LogFAQs > #973888388

As Irony pointed out, in terms of the plot the planet was covered in raw energon which shorted out their circuits after a period of exposure. The beast modes helped protect them. By the start of the second season most of the energon had stabilized or been destroyed so it was no longer an issue, and their Transmetal forms didn't take environmental damage.

and yes Hayame is correct as well. It was time for the brand to be refreshed and this is what they came up with. Not that animals and insects haven't been part of the brand prior to, but those before them were for the most part all mechanical. There were some exceptions like the Pretender Beasts which were flesh animal shells which contained the Transformer inside.

In one of the Japanese spin-offs Beast Wars II, this takes place on the planet Gaia. The Maximals take the form of animals while the Predacons find a computer in some ancient ruins that gives some history about the planet's former inhabitants. Galvatron winds up scanning both a drill tank and a dragon from it's data tracks while the other Predacons scan military vehicles.