Let's Talk About Pokemon - Budew and Roserade

'v'

406: Budew

In an odd turn, Roselia gets a baby AND an evolved form. And as usual, we can't help but ask how necessary is this baby form? Roselia worked fine and passable as a first-stage 'Mon, but eh. Either way, Budew exists, and we have to put up with that fact.

Budew is cute at least, with an adorable expression and odd anatomy. We always appreciate it when plant monsters have unorthodox anatomy, like Budew having a couple "arms" situated around its head like a budding flower. They still function as arms, but it's just weird enough to look more like stalks on a plant, which is a cute little detail.

"My job here is done."

"But you didn't do anything."

407: Roserade

Nah though, we're sorry, but Roserade feels like a significant downgrade from Roselia. On its own it seems fine, we like the rose-petal hair (although it looks a little too much like hair than rose petals), but it's lost all of its thorny qualities that made Roselia interesting. And what are those roses? It has bouquets for hands, which is a fun evolution of Roselia, but the way they're drawn is just a little bit laughable, especially when Roselia's are rendered so well.

Roserade also has a bit of a "masked hero" thing going on, which is fitting for the rose thing, but we can't help but think there must've been a more clever way to pull this off than just playing it as straight as possible. Like, surely that cape could've served as more of a cool cloak to make Roserade itself look like a bouquet, and then it can fling this cloak back to reveal thorns and spikes on its body. And the way that mask is drawn is a little goofy, far from a replacement for Roselia's more serene expression.

Roselia was a neat plant monster because it was cute and charming, but nonetheless had the thorns on its body to denote at least a passive hint of danger. Fairly fitting for a rose Pokemon. Roserade just plays it cool, but isn't interested in incorporating half of a rose's interesting traits, so it might as well not be a rose Pokemon.

Personal Score: 5.5/10

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