There was a LOT of laziness that went into designing 1st-Gen Pokemon, but I'll admit, the bulk of them are evolutions of Pokemon. Many 1st-gen evolutions are just bigger versions of the monsters they "evolved" from with hardly anything different but facial expressions, or they're just multiples of the same Pokemon but made into a Pokemon Centipede / Spider.
Pictured below: some of the laziest Pokemon evolutions EVER.
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*The sad thing is that I actually still like some of these guys.
Some designs I personally don't like much, as it doesn't suit my personal tastes, but I see what they were going for.
This guy, for example. I understand that this is a muscleman, like a pro-wrestler. The belt and the red marking that might be veins are neat touches. I just have never been a muscleman person. I never really got into wrestling, and I'll probably choose any other Smash Bro (even Snake) before picking Captain Falcon (except Ganondorf).
But then there are designs that are just flat-out hideous, making me yell like the Angry Video Game Nerd "What were they thinking?"
Exeggcute just brings up so many questions with its design, you're gonna want to grab a snack while I list them all. Why are they pink? I'm not sure if pink eggs happen. Ever. Why are there six of them? Do there have to be? Do they each have there own mind, or do they have a hive mind? What happens when one or more of them is separated from the rest? Are they born at the same time or join in a group later? Is one member of the group always cracked like that? Does that one have drain bamage? How exactly are these Grass Pokemon? What happens to them when they evolve? Exeggutor only has three heads, so where do the other three go? The Pokedex says that fallen Exeggutor heads can become Exeggcute. Exeggutor's supposed to be a coconut tree, right? Does a 2-meter fall really crack a coconut that badly? How have they not all cracked yet?!? AAAAAAAAAAAAH!
I just realized how Exeggcute's psychic powers work. They make you question its design in so many logical ways that your brain nearly snaps.
One would logically think that baby Pokemon are supposed to be cuter (or at least more marketable to little kids) versions of Pokemon that already exist. One DID NOT think that for Igglybuff, IMO the ugliest baby Pokemon that wasn't meant to be ugly. I'm guessing they only made a baby for Jigglypuff, a Pokemon that is already meant to be admired by little girls (or used as Japanese pillows), because its rather similar companions Pikachu and Clefairy were getting baby forms, too. I don't know if it's the eyes that look way too big for its tiny body, or the lack of ears, or the fact that its curl in this stage is just a squiggle on its head rather than looking like hair like its evolved forms, but I never really liked Igglybuff's design and bemoaned how my Odd Egg in Crystal hatched into one of these instead of a Pichu (or any other baby).
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And now for something a bit different, a situation with good-looking Pokemon gone awry.
I have to post the whole family here as a visual aid. But let me make this clear:
I like these Pokemon and their individual designs. Squirtle looks so tiny and cute with its blue skin and curly little tail. Wartortle is also pretty cool-looking, like a wise older turtle monster. The curly tail of Squirtle has become a gushing fountain, and the earlike fins are a nice touch. Blastoise just looks badass, too, as a giant turtle with water cannons hidden and popping from its back to hose down enemies with a vengeance. The Pokemon all look good. ...by themselves.
Where the Squirtle line falls apart is how they tie together. On their own, Wartortle and Blastoise look good, and they could definitely work as evolutions of Squirtle. The problem is that they look like completely different concepts for how Squirtle was supposed to evolve. Wartortle evokes the sense that Squirtle will eventually become a wiser creature, akin to some kind of water spirit from mythology revered by the Japanese. Blastoise, on the other hand, comes off more like Squirtle was supposed to gradually advance into a water-based weapon, like he was supposed to be a walking turret that soaks enemies with the force of a fire hose. Honestly, both of these ideas would've worked; we can see that with Wartortle and Blastoise as they are presented. It just feels terribly jarring to see my starter hit Level 36 and transform from a revered spirit that looks like it could've come from Dragonball to the latest bio-experiment to be sold to the fire department.