Research [to finish] - Pokemon Concept Art

The above Did You Know Gaming video discusses the early concepts for the successful Pokemon franchise.
The earliest concept was 'Capsule Monsters', inspired by Japanese 'gashapon machines' which would output a toy in a capsule if a customer inserted money.

Satoshi Tanjiri's early designs are very interesting. I believe Matt Kohr from CtrlPaint mentioned that the Pokemon monsters are very well designed, given the small amount of space available on the tiny Gameboy screen (160x144 pixels) in which to visually express the nature of each monster.

This image in particular is what interested me

It shows a much grittier environment that feels a lot more intricate and visually interesting than the often very vanilla environment design of the games and television series.

While there's obviously not a lot of room on the screen to show any grit or detail, the overall art direction does feel very bland

The idea of Pokemon in bottles and cages is interesting too, as well as more emphasis on the actual physical nature of the pokeballs - all sitting on a stand ready to be bought.

http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Capsule_Monsters