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For many Pokémon fans, the names and faces of the series' ever-growing collection of monsters are forever imprinted in our minds, and especially the 'classic' set of Generation 1 creatures that debuted in Pokémon Red and Blue. Of course, the new release of Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! has only enhanced that nostalgic love in recent times, but let's take a moment to look at how different those fan-favourites could have been.

A Japanese television show recently aired sprite-like illustrations of several Generation 1 Pokémon. Some of these early designs are very similar to the final product, with creatures like Staryu, Blastoise, Pinsir, and Tentacool being almost identical to their modern day looks. Some, however, look drastically different; Scyther (top row, middle) seems to have a much larger back and body - almost quite dinosaur-like in shape - and Gyarados looks like an absolutely terrifying, nightmare-inducing worm of destruction (middle row, fourth from the left).

Pkmndesigns
Image: NHK/Twitter

Elsewhere, other images show early designs for the famous opening cutscene for the games, where Nidorino and Gengar battle it out in the spotlight. These images have been seen before, but in case you were unaware, the series was originally planned to be called Capsule Monsters and featured very different-looking Pokémon taking part in that first fight.

Capsule1
Image: NHK/Twitter
Capsule2
Image: NHK/Twitter

Earlier this year, a whole bunch of scrapped Pokémon designs that were set to appear in Pokémon Gold and Silver were also found.

So, what do you think about these early designs? Will that Gyarados now forever haunt your dreams? Let us know below.

[source polygon.com, via twitter.com]