innate brain damage. Plus Galarian Corsola's rather grim view on what's happening to what little's left of our coral reefs. Not to mention how many pollution-based Pokemon there are. In this same light, a Ghost type Glass Tetra with an ethereal look to it that merely shows the fish-bone inside and has the “dye” pouring out of it could be as creepy and horrible as it is pretty. Though of course, it could simply be described as colored ethereal energy to keep the theme vague enough.
29. Spiny Lobster
Weird to imagine for how many crabs, shrimp, and even a crawfish Pokemon that we have, we still don't have a proper “lobster” Pokemon! Though yeah, Crawdaunt/crawfish is still fairly lobster-esque so that much gets at least a hand-wave. So instead of suggesting a merely plain lobster, here we have a Spiny Lobster, a lobster with a distinct lack of pincher claws and instead having two large, spined antennae.
As a Pokemon: I've liked to imagine these guys as a crossbow-shaped Pokemon that fires rocks like arrows!
30. Luna Moth
Despite how many Lepidoptera Pokemon we have, we barely have any that are based on any one species. These pretty moths have huge tails on their wings that are actually good at throwing off the echolocation of bats, making them hard to detect at night.
As a Pokemon: Luna Moths are so pretty, they're almost begging to be a majestic Legendary with a moon motif. But alas, Lunala is already a thing... either way, I'd be down for even just a simple cosmic-themed Luna Moth Pokemon.
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