Pokémon Invade 19th-Century Wilderness

A DeviantArtist envisions how a Victorian explorer might have catalogued wild Pokémon.

When the British Empire was at its height, explorers documented the most remote parts of the world, from the steppes of central Asia to the jungles of Africa. Even a young Charles Darwin took a voyage of discovery to South America aboard the HMS Beagle. Now, thanks to artist Michael Casteel, we can have a glimpse of what these adventurous men might have made of an organism they never encountered: the elusive Pokémon.

From the faded parchment to the gentlemanly script, Casteel really nailed the Victorian feel. In a series of 24 images, he describes the adventures of fictional Professor Baobab (a type of tree native to East Africa and Australia) as he traverses a foreign wilderness and documents the Pokémon he finds there. The intrepid professor encounters species like the dual-headed Girafarig and the arboreal Victreebell, and proceeds to document their behavior, ecological niches, and skeletal structures.

Re-envisioning classic game characters in a new environment is a favorite pastime of the internet, and these particular examples are well worth checking out. Perhaps Professor Baobab’s adventures will continue until he finally documents the rare and sought-after Pikachu.

Source: DeviantArt via Kotaku