Nothing in here but us, uhhhh, stalks of grass!

185: Sudowoodo

Sudowoodo is a super fun one! The whole premise, execution, and personality of this thing is just such a treat of a design. Sudowoodo may LOOK like a Grass type, but it's actually Rock! This silly guy, for whatever reason, will do its best to pretend to be a tree. It'll stand in a single spot with its arms out, posed like tree branches, and will even occasionally sway back and forth as if to pretend its swaying in the wind! Just like how some foliage-imitating insects do! In fact, I also want to say Sudowoodo here is at least abstractly based on a stick insect, just interpreted as a creature that isn't a bug.

Of course, the real irony of this mimicing behavior is that when you try to water it like a plant, you'll end up scaring it because, well, it's Rock type, and is therefore weak to Water. That's such an adorably neat punchline to this "joke design"! And it's not like this weakness completely makes Sudowoodo the butt of a joke, because it actually would be quite smart for a "Rock type" to mimic a "Grass type"! Seeing how Rock also happens to resist a number of Grass' weaknesses, like Fire, Flying, and Poison.

I do also like how Sudowoodo isn't exactly a perfect mimic either. Like sure, it resembles a plant enough to probably fool a number of animals and make us as kids wonder why it isn't Grass type, but when you take a real good look at it, does it REALLY resemble a tree all that much? We all commend and find it impressive that a number of moth and butterfly species have wings that look identical to dried up leaves, but we also tend to forget not every animal's mimicry is exactly on-point, like this caterpillar that is trying to look like the world's least intimidating snake. The important part is that you tried, lil buddy.

And ALL THAT isn't even getting into Sudowoodo as a raw design, either! I've always enjoyed Sudowoodo's bizarre body shape, right down to how it has a tall, hot-dog like body trying its best to resemble a tree trunk. Plus the long, thin arms with the comically short legs really add to it. And of course those odd green fingertips giving the thing an oddly gecko-like feel to it. And to go back to my stick insect thoughts on this thing, it even has something resembling "antennae" on its head!

The spots also serve as a good way to add a little texture to its otherwise mostly bare body, as well as looking like a wood pattern. All of that topped up with an adorably simple unassuming face is just the cherry on top. It's also good at emphasizing its playful-but-cowardly personality too! While maybe not up there with my absolute favorites, it's hard to say Sudowoodo is anything short of a perfect design.