'Pokémon Sword and Shield' Starter Evolutions Leaked: Best Fan Art So Far

Nintendo already revealed the three new starter Pokémon available in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, but fans of the series won’t be able to make a final decision until we find out what each starters evolutions look like too. For now, that’s still a mystery, but artists are already offering their own takes on the Pokémon Sword and Shield starter evolutions.

If you’ve somehow missed out on the last 20 years of Pokémon, it’s important to understand that each game begins with a choice between three creatures. In this case, that’s Grookey (grass-type), Scorbunny (fire-type), and Sobble (water-type). Each of these Pokémon will evolve twice over the course of the game to reach their final forms, but exactly what those evolutions will be in Pokémon Sword and Shield remains a mystery.

One of the first bits of concept art for the new starter evolutions was initially presented as a Pokémon Sword and Shield leak, claiming to reveal that Scorbunny would transform from an adorable fire rabbit into a fearsome drone-type creature. It was quickly revealed that this “leak” was actually just fan art, but it’s still an intriguing idea.

In the days since, we’ve seen plenty of other concept art for the Pokémon Sword and Shield starter evolutions hit the internet. Some are a little out there, but others seem pretty realistic. Of course, The Pokémon Company likely already knows exactly how each starter will evolve. So don’t expect any of this fan art to influence the actual game.

Here’s a great take on how Grookie could evolve in Pokemon Sword and Shield, with that small twig in his air eventually becoming a walking stick:

And here’s another take on Grookie’s final evolution that’s a little more intimidating:

I also love this take on Scorbunny’s evolutions in Pokémon Sword and Shield from Deviant Art user Teatros.

And this one for Sobble from Mat4265.

You can check out even more Pokémon Sword and Shield starter evolution concept art in this roundup video from YouTube channel PokeTips.

Mashable also got in on the fun with some concept art from the site’s illustrator Bob Al-Greene. They’re all great, but I particularly like his take on Sobble, if only for the incredible pun that is “Chameloncholy.” (Check out the rest of Mashable’s art here.)

Finally, we’ll end things with another piece of Pokémon Sword and Shield fan art that’s more interested in the starters themselves than their evolutions. This realistic Sobble from RJ Palmer (a concept artist at Ubisoft who also contributed to the upcoming Detective Pikachu movie) looks incredible, but it might also haunt your nightmares.

Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield launch for Nintendo Switch in late 2019.