News Update: Starter Evoluties? *UPDATE*

[b]Ken Sugimori, primary illustrator:[/b] I really struggled the most with the Water-type [starter] this time.

[b]Yusuke Ohmura, illustrator:[/b] There was talk of, \"Wouldn\'t a sea otter be good for the Water starter?\" But it was a really close decision in terms of what this sea otter would become once it evolves. In the end, we decided to have it evolve into something with a completely different appearance.

[b]Sugimori:[/b] Of course, we want to make the starters into Pokémon that remain with the player throughout the game, so we hope to make them evolve into creatures that offer a surprise to the player. We always make an effort to throw in some twists and create third-stage evolutions that have an impact.

[b]Ohmura:[/b] There was also talk this time about dividing the three starters into Japanese, Western, and Chinese styles of design. Tsutarja was based on Western design, and Pokabu was rooted in a Chinese style, so I was told, \"Let\'s make Mijumaru into a more Japanese-style design.\" Someone even asked, \"Can\'t you make Mijumaru into a samurai?\" [laughs]

[b]Everyone: [/b][laughs]

[b]Sugimori:[/b] I worried about it for a while, and I eventually went to go see the sea otters at the aquarium. I happened to catch the sea lion show while I was there, and I became aware of the sea lion\'s power. \"Well, let\'s try blending a sea otter and a sea lion,\" I thought. I came up with the idea of making the shell on Mijumaru\'s stomach into a sword (katana) and using it to fight, and that\'s how I completed Mijumaru and its evolution.\"