Nov11
Does Vaporeon have smooth skin, fur, or scales?
This spun off from a post I made in the Random Messages thread that I decided I should make its own thread.
I've always assumed that Vaporeon has smooth, sleek skin like a dolphin. However, I was looking into pinnipeds because I was wondering about the exact mechanics of how Vaporeon might avoid getting sunburn with so much exposed skin and wanted to look at real-world examples, and I found that all pinnipeds except walruses have a fur coat, and even walruses have sparse fur; I'd similarly assumed that at least some seals have little to no fur. And that got me thinking, does Vaporeon actually have smooth skin, or do they have a thin layer of fur like pinnipeds?
On the original post, @da man/man responded:
And I would also like to add this:
Note how Vaporeon has that light strip on the left side of their tail, as though it's reflecting light, while none of the other Eeveelutions have anything similar on any part of their bodies. This certainly suggests that Vaporeon has a different kind of integument from all the other Eeveelutions (and Pikachu).
For comparison, some images of real world dolphins:
Looking at pictures of seals, though, their fur can also look pretty smooth and glossy, especially when wet:
As another argument for Vaporeon having fur, the material the Eevee family drops in ScVi is Eevee Fur. If Vaporeon doesn't have fur, where is the Eevee Fur they drop coming from?
However, this could just be a very minor case of ludonarrative dissonance. Fur makes too much sense as a material for Eevee to drop, since their fluffy tail and mane are such prominent elements of their design while other logical materials like teeth and claws are pretty minor elements of it (in fact, I don't know if their claws have ever been visibly rendered in any of their models), and it makes enough sense for all the other Eeveelutions that the single somewhat illogical case with Vaporeon dropping fur was deemed a worthwhile tradeoff (or perhaps overlooked).
After I presented this second point, @Princess Viola also suggested:
Also, some images of fish with various kinds of scales, because you saw the title of the thread and you know I'm going to bring up the possibility of scales:
To check, I decided to boot up ScVi to see what Vaporeon's skin texture looked like up close and compare them it to the other Eeveelutions, and...
There certainly is a texture there! But what is it? Is it skin? Is it thin fur? Is it even, perhaps, fishlike scales? I honestly can't tell.
I also checked Z-A, and Vaporeon's skin is a lot smoother there, but so are the other Eeveelutions'. (For the record, I used the Switch 1 versions of both ScVi and Z-A; maybe they have more detailed textures on the Switch 2 versions, but I don't have a Switch 2, nor do I plan on getting one anytime soon.)
Looking over all the images, I currently still hold that Vaporeon has smooth, hairless skin. But I'd be interested in other's thoughts on the matter.
I've always assumed that Vaporeon has smooth, sleek skin like a dolphin. However, I was looking into pinnipeds because I was wondering about the exact mechanics of how Vaporeon might avoid getting sunburn with so much exposed skin and wanted to look at real-world examples, and I found that all pinnipeds except walruses have a fur coat, and even walruses have sparse fur; I'd similarly assumed that at least some seals have little to no fur. And that got me thinking, does Vaporeon actually have smooth skin, or do they have a thin layer of fur like pinnipeds?
On the original post, @da man/man responded:
It looks like it's consistently been sleek dolphin skin.
The only argument you could make for the fur is this:which might be all the evidence you need tbh
And I would also like to add this:
For comparison, some images of real world dolphins:
From top to bottom: common bottlenose dolphins, a common dolphin, and an orca with calf.
Looking at pictures of seals, though, their fur can also look pretty smooth and glossy, especially when wet:
From top to bottom: a grey seal, a Mediterranean monk seal, and an Australian sea lion with a pup (which likely has not yet molted out of their initial coat). Notably, the adult Mediterranean monk seal is believed to have the shortest fur of any pinniped.
As another argument for Vaporeon having fur, the material the Eevee family drops in ScVi is Eevee Fur. If Vaporeon doesn't have fur, where is the Eevee Fur they drop coming from?
However, this could just be a very minor case of ludonarrative dissonance. Fur makes too much sense as a material for Eevee to drop, since their fluffy tail and mane are such prominent elements of their design while other logical materials like teeth and claws are pretty minor elements of it (in fact, I don't know if their claws have ever been visibly rendered in any of their models), and it makes enough sense for all the other Eeveelutions that the single somewhat illogical case with Vaporeon dropping fur was deemed a worthwhile tradeoff (or perhaps overlooked).
After I presented this second point, @Princess Viola also suggested:
I see where this is coming from, but I'm not sure about this particular comparison. Otter fur is a lot more conspicuous, even when wet, perhaps especially when wet. I think if Vaporeon had otter-like fur, it would be a lot more obvious, like on Buizel and Oshawott (and yes, I know Buizel is arguably more weasel than otter, but they're still an aquatic mustelid).
From top to bottom: sea otters, giant otters, and a smooth-coated otter.
Also, some images of fish with various kinds of scales, because you saw the title of the thread and you know I'm going to bring up the possibility of scales:
From top to bottom: Paracanthurus blue tang, sockeye salmon, and West African lungfish.
To check, I decided to boot up ScVi to see what Vaporeon's skin texture looked like up close and compare them it to the other Eeveelutions, and...
There certainly is a texture there! But what is it? Is it skin? Is it thin fur? Is it even, perhaps, fishlike scales? I honestly can't tell.
I also checked Z-A, and Vaporeon's skin is a lot smoother there, but so are the other Eeveelutions'. (For the record, I used the Switch 1 versions of both ScVi and Z-A; maybe they have more detailed textures on the Switch 2 versions, but I don't have a Switch 2, nor do I plan on getting one anytime soon.)
Looking over all the images, I currently still hold that Vaporeon has smooth, hairless skin. But I'd be interested in other's thoughts on the matter.
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