Pokémon Pia information begins to surface

Information and pictures from Pokémon Pia, a special magazine on sale September 10th, have begun to surface on 2ch. Among the information revealed so far is an interview of art director Ken Sugimori, in which he discusses the development of the Pokémon Black and White starter Pokémon and their evolutions.
The Sugimori interview, discussing the starter Pokémon

In the article, Sugimori explained that Tsutarja, Pokabu, and Mijumaru's final evolutions had been divided into Western, Chinese, and Japanese designs, respectively. He elaborated especially on Mijumaru's final evolution, which can be seen in the translation of the interview provided below:
“ Ken Sugimori, primary illustrator: I really struggled the most with the Water-type [starter] this time.

Yusuke Ohmura, illustrator: There was talk of, "Wouldn't a sea otter be good for the Water starter?" But it was a really close decision in terms of what this sea otter would become once it evolves. In the end, we decided to have it evolve into something with a completely different appearance.

Sugimori: Of course, we want to make the starters into Pokémon that remain with the player throughout the game, so we hope to make them evolve into creatures that offer a surprise to the player. We always make an effort to throw in some twists and create third-stage evolutions that have an impact.

Ohmura: There was also talk this time about dividing the three starters into Japanese, Western, and Chinese styles of design. Tsutarja was based on Western design, and Pokabu was rooted in a Chinese style, so I was told, "Let's make Mijumaru into a more Japanese-style design." Someone even asked, "Can't you make Mijumaru into a samurai?" [laughs]

Everyone: [laughs]

Sugimori: I worried about it for a while, and I eventually went to go see the sea otters at the aquarium. I happened to catch the sea lion show while I was there, and I became aware of the sea lion's power. "Well, let's try blending a sea otter and a sea lion," I thought. I came up with the idea of making the shell on Mijumaru's stomach into a sword (katana) and using it to fight, and that's how I completed Mijumaru and its evolution."
”
-- Pokémon Pia




credits;bulbanews

i cant wait to see the water starter's evolutions now lolz

i went on serebii today to look at the starters, and the 3rd evolution for mijumaru looks pretty kool