8 Subtly Brilliant Pokémon Designs

5. Smeargle (#235)

Smeargle Pokemon
Nintendo

With a brush for a tail and a head shaped like a Beatnik's beret, Smeargle is the very image of a stereotypical artist. Its name - a portmanteau of 'smear' and 'beagle' - helps drive home this less-than-subtle of pastiches.

Like Porygon, Smeargle is a very interesting Pokémon, thanks to its signature skill, Sketch. The move is the only one in the painting puppy's arsenal, and allows it to permanently copy its opponent's last move. This inclination for imitation suggests Smeargle is less of an artist, but more of a first-rate forger, albeit a very skilled one indeed.

So why is the Painter Pokémon on this list? Again, closer inspection at the Pokémon's rear and we find Smeargle has greater aspirations than a mere mimic. There daubed on its back in the same colour as the paint of its tail, is a small pawprint: the artist's signature. Smeargle clearly considers himself less of a counterfeiter, and more of a pocket monsters impressionist.

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.