Yeah, Blastoise is the most Digimon-like Pokémon ever.
Overall the appreciation for Gen 1 would not be as high if the people who tend to complain about later Gens would look at Gen 1 with the same criticism.
I have maintained since 2010 that if Generations 1 & 5 were switched, we'd get the same complaints we do but about the Gen 1 Pokémon.