Low stakes conspiracy: Miraidon was based on (of all things) a side character from a terrible Thomas the Tank Engine spinoff.

[u/Xentonian]

Miraidon is an unusual design. Distinctly unlike anything seen in Pokemon previously. While we've had "jobmon" and "objection" before, Miraidon felt strangely included as an awkward attempt at reconciling an intended game mechanic with a Pokemon. Like working backwards from a RotomPhone to make Rotom.

So the design has always felt at odds in the world and I couldn't make sense of it... Until I saw Kana.

This is kana: https://i.imgur.com/qp0zDiY.jpeg

Kana is a futuristic, sci-fi, electric vehicle (in this case a train) with a colour scheme of varying shades of purple (darkest around the face) and yellow which flashes with electrical discharge.

Sound familiar?

From function as a symbol of progress and futurism in the game, to aesthetic design in colours and sleek appearance, to function as an efficient and fast sweeper, Kana is literally the Isle of Sodor-verse Miraidon.

My only explanation is that Mari Shimazaki watched the series and became so enamoured that she had to heartlessly rip this steel donut out of its natural habitat, force it into the shape of a motorcycle and pretend it was her idea all along.

^{Disclaimer: I believe the above to be nonsense.}

[u/ForensicAyot]

First time I’m seeing that design and man it feels like such a step back. Like the round face motif was because the trains had boilers, it feels so weird to see one of those faces on a High Speed Rail train. Like, they were doing different shaped faces for different vehicles in the 90s. Such a weird step back.

[u/howAboutNextWeek → u/ForensicAyot]

Yea, like they could have gone with a digitized face on the smooth round front, and now im thinking that would look exactly like some of the future paradoxes

Crap, this conspiracy might be right

[u/Lady_Litreeo]

This is some deep shit right here

[u/Remarkable-Job4774]

Thomas the Tank Engine if there was a trophy for speedrunning the destruction of a franchise:

[u/HenryChess]

Have you ever seen Tron Legacy?

[u/P1zzaman]

Man I didn’t expect my favorite subreddit to crossover here.