Ooh, this thread is a generation old and could do with some new entries. Having recently buddied this here 'mon in Pokémon Go, I'm starting to form an opinion on it and its evolution:
I came across an old post that said something along the lines of Arctibax being "the most Pokémon-like Pokémon in the new games". And I can see that well. It has a recognizable silhouette, a pleasant colour scheme, an expressive face and a neat sail on its back. The wrist blades give a nice splash of colour that match its eyes too. It's a great design with all the classic elements.
And then ... it evolves:
I feel that Baxcalibur's design is missing something. Those tiny eyes are completely dead - the pupils are barely visible, so the face has no expressiveness. From certain angles, the eyes look blank like those of a robot.
Another problem is that its head and tail tip are smooth, which makes it seem strangely naked. Especially from the bird's eye views in the various games' overworld, Baxcalibur head seems bald. It's even worse from behind. A little bit of a head crest or feature tends to frame in the face, which is why so many Pokémon have stuff going on atop their heads. Horns, ears, tufts of hair or little ridges make it so the face itself isn't pushed to the very edge of the design. Baxcalibur really shows how well this trick usually works, by omitting it. See for instance how the sail is a bit taller than Arctibax's head, above? Or that there are prominent eyebrows above the eyes? It all frames the eyes. Baxcalibur has none of that. As mentioned, something similar goes for its tail. It's just there.
Also, in the default pose, Baxcalibur's spinal sail is awkwardly hidden behind its body. and seems to be drooping to low to serve any useful purpose. Unlike Dragonite's wings or Tyranitar's back spikes, it sticks directly out behind from its back. I suppose the idea is for the sail to be a glaive head of sorts, but it's so awkwardly positioned. Baxcalibur needs to do a somersault to attack that way (
see the depictions of Glaive Rush), but a theropod doing a somersault just gives the impression of stumbling over and over-rotating, since the sail is nowhere near the center of mass. And the sail is too flimsily attached to the back to credibly look like it'd hurt the opponent more than Baxcalibur itself when the hit connects. The poor 'mon would tear half its spine out if it hit just a little bit off-center.
But perhaps the worst is the upright pose. I guess the idea is that Baxcalibur is standing tall and intimidating. But somehow it combines perfectly with how the legs and shoulders are positioned just right to create the impression of ... a dude in a costume. Baxcalibur's arms attach to the body right where a dude in a costume would have his shoulders, and the arms have way too human proportions in terms of size, placement, and shape. The legs are a bit far apart, creating some sort of awkward waddle, but they are also exactly how a dude in a costume would position them to make room for the tail. The neck has plenty of space for a head inside it, peeking through semi-transparent fabric just above the topmost belly plate. The top of the head would be worn like some sort of hat. The sail is also mounted so it fits on straps attached to the dude's back. And the smooth curves of navy blue colour just scream "fabric stretched over rubber foam". It'd be an elaborate costume, for sure, but Baxcalibur looks just too much like one to be fully convincing. It certainly doesn't give quite the badass impression they were probably going for.
That being said, there is plenty of artwork where Baxcalibur looks a lot better. Leaning forward, its sail becomes more prominent and takes the role of the "outer edge" of the design. It also instantly becomes more animal-like when it isn't standing with its back vertically. There are also subtle changes in its depiction between artwork, such as the way its head connects to its spine. Baxcalibur needs to be reptilian, with its spine directly connecting to the back of the head. The upright pose makes it too humanoid. Contrast
this and
this picture, for instance. One is a dude in a costume awkwardly failing to make an intimidating pose, the other is a huge dinosaur that's coming to utterly destroy you. I also like the way it looks in
this figurine. Somebody got the proper idea of what the sail was supposed to be like for that one. Whoever positioned the 3D model for the games clearly did not.
