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Former Game Freak Designer Says Pokémon Ultra Beasts Drew on Rejected Concepts to Deliberately Feel Alien

The revelation frames their unsettling look as a purposeful break from series norms born from past rejections.

Overview

  • Yusuke Ohmura said he built the Ultra Beasts by revisiting designs Ken Sugimori had rejected and using those rejection reasons as the creative brief.
  • He described the creatures as a manifestation of his own resentment, saying their disturbing feel was intentional rather than accidental.
  • Ohmura affirmed a fan theory that reactions of “this isn’t a Pokémon at all” were the intended response to the Ultra Beasts’ design.
  • He noted he holds no personal ill will toward Sugimori and recalled Sugimori later remarking there were designs he would not have chosen himself.
  • Outlets relayed Ohmura’s comments from translated X posts via Automaton, with reporters cautioning about rough translations and no new comment from Game Freak or Sugimori.