I'M MAKING A THREAD ABOUT POKEMON AND THE COOL ANIMALS THAT INSPIRED THEM AND NOBODY CAN STOP ME (all photos have credit in the alt text!)
Sandslash is based on the pangolin! These insectivorous mammals are covered head to toe in scales made of keratin, the same material as your hair and nails. Many pangolins live in trees, but ground pangolins dig their burrows in the dirt, hence Sandslash's ground typing. 
Drowzee is based on the tapir! More specifically, the baku, a spirit that takes a form resembling a tapir & eats nightmares. This is referenced by Drowzee's attack Dream Eater. Tapirs have a long prehensile snout, which they use to strip leaves off of branches AND as a snorkel :)
Turtonator gets its flat, jagged looks from the mata mata turtle! Their rough appearance helps them stay camouflaged in the murky waters of the Amazon river, and their pointy nose lets them breathe air from the surface without revealing their body.
Alomomola is based on the ocean sunfish, AKA "mola mola." These are the largest bony fish (meaning not sharks or rays) in the world! You may have heard some unkind things said about them on the Internet, but don't fall for it. They're actually really cool.
The Trapinch/Vibrava/Flygon line is really neat - they're based on a family of insects called antlions! Many species of antlions, when they are larvae, dig funnel-shaped pits in sand that trap their prey. As adults they resemble dragonflies.
Relicanth is based on the coelacanth! This fish was thought to have gone extinct 60 million years ago, until a specimen was discovered in 1938. They move their fins in alternating pairs, which is unlike other fish but resembles the movement of terrestrial limbs.
Dewgong is (obviously) based on the dugong, but contrary to what the Pokémon's evolutionary line may lead you to believe, dugongs are not closely related to seals. Their closest cousins are manatees and... elephants 😱
Golisopod and Wimpod are based on giant isopods! These are scavengers that scuttle along the ocean floor and munch up whatever they can find. If they look a little familiar, it's because they're cousins of the woodlouse, AKA the roly poly. (thanks @franzanth!)
Kabuto is based on the horseshoe crab! "Crab" is a misnomer; they're arthropods, more closely related to spiders than crabs. They still pretty much look like they did over 400 million years ago, making it a great candidate for a "fossil" Pokemon. (thanks @ZestyZebra10134!)
I just realized alt text doesn't work like I thought it did soooooo I'm gonna have to add photo credit to the replies on each photo instead sorry yall!!! 😭
Cutiefly and its evolution Ribombee are based on Japanese bee flies! They belong to a family called Bombyliidae, which is where Ribombee gets its name. They have a long proboscis for feeding on nectar and pollen. (thank you @SebbySpresso!)
Paras and Parasect confused me as a kid because I thought they were just weird crabs. They're actually based on cicada nymphs, and the "mushrooms" are a reference to a fungus in the Cordyceps genus which PARASitizes cicadas! 😬 (thanks @Michael_Stahler!)
Snom is based on the jewel caterpillar! Even though Snom is ice-type, the jewel caterpillar lives in the rain forest of Costa Rica. Its body looks like it's covered in glass, but it's actually goo. The protrusions under the goo break off easily. (thanks @feedmeshrimp!)
This photo is by David Brossard!
This photo is from the Woodland Park Zoo!
This photo is by Marc Bee!
This photo is by Yume Minya!
This photo is by Ryosuke Yagi!
This photo is from NOAA!
This photo is by David Fleetham!
This photo is by Christian Schlamann!
Dragalge and Skrelp are based on the weedy seadragon, a cousin of pipefish and seahorses! Like seahorses, the males carry and incubate the eggs rather than the females. Their leaflike appendages camouflage them among the seaweed. (thanks @pomzuzu!)
Lurantis is based on the orchid mantis! This mantis's color & the shape of its appendages resemble an orchid flower, which attracts smaller insects like flies. Once a fly gets close to the "flower," they become a snack for the mantis!
This photo is by Matt Testoni!
Heracross is based on the Japanese rhinoceros beetle! These absolute units spend most of their live as a larva underground. Once they emerge as a fully grown beetle, the males compete with each other by lifting and flipping each other over with their impressive horns!
This photo is by Marcelo Aroca!
Clawitzer is based on a pistol shrimp! Pistol shrimp snap their claws shut at such high forces that it creates a cavitation bubble, producing acoustic pressure that kills their prey as well as a 210 dB sound and heat nearly the temperature of the sun. (thanks @franzanth!)
Cramorant is based on the cormorant! Cormorants dive into the water to catch fish. An imperial cormorant was recorded at 150ft deep. You can often find them basking in the sun with their wings spread to dry them off after a dive. (thanks @Michael_Stahler!)
This picture is by Arthur Anker!
Heliolisk is based on the frilled lizard! Frilled lizards have a collar of skin that they usually keep folded flat along their neck. When threatened, they can raise cartilage spines inside the frill to extend the skin and make them look very intimidating!
This photo is by Jane Mann!
Fennekin is based on the fennec fox! Those HUGE ears are a special adaptation for life in the desert. Blood circulates through the large ears, cooling off & keeping the fox from overheating. They're cute, but you do NOT want one as a pet!
This photo is by Matt Clancy :)
Toxapex & Mareanie are based on the crown-of-thorns starfish! These starfish eat coral by inverting their stomach out of their mouth, & have caused a lot of damage to reefs in the Indo-Pacific. Mareanie's Pokédex entries even say that they eat Corsola 😬 (thanks @beccalachuchi!)
Anorith & Armaldo are based on anomalocaris, an extinct animal related to early arthropods that lived around 500mil years ago. They grew to about 3 feet long and moved by undulating those flaps along the side of its body. They were apex predators! (thanks @spiderdayNight!)
