For decades now, Game Freak, The Pokemon Company, and Nintendo have been introducing new Pokemon to the Pokemon universe, but they have also iterated on existing Pokemon as well. Sometimes these changes have come in the form of Mega Evolutions that offer a new twist on classic Pokemon, and other times they have come through Gigantamaxing. But whereas Gigantax and Mega Pokemon are temporary, some alternate Pokemon forms are more important, like regional variants, for instance.
One Pokemon fan on Reddit noticed a trend when it comes to some of the new Pokemon forms that have been added to the franchise over the years. Chriscftb97 on Reddit has pointed out that many of the new Pokemon forms have a beard for some reason. Examples include Alolan Golem, Mega Alakazam, Gigantamax Kingler, Galarian Weezing. Other times, beards or beard-equivalents are added to brand new Pokemon evolutions as well.
This is apparent with Perrserker, a possible evolved form of Galarian Meowth first introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield, as well as Kleavor, a new evolution for Scyther that was just introduced in the recently-released Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Notably, Kleavor is one of the Noble Pokemon that players encounter in the game. Since this trend is apparent as recently as Pokemon Legends: Arceus, it seems as though Game Freak is sticking to the pattern.
Of course, it's quite likely that this is just a coincidence, but it is an interesting pattern that Chriscftb97 has noticed. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues with future new Pokemon and regional variants that are introduced to the franchise. There are rumors that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will have over 100 new Pokemon, so it seems as though Game Freak will have many opportunities to put more beards on Pokemon.
Besides regional variants, new evolutions, and brand new Pokemon species, rumor has it that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's gameplay gimmick may introduce even more new looks for Pokemon. If the rumors are to be believed, the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet gameplay gimmick may give players the chance to swap a Pokemon's type, which will obviously result in some gameplay changes, but it could also potentially change the appearance of certain Pokemon. The Pokemon Scarlet and Violet gimmick has not been confirmed at the time of this writing, but if it's real, it seems Game Freak will have even more chances to add beards to Pokemon.