Creating Starter Pokemon from Tarot Cards [00]

[@HMAmeri]

Now i really want to see the rest of the Major Arcana! These are awesome!

[@sandradermark8463]

Me too!! ALL Major Arcana. I want to see a Fairy Type Star card, a Grass type Empress card🎄🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓, a Steel type Emperor card, and a Fire type Sun card, and a Fairy - Psychic type Fool Card 🎉

[@ally88350]

Same

[@catfeldman3614]

for real these would all be bangers. the tower being the scary legendary and the star being the one to defeat it incredible

[@soysaucetilapia2893]

You went as far as creating their Japanese names!! Love it ❤❤

[@ardentROB]

Heck yeah, thank you! I'm still quite novice at speaking/reading Japanese, so no doubt there are errors abound. But I love wordplay, and this gives me a fun means to keep up my practice :D

[@ultimateditto4380]

I like how you expressed that you weren't bound by Gamefreak's conventions. Understandably, I get why some artists want to adhere as closely as possible to what Gamefreak does but I love seeing something like your fire starter line pushing the boundaries on what Pokemon can be. I also love the idea of a Caprastrophe and Infernape duo causing mayhem since I've heard Wukong had a mischievous personality too.

[@ardentROB]

Thank you! Visually, I want to adhere to the *elements* of their designs as best I can, but the conventions themselves can shift dramatically between generations. Understanding that, there's no real right or wrong way to approach it, so why not pursue what looks the most interesting? (Caprastrophe would have a field day enabling/contributing to Infernape's mayhem, for SURE 😂)

[@thisisbeagle2605]

god, these are such ridiculously well thought out concepts with amazing art to match! I can just FEEL this blowing up. Absolutely amazing stuff!

[@ardentROB]

That's a heck of a compliment, Thank you so much!

[@amyprincesspink]

Please make more like I want to see more designs of Pokemon inspired by the tarot and maybe you could include how other cultures have a future telling technique in ancient history in some way too? Just a thought.

[@sullivantwiss1954]

I love this! I'm going with the Grass Hierophant line! It's an adorable elephant and becomes pretty badass. I'd love to see other Major Arcana-inspired Pokemon. Especially the Strength Arcana. Please give us more Tarot Card Fakemon. You did well with this video and I want to see more.

[@peripatches]

This video was great! The tarot concept is very unique and makes hearing the details behind the designs that much more interesting. Excited for more videos from you! 😄

[@ardentROB]

Thank you! I'm glad the execution seems to have hit as well as it has :D (Believe it or not, the angle of the tarot theme started because I initially thought "hierophant elephant" made for a funny rhyming scheme. After that, the rest just fell right into place!)

[@InfamousTrainer]

Really great starters! Hands down Caprastrophe is my fave. Can't wait to see more!

[@ardentROB]

Thank you, I'm glad you like 'em! Excellent pick, too- Capra knows just how to bring the hype 😎🤘

[@KieranH612]

I would happily forfeit all my mortal possessions to the Whelkluse line

[@autumndickens1794]

Dude these are sick! I love Caprastrophe! 🔥🔥

[@ardentROB]

Thanks bro! I should have known you'd roll with that one- Excellent taste 😎🤘

[@dokuro4316]

Caprastrophe is Literally the goat🗿

[@beardlessdragon]

These are such incredible designs!! I LOVE THEM. I am always a sucker for Grass starters and almost always pick them, but I do really love this Fire starter. Having them all based on tarot and flipping in their middle stage is such a unique approach

[@lionias1272]

Anomollucs is my fav that thing is overwhelmed with life, so relateable. The rest line is awesome too the cute dumb look from whelkluse and the "i can tell your future, but you might go crazy from knowing it" look from carzcendant is so alluringly menacing.

[@doodoopop8385]

Underrated man.

[@HappyGamerNick]

These look incredible, I would love an elephant starter! Well done ❤️

[@nedeuz7198]

Absolutely adore how much attention to detail you've put into these designs!

[@witherlordmaster198]

Whelkluse is a precious baby and I love him.

[@dio1803]

I'm honestly shocked that this was your first video! This was so well done, the designs are stunning, the art style [especially of your little persona/talksprite] is wonderful and I love the concepts behind them. I love media that uses tarot themes [Jojo's and Persona being 2 big faves] so this is like.. the absolute perfect concept to me, I really hope you make more of them! Caprastrophe has my heart but man, the meaning behind Carzcendant's theme is so good that I'm kinda torn. Love love love this concept, I really hope you make more!

[@ardentROB]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I've been working on something new lately, so expect something soon. Hopefully it can live up to initial impressions! 😂 (Also, I think that's the first time anyone's commented on my talksprite, so thank you for including it amongst the feedback!)

[@bladewingmcowl5842]

The Elephant one is probably my favorite of the three starters 😊

[@LuxrayLloyd]

I'm insanely impressed. Lovely voice with nice audio, incredible editing and visual examples, excellent designs and art style along with just all the detail put into everything. I can't wait for the day you get the recognition you deserve.

[@shizathoth4534]

I’m happy to have found this channel so early. These starters are a great… well… start. I dunno who I would pick of the three. They are all too good. Fire looks the most viable gameplay wise, just for that speed. I’m not the most knowledgeable as far as competitive goes though.

[@ardentROB]

Thank you! I apologize for the dilemma, but it feels pretty good to know that it's difficult to choose between them all 😂 I've only a basic understanding of competitive myself, so we're in the same boat. I put some thought into how they would work in high-level play, but it's definitely not the highest priority, haha

[@Fincaurum]

Well as a pokemon, jojo and persona fan and as a tarot reader myself this was awesome. I love your consepts, the art style very good, even if it is not much "pokemonish" in my opinion but that's just something that makes the whole more peculiar and enjoyable. You should definitely design 3 pseudo-legendaries lines based on other arcanas ( i personally would suggest the emperor, the death and the judgement) and a legendary based on the world

[@katherineblix8060]

These are amazing both conceptually and design wise. I feel like the art may be a little too detailed for a Pokémon, but if these were for a Pokémon-like game these would be perfect.

[@Lukanimate709]

I just noticed that they somewhat follow the rules of starter designs The grass starter is a Mastodon The fire starter is a Goat (sheep is in the zodiac so it takes that spot) And the water starter is semi-aquatic and or brass knuckles (Feraligatr is now a beartrap, and the claws on the final stage look like the clubs on a mantis shrimp)

[@ardentROB]

Yup! I realized after I uploaded that I totally forgot to expand on that detail, but you pretty much got em all! I've never truly believed the weapons theory so I didn't incorporate any specific weaponry detail into carzcendant's design, but it's still dope that you could find something that fits! I like the idea of hand protection, maybe we could leap from knuckledusters to bucklers? The theory might not just be weapons, but could be armaments in general!

[@delphinelavendermorgan4627]

The fire starter reminds me of Rin from blue exorcist (does anyone remember that anime?). Can't wait to see more of your work here

[@niquezvosmeres5526]

Man these are brilliant ! ( The only minor issue I get is that the color palette is too similar sometimes. Starters pokemon change color when evolving. Especially the middle stages. ) Love your designs, omg the fire line ❤ Keep up the hard work +1 sub

[@ardentROB]

That's a great note, I totally missed that detail! Thank you, I'll remember that for next time 🤘

[@Clever_Girll]

Yoo! Your designs are amazing! I love how much personality and thought went into each pokemon. Just the amount of work and thought that went behind each line is just so passionate. My personal favorite is the water type. I love the embracing that the pokemon goes through and the design itself is drop dead beautiful: I love it! I really hope you do more designs, would love to see further of what you could create 🙌❤️

[@SabreSlade]

Dude these are such awesome designs. You're extremely talented. I hope to see more designs in the near future.

[@ardentROB]

Thank you, I'm glad these managed to impress! My process can be a little slow sometimes, but I'm working to have something new to share soon! 🤘

[@neekitsart990]

I love these pokemon, the art is so well done and the video is great! It's wild that this is the first on the channel

[@reflecto689]

I just want to note, they aren't playing cards, these are sacred cards not to be messed with, but I love this concept, keep it up ❤

[@nigelwinslow]

Not only that for water type starters, but water type starters is where weapons comes into play.

[@nuii700]

sticking to water starters and the hermit tarrot pokemon does give some epic

[@SaHaMaHa98]

The first and second stages were great! I think you captured the vibes really well. I loved that you kept the last water and grass evos animalistic and how the fire starter was evident from the very beginning to be and stay biped. Speaking of Caprastrophe, I get pseudo legendary vibes from the line. While the first two stages fit starters perfectly I think the last evo is bit too menacing. Caprastrophe gives mayor pseudo vibes and would look right at home next to Hydreigon. Mosstodian is a great design but a bit complex. He almost looks legendary in that regard. However, if you keep the upcoming designs more mature and more detailed as well then these critiques will be null as those are stylistic choises. Anyway, looking forward to seeing more!

[@akirahimurakinakiyama99]

I love them the Rashcal line is my personal favorite

[@StreyoneX]

Absolutely Wonderful!! I'd main Whelkluse, but I would definitely want em all!

[@tangerineearth8931]

My guy, this is the first video and I’m already excited for it! Keep it going 😁

[@irooi]

15:33 Personally, I would def choose Caprastrophe, i adore the devil aesthetic

[@okeanos317]

Awesome,as a tarot card reader,I could say this was awesome,as for the starters,it was funny the water and fire starters in their first form I got in terms of the major arcana,the grass i thought was going to be based on either the fool or the emperor,the fool cause of it's reckless nature,and the emperor cause i was thinking of it evolving into an elderly elephant who was like I gotta grow up and can't be that reckless,obey the rules,create structure,being an authority,being a protector/leader(all traits of the emperor),it's interesting cause the hierophant could be similar in terms of creating structure(but the other main ideas deal with groups/systems like churches,court systems,and the other key trait I think of is belief systems/cultural heritage)

[@polymori]

Absolutely loved this video! Haven't seen such unique mon designs in a long while. Defo have a new follower in me and can't wait to see more mon designs

[@guts9980]

Amazing work bro. Really underrated as well

[@saucymongoose7246]

OMG, these designs are PERFECT!!!

[@BlueDragonGalaxy]

I was immediately charmed by Whelkluse! And the final stage is a nerdy pun? In an alternate universe I'd be traversing a Pokemon region with this fella as my starter!

[@ardentROB]

I'll admit, I was expecting Whelkluse to be the least popular choice, since most folk don't find snails so exciting. So all the love it's gotten is a very welcome surprise, haha! I wish that alternate universe version of you all the best in your snailin' adventures! 🤘

[@neloangelo2082]

All 3 of them look awesome especially Carzcendant.

[@queenidragon4489]

Man all of these look great I would have a hard time picking one I usually don't like the anthropomorphic fire designs but you knocked it out of the park

[@gavinf28]

Trunklet is definitely my favourite but all 3 are expertly designed!

[@FindingNe]

Hit the ground running with this video 🙌🏼

[@xshadowx32hd66]

The grass starter should've been grass/fighting so there could be a secondary type trio of fighting, dark and psychic. Also, the water starter evolving into a crab like form is pretty funny.

[@ardentROB]

I debated on it, but secondary typings don't always need to create another rock-paper-scissors combo. An elephant being quad-weak to birds didn't make a lot of sense to me lol

[@chiragchandan9135]

Awesome video, u even made the middle stages good.

[@witherlordmaster198]

I really like this. I would love if you were to make more tarotmon.

[@otakuian3975]

These designs n names are so detailed u ot my sub❤

[@EwigyllRozan55555]

Only one video? I want more! Your Starters are Amazing! The tarot for create them is a incredible! Thank you for your art!

[@nigelwinslow]

Guess it make sense because elephant rhymes with hierophant, a devil is just a goat man with wings and believes Satan and the hermit crab is for the... Well hermit.

[@averyspottswood9255]

Some one finally incorporated tarot!! Great content

[@king3126_]

I really love the arts of other starters in your art style while you talk about them

[@stupideronjupiter]

This was a simply awesome video. The effort you put into this clearly shows and it's a video I enjoyed that I decided to click on. Keep up the good work, man!

[@Draxmega4077]

I look forward to more. The other major tropes maybe matched up with arcana!? Like early route bird and mammal, pikaclone, and even legendaries!!

[@IraChelak-m9x]

I love the water evolutes they a slug i love theme i just love them

[@xngel_7]

Would love more of these. So cool

[@slothfulquagsire199]

YOOO these were sick! Loved the Tarot Idea (especially as a fan of the Persona Series which uses Tarot a lot) can't wait to see if you do more. Also from the reveal of the Base Forms I was on Team Whelkluse and am glad I stuck with my Snail Boy... Carzcendant is dope af... though Caprastrophe is a close 2nd (I mean it looks likea more Goaty Baphomet as a Pokemon and that is SICK).

[@ardentROB]

Thank you for the dope compliments! And also, I appreciate you sharing your lock-in choice with the base-form! That's my preferred way to pick starters as well: Ride or die, no matter what happens. Imo, discovery is one of the most important elements of a journey, and starter lines are some of the most exciting to see progress. I'm glad the wee snail proved a worthy choice! 🤘

[@AeridisArt]

I feel like Caprastrophe should've had some chains in their design. A chain was added in Culpyrine's design and kinda just dropped. Adding a bunch of chains could represent how Capra was falsely accused so many times that they just embraced what others thought of them and now they wear their evil on their sleeve.

[@AeridisArt]

Also, I've always gone with the grass line in Pokemon and it would be no different if these guys appeared in a Pokemon game :)

[@ardentROB]

Thank you for your feedback! I feel similarly, and I originally I wanted to push the chain element in Caprastrophe's design, but I couldn't find a way to work it in without it seeming too busy/distracting. If I ever end up redesigning any of these guys down the line, I'll see about incorporating that more! 🤘

[@howlinghellgar2214]

Remember us when you’re famous, these are just so cool! Such an neat concept with awesome designs to boot? Instant sub, I can’t wait to see more!

[@ardentROB]

Don't worry, I don't think I could ever forget how overwhelmingly cool this feels :D Thank you so much! I'm excited to share something new soon 🤘

[@genocidegames8423]

It would be imusing if all three of these guys, at their second stage, split evolves where they continue to represent their respective reversed arcana.

[@ardentROB]

Interesting idea! 📝👀

[@genocidegames8423]

@@ardentROB maybe have their split evolution be tied to an item (the upright/reverse [something])?

[@NoaLindsey]

when looking at whelcluse design i was confused when it evolved fromn a slug to crab but when you think of it. a tanookie evolving into a ferrit, a fish evolving into a octopus, its not weird its pokemon. The design was so well done and cool so 👏👏👏 well done. Btw I love capastrophe and its totally my starter choice.

[@ardentROB]

It's true! Pokemon does have some interesting leaps of evolutionary logic: Even commonly loved mons like Typhlosion have an evolutionary path that goes from a small rodent-like creature, to a weasel, then finally a badger. Snail to crab is still a pretty big leap though haha

[@millicentmok3299]

Caprastrophe is my chosen one. I love a good hellraiser!!

[@ardentROB]

Go forth and make chaos!

[@dokuro4316]

No one has ever done such a thing. And you managed to do it right. Good job man👌🏻

[@bilsuart]

Fire starters never disappoint! 🔥 such a great first video! 😄

[@ardentROB]

Lighting a critter on fire always doubles its cool factor- there's a reason why flame-decals improve everything! 😂 Thank you so much! Cheers! 🤘

[@NottaFysch]

I am excited for the redesigns.

[@whoismegburns]

amazing!!! love the tarot concept so much

[@curlytopzee]

I would pick the fire starter! you put hella effort into this I'm glad people are taking notice!

[@ardentROB]

Ayy thanks dude!! Leave it to you to pick the chaotic one, I should've figured 😂

[@unknownnamer330]

Love this! Can’t wait to see what else you come up with- subbed!

[@timtenthousand]

Really strong concepts, i like them a lot, a few criticisms i hope can be helpful is that the lil elephant buddies proportions seems a bit off for a starter and the fire buddies mischievous smile is sort of hard to interpret, me and my friends look at fakemon designs often on a few of us (me included) saw it as some sort of tooth or horn, especially since fire buddy is a bit evocative of a goat. I love the snail though you don't really see that as started animal very unique

[@WisdomMonkey]

Please tell me you're going to make more creative videos like this. Great work, wow.

[@ardentROB]

Absolutely! Definitely more fakemon, but I'm also working to make more original stuff, too :)

[@karanrawat9076]

We really need elephant Pokemon with grass or water typing.... Mastodian grass /rock type very unique typing only cradily and ogrepon have that typing...

[@CaronDriel]

-Trunklet is adorable, with a fun design and good concept. No further comment needed. -I think there's a strong argument to be made that Gallaphlant is the best example of the inverted cards design. The name alone makes it a well-thought-out mon, and I think additional credit needs to be given for making a mid-evolution that is still compelling. -Mosstodian serves as a solid, pun not intended, final form to the most consistently quality starter line of the three. Good design elements, neat details, and a decent typing. Sadly it's not as resistant as one might hope for such a behemoth, but I appreciate the focus on offense in a grass starter. -The grass starter line is excellent, and the strongest of the three, in my opinion. The shinies would serve better with slightly less muted colors, however. Brown is my favourite colour, but I see the shiny being considered bland and boring by most. Perhaps a bit more orange for both the normal and shiny sprites? This problem is increasingly unnoticeable as the line evolves, with Mosstodian having a rich brick red that serves it well. -Rashcal would be exceedingly popular. I initially had reservations about its bipedal design, but given additional thought, it seems appropriate to lean into a more impish appearance. -Culpyrine is my personal favourite of the fire line, and I think there are a few distinct elements that contribute to this. Firstly, the thematically appropriate and visually unique design choice to have the fire spirit as a ball and chain. Second, the bancho squat as you called it, gives off both a delinquent vibe but also a moody child, such as one who is rebellious to their role or who has been burdened with something greater than they feel equipped to deal with. That's added to by the "haircut". The squat also brings it closest to being a quadruped, which is a satisfying reversal of stature from most Pokemon evolutions. -Caprastraphe: I struggle with this design. It feels too grandiose to be a starter, too malevolent to be a starter, and from a personal standpoint, it's not great to have another fire/dark type starter. It feels a bit like already covered territory and runs the risk of being mocked as fire/dark being the new fire/fighting. This seems to be the weakest design, but this is a personal stance. It does emulate the desired design influence well. -While a clever and likely quite popular line, the fire starters bring to mind thoughts of less desirable Pokedesigns with the humanoid characteristics. And as you touched on yourself, even if not explicit, the devil card being a pivotal component of the design would likely see this line scrapped long before release. To touch on the shinies, it seems as though a different colour of fire could have been both more eye-catching, as well as unique. However, sulfuric flames burn blue, and is unquestionably thematically appropriate given the heck-raising nature of the line. -Whelkluse is goofy as heck, and one can imagine it receiving quite a bit of flak for that. I would say it's the second weakest of the designs. That said, it's not a bad design, albeit perhaps not the best from the perspective of enticing people to pick it. -Anomollusc is another strong mid-evolution, with an adorable design and hints at deeper darker knowledge within it. -Carzcendant is fantastic, with a brilliantly striking design and magnificent concept, inspired by both biology, spiritualism, and even touches of science fiction. -The water line is, while perhaps not as universally strong as the grass line, a well-executed concept and likely the one I would pick. The shinies are nice, and the concept is both fun as well as potentially terrifying. Because of the water typing my mind moves to cosmic knowledge and cthulian mythos, and to see this crustacean ascend past its drooling stage to complete enlightenment evokes a lot of power and majesty that would entice players to use it. My favourite mon of all nine. As a final note, I want to give a lot of props for the level of detail put into this, especially going so far as to come up with Japanese names for each mon. I normally avoid fakemon stuff, but this caught my attention and I'm glad to see what you've done with it.

[@ardentROB]

I truly cannot express how appreciative I am for such in-depth commentary and feedback- Especially after knowing you tend to avoid fakemon media. Genuinely, thank you for taking the time to write and share all of this!

[@CaronDriel]

@@ardentROB You're welcome! Detailed work deserves detailed critique. Keep being creative and passionate and people will appreciate it.

[@successfulsomewhat]

So awesome!!

[@typolet6883]

Holy cow I has a good time listening to this and I want more tarot pokémon (I'd choose the water because 1 big fan of defensive mons and 2 I like the hermit arcana and I wish that matched any part of my life) and the fact that you went into detail of the meanings of the cards both directions and past present and future and I'm a little curious if your thinking of mons that either start and end reversed or just end reversed or start reversed and end proper... millions of questions but also lovely video you got another subscriber congrats

[@Taxitier]

I’d probably choose whelkluse just because of his whole vibe, but I always loved fire started so…

[@albertojunior8354]

Do more, please I love it

[@thatoneweirdgaefrog2385]

I love them all!!! Please make more videos, maybe doing the other cards as a small fakemon region:D

[@ardentROB]

It's feeling more and more like that's the direction I'll be going :) I appreciate your excitement! 🤘

[@zainabbatool3179]

They all look cool but i like the water one also i whis this choud be a fakemon region based of tero cards and it will be great

[@melandpatchy4169]

I just subscribed. PLEASE make this a series.

[@thedonutman5265]

I like the animations

[@nigelwinslow]

Why not do the rest of the starters and the rest of the tarot cards? You've done the hierophant, the devil and the hermit. Here's the list: The Fool The Magician The High Priestess The Empress The Emperor The Lovers The Chariot Strength Wheel of Fortune Justice The Hanged Man Death Temperance The Tower The Star The Moon The Sun Judgement The World (Can't think of any types for them, sorry. ^^;)

[@ardentROB]

Only 19 more to go, hey? Ez nuf 😂 I'll be taking a breather from starters to explore other archetypes of pokemon design, but making Tarot variants of existing starters could be really fun! (And no worries, I appreciate you laying them all out! 🤘)

[@witherlordmaster198]

@@ardentROBAs death in tarot is symbolic of change, why not make it a normal type like Eevee.

[@nigelwinslow]

@@witherlordmaster198 I don't wanna do that. I mean, a death based Pokemon with a normal type? That's like asking a crab to become an insect. That's not gonna happen.

[@BloodyAbsol]

this man has a voice like butter

[@Notk0ggly]

Imma be honest the first evolutions exsept for the water starter look like middle stages. Heres a tip: if you ever do a re desine of the fire starter make it on all fours to give it that starter vibe, no hateofcorse

[@ardentROB]

Are you able to elaborate how they look like middle-stages? Are the proportions off, do they have too many details, etc? I have no plans to redesign anything here, but knowing what to focus on definitely helps for the future!

[@dracosteven4524]

Gonna pick Rashcal. He evos are so cool.

[@giooooojio]

Insane quality carzcendant reminds me of ahtal ka

[@ardentROB]

There might be a smidge of mantis-shrimp in carzcendant's design, so that's a pretty apt comparison 👀

[@iamthebutthead]

I'd definitely have to pick Rashcal and name them Isaac. If you know, you know.

[@JmasterXer]

Love it

[@powersurge_beast]

How'd this not blow up??

[@HolyDemonSnap]

Carzcedant is my favorite Poke. And me.

[@oddguysirlore7903]

Hoping for more in the future 😊😊😊

[@BloodShooketh]

Thoes are amazing 👏

[@caber0662]

This are so cool! New suscriber

[@heatwarden1313]

love the vid cant wait for more content

[@craft-ideas-cz]

I choose Water starter its my favourite

[@Dandylion567]

I think it's interesting how you refer to Caprastrophe as "capricious" without also making note of the fact that it feeds into the name inspiration. Was that intentional or a funny coincidence? And while it would most likely get axed as a final design, I think anything based on the Devil Arcana and tarot cards in general would probably be more than GameFreak would be cool with, much less a Pokémon so clearly resembling Baphomet, so these can just be designs for older fans. I know I would definitely like this theme, especially as someone that also plays Persona.

[@ardentROB]

Intentional! It does feed into the name well, and in the initial phases I thought of using "capricious" as a name element, but I found out it apparently shares no etymological root with "capra", funny enough. Not that it needed to, it's really a perfect descriptor for caprastrophe (hence the reference), but I try to avoid packing any detail too densely.

[@user-AADZ]

All of the designs are thematically awesome, but I don't think that's how carcinization works 🤓

[@ardentROB]

Definitely not in our reality, but Pokemon's is pretty flexible!

[@Folikuddin-cg6wihi]

Kalos is my favourite Region

[@4valongaming388]

Make whole region about it. I volunteer to a game dev team to make it a project.

[@ardentROB]

Thanks for the offer! I don't think I'll be making a full region about it though- at least not any time soon. I will continue designing, and maybe even expanding on a story, but anything beyond that is out of my scope right now.

[@realsanmer]

These are some really cool concepts! Do you have a region based on Tarot too, or are these more of a one-shot?

[@ardentROB]

Not necessarily a region (that's a lot of work,) but probably a series and fakedex!