Don't get too attached to Pokemon Winds and Waves' Pombon

Pokemon winds and waves was announced just a few days ago, and they're already the talk of the town for what appears to be a vast open world with underwater exploration and the best graphics yet for the series. Not only that, but Pokemon winds and waves' newbies make a lot of waves (pun intended) online for a variety of reasons. Whether it's the fact that Browt looks like it just came out Angry Birds franchise, whether Gecqua operates directly out of Smallest pet storeGen 10 starters are a bit polarizing — you either love them or you don't. However, what has fans standing under the same banner is the new Fire-type starter motor, the Pombo.

Pombom's design i Pokemon winds and waves making it a fan favorite. It's cute, it seems a little silly, it has the Japanese Kanji for “fire” on its paw, and more importantly, it's a dog. Dogs are obviously a very popular animal species for humans, and Pombon is already special because it's the first dog starter in the series in 30 years, as strange as that sounds. I'm sorry, Fennekin was never a dog, no matter how hard you try Pokémons Chinese zodiac Fire starter theory sounds right. And yet, while Pombon is getting a lot of love on social media, you should temper your enthusiasm.

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Pokemon Winds and Waves Starters lend credence to previous leaks about new evolutions and game mechanics

Pokemon Winds and Waves' reveal of its new starters makes a leak look very believable, including details on Gen 10 battles and new Pokemon.

Pokemon Winds and Waves Pombo can have a disappointing evolution

There's one simple, excruciating detail about Fire-type starter Pokemon in the franchise, and that's that they never stop on all fours. In fact, there is only one Pokémon that ends up being quadrupedal among Fire starters, and its evolution is actually bipedal. The list is as follows:

Charmander is bipedal and remains bipedal (Charmeleon, Charizard)
Cyndaquil is bipedal and remains bipedal (Quilava, Typhlosion)
Torchic is bipedal and remains bipedal (Combusken, Blaziken)
Chimchar is bipedal and remains bipedal (Monferno, Infernape)
Tepig is quadrupedal and becomes bipedal with his first evolution (Pignite, Emboar)
Fennekin is quadrupedal and becomes bipedal with its first evolution (Braixen, Delphox)
Litten is quadrupedal and becomes bipedal with its final evolution (Incineroar)
Scorbunny is bipedal and stays bipedal (Raboot, Cinderace)
Fuecoco is bipedal and becomes quadrupedal with its final evolution (Skeledirge)

What follows is that while Pombo is extremely cute and begs for the design to stay on all fours throughout development, it's very likely that it will become bipedal at some point. Many fans are already calling for it to stand on all fours on social media by putting tape over its front paws, which is what happened to Sprigatito in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Unfortunately, Sprigatito evolved into a biped, and although Meowscarada is very popular, many players wished it remained quadrupedal.

Why Pombo will likely be bipedal in Pokemon Winds and Waves

On top of that, there's also Pokemon's Fire/Fighting-type curse, as Fire starters have had Fighting as a secondary type for three generations in a row with Blaziken, Infernape, and Emboar. And even when they didn't, they often got bulky bipedal evolutions with the likes of Charizard, Incineroar, and Cinderace. This may be even more of a problem given the likely mythological inspiration for the dog-like starter Pokemon Winds and waves.

Pokemon winds and wavesThe setting is inspired by the real Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. A Twitter user named @SitheachE shared a post on the platform that highlighted the possibility of Pombon's evolution being inspired by Barong. This Balinese mythological creature is the king of all spirits and the embodiment of good, who fights against the demon queen Rangda.

It follows that, if this is indeed the inspiration for Pombon's final evolution, it could be the first ever Fire/Fairy Pokémon – a shield that looks like a cross between a dog and a lion, adorned with jewelry. Costumes based on the Barong are usually used in dances where the creature stands on two paws to fight the Rangda and restore the heavenly order. Normally the creature is represented on all fours, but several variants are bipedal. While this is speculation, between the Barong dance and previous Fire starter Pokémon, you'd better temper your enthusiasm if you want Pombo to remain as dog-like as possible and be quadrupedal. At least for now.