Depictions in Different Media
Over time and across a range of media, Moltres has been portrayed in a number of different ways. From the Red and Green sprite depicting a large, stocky bird with wings engulfed in flames to the Moltres of the Pokémon anime, more graceful in appearance.
Over the years, Moltres has virtually got no attention from within the Pokémon fan-base. As a Pokémon, it has had very little media exposure and no more merchandise than any other relatively unpopular Pokémon, thus, the only image that comes to mind when Moltres is mentioned is the early stock art.
 Figure 1: A flaming chicken.
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Unfortunately the anime stock art doesn’t do many Pokémon justice, and Moltres is certainly no exception. The crude outline of Moltres in these pictures makes it look more angular. It’s shown as having a rather small head in comparison to its large, round body which makes it look astoundingly like a flaming chicken. Due to Moltres’s low level of exposure in media and in the fan-base, this impression has stuck with many people. Looking at some of the fan art of Moltres it’s easy to see that this image has made the Pokémon the butt of many jokes. |
Moltres’s physical traits are extremely unique- no other Pokémon has so much of its body made up of flames. Its main trademark is its wings of fire; however these seem to be what varies the most in all the official depictions of Moltres.
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The early sprites and Ken Sugimori art show Moltres’s wings being entirely engulfed in flames, where as later artworks and the anime Moltres are depicted as having only half its wings made up of flames. |
 Fully engulfed vs. partially engulfed wings.
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Another thing that seems to vary a lot is the actual flames themselves. In the early sprites and merchandise, Moltres’s flames look a solid orange colour, but this may just be due to the relatively poor quality of the early sprites and figures.
The anime Moltres, perhaps the Moltres people are most familiar with, has entirely different looking flames. They alternate between red and white; no other Pokémon has flames like this. The idea for these unique flames may have come from the fact that the fire in the early Ken Sugimori art was painted solid red/orange but with patches of lighter red in it where the watercolour was thinner. In Moltres’s early artwork, these lighter streaks were more prominent than in other Pokémon’s fire and probably are the reason they later evolved into flames alternating between red and white.
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As mentioned before, a lot of early Moltres merchandise had simple solid orange-coloured fire. But as more refined Moltres toys and figures were brought out, Moltres’s flames were consistently painted to be alternating between red and white to fit the anime depiction. The colour of Moltres’s body has also differed in some depictions. From the early sprites, Moltres has always been shown to have yellow/gold or light orange feathers. But again the anime portrays it differently; it’s shown to have light yellow/cream body. |
 Moltres in the anime.
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 FR/LG artwork of Moltres.
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Moltres’s body shape has also changed dramatically over time. The first sprites and artwork of Moltres had a rather stocky figure. It had a wide neck and short legs. As the official artwork developed, especially around the FireRed/ LeafGreen era, Moltres started looking more refined like the anime depictions. |
It then had a longer neck and less of a round body shape. Its wings were also drawn a lot wider. Suddenly the anime stock art made Moltres look more like a large, graceful bird and a lot less like a…. well, a flaming chicken.
The different Pokémon manga series are all renowned for the Pokémon artwork looking more “realistic” than their game sprite and anime counterparts. Moltres has the refined body shape of the anime Moltres, but the realistic orange and yellow flames as with Moltres depictions in other media.
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Moltres has been rendered in 3D for a number of games including Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness. 3D models of Moltres consistently show the Pokémon as having realistic-looking orange and yellow flames that flicker brightly. However it’s interesting to note that its body shape is closer in appearance with the early game sprites; a rounder body and a short neck. |
 3D model of Moltres used in the
Stadium series and Colosseum/XD. |
Moltres also made an appearance in each of the games in the Super Smash Bros. series. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the latest in this series, Moltres has a new refined model. Interestingly enough, its flames appear red and white like the anime depictions of Moltres, but its body colour is a much darker orange than seen in any other depiction.
 Most Moltres cards depict the Pokémon as having red or orange flames.
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The artwork for Moltres TCG cards varies a huge amount due to most cards having a different artist. Some artworks feature a combination of elements found in different depictions of Moltres. However it’s interesting to note that there are only three Moltres cards that depict it as having red and white flames- the rest show it as having solid red or orange and yellow flames. Looking at the first Moltres sprite and then comparing it to some of the other depictions I’ve touched on, it’s pretty easy to see just how much Moltres’s appearance has been adjusted over time and to suit different media. |
However, in all portrayals of Moltres (perhaps though, with the exception of the early stock art), it is shown to be a powerful yet beautiful Pokémon, truly living up to its name as the legendary bird of fire.
