Players were introduced to the Galar region in Pokémon Sword & Shield, ushering in the eighth generation of the long-running video game series. Each new generation sees the arrival of a new set of starter Pokémon, and in Sword & Shield players had the choice between the fire-type Scorbunny, the water-type Sobble, and the grass-type Grookey. Like with all starters, these Pokémon have three-stage evolutions as well as a simple rock-paper-scissors dynamic between their typings.
But another trend has emerged for starter Pokémon over the past few years, one which may be becoming a new tradition. Game Freak, the studio behind developing the games, has increasingly been giving the final evolutions of starter Pokémon unusually humanoid appearances. While many of these starters are still beloved by the fan base -- and a choice few like Decidueye manage to rank highly in popularity polls -- the new design philosophy has been a common criticism among longtime fans.
The initial trend toward humanoid starters can be traced back to Generation 6, which is when bipedal designs started to become dominant among the starter trios. Generation 6 brought us Chesnaught, Greninja, and Delphox. These starters aren't as humanoid as their counterparts in later generations, yet they were the first to have a human-based theme -- Chesnaught is a paladin, Greninja is a ninja, and Delphox is a witch. Since then, similar themes have characterized the starter trios. In Generation 7, Decidueye is an archer, Primarina is a mermaid, and Incineroar is a heel wrestler. In Generation 8, Rillaboom is a musician, Inteleon is a spy, and Cinderace is a soccer player. It remains a striking contrast to earlier generations, which emphasized creating elemental beasts out of familiar animals. Newer designs have a friendlier, non-threatening appeal.
The natural result of these human-based themes are humanoid designs. Out of the nine starters that have been introduced in the previous decade, seven of them are undeniably bipedal, with Greninja and Primarina being the only two exceptions. The most controversial bipedal designs among them are Delphox, Incineroar, and Inteleon because their earlier evolutions were quadrupeds, causing many fans to respond with surprise and outrage when the final evolutions were revealed. The criticism levied was that Game Freak was intent on making starters bipedal humanoids regardless of whether or not it resulted in interesting and well-designed Pokémon.
This brings us back to Generation 8. It's the first generation in the series to have a starter trio which is 100% comprised of bipedal humanoids. On top of that, previous "accessory" design traits like Greninja having a tongue scarf or Incineroar having a belt have been accentuated. Inteleon appears to be wearing gloves and perhaps a sleek suit. Cinderace seems to be wearing shorts. Generation 8 is the most humanoid yet, and Game Freak has shown no sign of changing course for Generation 9.
So why does this matter? Starter Pokémon, by their very nature, are inevitably players' first companions on their journey as a trainer. They often become the cornerstone of your team and feel special because no one else in the game shares the starter you chose. This means starters need a higher design standard than the hundreds of other Pokémon, which can be encountered throughout the games, and need final evolutions which excite players rather than disappoint them after they've put in the effort to level up their Pokémon. Sure, it's impossible to satisfy every player, but that's the very crux of the issue here. When the three choices players are given become increasingly homogeneous, more and more players walk away dissatisfied than not.
There's nothing wrong with Chesnaught or Incineoroar or Inteleon on an individual level; humanoid Pokémon can be fan favorites. But the beauty of the starter trios in generations past was the power to choose between vastly different creature companions. Game Freak needs to hand choice back to the player when it comes to starter Pokémon, rather than assuming the friendly humanoid is for everyone.