If my text is small it looks like I'm whispering

293: Whismur

After a string of repeat concepts, we're finally starting to bleed into Gen 3's more original concepts! And Whismur is an adorable little Normal-type, presented as a timid creature that's quiet normally, but will begin letting out ear-piercing cries when upset or threatened. A funny little detail to go with this is how it has big lobes to cover its earholes with when it DOES do the screaming. And of course, the nervous expression is adorable too.

Someone looked at this and thought "what if it beat-boxed?"

294: Loudred

Loudred goes even more abstract as a creature, though sadly doing away with the timid charm Whismur had. It's hard to be too upset with something so wholey original like we keep saying, but it's just not the same as Whismur y'know? That said, there are definite props in making it feel very Gen 1 in terms of how just plain monstrous it is. Its only feature that even remotely resembles a real-life animal is its hippopotamus-like mouth, and that's about it. The speaker ears (speakears?) are also a neat touch. It's a design we can appreciate, even if we're not huge fans of it.

MY CAPTION GETS TO BE LARGE

295: Exploud

The creature abstract isn't even lost in Exploud here, which says a lot given how many Pokemon iron out into a more recognizable creature as they evolve. Exploud is now covered in huge tubes that make it look like a pipe organ, apparently being where whistling sounds come from. In a lot of ways, Exploud feels like it exists in the same vein as Lickitung, Magmar, or Electabuzz did as creatures, where they took an abstract idea like "licking", "fire", or "electricity" and turn it into a creature. In this case, this is the result of turning the concept of "sound" into a creature. A big, hollering monstrosity with big tubes for orifices.

It's also been a Pokemon that many have argued is a reason why there should've been a "Sound" type by now, but "sound" as a concept is almost far too limiting to make a series of creatures based on it. Even Fairy and Dragon both took a bit to broaden what kind of creatures they could be. Normal does kind of feel like the perfect "element" to represent sound with though. Sound is something you could reasonably say exists as a more neutral force than say, plants or fire or water.