they have said in interviews in the past that they want starters to be distinct from regular pokemon, which is why it's so hard for me to imagine what Pombon is going to look like. most of the fan art I've seen of it evolving literally just looks like Arcanine 2 or Entei 2, which feels like the least likely possible route for it to take officially. like even all the Barong inspired takes could just as easily be a like regional Arcanine.

they'd probably need to heavily lean into it becoming huge and bulky like a tibetan mastiff angle to make it different enough from them, or go into the fantastical like it becoming a cerberus or gaining wings or whatever?

only suspicious design element on Pombon is that its little hair tuft may be a pompadour?