Unnamed Region: Lao-Tu [WIP] (Patreon)

This is Lao-Tu, a legendary Pokemon and essentially the avatar of the spring season! It's a pretty old design of mine that I'm still really fond of. Although this was originally planned as one of the legendary mascots for my unnamed region project, plans changed! Originally I had the name "Pokemon Spring & Fall" in mind, but I came up with a different idea for a title, so I think I might rework this guy into a minor legendary group (like the Tapus or Treasures of Ruin) instead. The current idea is a rabbit for spring, a golden pheasant for summer, an ox for fall, and a moth for winter... we'll see what happens with that haha

As for its design, I was aiming to convey motifs like fresh growth, germination, and seedlings. Its counterpart would instead be themed after fully grown crops and harvesting! The name "Spring and Fall" was also meant to have a loose symbolic connection to directions: to "spring" upwards and to "fall" downwards. So the 2 mascot legendaries have some up/down arrow elements in their designs as well!