Wooper and Quagsire

I've been fascinated by salamander larvae since early childhood, and especially the fact that a few species - like axolotls, olms, sirens and mudpuppies - usually remain in a larval state for their entire lives. Naturally, I was excited when one this adorable was among the first Gold and Silver pokemon to be leaked, and it still has a special place in my heart. I love its whole overall shape and proportions, that it has only hind legs, and how the external gills have been stylized into just two branching antennae. Wooper is without flaw.

So, you probably expect me to like Quagsire a whole lot less, and I would like it more as a neotenous salamander, yes, but it's such a perfect representation of Japan's giant salamanders that I can't complain. I mean, look:

Quagsire EXISTS. It's that size. It has that face. It has little pudgy feet. I don't know if you can ever understand how much I love giant salamanders. In this case, I'm very glad a pokemon is such a straightforward lifting of its inspiration. A weirder gimmick like an electrical, psychic or icy salamander would have been fine, and of course I'd be all over a slimy poison-type, but water/ground is a pretty nice combo, strategically, until it's hit with a grass attack of course. There's also the name, Quagsire. Quagmire is one of my favorite words. Even Seth Mcfarlane cannot tarnish it for me. Quagsire claimed it first, and Quagsire would never behave so disgracefully.

Both of them are ultra-cuties, just like the real thing.

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