It isn’t exactly Neospacian Aqua Dolphin, but Game Freak sure did take a unique approach to make a heroic-looking Pokémon for its first take on a dolphin.
That’s right, in more than 25 years there has never been a dolphin Pokémon, but that changes in Scarlet and Violet with the introduction of Finizen and its evolution.
Finizen is a very basic but cute dolphin Pokémon that is known for playing with others in the water and using ultrasonic waves to check the emotions of other living beings. This ability likely makes it very in tune with others and makes it want to protect those who are feeling bad—hence the superhero transformation when it evolves.
Its evolve form actually somewhat resembles a fake leak Pokémon called Ballio that was meant to show what Popplio evolved into based on its seal-like appearance and clown motif. But the body type, color scheme, and even some of the other design elements all look pretty similar for this new dolphin—so maybe Game Freak canonized it after more than six years of memes.
It actually looks like a kind of reverse Malamar, where instead of taking advantage of people, the fully evolved dolphin only wants to help others and put on a strong appearance.
This article is being updated.
