Vulpix, Ninetales, and Alolan variants
Early Vulpix sprite art and even the normal art had me thinking it was some sort of fox/goat hybrid. But it’s actually just a six-tailed fox which was really weird in the US in the 90s, but now multi-tailed foxes/fox spirits in general are pretty well known I think? Evil trickster spirits that assume the form of humans in order to lure their prey (us) closer. Vulpix is mostly cute tho, and later fox pokemon would take its dark origins further. I like that it starts with one tail that splits as it ages, and that it shoots out fire to release heat. It still maintains part of its trickster origin by being able to manipulate fire to create will-o-wisps, which they use to catch prey.
I remember thinking Ninetales was supposed to be really cruel, but that never really seemed to come across in its portrayals. The Pokedex even mentions that it is extremely vengeful and curses enemies and can control minds. Ninetales is really pretty looking and has a lot of cool energy, but I never really used it much. It’s one of my best friend’s favorites tho, so that always made me at least remember it more often than most of the other Gen I fire types.
Alola’s Vulpix is a little curlier, and a lot colder. And that’s about all there is to say about it. The Pokedex basically says it exists in Alola and does ice stuff instead of fire stuff. I like it. I think it’s cute and it looks cute next to fire Vulpix. Not much else to say that I didn’t already say earlier. I guess just that I wish it had more flavor text? This is probably the most “palette swap” regional there is, so it needs something a little more behavior-wise to make it stand out.
I like Ninetales with more curls. The Alolan version also gains Fairy type which feels sorta arbitrary, but it apparently acts as a guardian of sorts on the mountain it inhabits. Alolan Ninetales also looks really nice in motion, with its wispy, flowing fur. It shoots ice crystals like bullets, and rescues humans to get them out of its territory. I still wish there was a little more going on with it that was different. Sandshrew looked like an igloo, and the Rattata line got an interesting personality shift. I really like Alolan Ninetales, and I used one in my Legends: Arceus run, I just want more about its behavior.
The Naruto pokemon are very pretty and cool.