If our ball pythons were Pokémon ...

[RedRabbit]

I missed this when it first came out but I'm super glad to have seen it now! I love how Iggy and Ravus seem to have different personalities in these photos matching the type you gave them—Iggy looks all fired up and ready to go, while Ravus looks cool and unruffled like he's already seen plenty of Pokemon battles haha. You have such creative ideas for all these photoshoots, can't wait to see what you come up with next.

Based on Noodle's colours he seems like he'd be a fire or electric type, but his personality is so docile, shy, and gentle that I don't think he'd be much of a fighter.

Thank you so much! Iggy and Rae definitely have very distinct personalities, not just "on set" but also just as their everyday selves. Neither of them are as "cool" as they come across in this mock battle though, haha. When he's not being painstakingly posed, I'm fairly sure Ravus is the least graceful and least dignified BEL in existence, pfft.

Noodle actually reminds me of the cuter Electric types like Mareep and Joltik. Instead of battles, he'd probably win audiences over in the Pokémon Contests that were introduced in the Generation 3 games!

[Luvyna]

Thank you so much! Iggy and Rae definitely have very distinct personalities, not just "on set" but also just as their everyday selves. Neither of them are as "cool" as they come across in this mock battle though, haha. When he's not being painstakingly posed, I'm fairly sure Ravus is the least graceful and least dignified BEL in existence, pfft.

Noodle actually reminds me of the cuter Electric types like Mareep and Joltik. Instead of battles, he'd probably win audiences over in the Pokémon Contests that were introduced in the Generation 3 games!

Lol I think I recall you mentioned that Ravus tried to climb a curtain once during a photoshoot! It's pretty funny that he can be a clown when not posing because he always looks so sophisticated and calm in photos.

Yeah Noodle would probably be a Mareep-esque electric type. I think he'd do well in the the "cute" division of Pokemon contests

[RedRabbit]

Lol I think I recall you mentioned that Ravus tried to climb a curtain once during a photoshoot! It's pretty funny that he can be a clown when not posing because he always looks so sophisticated and calm in photos.

Yeah Noodle would probably be a Mareep-esque electric type. I think he'd do well in the the "cute" division of Pokemon contests

LOL "sophisticated and calm"! If only! Flattering and very kind of you to say, though that just makes me think I ought to try taking more pictures of Ravus that showcase his actual personality - namely, a spazzy dork.

And yessss, that sounds perfect for Noodle! I hope they come out with a ball python-inspired Pokémon someday. Can't go wrong with that little puppy-face.

[Luvyna]

LOL "sophisticated and calm"! If only! Flattering and very kind of you to say, though that just makes me think I ought to try taking more pictures of Ravus that showcase his actual personality - namely, a spazzy dork.

And yessss, that sounds perfect for Noodle! I hope they come out with a ball python-inspired Pokémon someday. Can't go wrong with that little puppy-face.

I would love to see Ravus being a goof! Sounds adorable

A cute ball python Pokemon would be awesome. I wish there were more snakes depicted as cute instead of dangerous and evil!

[RedRabbit]

A cute ball python Pokemon would be awesome. I wish there were more snakes depicted as cute instead of dangerous and evil!

Same here, though I do think there's been some progress in terms of positive depictions of snakes. Recent endearing examples I can think of include Viper from Kung Fu Panda (probably the sweetest-natured out of the Furious Five); Mama Odie's pet snake Juju from Disney's The Princess and the Frog; and Faust from the Arcana mobile game (who is actually specifically based on a ball python). Another one I quite liked was Rattlesnake Jake from the movie Rango; even though he was a menacing character, they gave him the secondary-antagonist-turned-ally route, and he had such a cool visual appearance and great voice-acting that he seems to be a fan favorite.

[Luvyna]

Same here, though I do think there's been some progress in terms of positive depictions of snakes. Recent endearing examples I can think of include Viper from Kung Fu Panda (probably the sweetest-natured out of the Furious Five); Mama Odie's pet snake Juju from Disney's The Princess and the Frog; and Faust from the Arcana mobile game (who is actually specifically based on a ball python). Another one I quite liked was Rattlesnake Jake from the movie Rango; even though he was a menacing character, they gave him the secondary-antagonist-turned-ally route, and he had such a cool visual appearance and great voice-acting that he seems to be a fan favorite.

Very true! Viper and Juju are both great. I haven't seen Rango but I'll have to add that to the watch list. Who doesn't love a good antagonist turned ally, plus Rattlesnake Jake looks like a really cool character.

It seems kind of silly, but Faust was actually the reason I discovered ball pythons. She was such a cute character and I wanted to find out what kind of snake she was since I'd never seen one like that and I didn't know what a ball python was at that time. Then I found RoyalConstrictorDesigns on YouTube, which led me to follow more and more snake YouTubers and get really interested in BPs. Now I love snakes and know so much more about BPs than I ever thought I would. Goes to show what a big impact a kind representation can make

[RedRabbit]

Rango came out in 2011 but has aged quite well in the visual effects department, since it put a lot of species-specific accuracy and detail into the textures for all the animal characters depicted in it. There are a few moments when you have to just chuckle and go with the flow for dramatic effect, like when Jake uses constriction despite being a rattlesnake. However, they do a great job on distinguishing the keeled scales and natural patterning/coloration, and some of the other artistic liberties are actually quite clever - such as borrowing the little upper-lip "mustache" from boa constrictors to make him look more like a spaghetti Western character.

Also, that's not silly at all, that's AWESOME! I got a big smile on my face just from reading your story. Faust is just adorable, and really does capture the sweet face and cute mannerisms that characterize ball pythons. Funny enough, RoyalConstrictorDesigns was one of the first BP channels I started following too. Originally just to coo over each new clutch of beautiful hatchlings, but more recently for learning from his morph spotlight series.