Pokemon Fan Artist Creates Regional Variant and Evolution of Arbok

Highlights

• A Pokemon fan artist redesigns Ekans and Arbok, giving Arbok a new evolution named Soroboro.
• Arbok’s regional variants in the Romelle region have Psychic and Dragon types with red accents.
• The Soroboro design was inspired by Ouroboros, receiving praise from fans for its unique look.

As part of an ongoing project, a Pokemon fan artist designed regional variants of the snake-like Pokemon Ekans and Arbok, granting the latter a new evolution. The Pokemon fan artist showcased their handiwork on social media, and other fans complimented their ongoing efforts and praised the name that the artist chose for Arbok’s created evolution.

Known as the Cobra Pokemon, Arbok first appeared in Pokemon Red and Blue. As one of the first Poison-type Pokemon trainers may encounter, Arbok evolves from Ekans starting at level 22. With a face-like chest pattern that usually has yellow “eyes” and a black “mouth” that can change expressions, Arbok is an intimidating Pokemon that can paralyze foes with its signature move, Glare. In the first few seasons of the Pokemon anime, Arbok was the signature Pokemon of Team Rocket’s Jessie and stayed by her side until it was released along with James’ Weezing in the Hoenn region. In Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask, Ekans and Arbok can be found and caught in the Kitakami region.

Though Arbok has been featured in other Pokemon fan projects, one artist gave Arbok an entirely different look. On Reddit, a user named Xelshade posted their regional variants of Ekans and Arbok as sprites on the r/pokemon subreddit. According to Xelshade, the artwork of Ekans and its subsequent forms are part of an ongoing project for a medieval Pokemon region they are creating, dubbed the Romelle region. To start, Ekans and Arbok had their types changed from Poison to Psychic, and their bodies were colored gold. Ekans and Arbok had a red gem on their heads, and Arbok’s chest pattern was given red “eyes” to match its own. In addition to the two Pokemon, Arbok was given a new evolution called Soroboro.

Pokemon Fan Creates Sprite Art of Ekans and Arbok

The new Pokemon had more purple mixed with gold in its design, with red and black spots on its back. Like the mythical Ouroboros it is named after, Soroboro clamped its jaws on the end of its tail. Soroboro was granted the dual-typing of Psychic and Dragon, which is only shared with the legendary Pokemon Latios, Latias, and Ultra Necrozma. However, Xelshade did not state what Soroboro’s abilities or moves would be. In the comments, Pokemon trainers praised Xelshade for their sprite-based artwork, and for giving Arbok a new evolution.

While Arbok is a Pokemon due for an update, Pokemon fan artists like Xelshade have kept the Cobra Pokemon in mind thanks to their projects. Only time will tell if Arbok will receive any changes in future Pokemon games.