A very creative Pokemon fan has shared their vision of what regional versions of the original Kanto starters would look like with alternative elements. With many long-time Pokemon fans very familiar with the types of Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, it is probably interesting to see the Gen 1 pocket creatures have regional versions with different elements than what they originally had.
Seeing fanart of Pokemon in different versions is something that the franchise's community seems to be very familiar with. Pokemon c ommunity members have been witness to different original pieces of their favorite pocket creatures, whether it is a special Paradox form from Scarlet and Violet or a humanoid version of a Pokemon. Given that there are only a handful of regional Pokemon in the universal Pokedex, it is not surprising for artists to visualize their own versions of these pocket creatures in their pieces.
On Reddit, user Excellent_Echidna_95 shared how they envisioned regional versions for the original Kanto starter Pokemon. The first image of the post showcased a handcrafted figure of the artist's regional version of Charmander. Calling it "Bloomander," this means that the Pokemon is now a Grass-type instead of its original Fire-type. This is seen in how the artist used a green color for Bloomander's body instead of Charmander's iconic orange shades, while a blossom is put at the end of its tail instead of the Pokemon's well-known flame.
The other image in the post showed off the artist's different regional versions for each of the Gen 1 Kanto starters. Fans will likely appreciate the Fire and Water-types for Bulbasaur, the Water-type Charmander, as well as the Grass-type Squirtle. The element changes can be seen very clearly in the color schemes used to create their Pokemon figures. What's more, Excellent_Echidna_95 also provided a bit of lore behind their regional Pokemon, sharing stories of how the regional versions came about in their Pokemon universe. Fans who are curious about each of the artist's redesigns can check the forum thread to see more photos and information of their work.
Many fans seemed to be very interested in Excellent_Echidna_95's, especially since they are handcrafted figures of Pokemon. Comments on the Reddit thread showed how impressed they were with the idea and details behind each piece. Hopefully the artist continues their work, and shares more of their redesigns with the community. Many fellow Pokemon fans would likely love to see how they would envision regional versions of other starter Pokemon from across the different generations.