Giant Primordial Quagsire

 This is my entry for Summer Joust 2026's category Medieval Pokemon. I've taken part in this contest three times before, and this years categories are great. I have another WIP in good shape already, and might make a third, maybe even fourth entry, too. Bio-Cup being (probably?) later this year helps, too.

 So, Pokemon. I was a Pokemon kid as a kid. I played TCG even in sanctioned tournaments, and managed to get most of the gold symbols in Emerald's Battle Frontier. I'm somewhat familar of the fourth generation, but generally, my Pokemon experience consists of generations 1-3, with Emerald being my definitive (and the only actually owned) game. I don't think there are any better Pokemon games than that, so it's not an issue. It's quite surprising that I haven't posted any Pokemon Lego models before. I've built some as a kid, but that was before this blog and likely before Brickshelf, too (2007). 

Naturally, when thinking of this category, I evaluated my favourite Pokemons and their suitability for the task in hand. Big friendly Quagsire ultimately won. The second possibility was a Regirock breaking loose form its Desert Ruins (I had to look that up), conforting some sort of band of minifigure warriors. I really like the legendary golems of Gen 3 - maybe I'll build them later on! Quagsire, though, is my ultimate favourite pokemon and it was about time to make something in gratitude for this magnificent creature. 

I made it very big, of course, but otherwise kept the design pretty much the same. There isn't many official pictures of a swimming Quagsire, so I had some freedom on this. The main attraction here is the sense of motio, enhanced by the fishlines and the sweeping aquatic plants. Thus, Quagsire's face is facing forward, like commonly with Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders - the real-life equivalents of Quagsire. I gave the creature a large, gaping maw to show its lolling pink tongue - I'm very happy with that! This was the defining part of the model.

The colour caused some issues. I had lot of curved slopes in medium azure, bought for very cheap on Bricklink years ago. However, I had barely any wedges! What I had, though, were those 4x3 curved wedge things with the irritating 1x2 cut-out on top that no piece matches very well with. I had got a bag of them form my at-the-time neighbour Jani about two years ago. They really saved the day here. If a model ever needs gently curving medium azure pieces, it's Giant Primordial Quagsire!

Of course, I had to medievalize the creature. I wanted to have a harmless scene with some sort of excite- and movement. The real-world giant salamanders live in the East Asia, so I chose it as the setting; of course, it also fits Pokemon's Japanese origins. I had recently reviewed Ancient Moon-Gazing Inn for New Elementary, and it had great minifigure parts for this. The canopy of the boat felt fitting for the atmosphere. Ultimately, the fishing action defined the relationship between Quagsire and the people, while the fishlines helped to make the model dynamic. Of course, adding an another Pokemon, or 3x Magikarp, further integrated the themes of Pokemon and Medieval together.

The river surface goes in the middle of this model. I could not express it with bricks wihtout making the model messy, but I tried to define it by using a two-colour background. I hope it is clear enough. It is cheerful, at least.

-Eero.