Mega evolution hasn’t been athingin Pokémon for some time. Yet people still love it, and miss it. Mega evolutionturned the metagame on its headby introducingpowerful pseudo-legendary formsfor preexisting Pokémon. It felt like the logical evolution of the competitive scene. And say what you will about the designs—we at Dualshockers think they’re prettycool-looking.
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Granted, they’reunbalanced. Some are much, much stronger than others, but even the weakest ones are at leastsort of viable. We’ve taken a look back at some of the mostgame-breakingly dominant examples. Not necessarily ourfavorites, but the mostoverpowered mega evolutions. Should Game Freak bring back these heavy hitters?
10Mega Gyarados
Gyarados is already a pretty strong Pokémon, but it has a major weakness in the form of its typing. Water/Flying gives it aquadruple weakness to the Electric type. Its mega form mitigates that weakness by changing its second type from Flying to Dark. Furthermore, it buffs its already hefty Attack and Speed stats, which can be improved further with the moveDragon Dance. Coupled with itssurprisingly good bulk, the buffs from its mega form push it over the top.
Some fans were surprised that Mega Gyarados' second type is Dark. Most agree that Dragon would be more appropriate considering the lore of Magikarp and Gyarados. Plus, Water/Dragon is anamazing type combination, as the two compliment each other perfectly. And while it is solid, Mega Gyarados oftenfails to stand upto some of the more intense megas.
9Mega Venusaur
Venusaur is a great Grass-type tank. Its mega form is even better. Mega Venusaur gets buffs to itsSpecial Attack, as well as bothDefenses. It also gets the abilityThick Fat, reducing the damage it takes from Fire and Ice-type moves. It’s an excellent ability for a Grass Pokémon, covering two of the type’s biggest weaknesses, and Mega Venusaur isthe only Grass-type to get it.
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WithLeech SeedandGiga Drain, Mega Venusaur can take advantage of itsexcellent bulkto stall out against opponents. Considering its ability, the most reliable counters for it are Flying and Psychic-type moves. Therefore, if an opponent runs out of these moves, Mega Venusaur becomes anear-insurmountable wall. Sadly, this means it can besituational, and vulnerable to gettingsurprised.
8Mega Lucario
Mega Lucario gets major buffs to itsAttack,Special Attack, andSpeedstats, which are all already respectable. It also gets theAdaptabilityability, which boosts its same-type attack bonus from x1.5 to x2. Lucario’s types, Fighting and Steel, are bothexcellent offensivelyandbalance each otherwell. And if that’s not enough, Lucario also getsSwords Dance, a setup move to dramatically boost its Attack stat. It’s a serious threat.
Other than Swords Dance, some good choices for moves areMeteor MashandClose Combat, which take advantage of Adaptability for ridiculous amounts of damage. Lucario’s one weakness is itsmediocre bulk, which can make itdifficult to set upfor a big sweep.
7Mega Alakazam
Mega Alakazam is a greatspecial wallbreakerthanks to its intenseSpeedandSpecial Attackstats. There aren’t many Pokémon that can outspeed it, or withstand its Psychics. It also gets the abilityTrace, which can lead to some interesting defensive situations.
Mega Alakazam hasphenomenal coveragewhen run with moves likePsychic,Focus Blast, andShadow Ball. A fourth option isRecover, which can be hard to counter considering Mega Alakazam can almost always use it first in a turn. Alternatively,Calm Mindcan be used to set up, but this can be dangerous considering itspoor defenses.
6Mega Mawile
With its abilityHuge Power, Mega Mawile’s base attack balloons from 105 to 210, which isbonkers. Almost nothing can stand up against its powerful attacks. It’s one of thehardest hittersout of every mega. It does have a few drawbacks—namely itsmediocre HP and Speedstats. It can be countered with Fire or Ground-type moves, which hit the Steel-type weakness.
If it’s not countered, and instead allowed to set up withSwords Dance, Mega Mawile is aterrifying attacker. Mega Mawile is usually run with the Fairy-type movePlay Rough, as well as the Dark-typeSucker Punch. Sucker Punch usually goes first, which can be a godsend for slow Pokémon like Mawile.
5Mega Charizard X
Mega Charizard X and Y are both incredibly solid choices, butX is arguably better. Y is more focused onSpecial Attack, whereas X is morebalanced. Y’s ability Drought causes sunny weather, making it a greatwallbreakerwith moves likeFlamethrowerandSolar Beam. X is more about setting up the Attack stat withDragon Dance, as well as taking advantage of theTough Clawsability for a further damage boost. Both of them can also use the excellent recovery moveRoost.
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Unfortunately, Kyogre’s Primordial Sea ability makes the Drought ability on Y totally useless. It’s also worth noting that X gets theDragon typeinstead of Flying. Dragon is anobjectively better type, and this switch can really throw off opponents using Electric moves.
4Mega Kangaskahn
Mega Kangaskahn was so powerful in Pokémon X & Y that it had to benerfed. Its unique ability,Parental Bond, has the baby jump out of its pouch, granting asecond hitwith each attack. Initially, the second hit had its damagehalved. In Sun and Moon, the damage was cut down to aquarter. However, even after the nerf, Mega Kangaskahn remains adominant threat.
Mega Kangaskahn has a wide movepool with Dark-type coverage inCrunchand Fighting-type coverage inPower-Up PunchandSeismic Toss.Fake Outcan help it survive the first turn, when it’s still mega evolving. For a fourth move,Returnis a good choice. Kangaskahn’sdecent Speedis a nice bonus, however its Normal typing means itlacks a defensive niche.
3Mega Gengar
Mega Gengar is aterrifying threatwith a wide movepool and a fun, fairly unique ability inShadow Tag. Its mega form buffs itsSpeed(putting it almost on par with Mega Alakazam), as well as itsSpecial Attack, to an incredible degree. Its abilitytraps opponents, making them unable to switch out. Coupled with moves likeTauntandWill-O-Wisp, clever use of Mega Gengar can force opponents into some tricky situations. It can then deal major damage withHexorSludge Bomb.
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Alternatively,Destiny Bondcan be used to force a knock-out on an otherwise dominant foe. However, Mega Gengar has one major drawback: itspoor bulk. Well-prepared enemies can often knock it out in one hit. To counter this, it’s often run withSubstitute, giving it a turn to survive attacks from revenge killers.
2Mega Salamence
Mega Salamence has a lot going for it: balanced stats with highAttack,Defense, andSpeed, for starters. Its typing, Dragon/Flying, is excellent bothdefensivelyandoffensively. There’s alsoDragon Dance, a solid setup move that makes its stats even scarier. There’sRoost, allowing it to take advantage of its Speed and Defense for some quick healing.
And let’s not forget its unique abilityAerilate, which turns powerful Normal-type moves into even stronger Flying-type moves, giving them better coverage and taking advantage of Salamence’s Flying type. Salamence’s major weakness is the Ice type, which hits it forquadruple damage. If this can be avoided, there’s not much that can stand its way.
1Mega Rayquaza
Mega Rayquaza is so powerful that it’s been banned from competitive play. It has great all around stats, most notably its baseAttackandSpecial Attack, which are both colossal. ItsSpeedis more than decent, allowing it to outpace most Pokémon with ease. Uniquely, itdoes not use a held itemfor its mega evolution. Mega Rayquaza is the only mega evolution that getsits own held item. ALife OrborChoice Bandcan boost its damage to insurmountable levels.
Mega Rayquaza is often run withEarthquaketo answer Rock-type checks to its Flying type, or the awesomely powerful Fire-type moveV-create. Alternatively,Draco Meteorcan cause apocalyptic amounts of damage. In any case, there’s no denying Rayquaza’s spot as the most powerful mega evolution.
