I'm sorry, awkward? I don't see what's awkward about it. It's not like I see people (in this forum, anyway) moving in droves from Rowlet to Popplio. If anything, these second-stage reveals only marginally changed things; people who were set on Rowlet since day one are probably more set on it now than before.
It's only me describing its mixed reaction. People think it's cool, but some think it's odd like what the middle evolutions are meant to be, aka the awkward teenager stage. I have seen some Rowlet fans still say they are sticking with it, but others are getting drawn away as well.
It was pretty much the same way with Fennekin, who was Rowlet's predecessor as the most popular before-release starter. Braixen's reveal split Fennekin's fanbase a bit as well, and that's what Dartrix seems to be doing to Rowlet at the moment.