Sinnoh is full of magic, beautiful designs, and incredible lore that outstandingly expands the Pokémon World.
Pokémon Blog had the honor to speak with the talented Costanza (C.a.cosas/ An Ordinary Frög) and Karen (chibichubi_) about the process of creating the fourth generation Pokédex Ilustrada, the ambitious project from Ilustradoras Unidas published on March 25th, 2024.
Pokédex Ilustrada is a great achievement for Ilustradas Unidas. But it’s also a challenge.
“With each Pokédex, we learn so many new things. In this generation, we tried a new method to select the artists interested in being part of the project. More than 500 artists were interested in the 136 spots of the Pokédex,” Constanza said. “We try to improve in each edition, and we can only thank all the artists who have trusted us and have joined this project that is only sustained by the love of Pokémon.”
Karen believes they are on the right track because each generation incorporates new things, and they are able to fulfill their goal.
During the making of the Sinnoh-related art book, the coastal and southern areas of Chile were affected by wildfires. The Chilean government labeled the fires as the country’s worst catastrophe since the 2010 Chile earthquake and declared a two-day national mourning period.
According to Constanza and Karen, several illustrators selected to participate in this edition from Pokédex Ilustrada had to leave the project since their families were affected by the wildfires, and, understandably, they had to give priority to them over the project.
(After several artists dropped out from the project) We had to look for new members and change the deadline dates. The deadlines were so close. We learned that we should not have a tight schedule. And we need to improve the calendar for the following editions. We never know what can happen,” Karen expressed.
Meanwhile, the experience made Constanza realize that the community of Ilustradoras Unidas is WONDERFUL.
“Karen and I were very busy solving a lot of last-minute inconveniences that arose, and several people offered to help us with this Pokédex. From the missing Pokémon, editing frames for the Instagram posts to the revision of the data in the layout of the Pokédex,” Constanza stated. “Many thanks to Sheiklei, who has helped us with the layout since the first pokédex. And to Achy_, Bel_ami_draw, Chiizia, Lorecookiemint, Pollosa_art, Rubi_brums, and Seren.lines for their help.”
For Ilustradoras Unidas, Sinnoh is a region rich in myths and legends: The Lake Guardians; The legendary Pokémon Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina; The legend of Regigigas and the creation of the region; and the Creator of Everything, Arceus (“He’s something rarely seen in video games,” Karen thinks).
“It’s a place full of mystery, and I feel that this folklore around the game adds more depth to the Pokémon world,” Constanza mentioned.
Constanza told us that, at first, they tried to integrate the lore through postcards. However, they promptly realized it would be difficult for the artists if they hadn’t played Pokémon Platinium or any versions of Pokémon Pearl or Pokémon Diamond.
“The Folklore is integrated through individual illustrations by artists who have put small references that diehard fans will be able to notice and appreciate,” they added.
Sinnoh is the generation of Pokédex Ilustrada with the highest number of postcards (13).
They are meant to highlight the most prominent places within the region, new elements introduced in this generation, the most outstanding Pokémon, and Team Galactic.
They are also used to celebrate the great variety of Pokémon with different forms and colors depending on their original area. The admins wanted to include every variation in the Sinnoh-focused art book (“For example, Rotom is a Pokémon who has six forms. So, to reach more artists, we assigned one form per artist”).
“This generation is composed of many interesting things to incorporate into Pokédex Ilustrada, and we did not know what to add without being too much,” Karen concluded.
You can see the three previous generations of “Pokédex Ilustrada” here:
Pokédex Ilustrada 1 Gen (Kanto)
Pokédex Ilustrada 2 Gen (Johto)
Pokédex Ilustrada 3 Gen (Hoenn)
You can see the entirety of the fourth generation of Pokédex Ilustrada here:
Pokédex Ilustrada 4 Gen (Sinnoh)
Don’t forget you can follow Ilustradoras Unidas on their Social Media Accounts:
Let’s see more of the breathtaking artworks featured on the fourth generation of Pokédex Ilustrada below:
Source: Pokemon
