POKEMON GEN 6 ANNOUNCED

[Baegal]

but aren't pre-evolutions supposed to be the first stage of the life cycle?

I was under the impression that they don't have to necessarily start as the "baby" pokemon. Wobuffet, Roselia, and Mr. Mime all breed to the same pokemon respectively if they're not holding a certain item, so I always figured the baby pokemon were different "forms" achieved by other means. This could explain why they're discovered so much later.

Though not every pokemon does this (Pikachu, Magmar), so IDK