Pokemon Starters Reimagined as DnD Classes by Fan Artist

Crossovers are a staple of gaming culture, but even when official bridges don’t exist, fans can build their own. A Reddit artist has taken several Gen 1–3 Pokemon starters and translated them into Dungeons & Dragons classes—complete with themed weapons, abilities, and even nature-based traits—proving how naturally these worlds can fit together.

A fan-made crossover with real design logic

Pokemon has never officially crossed over with Dungeons & Dragons or other tabletop RPGs, but the imagination is clearly there. In a recent Reddit post, artist almightyjeff shared visuals—including animated GIFs—showing Charmander, Totodile, and Treecko reinterpreted as DnD classes. Each design includes more than just a look: the artist also assigns a Pokemon “nature” and builds a class fantasy around it.

The result is a set of class archetypes that feel purpose-built. For example, Charmander is shown with a sword engulfed in flames, positioning it somewhere between the classic DnD Fighter and Ranger-style identities. The key detail is its nature: Brave. In the Pokemon system, Brave boosts Attack while reducing Speed, which the artist’s setup leans into as a more frontline, martial direction—again, pointing more toward a Fighter-like interpretation than a stealth or pure ranged role.

This isn’t just aesthetic cosplay. The designs demonstrate how Pokemon’s existing mechanics and personality framing can map to tabletop roles—weapon choice, combat style, and how a character “acts” in a party.

Charmander, Totodile, and Treecko become Fighter, Barbarian, and Rogue

Totodile’s transformation is equally direct. Depicted as a fierce warrior wielding two one-handed axes, the design leans into brutality with battle scars and a shoulder pad made from a Cubone skull. The artist also highlights a “Rage” concept and pairs it with a Jolly nature, which emphasizes Speed at the cost of Special Attack.

In DnD terms, the combination reads like a Barbarian: strong attacks, resilience, and an aggressive combat tempo. Even Totodile’s signature jaw is repurposed into the idea of a relentless melee attacker, ready to slice through enemies rather than just bite in a Pokemon battle.

Treecko completes the trio as a Rogue. The design includes a hood and a small cloak, plus a bow that supports a classic ranged-but-sneaky play pattern. Visually and mechanically, the Rogue identity is reinforced through ambush behavior—hanging from a tree before striking with Leaf Blade. The artist even reframes the move for tabletop vibes by renaming Leaf Blade as “Leaf Dagger,” aligning the attack with the Rogue’s dagger-like aesthetic. Treecko’s Timid nature further supports a non-magic-focused Rogue build, matching the idea of careful timing and precision rather than spellcasting.

Together, the three starters show how Gen 1–3 Pokemon can be translated into distinct DnD class silhouettes without losing their core personality.

Mystery Dungeon connections—and what fans want next

The designs also echo a broader crossover pattern: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon already blends Pokemon with tabletop-adjacent RPG structure. The source notes that Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a remake of Red and Blue Rescue Team from 2005, meaning it’s strong but not entirely new. It also highlights that Rescue Team DX is the most recent entry in that spin-off series, arriving in 2020.

Since then, fans have been asking for a new Mystery Dungeon game or another remake, and the upcoming Explorers of the Sky is positioned as a potential fit for that demand. However, the source is clear that nothing is official beyond what’s already known.

Still, the community signal is hard to ignore: the fan-made starter-to-class ideas have found a large audience on Reddit. The designs’ popularity suggests that if Pokemon ever leaned harder into tabletop-adjacent storytelling—or even just supported more crossover-style experiments—there’s a ready audience.

Key points

  • A Reddit artist reimagined Charmander, Totodile, and Treecko as DnD classes using themed weapons and abilities.
  • Charmander is framed around a Brave nature and a flaming sword, suggesting a Fighter-leaning role.
  • Totodile’s Jolly nature and dual-axe, rage-driven look map cleanly to a Barbarian-style warrior.
  • Treecko is presented as a Rogue with ambush tactics, a bow, and a Timid nature suited to non-magic builds.
Pokemon DnD-style role Nature used in the design
Charmander Fighter-leaning (unclear between Fighter and Ranger) Brave
Totodile Barbarian Jolly
Treecko Rogue Timid

Expert View

What this fan art signals is that Pokemon’s character identity system can translate surprisingly well to tabletop class fantasy—especially when creators think beyond appearance and tie in “how the character fights.” In a market where official crossovers aren’t guaranteed, community-made conversions like this can function as proof-of-concept: they show what audiences want, what design language clicks, and how quickly a franchise can be reinterpreted across genres. For Mystery Dungeon, the takeaway is similar—players are clearly hungry for the next chapter, and crossover-minded RPG design is already part of the franchise’s appeal.