Hello Pokébeach,
I'm a long-time Pokémon fan (since Gen 1!) who's currently writing a Substack series about Pokémon's connections to real-world mythology. The central idea is that both the in-universe Pokédex and the Pokémon series as a whole represent a modern take on the bestiary. An excerpt...
Mine would have to be Kagemaru Himeno, she did some great work for the old Jungle Set:
I really like Ken Sugimori (who co-designed many, many creatures) as well but sometimes his compositions can be a little plain.
I am so sorry for not getting back to you earlier, I just started a new semester and I'm extremely busy.
I've decided that the blog wasn't all it could be so I took it down and am now working on a new, improved version.
I'll be sure to let you know when it's up!