Artist Reimagines Paradox Pokemon Sandy Shocks in Paper Mario Style

A Pokemon fan artist created a short animation of the Paradox Pokemon known as Sandy Shocks in the style of the Paper Mario games and posted their handiwork on social media. The artist was then complimented for their work by Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players, who pointed out how Sandy Shocks’ design fits within the Paper Mario series.

As a Paradox Pokemon exclusive to Pokemon Scarlet, Sandy Shocks is an Electric and Ground dual-type Pokemon with high special attack and speed statistics. Given the fact that the Paradox Pokemon share the same base stat total of 570, this makes Sandy Shocks a formidable foe in the hands of a skilled Pokemon trainer. With the ability of Protosynthesis to boost its stats either by using Booster Energy or the move Sunny Day and moves such as Thunderbolt and Earth Power, Sandy Shocks is one of the more popular Paradox Pokemon in the ninth generation. Its popularity led to fan artists designing the Paradox Pokemon differently.

RELATED: Pokemon Fan Designs Incredible Paradox Legendary That Combines Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina

On Reddit, a user named TimDrawsStuff recreated Sandy Shocks as an enemy that could be found in the Paper Mario games. Known for his previous work on Fidough and Dachsbun, TimDrawsStuff took to the r/Pokemon subreddit to post a 16-second video of Sandy Shocks in action. While Sandy Shocks is usually depicted with stony tufts across its three main segments, the OP animated them with bouncing motions that permeated throughout the rest of the Paradox Pokemon’s body. The animation itself lasted only one second but was left in a constant and consistent loop by the OP. Sandy Shocks’ three eyes and body markings were made more prominent in terms of coloration, and the Paradox Pokemon had a white outline surrounding its body to give it the look of a paper cutout.

For their work, TimDrawsStuff received kudos from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players. In the comments, some users pointed out how Sandy Shocks’ design would translate well to Paper Mario, and praised the OP for the bounciness that the animation had. One user compared Sandy Shocks’ redesign to characters from the Patapon series, and the OP commented that he could see such a comparison. With The Indigo Disk DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet due out in winter 2023, it remains to be seen if other Paradox Pokemon will get similar treatment from fan artists in the future.

While the remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is not out until 2024, that has not stopped artists from making different characters within the series’ art style. Only time will tell what gamers and fan artists will do to keep the hype going.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Pokemon Scarlet & Pokemon Violet are the main entries in the series for Generation IX. They introduced over 100 new Pokemon and brought players to the Paldea region.

Franchise

Pokemon

Platform(s)

Switch

Released

November 18, 2022

Developer(s)

Game Freak

Publisher(s)

Nintendo, The Pokemon Company

Genre(s)

RPG

ESRB

E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence

Metascore

72