It's a good start. One thing I think might help is making the nose smaller; Persian's nose is very small compared to yours. I don't know if that's a trend in pokemon, but it's worth looking into. The fang could also benefit from being small, unless you're trying to go for a sabretooth look, in which case I'd say make it bigger 
I'd say currently it looks like a cross between a cat and a bear.
From a design perspective, part of the charm of pokemon as I see it is seeing animals that are familiar, yet unfamiliar, by taking an existing one and spicing it up! What can you do to make your pokemon more than a lion? The female version as it is doesn't look any different from a normal lioness. For the male, a clear idea that comes through is a fiery (literally!) mane, but that doesn't translate for the female one, unfortunately. You could go for a classic tail on fire like charmander, although it's unoriginal. Most pokemon designs come from myths, so maybe you can find some inspiration researching the history of lions and myths relating to them.
Edit: For the lioness, I think it'll help to reference an actual lioness, instead of a lion as the mane hides some of the head shape. I did a quick search and this link looks pretty good, the head angle is even close to your original sprite!
http://theislamicway.files.wordpress.com...oness1.jpg
I'd say currently it looks like a cross between a cat and a bear.From a design perspective, part of the charm of pokemon as I see it is seeing animals that are familiar, yet unfamiliar, by taking an existing one and spicing it up! What can you do to make your pokemon more than a lion? The female version as it is doesn't look any different from a normal lioness. For the male, a clear idea that comes through is a fiery (literally!) mane, but that doesn't translate for the female one, unfortunately. You could go for a classic tail on fire like charmander, although it's unoriginal. Most pokemon designs come from myths, so maybe you can find some inspiration researching the history of lions and myths relating to them.
Edit: For the lioness, I think it'll help to reference an actual lioness, instead of a lion as the mane hides some of the head shape. I did a quick search and this link looks pretty good, the head angle is even close to your original sprite!
http://theislamicway.files.wordpress.com...oness1.jpg