Why Zacian is a poorly designed Pokémon.

Is Sword Doggo poorly designed?

  • It's such a cool Legendary, you're just hating.

    Votes: 776 53.7%
  • Agree, it's a terrible design. Just a dog with a sword.

    Votes: 289 20.0%
  • Not good, not bad - just meh.

    Votes: 381 26.3%

  • Total voters
    1,446

Toxi

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
15,381
I like Zamazenta more simply because it looks more organic. You take away the Sword, and you wouldn't be able to tell why Zacian represents Pokemon Sword.
I feel like there was a serious missed opportunity to make the fins on its body clearly resemble a cruciform sword guard.
 

Barn

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,054
Los Angeles
I think it's fucking radical, and can't wait to get it airbrushed on the side of my van.

Related, it's really cool to come into this having not played Pokemon since 1998. I feel like I'm having a much better time than most of ya'll.
 

Glio

Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,002
Spain
Yeah, because they're a part of their body. Zacian's sword isn't a part of him, so it makes him distinct from the others. I do agree about the variety being part of the appeal, but I just don't like Zacian holding a sword in its mouth. Though maybe I should stop cyber-bullying the poor doggo already.
Like Alakazam, then
 

lvl 99 Pixel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,562
you're all going to feel bad when its revealed that the sword is actually fused to its face because it was super dedicated to its duty or something
 

Glio

Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,002
Spain
My only problem are the proportions. It is too thin, with very long legs and small head. It does not have the strong physical structure of a wolf if not that of a dog.

The same happens to the other.
 

Cokesouls

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,223
It's speculated that they're based on the CMYK model, but it's definitely doing a poor job representing that in terms of their color palettes. Zacian is Cyan, and Zamazenta is Magenta. Their design are still too similar for those colors to be more prominent. Don't think most people would actually notice that as another motif for their designs because it's not incorporated well.
I immediately noticed the CMYK relation based on their names and color alone lmao.
 

monapon

Member
Nov 9, 2017
196
Yeah not a fan of either cover legendary honestly. A bit too on the nose plus the colors are all a bit too garish for me. Also don't really like how similar they are to each other. A sword dragon to go with the shield doggo would have been more preferable, even if kind of derivative.

Much prefer Xerneas and Yveltal so uh... France wins this round I guess.
 

Rand a. Thor

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
10,213
Greece
Going by your arguments, I have to say Zacian would still be a legendary even if you took away its sword. Its obvious from the CG trailer, you can see that besides Zamazenta's shield bits coming forward, the sword Zacian carries also grows into a far more formidable design. I would guess that the legendaries are like Solgaleo and Lunala, in that there is a pre evo wolf cub, which evolves depending on if you give it the sword or the shield.
 

PsionBolt

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,081
It makes me appreciate Resolute Keldeo a bit more... Would be my main reaction, I guess.
Not that Keldeo is particularly good-looking either, but it does at least do the concept of "sword" better.
 

MatrixMan.exe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,699
In my opinion this is just the amalgamation of the fact that since Gen 3, Legendary Pokémon specifically have become progressively over designed.

I miss the days of the likes of Ho-oh and Lugia for example.
 

BowieZ

Member
Nov 7, 2017
3,425
Z and Z are pretty poorly designed, but they're not inconsistent with the Pokemon world.
 

RagnarokX

Member
Oct 26, 2017
10,707
Honedge is not a sword. It's a ghost-type pokemon that has possessed an actual human sword from the ancient war. The sword is just its house. Like this hermit crab:


Probably the same deal with Zacian, except it's not a ghost. It just picked up a sword. Just like how the construction worker pokemon use materials from their construction sites as weapons and Klefki uses keys that it stole from people.
 

Glio

Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,002
Spain
They're not over designed though which is what I love about them. If you compare them to the likes of Dialga and Palkia, or even Groudon and Kyogre, they both look very organic.

Same with the legendary dogs. I love the Gen 6 legendaries for the same reason.
Legendary dogs are more overdesigned than the regis or the lake trio.
 

Deleted member 9971

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
9,743
OP has never played dark souls 1 i see and can't understand the awesomeness of a wolf with a sword. Poor OP.
 

luulubuu

User requested permanent ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,232
its a dog with a sword.
its like the perfect design not only for pokemon but for life.
 

Starsunder

Member
Oct 25, 2017
629
Agreed. Both myself and my son were like “wtf” when the dog with a sword in its mouth was revealed.

Hate it.
 

Camisado

Member
Nov 3, 2017
930
The Pokémon designs this gen are starting to look great, I'm confident there will be some classics in there.

Both these legendaries however... yeah, not those. :S
 

Glio

Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,002
Spain
I do not understand the problemwith the sword especially considering that it is legendary. In theory there is only one, you only need a sword.
 

Eumi

Member
Nov 3, 2017
3,518
I honestly really dislike both of them. I think it’s the colours and the very human eyes, makes me think that it’s going to start talking, like the animal member of a team from a 90’s cartoon that’s trying to sell toys.

They aren’t inherently bad designs, but legendaries should feel, or at least always have felt, legendary, like there’s something mystical about them. But these guys feel more like relatable friends from an anime, I’m just not getting a feeling that they’re special at all.

That said I haven’t liked any legendaries for a while now, outside of the Ultra Beasts who have a wholly unique design philosophy. Although I couldn’t say why, it’s not like there’s really been a noticeable change in how legendaries are designed.

At least non-legendary Pokemon design has just been on an upwards trend.
 

RagnarokX

Member
Oct 26, 2017
10,707
They're not over designed though which is what I love about them. If you compare them to the likes of Dialga and Palkia, or even Groudon and Kyogre, they both look very organic.

Same with the legendary dogs. I love the Gen 6 legendaries for the same reason.
Well, they must be overdesigned since people keep mistaking them for dogs when they're clearly a tiger, lion, and cheetah.
 

mclem

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,760
Never have I hated a Pokemon design more than Zacian. Pokemon using or wearing objects isn't a new thing. So why am I singling out this poor doggo for holding a sword in its mouth? If that's considered bad design, then what about Machamp (belt), Farfetch'd (leek), Klefki (keys), Timburr line (wood and steel beams), Honedge line (literal sword), and etc? Well, that's what I'm about to explain. The thing is that those Pokemon ARE the WEAPONS.

Can a steel beam be used as a weapon? Yes, but that's not its primary usage. It's mainly used for construction, and it's used to emphasize the Timburr's line strength. Take that away, and Timburr plus its evos still have their strength. For Machamp and Klefki, they are just accessories. The same goes for Farfetch'd. None of these Pokemon NEED those objects. As for the the Honedge line, it's not a problem because the Pokemon themselves ARE the weapons.

That's why I find Zacian's design to be jarring and inconsistent with the rest of the Pokemon world. We're using Pokemon to fight. They are literally bio-weapons. Zacian, however, is just a dog with a weapon in its mouth. Unlike the others, Zacian isn't the weapon, its sword is. You might as well take its sword and fight the Pokemon yourself. Not to mention that its motif is the sword itself and not the dog. Take the sword away, and it's just a dog. It will have lost its distinctive feature and won't be a counterpart to Zamazenta anymore.

Each of the aforementioned Pokemon have their own motifs. The objects are there to emphasize them -- not to be the spotlight. Zacian's design has it as the opposite. To say that they're the same is absurd. That's like saying Machamp using guns is the same as it wearing a belt simply because they're both "objects". How they're used in the design matters. To put it simply: context matters. If Zacian is nothing without the sword, then it shouldn't have it in the first place. I hate this doggo. Glavenus did the whole sword thing better. God, can you imagine Glavenus just holding a sword in its mouth and charging at you?

Have we seen conclusive proof that that *is* just a held weapon and not a fundamental part of its body?

Poor thing probably hates trying to turn corners in a confined space.