Oops, I'm just Meganium but cooler

357: Tropius

Tropius is one of the most absurd concepts to ever befall Pokemon. Maybe not that noticeable when you first absorb Tropius on a base level. Oh, a sauropod that flies? That's Pokemon alright. Or ah, a banana tree sauropod? Makes sense! Even a tropical tree that flies is something you could see as an oddball in Pokemon. But then these three concepts mush together and you acquire a flying dinosaur that is also part banana tree. WHAT?!? And for that, it's easy to find Tropius loveable. What else is even LIKE it in monster-media space?!?!? Let alone fiction in GENERAL.

This is another case where we wish there were more designs like this. I guess the best way to call it would be a "non-sequitur design". There's probably a handful others across the whole series, but the closest to this level of off-the-wall combination would be MAYBE Alolan Golem, with it being a spherical reptile with magnetic facial hair and a cannon, as well as being a spinoff of Golem.

Tropius though somehow manages to merge these seemingly hat-pulled features into a surprisingly competent creature design! A cross between a tropical tree and a dinosaur already feels like an easy gimme. The tropical leaves for wings, however, are a really neat touch for this odd little tropical dino. And even the little touches, like the beard of bananas growing on its neck just adds to the absurdism. Tropius somehow feels like one of those AI-generated Fakemon, but still somehow so oddly coherent in a way that shouldn't be possible. Tropius is just breaking rules and doing it really well.