The lead artist for Pokémon Sun and Moon has revealed that Ultra Beasts were designs originally rejected by Ken Sugimori. According to Yusuke Ohmura, the Alolan Legendaries were initially deemed too weird for the Gen 7 games.
Pokémon Ultra Beasts Were Initially Rejected by Ken Sugimori
It’s hard to imagine that it’s been nine years since Pokémon Sun and Moon originally launched on the Nintendo 3DS. However, over a decade later, the game’s lead designer, Yusuke Ohmura, has recently revealed new details about the Gen 7 Pokémon RPGs. According to Ohmura, Pokémon Sun and Moon’s Ultra Beasts were initially designs that failed to be approved by legendary Game Freak director Ken Sugimori.
Ohmura made the revelation recently on X after taking fan questions on the social media platform. “I designed the Ultra Beasts by recalling some of the designs I made which were rejected by Mr. Sugimori. I decided to deliberately use the very reasons for why they were rejected and base the artistic direction of the designs on them. So in some way, they’re like a manifestation of my own resentment. Pretty scary.”
Ohmura Clarified He Held No Ill Will Toward Sugimori
Hilariously, Yusuke Ohmura then clarified that he didn’t actually hold any ill will toward Sugimori for initially rejecting his designs. “Of course, this doesn’t mean that I hate Mr. Sugimori or anything like that.”
Ohmura would end up leaving Game Freak the same year Pokémon Sun and Moon launched in 2016 to become a freelance artist. Although it doesn’t appear that his departure of the company was related to all of his designs not being accepted.
Ken Sugimori Wouldn’t Have Used Pokémon Ultra Beast Designs
Interestingly, Yusuke Ohmura would make a follow-up post where he explained his final year with Game Freak. According to the illustrator, Ken Sugimori once told him that his designs in Pokémon Sun and Moon were ones he wouldn’t have approved for hiring an artist at the company.
“Sugimori-san probably doesn’t remember this. But after all the design work for Sun & Moon was completely finished, at some point he suddenly said with a big grin, ‘There are designs in there that I personally wouldn’t have approved for hiring. So I thought, ahh, so there really was meaning in having a different person do it. Well, I was completely burned out though. The end.”
It should be pointed out this is a rough translation of the tweet. As a result, it’s hard to get the full context. However, it sounds like Ken Sugimori wouldn’t have ever approved of the Ultra Beast designs in any other context. I think I can speak for many long-time Pokémon fans when I say I’m really glad Yusuke Ohmura got his rejected designs into the final version of the game.
Over a decade later, the Gen 7 Ultra Beasts are still some of the most memorable Pokémon to ever be added to the franchise. In a way, they would end up being a precursor for some of the weirder designs in Gen 8’s Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Paradox Pokémon, specifically, are very reminiscent of Alola’s UB Pokémon class.
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