>>28012539>>28012773Rowlet3 is quite literally a Barn Owl wearing a hood. The proportions, the coloration, the overall shape and appearance are spot-on. Barn Owls live and hunt in open spaces, so they have long legs to snag prey out of tall grass. They are light golden-brown above and pale below. The distinctive facial disc and fluff around the beak are seen clearly in Rowlet, and it grows into the body plan of an adult Barn.
The face under the hood is a bit different, reminiscent of some other species like a Spectacled Owl or a Brown Wood Owl. The hood is on par with Greninja's scarf, the bowstring and arrows similar to the weapons used by Blastoise, Samurott, and the Kalos starters. I do agree with you that the tiny orange patterns are probably hidden arrows.
All the transitional stuff may be covered in the middle evos, or it may be a drastic change! Combusken certainly felt like a natural expansion on Torchic, but Blaziken went in a different direction. I'm a bit surprised that Rowlet3 doesn't have a more Barn Owl-like face under the hood, but I'm guess they wanted it to be more expressive. The dark eyes and unusual face are cute on baby Rowlet, but more anime-style eyes make the evolution more "readable" and less potentially unnerving.
