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090: Shellder

Very different from the Shellder on Slowbro, Shellder is another one of Gen 1's simple but effective designs. There's not a ton to it other than Pokemon's only bivalve at the time. It interoperates the clam's foot as a tongue, which it's commonly mistaken for, but still looks nice with its face. I would've made it more obviously a void of darkness Shellder peeks out of, but it's still a neat Pokemon!

Personal Score: 7/10

This Pokemon was brought to you by Crest.

091: Cloyster

Sadly, I just plain don't like Cloyster as much. It picked up the unique aspect in that it's a bivalve creature that opens "sideways" rather than vertically, and the detail on the shell is neat while still looking fairly natural. Another creature that looks more inspired by an animal than directly lifting from it. But then you get to the face and it all just goes out the window for me.

I can't call Cloyster outright bad, let alone Persian-tier in terms of a letdown, but that face just REALLY doesn't do it for me. A smug smirk on its face, and some much more typical angry eyes. It just feels like it has way too much attitude overlap with Electrode or even Gastly, especially these days where we have more than enough Pokemon with a confident attitude to them. I would've loved it, even if it just kept Shellder's face wholesale. But here, it's just rubbing me as a little generic.