LogFAQs > #976940969

bioshockjack posted...

https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Animals_in_the_Pok%C3%A9mon_world

The Trivia section of this page mentions Takeshi Shud claiming that the real world animals were due to "the animation staff not paying enough attention." According to him, the idea was that real animals went extinct and eventually Pokemon took their place. The cited source for this leads to a 404 page, but based on the url it seems to have lead to an interview with Shud during the making of the third movie (the one with Entei).

It's not an interview, it's part of his blog which he mentions twice in a span of two years
via Google Translate and Deepl:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/2/4/AARO5TAAE3W8.png This is strengthen by the fact that he mentions he wanted to write an episode about a slowpoke being lazy and wanting to add flies as part of a gag but couldn't do that due to Pokemon having no equivalent of flies. He was the guy in charge of the original anime writing.