A is for… Mudkips?
Ok, not really. My good friend Kento over at Uglorable has composed an AMAZING compendium of obscure animals - one for each letter of the alphabet - entitled: Obscure Animal Alphabet: Axolotl to Zebu.
For letter A is the Axolotl, which HAS to be the inspiration for that internet famous Pokémon, Mudkips.
Exhibit A: 
Exhibit B: 
Sure there’s color differences, but that’s pretty minor all things considered.
As you go down the list, you realize that the creators of Pokémon were clearly influenced by nature itself. Sure, they take a lot of liberties, but in terms of creature design, it’s clear they went straight for nature’s bounty.
Even if you couldn’t care less about video games, Pokémon, or internet memes, I’d still recommend checking out this animal alphabet. Every letter is an adventure, there’s a photo of each unique animal, and a description of each one! It’s like Zoo Books, only awesome.
