What's up with the legs on this Geodude mascot?

As we shared earlier today, Pokemon Company revealed Geodude as Iwate prefecture's official mascot. Some noticed that Geodude has some rather funky-looking legs. Obviously the regular Geodude just floats around, but someone in a mascot suit can't do that. The question is, why do the legs have such a strange patchwork design on them?

The Pokemon Co. was asked about this, and the rep didn't exactly give a clear-cut answer. They said they wanted "Geodude to have an appropriate form” in order to “make it a pleasant encounter for everyone who comes across it.” Well that doesn't really help at all, does it!?

As you might expect, fans have their own answer as to what's going on. Geodude's legs have a checkerboard design that looks similar to the transparency layer in photo editing software. In other words, that layer is invisible to the naked eye. I have to admit, that's the first thing I thought of when I saw Geodude's legs, so I'm on board with that explanation!