The Pokémon Company has just unveiled the next generation of Pokémon games, Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves, and with it the three new starter Pokémon who we’ll choose a partner from to accompany us on our journey. Among those starter Pokémon is a cute little Fire-type pomeranian-inspired dog named Pombon, and within seconds of its reveal, fans were begging it to stay on all four legs.
please let pombon remain on all fours, please arceus
— 𝓶𝓲𝓶𝓸𝓾 🧸🎀🌹 ꒰ bear vtuber ꒱ (@mimourie) February 27, 2026
If this is confusing to you, you probably have a healthy relationship with how many limbs creatures tend to stand on, but as I’m also in the “please don’t stand up, Pombon” camp, allow me to explain. Pokémon starters tend to come in two varieties: two legs (and two arms/wings), and four legs. And often, those Pokémon will change how many limbs they are standing on at some point in their evolutionary lines. As an example, Mudkip starts on four legs, but when it evolves into Swampert, it stands on two, with its two front legs now serving as arms.
Pombon pls stay on all fours 🥺👉👈 https://t.co/BVoAGo9Z8b
— AL (@notalomaga) February 27, 2026
What fans are upset about is how in recent generations, most quadrupedal starter Pokémon end up standing up on two legs by the time they fully evolve. For example, Sprigatito, the grass cat from Scarlet and Violet, starts on four legs, ends on two. Sobble and Grooky from Sword and Shield do the same thing. As does Litten from Sun and Moon, Fennekin and Froakie from X and Y, and Tepig from Black and White. If that doesn’t sound like too much, note that in almost every single generation, the starter Pokémon I didn’t list above are already on two legs when introduced and stay there, so the end evolutionary result is often a trio of bipeds.
There has been one happy recent exception in Fuecoco from Scarlet and Violet, who started on two legs and actually put its arms down and became a quadruped in its final evolution to Skeledirge. And there are other older exceptions as well, like Popplio (two flippers and a tail, admittedly, but it stayed that way all through its evolutionary line), Snivy (started with two legs and two arms, ended with zero limbs, a snake), Oshawott (did the same thing as Fuecoco and became a quadruped), and early Grass-type starters who stayed on all four like Turtwig, Chikorita, and Bulbasaur.
Given all that variety, why do people care so much about this? Look, it’s admittedly a little bit silly, but for many fans, a lot of very cute and lovable starter Pokémon have stood up during their evolutions and ended up with weird, unpopular designs. Specifically, fans dislike when animalesque designs get humanoid final evolutions, such as in the cases of Litten, Fennekin, and Tepig. Some of it is just aesthetic preference, but some of it also feels a bit like a bait and switch. Fans buy into a specific starter because they like its themeing (a cat, a fox, a pig) but by the end of the game end up with something seemingly unrelated (a wrestler, a magician, a warrior) and are disappointed, but stuck with their choice.
Pombon listen to me.
Stay on all 4 legs. I’m begging you. https://t.co/WjnLewxWs7
— Liari 🎴🦊【VA / Variety Streamer】 (@LiariTTV) February 27, 2026
So in this case, everyone has quickly fallen in love with the little pomeranian fire dog, and would like that pomeranian fire dog to become stronger and cooler without losing its identity as a pomeranian fire dog, a thing that could be accomplished at least in part by it staying on all four legs and not standing up. Given the past history of evolutionary reveals, fans are unlikely to find out what Pombon turns into until launch (unless, as usual, designs end up leaking early). Best of luck to Pombon fans on the dice roll for this guy, I’ll be right there with you if the bean bird doesn’t steal my heart by then.
You can catch up on everything announced at today’s Pokémon Presents right here.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
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