So we got these puppies
[hider=big dogs][img]http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/c/c5/Moon_JP_boxart.png[/img][img]http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/0/06/Sun_EN_boxart.png/655px-Sun_EN_boxart.png[/img][/hider]

And then these nerds

[img]https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--184IVChp--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/bgc2yjputrvnjvlohv9x.png[/img]

Let's see how we go this generation. As always, there'll be plenty of design-bitchery to go 'round soon enough.

[hider=*ahem* let's get obnoxious about our opinions]

These starters look nice enough. I feel like they're a positive break from tradition design-wise in that, apart from Popplio (blue seal), they're not so obviously typecast by colour or shape language, and feature more unbroken flat colour than most of the Unova and Kalos starters, kinda harkening back to the likes of Charmander and Chikorita.

Rowlet (owl) especially looks like its own simple, cute little thing that doesn't look so obviously like it's been designed for a starter role- It's a lot rounder and eggier and even with the leaf-bow and tail it could pass for a surprisingly unique Pidgey clone. 

Litten (cat) is coded by some colour, but it has a simple angular pattern and no shapes tacked on to the basic cat design. Compare to how Tepig's body uses a similar colour scheme but is much more starkly sectioned, and how Fennekin, though perfect, has huge, lined, permanent, coloured fur-flames while Litten has a few stylised black hackles tipped in red, that raise when it uses a move.

And Popplio is blue, colour coded for your convenience, but it probably features the sleekest design of all three. There's no lining, no body pattern, no water symbolism (Froakie's bubbles, Oshawott's shell), just an instantly recognisable seal shape, basic face colouring, and that little clown ruff to break up its otherwise quite dark colour. I think all three of these aren't entirely throwbacks to the simplicity of some old designs, since they're also partial to the refined stylisation of recent gens. Suits me.[/hider]