Mega Evolution wasn't what made Rayquaza so busted. It was the fact that it was the only Mega Pokémon that didn't need a Megastone, allowing it to further buff itself with a Life Orb or Choice item.
The thing I always enjoyed about Mega Pokemon were the overlooked abilities getting more viable, like Thick Fat Venusaur, Scrappy Lopunny, No Guard Pidgeot and Shell Armor Slowbro. Or the Pokemon that got an entire new game strategy like Sableye, Banette and Swampert.
I thought Mega Garchomp was really clever. GameFreak seemingly knew that a 700 BST monster might not be fair, so they took away some speed and changed it's ability. They then immediately forgot this with Mega Mence and Metagross, lol
Yeah they took away its speed and made its existence basically pointless. Because people would rather use regular garchomp. It’s either they make something broken or they nerf something into uselessness.
@@THGMR-ox7sd: Exactly, it's not that GameFreak "forgot" anything with the OR/AS pseudos. They learned the lesson that no one was using Mega Garchomp, although they might have overcorrected in the case of Mega Salamance, but Mega Metagross was actually pretty balanced.
Commenting from the future just to say how unlucky it was that, in this year's world finals, Mega Charizard J missed origin pulse against Mega Charizard Q, allowing for Mega Charizard C to stab u-turn into Mega Charizard K which could then ohko Mega Charizard W with stab moonblast.
@@eavyeavy2864 There's gotta be at least one, otherwise I wouldn't exist. People like you are why I have to back it so much. Don't acknowledge any potential it (should) have.
My personal biggest issue with megas in competitive is that they pretty much just cannibalize each other, like you can have a perfectly solid mega but it would still get outclassed because things like Gengar, Mawile, Kangaskhan, Salamence and etc. exist
Same, the fact that there were like 5 competitively common megas in XY made everything super centralized. I'm not the kind of person to say everyone runs the same team but seriously when the top 5-10 megas are SO much stronger than the rest you're basically throwing by running anything else. You only get to mega one mon, so why bring mega Beedrill who desperately needs a focus sash versus a Charizard y who loves that he doesn't have a sash? Why bring mega audino who is basically Umbreon when you could bring mega mence? Why bother using aggron, Slowbro, steelix, even better ones like gallade and ttar when there's just better options? The opportunity cost of using any mega below the top 10 is just way too huge and warps the metagame in a similar way to a restricted format.
Imagine the insanity of a Mega Slaking that gets no BST boost, but just gets up and has its' ability change to Gorilla Tactics. They don't even have to give it an updated design - it's just decided to go all out.
Mega Slaking could get something like Komala's comatose but the only status that could affect it is sleep + it gets buffed in its defenses and can attack while asleep. A defensive guts with sleep basically with the bonus of not being able to be statuses and a Spore from an opposing Amoongus could buff it
I like what they did to mega garchomp, if a pokemon is already poweful the mega can’t just be a straight up buff, but a “side” grade with a different purpose
However MChomp is way too much of a sidegrade; Life Orb +Spd Chomp hits almost just as hard AND actually outspeed things; making him absolutely pointless as you would lose a Mega slot for a merely noticeable damage increase and a lose of speed. Had they turned Chomp into more of a Sableye; were his original role gets totally changed into something else, MChomp could have been a great "side-grade". As he stands, he is straight up a worse Garchomp.
I have really loved older Pokémon getting buffed by evolutions instead of megas during the last couple generations. Ursaluna, Farigiraf, and Annihilape are all so much cooler to me than a mega Ursaring, mega Girafarig, or mega Primeape could ever be.
Honestly might be a better way to do it, since that also allows a held item that's not a mega stone. One small drawback I could see though is I'm seeing some commenters praise the fact that some megas allowed some weaker pokemon to have a whole new gameplan or be played in a wildly different way. I imagine casual fans might be annoyed if a new permanent evo dramatically shook up the role of the mon they were using in a certain way before it evolved, and now they can't un-evolve it.
Exactly. Sharpedo and Camerupt and Altaria literally could have just had evolutions, but noooo they can't just be good, you have to waste your mega stone on them and they suck once mega evo is not in the game.
It would be fun to see Wolfe's reaction to it, just to make it exclusive to Legends ZA and never ever let it touch a competitive game again other than National Dex OU lol
Mega Incin will have the special version of Intimidate. You send it in, regular Intimidate, Megas, the special version gets proc'd, parting shot out. Enemies start the game with -2 in both
You pretty much stated my thoughts about Mega Evolutions to a T. It's simply not feasible to give every Pokémon that would need a Mega Evolution one and competitive balance would be worse-off in the long-run with Megas introduced because it's a band-aid to powercreep. I also like the design philosophy Game Freak has taken since Gen 7 with making Pokémon stabd out more in established roles rather than making them feel unfocused. It really adds a lot to make them interesting
A lot of these mons were already at 3 stages a line gamefreak refuses to cross. Made worse by all the mons that were given baby forms to no avail. (If there was ever something done purely for merch it was baby forms). Like we can't have Gorochu because Pichu exists.
@@Nerd704Basically all the gen 3 megas aside from starters and pseudos could have just recieved another evolution lol. They already basically have baby forms, too.
i don't need balance, I need mega Chien-Pao with 9000 BST, 120 hp, 120 defense, 120 sp.Def, 240 speed, 400 atk, 0 SpA and "king of ruin" as an ability. (/dt King of Ruin ; Your opponents def is reduced to 0.1% and all of your moves are spread and hit twice)
PU at best, Countered by mega-incineroar who has bst of 11000 with 1000 HP 1000 attack 5000 defense 0 Sp attack 3000 Sp defense and 1000 speed and gets mega intimidate which lowers opponents attack sp attack to -6 and makes their attacks do one damage to him and gets new signature move in darkest fake out, dark type move with 60 base power which flinches both opponents before they can go for protection moves and also hits fairy types for super effective damage like freeze dry with water types, and it’s mega stones acts like built in leftovers.
My only tiny issue with Mega Evolution is that it pretty much sets in stone that some Pokemon that could've had an additional evolution, will never have one. If Pokemon like Dunsparce had a Mega Evolution, we would've never had Dudunsparce.
Ok this is kinda right but also kinda wrong. Duraludon had a G-Max in Gen 8 but got an evolution in Indigo Disk. Slowbro had a mega but the entire Slowpoke family got new regional forms in Isle of Armor. It was true for a while but now I think they are no longer that limited by these mechanics
@@rayquazadinosaur3732 yeah, but Meowth and Eevee had G-Maxes too, those were never limited to fully evolved pokemon. And yes, they could make regional forms, but that still leaves the original pokemon in the dust. For example, because of how megas work in the canon, Lucario can NEVER get an evolution. Yes, they could make a regional Lucario, but the original is gonna be stucked beeing trashed forever unless they rework it
I want gamefreak to focus on giving more megas to forgotten or garbage mons and being more restrictive when handing them out to favorites, like 3 or 4 powerful mons. It doesn’t fix the overcentralization issue but it curbs the extent to which already strong mons abuse a good mechanic.
@@Magic_Ice Well maybe The Pokémon Company should put more underappreciated and underrated mons in the spotlight more often instead of relying heavily on the same old 20-ish super popular Kanto mons and the same 15 or so super popular non-Kanto mons.
@@shouldveusedsafesearch8099 that's a massive shot in the dark for Pokemon majority of the fanbase doesn't care about tho. No amount of forcing Mothim on the fans will make more people like it (unfortunately)
@Magic_Ice unironically Mega Wormadam could actually be really cool in design It would never happen though since they'd need to design 3 different versions though
I really don't think buffing older pokemon is generally on gamefreaks mind because frankly some Pokemon just aren't meant to be strong. Pokemon is a monster catching rpg game first and foremost and something like beedrill was made with that in mind and was made to be strong in the early game and thrown away quickly when you got smth better. it got a mega and was a lot better for a while but it didn't get one because gamefreak was concerned about making all Pokemon competitively viable it got a mega because people are nostalgic of beedrill.
I feel like Mega Garchomp was a good example of how to give a Mega to an already OP pokemon. Nerf one of it's better stats and give it a sub-par move - that way it doesn't outshine every other Mega Pokemon, but it's still there for people who love the "cool" factor. If Mega Gengar had been slow and tanky, (and didn't have Shadow Tag,) it would have been perfectly fine! BST isn't everything, so +100 across the board can be managed if they play their cards right. That's why, if they bring Mega Pokemon back, I hope they just change the abilities and rework the stats until they're balanced.
Tbh a slow tanky gengar wouldnt be bad. Just different and is a good way to breath life into forgotten and popular mons Kinda like what happened with Ursaluna Bloodmoon and Ursaluna base or the regionalforms....but gimmicky
The problem is no one actually used Mega Garchomp, because there was nothing it could do that regular Garchomp couldn't do better with item flexibility, while keeping the once per battle Mega slot open for something that was an actual improvement.
@@EmeralBookwiseThat's a good thing; it meant that the Pokemon who needed a buff could still be used, and Garchomp didn't become unusable despite its mega being outclassed.
@@normal6483: You aren't exactly wrong, but the point is that kind of balancing is tricky to pull off. If people used both forms of Garchomp competitively depending on different team compositions, that would be balance. When no one used Mega Garchomp, however, it might as well not even exist.
imo i thought the strict 100bst rule was really weird. like when they made mega beedrill they had to decrease the special attack stat by 30 points just to make it strong and fast enough to be a niche pick in ou (and still non-existent in vgc i believe), and when they made the already terrifying ones even stronger it was impossible to make them remotely balanced coz their stat totals were higher than box legendaries (unless they already were a box legendary lmao, thanks rayquaza)
It's easy to make the 700+ bst Megas balanced. Taking up an item slot aside, Megas like the Mega Mewtwos and Mega Garchomp were given dogwater abilities (and even a stat nerf in the latter's case) to reign in their power. To the point that Mega Mewtwo X was tiered lower than normal Mewtwo in Gen 6 Ubers, and Mega Mewtwo Y was still ranked lower than mons like Excadrill and Landorus-Therian. If it were so "impossible to make them remotely balanced," then both Mega Mewtwos would be quadruple S tier in Ubers and Mega Garchomp wouldn't be "OU by technicality." I agree that weaker mons should still get a bigger bst buff, but stats alone don't break a mon.
@@christiancinnabars1402: Exactly. People who complain about already strong Pokémon getting a Mega tend to not understand just how restrictive having to forgo an item was, ESPECIALLY for already strong Pokémon that could better leverage their ordinary base stats with a Life Orb or Choice item. Not to mention that also being restricted to only one Mega per battle added further opportunity cost when team building. The best Megas were all defined by their abilities more than their BST.
@@christiancinnabars1402 I do like how they made Mewtwo X play so much differently. It's a lot of fun to slap a drain punch on it and give a few boosting moves for the most unkillable mon you've ever seen
@@christiancinnabars1402 there are exceptions i'll give you that, but pokemon like mega salamence and rayquaza are just way too much, even if they're "balanced" the main reason for that is having other broken mons to check them. megas being in the game drives the power level up significantly, just imagine in vgc your opponent leads off with charizard y and chi yu lmao. also you're forgetting about vgc where these pokemon dominated way harder than they did in singles. and rayquaza having its item slot free goes to show that even if megas can be balanced well despite having high BSTs, gamefreak doesn't care. and this isn't relevant to BSTs but don't get me started on mega gengar being the first mon to have both shadow tag and perish song lol, while also being the strongest trapper in history
Removing the standardized BST boost and making it vary makes a lot of sense. Unown is simultaneously a mon that desperately needs a buff and a mon that basically has a Mega concept ready to go thanks to the third movie.
One thing I find is that power creep has kicked up to such a ridiculous level that most of the Mega Evolutions have already been power crept. For instance, many bemoan the two Mega Mewtwos, but let's be honest, who would ever actually use them over the absolute mistake that is Calyrex-Shadow (or Mega Gengar, for that manner, who suffers the same problem, alongside also being weaker offensively than one of VGC's current top Pokemon, Flutter Mane, due to its lower speed and inability to hold an item), or Lopunny/Blaziken/Lucario when another of Pokemon's biggest mistakes, Urshifu, is there to do fighting type offense better? Rayquaza is one of the only Megas to not get power crept, and that's because it violates one of the core rules of Mega Evolution (needing to hold an item), giving it less opportunity cost to use than other Megas (on top of its other ridiculous attributes).
@@miimiiandco Yeah, true. The few Megas that haven't been totally powercrept already are those that have a solid niche (Gengar's Shadow Tag, Zard Y's Drought, etc.).
From a playthrough perspective, Mega Evolutions do also offer an interesting niche for one particular subcategory of Pokémon-the early game Bugs. Unfortunately, Beedrill is the only example of this being tried, and I don't think it was ever feasible to use this way (as, in the games it could Mega Evolve in, it was either not normally catchable pre-Elite Four, or its Mega Stone was gated at/around that point), but consider: you catch your early game Bug, you train it up, it rocks early game, and then (as always) it falls-off like a rock. But, if you stick with it just a little longer, you get the Mega Stone to save it from irrelevancy. Of course, I'm very being very playthrough-minded here, rather than even considering competitive, because I know what I know and what I know is challenge runs. I am also *_severely_* biased, since the early-game Bugs (Dustox in particular) are some of my favorite Pokemon, and it's always been kinda disappointing just how far they fall off. Obviously, they're meant to do that; it's why they evolve so early, but I really think this would be a great way to throw them a bone.
I’ve always wondered something else about mega pokemon that relates to that “oh it will eventually get a mega” thing and that is so megas mean that the pokemon who got them can no longer get normal evos in the future? Like is Mawile stuck as itself because its mega exists, or Absol, Sableye, Houndoom, Lucario, and pretty much every mega Pokemon that didn’t belong to a 3 stage line
I don't think so, it would just mean you can't evolve it if you want to always use the megas. Like if mawile gets a evo then when you evolve it obviously you lose the mega ability.
@@Nightwalker065 well at this point I’m going to see if ANY pokemon with a mega gets a normal one in Gen. 10 (so long as Mega’s don’t come back) and if none do then there’s a pattern
@@Nightwalker065 I guess at the very least I personally would’ve only given 3 stage Pokémon megas (or cross gen. Evos at the the absolute most as well since I doubt Scizor would ever get a new evo instead of a stat buff)
And then you get Linoone, who's original variant doesn't evolve while it's far more recent Galarian variant came packed with an evolution. I honestly think they'll handle Mega Evolvable mons the same way. Have the OG keep its Mega, while introducing a regional variant that evolves normally. Then we could finally get the Mega Linoone that everyone wants.
I saw someone say they wanted mega Gholdengo and I started quaking in my boots. I know that Pokemon has a very split player base where some people either play through only the story, do nuzlockes, speedruns, complete the pokedex, shiny hunt or of course play competitively so videos like this are much appreciated to show some perspective on how the most popular gimmick can be quite troublesome outside a casual setting. I'm not about to get mega intimidated by mega Incineroar with mega parting shot
What I appreciate about Megas is that it isn't just "broken mon, but with a 180 bp move," or "broken mon, but with double hp and can hit through Protect," or "broken mon, but with a new typing mid-battle." A Pokemon's Mega Evolution can have the widest variety in balance. You can have an absolute goof mon like Kangaskhan be a terror, or you can have a menace like Garchomp become arguably worse in everything but a very uncommon niche. A Mega Gholdengo could be a triple AG mon with Mega Good as Gold and hyper min-maxed stats, or it could lose all of its Speed that gets put into its Attack and "gain" Clear Body as an ability. The issue is that Game Freak has just been historically bad at balancing.
if anywhere close to 50% of us viewers are subscribed, that is actually a great number. Every time I see your content I watch. And if most of your viewers are subscribed, that is a great way to build a lasting career. Great job Moxie
The distribution of megas was the real fundamental issue, let's hope Legends ZA can remedy that (although I don't see the game being considered a main title and ofc no actual comp battles)
The way to fix mega distribution is by NOT REMOVING IT FROM GAMES. Keep adding more and more megas. Popular mons got megas to make it flashy for their debut generation, but now they can take a backseat.
If its gonna pull another Legends Arceus then they could easily have Xernas & Yvstfstranbaloni get new `forms` that could be either `Prime forms` that could of been how OP they were before sealed in that `egg form` or a `Empowered forms` that could have Zygarde Cells injected in them or something, giving them similar features to Zygarde with a green`ish color palette slapped on them, maybe looking similar to how Kyurem`s fusion forms or Necrozma`s fusion form looked like. But we all know its LIKELY gonna be Zygarde likely getting a new form even more stonks then its current form, likely either a mega evolution after you catch them to face a beeg bad or its gonna be a Primal Reversion like Groundon & Kyogre to act as the final boss.
Some of the Mega exclusive abilities (i.e. aerialate) should of had some distribution to non-Mega mons. I mean Slyveon having pixilate really let it have a solid niche.
That’s not even considering dynamic speed. Bannette before: when it mega evolved u had to wait one turn before that prankster takes effect. With dynamic speed prankster takes instant effect and u will go first on ur first turn of being a mega
7:15 "Mega Pokémon weren't optional if you were trying to win consistently." ...I'm not sure what the point is here. Has ANY generational battle mechanic EVER been optional if you want to win? Megas didn't even START that trend, it started with the weather wars.
I think another problem that arises from the return of Megas is that it clashes with the re-introduction of cross-gen evolutions in Gens 8 and 9. After Bisharp and Duraludon got evolutions, there's no excuse for any non 3rd-stage low-tier Pokemon not to get one too. Why risk giving something like Spidops a Mega, when you can give it a permanent cross-gen evolution instead (that can then get a Mega later on). Pokemon like Raichu, Jumpluff, and Flygon are fine because they really can't evolve further, but longtime evolution candidates like Magcargo, Tropius, or Chimecho should probably get evolutions instead of Megas now. Heck, it now seems like Pokemon like Audino, Absol, Mawile, Sableye, Lopunny, Camerupt, Banette and more kind of suffer from their Megas, since in a Gen 9 environment, they could and maybe should have gotten permanent regular evolutions instead
Does evrery pokemon need a 3rd Stage evolution to be relevant in higher tiers? Is that a viable solution or is going go make region locked evolution a bigger annoyance than it might be already?
I think if they would genuinely restrict megas to only the Pokemon who were either used in less than like 25% of competitive battles previously or absent entirely, it would be fine.
I'd say have the Mega Forms be something like the Origin Forms of the Creation Trio. Have the "ite" stones be hold items that can't be knocked off (also negating Knock Off's damage buff into the holder) that just alter the stat distribution, ability, and/or type of the holder. Also have them change form before battle so players know which mon on the opponent's team is altered. Just basically have it be a new form for the holder. And really optimize the new stat spread to make up for the fact that it can't hold an item anymore.
I strongly agree with this video, it shares my idea on megas, even the height of its popularity. Great idea in concept and amazing designs, but some odd reason gave it to legendaries, pseudo-legendaries, and other Pokemon that were already really strong.
I wish we would stop perpetuating this idea that they were used to balance weaker Pokemon, they weren't. They stated in an interview before XY released they wanted to make your favorites as strong as legendaries. "Bad" mega like Ampharos had 165 sp.Atk and Mega Mewtwo X had 190 Atk.
I like Mega Pokemon for Final Stage Pokemon, but I wish that single stage pokemon like Mawile, Sableye or Audino didn't feel like they lost the one bone game freak threw their way. Though since duraludon got a new evolution that does show Game Freak is willing to give evos to pokemon that used a previous generation's gimmick. So... never say never I guess? But also if Legends-ZA doesn't have Abilities then most of the common problems I see will probably be gone.
The thing is, they had already given Gigantamax forms to unevolved Pokémon earlier, in Pikachu, Meowth and Eevee, so there was a precedent for Duraludon. There's no such precedent for Mega Evolution.
I think GF should rework something that was in the Pokémon anime. Have all the gimmicks, but limit one per team. Meaning you can’t use terra on your team if you use mega or you can’t use a z move if you use any other gimmic. This would get rid of the whole “missing out” feeling your team would have if it didn’t run a mega. Naturally I’d still have dynamax banned for singles play but that’s about it. Another fix would be to nerf some of the more broken megas.
I think any future mega pseudo/actual legendaries should take a cue from mega Diancie. The thing went from a defensive behemoth, to swapping all of it's stats to be a fast sweeper. I think if you couple it with the reduced stat buff, these uber strong megas would feel more like unlocking different skillsets than adding 5 more barrels to your giant railgun.
I agree so hard with this. Megas that fundamentally changed the way a pokemon is used are much more interesting, and also add more strategy because it might be more valuable to keep them in their bulkier base form for a few turns before unleashing their mega.
I saw a discussion about Mega in a pokemon Facebook group I joined and it was pretty controversial. VGC players a.k.a official competitive format players really like Dynamax and would defend it to death while hating on Megas. On the opposite side casual/single players favor Megas strongly and dislike Dynamax. (everyone agreed Tera is cool aside from the goofy hat though, so there's that.)
Gamefreak was in an internal struggle with balancing Mega evolution by giving them to somewhat okay pokemon to make them worth something vs. Giving them to already popular pokemon so filthy casuals like me can point at Lucario like the wojack pointing meme like "YO IT'S LUCARIO BUT HE'S MORE BADASS." Personally, also, some mega evolutions made me actually have a new found appreciation for the pokemon even after they lost them. I'm a Mawile fan now thanks to that.
And yet after losing its Mega form Lucaraion fell out of competitive viability. Giving popular Pokémon megas wasn't just a matter of fanservice, it was also method for those Pokémon to keep pace with power creep.
@@JAYLID-z8k: Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza are all legends not even normally allowed in competitive play outside of restricted formats and so aren't balanced the same way as normal Pokémon to begin with. As for Salamance, you say it didn't need a mega, and yet just like with Lucario, it failed to retain competitive viability after losing its mega.
@@NanoscopicSize : Not really. Towards the end of Gen7 there were top tier teams that performed just fine without a mega. Turns out item flexibility still counts for a lot, and with the new items introduced in Gen8 that would only be more so.
@4:25 another the nice thing about mega kangas is the move double hit it goes from like 70 base power 35 per hit [it works like double kick], to like on all 4 hits 122-123 if the game rounds up or down for hits, and it has stab too making double hit a massive threat imo
My problem with Megas is the exclusivity. Everyone likes to say they're the best gimmick of all and all that, but when only 48 out of 721 (at the time), got them, that doesn't really make sense. Don't get me wrong, the ones that did get Megas do have good designs, but the majority of Pokémon got nothing new. And side rant: People like to sh*t on Kalos and say it's the worst Pokémon game, but then praise Megas, which came from Kalos. Which is it? Is it good or bad?
That's my main problem with megas, for most of them I think it would have been better if they had just been regular evolutions (an for the rest it would have been better if they didn't exist).
Sableye is a pokemon themed around gemstones, in a gen that's ALL ABOUT fancy super powerful gems and crystals, to the degree that Pokemon in that gen even turn INTO living crystals. You'd think it'd be a perfect time to give it an evolution or something... but nope! Because Sableye already has a Mega, and you can't go and give a Mega to a Pokemon that's not fully evolved! So now, Sableye and Mawile, two Pokemon who's designs I absolutely adore, who are also both held back by absolutely GODAWFUL stats, can never get an evolution and be viable, because of the Megas they USED to have. Now they're stuck forever with a BST of 380, and weaker than most MID-stage evolutions. Really unfair.
Tera was such a smart mechanic. Production wise it was very easy to implement, every Pokémon with bad typing got a buff, and it’s an unpredictable choice in competitive battle. Mega evolution on the other hand takes many man-hours to implement and because of that, fewer Pokémon get a buff through that mechanic. And your opponent knows which Pokémon will evolve and most likely when it will evolve.
5:27 before chalk became popular people were already ripping on the prevalence thundurus-I + Landorus-T, with the infamous calls for tpci to #bangenies, that's where the idea that all teams were the same in 2015 started. Chalk doing so well at worlds just solidified the idea in people's minds
Pretty much every format always has its top competitors. Maybe not so extreme as having all 6 slots be the same, but it still tends to end up as a very narrow pool outside of the occasional rogue strategy.
As cool as megas are I think they could honestly use those mega forms as new evolutions for some weaker Pokémon. Great example is Banette as I would love a 3rd evolution to banette that could make it stronger
My main issue with Mega-evolutions was that a number of single and two stage Pokemon got a Mega-form that could've just as easily been an actual evolution (with adjusted stats, obviously).
With the new powerlevel of paradox pokemon, mega forms are just easier ways to level the field for old fan favorites, and not have to basically ban 20 pokemon from OU.
I'd say have the Mega Forms be something like the Origin Forms of the Creation Trio. Have the "ite" stones be hold items that can't be knocked off (also negating Knock Off's damage buff into the holder) that just alter the stat distribution, ability, and/or type of the holder. Also have them change form before battle so players know which mon on the opponent's team is altered. Just basically have it be a new form for the holder. And really optimize the new stat spread to make up for the fact that they can't hold an item anymore. Maybe the Charizardite X swaps Charizard's Attack and Special Attack, then buffs it's new Attack stat to 120ish by sapping some of the swapped Sp.A, then turns it into a Fire/Dragon, and swaps the Ability to Tough Claws. Maybe the Beedrillite takes 40 points from both Special Attack and Special Defense, and puts them into Attack and Speed, respectively, and gives it Adaptability. Something like that.
Honestly I like Megas or Gigantimax Pokémon due to them acting like a team captain or Ace for your team. Gym leaders and other champions has an Ace, so it felt great to have one or even in pvp knowing the opponent has one you have to take down. It made the battles more exciting for me then just using normal non powered up Pokémon.
Tbh the best part of the announcement to me was the unanimous agreement of "Yeah besides any old or new megas we *_are_* getting Mega Char Z, like there's no way 😭😭😭😭😭"
I like how many people talk about how everyone loves megas. I’m personally indifferent of them. I don’t dislike them but like you said GameFreak really focussed on the historically strong ones.
I think an interesting way to handle mega in vgc (in combination with your suggestions) would be to make certain mega stones restricted. If a pokemon is holding one of the restricted stones, they can only be played in a restricted format and take one of the restricted slots just like any other restricted Pokémon
That’d be a good way! Perhaps the mega stones can have like an in-game “rarity” or power allocation. Tier 1 would go to mega stones like Beedrill’s which brings up their stats way up, Tier 2 gets you your Metagross and your Salamence. Tier 3 is for stupid busted legendaries 💀 Bc someone look me in the eye and tell me Mega Salamence with Aerialite didn’t hit so stupidly hard it became a legendary in everything but name (Only in OU tho as I hear, Doubles provides enough breathing room to stall such a monster)
If there is new megas, I’m 100% certain gen 10 will keep Megas, they will want the Megas to have at least once chance to be used in a standard mainline game for PVP, just like hisuian pokemon But man they seriously need to rebalance the stats. Weak pokemon can get more than 100 if they really need it, and psuedos and already super strong pokemon should absolutely get less They should be more like garchomp, an alternate way to use the pokemon but not just an absurd direct upgrade in every way. They can gain like 40 stats sure but a new ability and possible type is more than enough for them And there absolutely must NOT be a mega dragonite im already sick of regular dragonite
I think megas are best kept to spin-offs and single player games. Just lets them do more without exploding the meta into ten trillion pieces. Plus we could get mega xerneas and I don’t have to live in fear of people hating on my stupid deer because it killed everyone in the vgc wars
I just hope that megas will be changed so that the higher the pokemon's original bst, the smaller the stat boost they get when they mega. That way we don't have to gate keep popular mons from them just because they're already strong!
Mawile is such a cool pokemon and one of my favourites. Unfortunately it sucks without a mega. Wish it could get a lasting buff. It also sucks that a pokemon having a mega means that it probably won’t ever get a chance at a new evolution.
I wish they buffed Pidgeot, i didnt care for it as a kid when i played Red version but I grew to love it. Its definitely a top 10 pick for me now. I like the idea of a bulky flying normal too. Shame that the ravages of time wont let that birdo prosper :P
apparently hot take: Terastallization is a better gimmick than Megas I'm biased because Tera doesn't cause ridiculous amounts of added work for the trench-level devs each generation
The thing about mega pokemon compared to things like tera and Z-moves is that it's extrememly predictable. You see a mawile? It's gonna mega evolve. You see a salamence? It's gonna mega evolve. You only normally have one or two options for the gimmick and it has less versatility and variety than something like terastalization.
@@jakariashafin8685Then the zard will mega evolve as it's the one that's terrible without its mega. The hard part is then determining which mega it's using.
The only problem with megas was that some of those were DESIGNED to be completely busted in terms of competitive balance. On top of +100 bst, some of the megas replaced their shitty abilities with completely busted abilities too. I mean, Mega Sableye gains Magic Bounce (Prankster is by no means a shit ability, but he had access to both of them on the turn of mega evolution), Mega Lopunny gains Scrappy (Lopunny has Klutz, Limber and Cute Charm), Mega Pidgeot gains No Guard (while having access to Hurricane), Mega Charizard X gets Tough Claws, Mega Charizard Y gets Drought, Mega Beedrill (in addition to losing 30 SpAtk and gaining a combined 130 Atk and Speed) gets Adaptability (instead of Swarm or Sniper)... and these are actually the innocent ones. Don't even look at Mega Metagross' Tough Claws, Mega Kang's Parental Bond or Mega Gengar's Shadow Tag.
Another thing that could help with pokemon that dont have megas would be the addition of "generic" mega stones, so to speak: For a basic one, let's say its a mega stone that just gives 20 to every stat (except HP) and the ability stays the same. This would allow for "on entry" abilities to trigger twice, as well as giving some merit to using a pokemon that doesn't have a proper mega form as your mega pokemon. Where this idea really shines though would be if you took it a step further and applied a lot of the philosophy from Gen 9s Tera into this mechanic, such as adding a generic "Type Mega Stone", which would change your secondary typing, as well as giving you an ability that fits that type, so something like how Pinsir gains the secondary flying type and getting aerilate. In practice this could be a way of helping out pokémon with bad type combinations, by essentially getting a more useful one in return for using an item, forcibly changing their ability (and maybe not getting a stat boost compared to how normal mega evolution works)
Honestly my Experience with Megas in Competitive has been so terribly negative that I'd cry Tears of Pain if they added all of them back for Gen 10. Praying we'll just continue to get normal Balance Changes to Pokemon like in Gens 8 and 9.
Pokémon that need a mega/would be cool to see: Flygon Infernape Luxray Snorlax Electivire Toxicroak Quagsire Dragonite Crobat Raichu What else did I miss that deserves a mega?
Remember Mega Slowbro. That guy would singlehandedly vibe check Urshifu and make so much more manageable with Shell Armor, Scald, and a type that hard walls it. And yes, this is also taking Single Strike into consideration
My main issue with megas is that pokemon who got mega evolution will NEVER evolve in any other way. This is of course not a concern on already fully evolved pokemon like Charizard or Beedrill but pokemon such as Mawile and Sableye deserve normal evolution in the same way Girafarig and Dunsparce got theirs eventually. Imagine if Farigiraf never existed before Girafarig had an mega evolution. This really sucks in my opinion. Plus the issues of balance you mentioned before and the unfair distribution of mega evolution to certain pokemon. But we can't abuse Dialga or Celebi to turn back in time and change things so we are stuck with broken concept of mega evolution forever. Yes they look cool BUT they could have been ALTERNATIVE evolutions (in similar way regional forms exist now). And having access to 2 different mega stones made Charizard really hard to counter because you couldn't even tell wich one it is from team preview (in the same way you can't tell Urshifu sprites apart). But at least Urshifu - once revealed in battle - is now confirmed of its form while charizard - once revealed - was still a mystery until the player decided to click the mega button and either surrpise you with sudden sun or surprise you with sudden change of types. It was harder to work around then Protean Greninja. And they nerfed that! Anyway maybe i would be less dissapointed about megas if every final form pokemon had one (and if every starter had 2 IF CHARIZARD HAD TO HAVE TWO FOR SOME REASON) But alas that is too much work for the designer team and then a lot of data would have to be added... like 30% or so more pokemon sprites would needed to exist, and then 3d models of those. They already struggle with what we have now as they can't even put all of pokemon into 1 game. This is why Z-moves were better. Sure you couldn't predict wich pokemon will use it, but at least any pokemon could use it. Same with dynamax. And while gigantamax were special for certain pokemon - they were not so much different (and sometimes worse) then dynamax counterparts so i really didn't mind that all that much. That is to say Mega form design could have been gigantamax form design and that would have been far more balanced then mega stones. And perhaps that could be a solution. Turn mega forms into dynamax forms. And let 1 stage evolution pokemon evolve! Free them from mega evolution shackles! Alternatively they could take a hint from their own pokedex entries - the mega evolution hurts and leads to death of pokemon. So basically after mega evolving make the pokemon faint after 3 turns. So its similar to dynamax but different in that there is no HP bonus and no move change. You can keep your bonus 100 BST then because its just for 3 turns and Protect exists so people could still play around that. Though it would be unfair for defensive megas like Slowbro but then again that thing is broken defensively. Maybe make pokemon lose 20% HP when they are mega evolved. Yes you may still try to heal those but that is less offensive pressure on the opponent. Still i would prefer is mega evolutions were not in competitive play. I enjoy adaptability in fight we have right now (with terastalization) - you can choose wich pokemon to terastalize and when to do it best and you get to keep having your items normally. Mega stones took away item slots = that basically forces you to mega or else you are missing out. And if you build a team with 2 potential mega evolutions then one of them will end up without an item if you had to bring them both into battle. I never enjoyed competitive plays when mega evolutions were allowed. [...] Ok so now imagine something different: A mega stone that is a form change item that works outside of battle and allow you to swap your pokemon form between its current one and its regional variant - and yes mega forms would be considered different region forms. That way you can see them clearly in team preview, you can also hold an item normally, but of course stats will be not boosted by 100 if thepokemon was already 3rd stage evolution. As for 1 or 2 stage evolutions their mega forms would change to become their normal evolutions - in wich case their mega stones will be consumable item like water or moon stones are. This would be in my opinion the best they could do to fix this mega issue.
I agree with not being able to evolves megas, because I love saybleye and knowing it can never evolve outside of a possible regional form. Some of these megas should have been just straight evolutions.
I think a rework for stronger/more popular pokemon getting mega like you mentioned would help. Cause kinda like single restricted formats it felt like megas warped teambuilding even for more niche ones like your manectric example. A rework to make them feel like another pokemon/held item option feels like a good way to go about it
My hope is that they still give evolutions and regional forms in ZA. I don’t want them only using megas as an excuse to not give weaker mons permanent upgrades.
I'm glad you touched on Gamefreak being less willing to buff Pokemon because of Megas existing, it so often goes overlooked when discussing this! Also makes me sad wondering if Gamefreak view giving evolutions to Pokemon like Absol impossible now because if they ever bring megas back it fucks with evolutionary consistency or something.
Mad respect to all the people commenting before finishing the video. I could never, personally.
i’m doing that rn it’s crazy
I just like megas bro. We want them we need them
I'm personally a fan of mega gallade and mega salamence
Mans took 2 hours to watch a 13 minute video lmao
My comments have priority thanks to my ability of infinite hate
Remember mega rayquaza?
A mega that was so broken that it got banned from a ban list
So broken that the banlist was made into an official tier then got added into the newest banlist
@@cake5705wasn’t ubers always an official tier
Mega Evolution wasn't what made Rayquaza so busted. It was the fact that it was the only Mega Pokémon that didn't need a Megastone, allowing it to further buff itself with a Life Orb or Choice item.
Remember zacian, banned without abusing the generation gimmick
@@EmeralBookwiseNo To Mention Mega Rayquaza Only Got Banned BEFORE Gen 7 , Cause Ultra Necrozma ONE-SHOTS Anyways ! 😂
The thing I always enjoyed about Mega Pokemon were the overlooked abilities getting more viable, like Thick Fat Venusaur, Scrappy Lopunny, No Guard Pidgeot and Shell Armor Slowbro. Or the Pokemon that got an entire new game strategy like Sableye, Banette and Swampert.
Mega sableye and aggron are my go to's. So very excellent, cool, and frustrating to deal with without being OP
@@necroseuscute. They all lose to the top 5 megas.
@@keiharris332 And?
I thought Mega Garchomp was really clever. GameFreak seemingly knew that a 700 BST monster might not be fair, so they took away some speed and changed it's ability. They then immediately forgot this with Mega Mence and Metagross, lol
Yeah they took away its speed and made its existence basically pointless. Because people would rather use regular garchomp.
It’s either they make something broken or they nerf something into uselessness.
@@THGMR-ox7sd it's not useless at all. It's situational. Big difference
@@THGMR-ox7sd: Exactly, it's not that GameFreak "forgot" anything with the OR/AS pseudos. They learned the lesson that no one was using Mega Garchomp, although they might have overcorrected in the case of Mega Salamance, but Mega Metagross was actually pretty balanced.
@@Forged4War206well the only format GF tries to balance is vgc so…
@@teno777 it's funny how ppl forget that vgc is the only format that gets balance passes
Commenting from the future just to say how unlucky it was that, in this year's world finals, Mega Charizard J missed origin pulse against Mega Charizard Q, allowing for Mega Charizard C to stab u-turn into Mega Charizard K which could then ohko Mega Charizard W with stab moonblast.
Goated Comment 😂😂😂😂
I need to know is Mega Charizard Z still banned?
Knowing gamefreak charizard will get even more megas and gigantamax forms
amazing comment LMAO
Ong i was so confused
Y'all aren't even ready for the fact that the name legends A-Z is just listing all the new mega charizard forms
Dammit that's clever
Throw in a pikachu one despite it not being a final stage and you have the complete package.
🤣🤣🤣
@@TheStickCollectorno ody give shit about raixhu
@@eavyeavy2864 There's gotta be at least one, otherwise I wouldn't exist.
People like you are why I have to back it so much. Don't acknowledge any potential it (should) have.
My personal biggest issue with megas in competitive is that they pretty much just cannibalize each other, like you can have a perfectly solid mega but it would still get outclassed because things like Gengar, Mawile, Kangaskhan, Salamence and etc. exist
Same, the fact that there were like 5 competitively common megas in XY made everything super centralized. I'm not the kind of person to say everyone runs the same team but seriously when the top 5-10 megas are SO much stronger than the rest you're basically throwing by running anything else. You only get to mega one mon, so why bring mega Beedrill who desperately needs a focus sash versus a Charizard y who loves that he doesn't have a sash? Why bring mega audino who is basically Umbreon when you could bring mega mence? Why bother using aggron, Slowbro, steelix, even better ones like gallade and ttar when there's just better options? The opportunity cost of using any mega below the top 10 is just way too huge and warps the metagame in a similar way to a restricted format.
@@ryanhacker5259doesn't this apply to the meta in general? Why bother picking arcanine nowadays if incineroar do the same thing, but better
Can't wait for mega dudunsparce where they just add another 2 segments
Hear me out. Instead of adding them onto the end, they just stack it on top of another segment in the middle. Double Decker Dudunsparce.
Dundunsagna
Dudududunsparce
Thats a mega I would use😂
I'D LOVE THAT
Imagine the insanity of a Mega Slaking that gets no BST boost, but just gets up and has its' ability change to Gorilla Tactics. They don't even have to give it an updated design - it's just decided to go all out.
"Slaking, but standing up"
Mega Slaking could get something like Komala's comatose but the only status that could affect it is sleep + it gets buffed in its defenses and can attack while asleep. A defensive guts with sleep basically with the bonus of not being able to be statuses and a Spore from an opposing Amoongus could buff it
It already hits hard, just make it last longer
Slaking into Working
A moment of silence for flygon
😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢
Hopefully Legends Z-A gives Flygon a chance.
@@thepuppet4321 and it will be transferable
In the Pokemon Company's defense, _it was too tall an order to improve perfection._
@@thenerdbeast7375 u can copy/paste the exact same design buff its speed and attack by 50 and give it the ability sand stream
The real problem was NOT ENOUGH CHARIZARD MEGA FORMS 😡
SO TRUE THERE NEEDS TO BE M O R E
Here’s hoping for Mega Charizard ZA
🔫
Honestly I think about 10 more charizard forms could fix the meta, and make sure they all have their own megas and gigantamaxes.
they’ll be Mega Charizard Z coming soon.
I like what they did to mega garchomp, if a pokemon is already poweful the mega can’t just be a straight up buff, but a “side” grade with a different purpose
However MChomp is way too much of a sidegrade; Life Orb +Spd Chomp hits almost just as hard AND actually outspeed things; making him absolutely pointless as you would lose a Mega slot for a merely noticeable damage increase and a lose of speed.
Had they turned Chomp into more of a Sableye; were his original role gets totally changed into something else, MChomp could have been a great "side-grade". As he stands, he is straight up a worse Garchomp.
if I don’t have a mega flygon in my hands by the end of the 2025 calendar year, pokémon WILL be hearing from my lawyer
Maybe then my boy won't be outclassed by Garchomp
They have made a powerful enemy
@hario7641 it definitely wont if a potential mega flygon leans into speed instead of bulk like garchomp
Mike’s Lawyer: “Yeah, so… he’s a little upset but please disregard it, we don’t wanna end up like Palword. So, we cool?”
I have really loved older Pokémon getting buffed by evolutions instead of megas during the last couple generations. Ursaluna, Farigiraf, and Annihilape are all so much cooler to me than a mega Ursaring, mega Girafarig, or mega Primeape could ever be.
Yes 👏🏻
Honestly might be a better way to do it, since that also allows a held item that's not a mega stone. One small drawback I could see though is I'm seeing some commenters praise the fact that some megas allowed some weaker pokemon to have a whole new gameplan or be played in a wildly different way. I imagine casual fans might be annoyed if a new permanent evo dramatically shook up the role of the mon they were using in a certain way before it evolved, and now they can't un-evolve it.
Exactly. Sharpedo and Camerupt and Altaria literally could have just had evolutions, but noooo they can't just be good, you have to waste your mega stone on them and they suck once mega evo is not in the game.
Mega Charizard ZA will be a Charizard with pizza slices for wings
I can't wait for a m3ga charizard for every letter and that's all we get
@@SymbioticVader mega Charizard 2 and 3 and π
@@jozimastar95 mega charizard pi has the sights of pi as its best total but without the decimal
@@SymbioticVader wait till you see mega Charizard √-1
Aren’t all charizards imaginary?
5:33
Thank you for explaining CHALK, I FINALLY understand how genius the Landorus version of that Tally Hall song is
Foolish Pokémon fans: “Mega Incineroar would be cool…”
VGC players: *war flashbacks* “We must not repeat the mistakes of our past.”
It would be fun to see Wolfe's reaction to it, just to make it exclusive to Legends ZA and never ever let it touch a competitive game again other than National Dex OU lol
@ricardoribeiroprudencio7871 iirc even in National Dex they didn't add the Hisuians until Gen 9 got compatability with Home, and thus Hisui
Can't wait for MegaMeganiun with the fairy type, triage and enormous bulk to still be irrelevant
Mega flygon and mega milotic, i'm waiting
Mega Incin will have the special version of Intimidate. You send it in, regular Intimidate, Megas, the special version gets proc'd, parting shot out. Enemies start the game with -2 in both
You pretty much stated my thoughts about Mega Evolutions to a T. It's simply not feasible to give every Pokémon that would need a Mega Evolution one and competitive balance would be worse-off in the long-run with Megas introduced because it's a band-aid to powercreep. I also like the design philosophy Game Freak has taken since Gen 7 with making Pokémon stabd out more in established roles rather than making them feel unfocused. It really adds a lot to make them interesting
Hear me out... mega talonflame would probably be a sick design
Fixes the nerf dealt so long ago
It’s just pre nerf Talonflame lol
Mega Talonflame baits you into thinking it’s the return of Smogon Bird, just to reveal BIGGER STALL
Remember son, Brave Bird everything
galer wings where every move it uses is priority
I just wish Pokémon got permanent evolution instead of mega evolution
Like kingambit etc
A lot of these mons were already at 3 stages a line gamefreak refuses to cross. Made worse by all the mons that were given baby forms to no avail. (If there was ever something done purely for merch it was baby forms).
Like we can't have Gorochu because Pichu exists.
@@Nerd704Basically all the gen 3 megas aside from starters and pseudos could have just recieved another evolution lol. They already basically have baby forms, too.
i don't need balance, I need mega Chien-Pao with 9000 BST, 120 hp, 120 defense, 120 sp.Def, 240 speed, 400 atk, 0 SpA and "king of ruin" as an ability. (/dt King of Ruin ; Your opponents def is reduced to 0.1% and all of your moves are spread and hit twice)
Doesn't OHkO iron hands
@@kingkingo1841 You're right, it will just tera water.
Im so glad we will get mega mega weavile
And give him a dark type extreme speed
PU at best, Countered by mega-incineroar who has bst of 11000 with 1000 HP 1000 attack 5000 defense 0 Sp attack 3000 Sp defense and 1000 speed and gets mega intimidate which lowers opponents attack sp attack to -6 and makes their attacks do one damage to him and gets new signature move in darkest fake out, dark type move with 60 base power which flinches both opponents before they can go for protection moves and also hits fairy types for super effective damage like freeze dry with water types, and it’s mega stones acts like built in leftovers.
My only tiny issue with Mega Evolution is that it pretty much sets in stone that some Pokemon that could've had an additional evolution, will never have one.
If Pokemon like Dunsparce had a Mega Evolution, we would've never had Dudunsparce.
Ok this is kinda right but also kinda wrong. Duraludon had a G-Max in Gen 8 but got an evolution in Indigo Disk. Slowbro had a mega but the entire Slowpoke family got new regional forms in Isle of Armor.
It was true for a while but now I think they are no longer that limited by these mechanics
@@rayquazadinosaur3732 yeah, but Meowth and Eevee had G-Maxes too, those were never limited to fully evolved pokemon. And yes, they could make regional forms, but that still leaves the original pokemon in the dust. For example, because of how megas work in the canon, Lucario can NEVER get an evolution. Yes, they could make a regional Lucario, but the original is gonna be stucked beeing trashed forever unless they rework it
@@lucasnievas4890 to be fair, Pikachu, Eevee, and Meowth don't coun't when considering that, bc they're more mascots than anything else
I want gamefreak to focus on giving more megas to forgotten or garbage mons and being more restrictive when handing them out to favorites, like 3 or 4 powerful mons. It doesn’t fix the overcentralization issue but it curbs the extent to which already strong mons abuse a good mechanic.
But consider no one wants to buy art or cards of Mega Spinda or Wormadam. People would buy merch of Mega Lucario though.
@@Magic_Ice Well maybe The Pokémon Company should put more underappreciated and underrated mons in the spotlight more often instead of relying heavily on the same old 20-ish super popular Kanto mons and the same 15 or so super popular non-Kanto mons.
@@Magic_Iceif Mega Wormadam happens you know damn well I'd get a plush of that that's hilarious
@@shouldveusedsafesearch8099 that's a massive shot in the dark for Pokemon majority of the fanbase doesn't care about tho. No amount of forcing Mothim on the fans will make more people like it (unfortunately)
@Magic_Ice unironically Mega Wormadam could actually be really cool in design
It would never happen though since they'd need to design 3 different versions though
I really don't think buffing older pokemon is generally on gamefreaks mind because frankly some Pokemon just aren't meant to be strong. Pokemon is a monster catching rpg game first and foremost and something like beedrill was made with that in mind and was made to be strong in the early game and thrown away quickly when you got smth better. it got a mega and was a lot better for a while but it didn't get one because gamefreak was concerned about making all Pokemon competitively viable it got a mega because people are nostalgic of beedrill.
I feel like Mega Garchomp was a good example of how to give a Mega to an already OP pokemon. Nerf one of it's better stats and give it a sub-par move - that way it doesn't outshine every other Mega Pokemon, but it's still there for people who love the "cool" factor. If Mega Gengar had been slow and tanky, (and didn't have Shadow Tag,) it would have been perfectly fine! BST isn't everything, so +100 across the board can be managed if they play their cards right. That's why, if they bring Mega Pokemon back, I hope they just change the abilities and rework the stats until they're balanced.
Tbh a slow tanky gengar wouldnt be bad. Just different and is a good way to breath life into forgotten and popular mons
Kinda like what happened with Ursaluna Bloodmoon and Ursaluna base or the regionalforms....but gimmicky
The problem is no one actually used Mega Garchomp, because there was nothing it could do that regular Garchomp couldn't do better with item flexibility, while keeping the once per battle Mega slot open for something that was an actual improvement.
@@EmeralBookwiseThat's a good thing; it meant that the Pokemon who needed a buff could still be used, and Garchomp didn't become unusable despite its mega being outclassed.
Love the idea of bulky Gengar, though I'd keep the Shadow Tag. Perish Trapping does not get enough love
@@normal6483: You aren't exactly wrong, but the point is that kind of balancing is tricky to pull off. If people used both forms of Garchomp competitively depending on different team compositions, that would be balance. When no one used Mega Garchomp, however, it might as well not even exist.
Honestly, you’re video summed up everything I’ve been saying about Megas ever since people started asking about mega evolutions coming back.
same here but my comment would always have the lowest likes
imo i thought the strict 100bst rule was really weird. like when they made mega beedrill they had to decrease the special attack stat by 30 points just to make it strong and fast enough to be a niche pick in ou (and still non-existent in vgc i believe), and when they made the already terrifying ones even stronger it was impossible to make them remotely balanced coz their stat totals were higher than box legendaries (unless they already were a box legendary lmao, thanks rayquaza)
It's easy to make the 700+ bst Megas balanced. Taking up an item slot aside, Megas like the Mega Mewtwos and Mega Garchomp were given dogwater abilities (and even a stat nerf in the latter's case) to reign in their power. To the point that Mega Mewtwo X was tiered lower than normal Mewtwo in Gen 6 Ubers, and Mega Mewtwo Y was still ranked lower than mons like Excadrill and Landorus-Therian.
If it were so "impossible to make them remotely balanced," then both Mega Mewtwos would be quadruple S tier in Ubers and Mega Garchomp wouldn't be "OU by technicality."
I agree that weaker mons should still get a bigger bst buff, but stats alone don't break a mon.
@@christiancinnabars1402: Exactly. People who complain about already strong Pokémon getting a Mega tend to not understand just how restrictive having to forgo an item was, ESPECIALLY for already strong Pokémon that could better leverage their ordinary base stats with a Life Orb or Choice item. Not to mention that also being restricted to only one Mega per battle added further opportunity cost when team building.
The best Megas were all defined by their abilities more than their BST.
@@christiancinnabars1402 I do like how they made Mewtwo X play so much differently. It's a lot of fun to slap a drain punch on it and give a few boosting moves for the most unkillable mon you've ever seen
@@christiancinnabars1402 there are exceptions i'll give you that, but pokemon like mega salamence and rayquaza are just way too much, even if they're "balanced" the main reason for that is having other broken mons to check them. megas being in the game drives the power level up significantly, just imagine in vgc your opponent leads off with charizard y and chi yu lmao. also you're forgetting about vgc where these pokemon dominated way harder than they did in singles. and rayquaza having its item slot free goes to show that even if megas can be balanced well despite having high BSTs, gamefreak doesn't care. and this isn't relevant to BSTs but don't get me started on mega gengar being the first mon to have both shadow tag and perish song lol, while also being the strongest trapper in history
And then they said fuck alakazam, he gets 90
Removing the standardized BST boost and making it vary makes a lot of sense.
Unown is simultaneously a mon that desperately needs a buff and a mon that basically has a Mega concept ready to go thanks to the third movie.
Charizard will have megas for every letter of the alphabet mark my words
that's what Z-A means
I just commented this before seeing this
I always assumed that Pokemon was going to do X vs Y Pokemon war between Xerneas and Yveltal. But Pokemon Z never happened.
One thing I find is that power creep has kicked up to such a ridiculous level that most of the Mega Evolutions have already been power crept. For instance, many bemoan the two Mega Mewtwos, but let's be honest, who would ever actually use them over the absolute mistake that is Calyrex-Shadow (or Mega Gengar, for that manner, who suffers the same problem, alongside also being weaker offensively than one of VGC's current top Pokemon, Flutter Mane, due to its lower speed and inability to hold an item), or Lopunny/Blaziken/Lucario when another of Pokemon's biggest mistakes, Urshifu, is there to do fighting type offense better?
Rayquaza is one of the only Megas to not get power crept, and that's because it violates one of the core rules of Mega Evolution (needing to hold an item), giving it less opportunity cost to use than other Megas (on top of its other ridiculous attributes).
Mega Gengar has the niche of being the best Shadow Tag user.
@@miimiiandco Yeah, true. The few Megas that haven't been totally powercrept already are those that have a solid niche (Gengar's Shadow Tag, Zard Y's Drought, etc.).
Aaaand on top of that, non-mega pokemon can use the broken mechanic terastalize lol, I don't think bringing mega pokemon would be an issue
Mega Alakazam was the only Pokemon who could not Mega Evolve and gain a full 100-point Boost to its base stat total it only gained 90
Which was weirdly specific yeah lol
That's because they designed the mega around Alkazam's pre-gen 6 bst.
It had a bst of 490 in gen 5 which they increase by 10 points in XY.
they gave the extra 10 to Ash Greninja who gains for some reason 110 bst.
Not sure if your counting, but dusk mane to ultra necrozma is 680 into 754. A 74 bst boost
@@Star-Bubbles123 They actually fixed that in Gen 7 by giving Mega Alakazam the same +10 to Sp. Def that regular Alakazam got in Gen 6.
From a playthrough perspective, Mega Evolutions do also offer an interesting niche for one particular subcategory of Pokémon-the early game Bugs. Unfortunately, Beedrill is the only example of this being tried, and I don't think it was ever feasible to use this way (as, in the games it could Mega Evolve in, it was either not normally catchable pre-Elite Four, or its Mega Stone was gated at/around that point), but consider: you catch your early game Bug, you train it up, it rocks early game, and then (as always) it falls-off like a rock. But, if you stick with it just a little longer, you get the Mega Stone to save it from irrelevancy.
Of course, I'm very being very playthrough-minded here, rather than even considering competitive, because I know what I know and what I know is challenge runs. I am also *_severely_* biased, since the early-game Bugs (Dustox in particular) are some of my favorite Pokemon, and it's always been kinda disappointing just how far they fall off. Obviously, they're meant to do that; it's why they evolve so early, but I really think this would be a great way to throw them a bone.
I’ve always wondered something else about mega pokemon that relates to that “oh it will eventually get a mega” thing and that is so megas mean that the pokemon who got them can no longer get normal evos in the future? Like is Mawile stuck as itself because its mega exists, or Absol, Sableye, Houndoom, Lucario, and pretty much every mega Pokemon that didn’t belong to a 3 stage line
Ohno
I don't think so, it would just mean you can't evolve it if you want to always use the megas. Like if mawile gets a evo then when you evolve it obviously you lose the mega ability.
@@Nightwalker065 well at this point I’m going to see if ANY pokemon with a mega gets a normal one in Gen. 10 (so long as Mega’s don’t come back) and if none do then there’s a pattern
@@Nightwalker065 I guess at the very least I personally would’ve only given 3 stage Pokémon megas (or cross gen. Evos at the the absolute most as well since I doubt Scizor would ever get a new evo instead of a stat buff)
And then you get Linoone, who's original variant doesn't evolve while it's far more recent Galarian variant came packed with an evolution.
I honestly think they'll handle Mega Evolvable mons the same way. Have the OG keep its Mega, while introducing a regional variant that evolves normally.
Then we could finally get the Mega Linoone that everyone wants.
Let’s be honest, the only reason we are hyped for Megas is because we want our favorite pokemon to get even cooler designs
Like Spidops
Mega Spidops would slap.
I saw someone say they wanted mega Gholdengo and I started quaking in my boots. I know that Pokemon has a very split player base where some people either play through only the story, do nuzlockes, speedruns, complete the pokedex, shiny hunt or of course play competitively so videos like this are much appreciated to show some perspective on how the most popular gimmick can be quite troublesome outside a casual setting.
I'm not about to get mega intimidated by mega Incineroar with mega parting shot
People used to be afraid of Mega Garchomp prior to launch, and then no one actually used competitively.
What I appreciate about Megas is that it isn't just "broken mon, but with a 180 bp move," or "broken mon, but with double hp and can hit through Protect," or "broken mon, but with a new typing mid-battle."
A Pokemon's Mega Evolution can have the widest variety in balance. You can have an absolute goof mon like Kangaskhan be a terror, or you can have a menace like Garchomp become arguably worse in everything but a very uncommon niche. A Mega Gholdengo could be a triple AG mon with Mega Good as Gold and hyper min-maxed stats, or it could lose all of its Speed that gets put into its Attack and "gain" Clear Body as an ability.
The issue is that Game Freak has just been historically bad at balancing.
mega gholdengos ability would be like “wonderous gold” and it’s just wonder guard + good as gold
I mean Mega goldengo would at least look cool before breaking all of your bones in less than a microsecond
if anywhere close to 50% of us viewers are subscribed, that is actually a great number. Every time I see your content I watch. And if most of your viewers are subscribed, that is a great way to build a lasting career. Great job Moxie
The distribution of megas was the real fundamental issue, let's hope Legends ZA can remedy that (although I don't see the game being considered a main title and ofc no actual comp battles)
The way to fix mega distribution is by NOT REMOVING IT FROM GAMES. Keep adding more and more megas. Popular mons got megas to make it flashy for their debut generation, but now they can take a backseat.
Legends and Let's Go are Main Title Games 😅
@@royalgelly8948 however it's more likely that the solution to fix underperfoming mons isn't mega evos either and the real solution is buffs/new evos
I bet we see gen 10 have megas back and some will be exclusive to legends ZA.
If its gonna pull another Legends Arceus then they could easily have Xernas & Yvstfstranbaloni get new `forms` that could be either `Prime forms` that could of been how OP they were before sealed in that `egg form` or a `Empowered forms` that could have Zygarde Cells injected in them or something, giving them similar features to Zygarde with a green`ish color palette slapped on them, maybe looking similar to how Kyurem`s fusion forms or Necrozma`s fusion form looked like.
But we all know its LIKELY gonna be Zygarde likely getting a new form even more stonks then its current form, likely either a mega evolution after you catch them to face a beeg bad or its gonna be a Primal Reversion like Groundon & Kyogre to act as the final boss.
Seismic toss mega khangaskhan was insane lmao
I love mega evolution, the stones are like a nice treat when I'm feeling a little hungry 😋
Who gave Rayquaza a computer
@bananaspice1967 TerminalMontage probably. The Mega Stone Cake Meteorite may be to blame.
Yummy
Some of the Mega exclusive abilities (i.e. aerialate) should of had some distribution to non-Mega mons. I mean Slyveon having pixilate really let it have a solid niche.
About time someone mentioned the problems with mega evolutions
That’s not even considering dynamic speed. Bannette before: when it mega evolved u had to wait one turn before that prankster takes effect. With dynamic speed prankster takes instant effect and u will go first on ur first turn of being a mega
wolfie talked about this
@@azurefoxbh9280jokes are not your friend huh?
@@pengoschwortz4734 jokes are meant to be funny
@@azurefoxbh9280 it is, you’re just not bright
7:15 "Mega Pokémon weren't optional if you were trying to win consistently."
...I'm not sure what the point is here. Has ANY generational battle mechanic EVER been optional if you want to win? Megas didn't even START that trend, it started with the weather wars.
I think another problem that arises from the return of Megas is that it clashes with the re-introduction of cross-gen evolutions in Gens 8 and 9. After Bisharp and Duraludon got evolutions, there's no excuse for any non 3rd-stage low-tier Pokemon not to get one too.
Why risk giving something like Spidops a Mega, when you can give it a permanent cross-gen evolution instead (that can then get a Mega later on). Pokemon like Raichu, Jumpluff, and Flygon are fine because they really can't evolve further, but longtime evolution candidates like Magcargo, Tropius, or Chimecho should probably get evolutions instead of Megas now.
Heck, it now seems like Pokemon like Audino, Absol, Mawile, Sableye, Lopunny, Camerupt, Banette and more kind of suffer from their Megas, since in a Gen 9 environment, they could and maybe should have gotten permanent regular evolutions instead
Does evrery pokemon need a 3rd Stage evolution to be relevant in higher tiers? Is that a viable solution or is going go make region locked evolution a bigger annoyance than it might be already?
I think if they would genuinely restrict megas to only the Pokemon who were either used in less than like 25% of competitive battles previously or absent entirely, it would be fine.
dude I love the idea of nerfing the OP Megas (making the stat boost
I'd say have the Mega Forms be something like the Origin Forms of the Creation Trio.
Have the "ite" stones be hold items that can't be knocked off (also negating Knock Off's damage buff into the holder) that just alter the stat distribution, ability, and/or type of the holder. Also have them change form before battle so players know which mon on the opponent's team is altered. Just basically have it be a new form for the holder. And really optimize the new stat spread to make up for the fact that it can't hold an item anymore.
I strongly agree with this video, it shares my idea on megas, even the height of its popularity. Great idea in concept and amazing designs, but some odd reason gave it to legendaries, pseudo-legendaries, and other Pokemon that were already really strong.
I wish we would stop perpetuating this idea that they were used to balance weaker Pokemon, they weren't. They stated in an interview before XY released they wanted to make your favorites as strong as legendaries. "Bad" mega like Ampharos had 165 sp.Atk and Mega Mewtwo X had 190 Atk.
That's literally same thing
@@ohhellwhereami2574 They were given to fan favorites regardless of their own abilities, that's why Mewtwo, Garchomp, Lucario, and Salamence got one.
@@GrandHac i mean they were exactly what you said some weak pokemon are favorite of ppl that's why both buffing strong and weak favorite is logical
Can we talk about that thumbnail tho? Charizard outside the dream looks way more depressed than I think whoever the artist is intended.
I like Mega Pokemon for Final Stage Pokemon, but I wish that single stage pokemon like Mawile, Sableye or Audino didn't feel like they lost the one bone game freak threw their way. Though since duraludon got a new evolution that does show Game Freak is willing to give evos to pokemon that used a previous generation's gimmick. So... never say never I guess?
But also if Legends-ZA doesn't have Abilities then most of the common problems I see will probably be gone.
The thing is, they had already given Gigantamax forms to unevolved Pokémon earlier, in Pikachu, Meowth and Eevee, so there was a precedent for Duraludon. There's no such precedent for Mega Evolution.
Yeah I feel like we missed out on Abomblizzard or a Sharkmarine or Houndread
@@pokemontrainerharryghost and they gave z-moves to Eevee, Pikachu & Pikachu again, so the precedent was set by the second generational gimmick.
GO of all things has an interesting take on balance by having different move power in PvP or PvE. It's a thought.
I think GF should rework something that was in the Pokémon anime. Have all the gimmicks, but limit one per team. Meaning you can’t use terra on your team if you use mega or you can’t use a z move if you use any other gimmic. This would get rid of the whole “missing out” feeling your team would have if it didn’t run a mega. Naturally I’d still have dynamax banned for singles play but that’s about it.
Another fix would be to nerf some of the more broken megas.
I think any future mega pseudo/actual legendaries should take a cue from mega Diancie. The thing went from a defensive behemoth, to swapping all of it's stats to be a fast sweeper. I think if you couple it with the reduced stat buff, these uber strong megas would feel more like unlocking different skillsets than adding 5 more barrels to your giant railgun.
I agree so hard with this. Megas that fundamentally changed the way a pokemon is used are much more interesting, and also add more strategy because it might be more valuable to keep them in their bulkier base form for a few turns before unleashing their mega.
3:20 If only megas of the strong got worse abilities to compensate...
I saw a discussion about Mega in a pokemon Facebook group I joined and it was pretty controversial. VGC players a.k.a official competitive format players really like Dynamax and would defend it to death while hating on Megas. On the opposite side casual/single players favor Megas strongly and dislike Dynamax. (everyone agreed Tera is cool aside from the goofy hat though, so there's that.)
Gamefreak was in an internal struggle with balancing Mega evolution by giving them to somewhat okay pokemon to make them worth something vs. Giving them to already popular pokemon so filthy casuals like me can point at Lucario like the wojack pointing meme like "YO IT'S LUCARIO BUT HE'S MORE BADASS."
Personally, also, some mega evolutions made me actually have a new found appreciation for the pokemon even after they lost them. I'm a Mawile fan now thanks to that.
And yet after losing its Mega form Lucaraion fell out of competitive viability. Giving popular Pokémon megas wasn't just a matter of fanservice, it was also method for those Pokémon to keep pace with power creep.
@EmeralBookwise how do u explain p don, p oger, mega ray, and mega salamence. Already strong mon who didn't need megas.
@@JAYLID-z8k: Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza are all legends not even normally allowed in competitive play outside of restricted formats and so aren't balanced the same way as normal Pokémon to begin with.
As for Salamance, you say it didn't need a mega, and yet just like with Lucario, it failed to retain competitive viability after losing its mega.
@EmeralBookwise ehh still not a fan of megas being limited. You have to use one in competitive or you have a good chance of losing.
@@NanoscopicSize : Not really. Towards the end of Gen7 there were top tier teams that performed just fine without a mega. Turns out item flexibility still counts for a lot, and with the new items introduced in Gen8 that would only be more so.
@4:25 another the nice thing about mega kangas is the move double hit
it goes from like 70 base power 35 per hit [it works like double kick], to like on all 4 hits 122-123 if the game rounds up or down for hits, and it has stab too making double hit a massive threat imo
its why in x and y and oras i always had my kanga on me.
Why not just use return? It's stronger.
Why not just use return? It's stronger.
That’s actually a very fair take. If a Pokémon needs 100 stats buff to be viable then it deserves permanent buffs not a mega form
My problem with Megas is the exclusivity. Everyone likes to say they're the best gimmick of all and all that, but when only 48 out of 721 (at the time), got them, that doesn't really make sense. Don't get me wrong, the ones that did get Megas do have good designs, but the majority of Pokémon got nothing new.
And side rant: People like to sh*t on Kalos and say it's the worst Pokémon game, but then praise Megas, which came from Kalos. Which is it? Is it good or bad?
Banette is my favourite mega form. It’s similar enough to the base form but also different enough that it could have easily been a regular evolution.
That's my main problem with megas, for most of them I think it would have been better if they had just been regular evolutions (an for the rest it would have been better if they didn't exist).
Sableye is a pokemon themed around gemstones, in a gen that's ALL ABOUT fancy super powerful gems and crystals, to the degree that Pokemon in that gen even turn INTO living crystals.
You'd think it'd be a perfect time to give it an evolution or something... but nope! Because Sableye already has a Mega, and you can't go and give a Mega to a Pokemon that's not fully evolved!
So now, Sableye and Mawile, two Pokemon who's designs I absolutely adore, who are also both held back by absolutely GODAWFUL stats, can never get an evolution and be viable, because of the Megas they USED to have.
Now they're stuck forever with a BST of 380, and weaker than most MID-stage evolutions.
Really unfair.
Tera was such a smart mechanic. Production wise it was very easy to implement, every Pokémon with bad typing got a buff, and it’s an unpredictable choice in competitive battle. Mega evolution on the other hand takes many man-hours to implement and because of that, fewer Pokémon get a buff through that mechanic. And your opponent knows which Pokémon will evolve and most likely when it will evolve.
Tera my fav gimmick
Flying type mega aggron on showdown national dex is the funniest thing ever. Lmao.
@@necroseus Not sure which format you're playing but when I play NatDex, you can't tera and mega evolve the same pokemon. It's one or the other.
@@terrysalt You're right. I am dumb lol
I wonder what Mega Galarian Slowbro would look like
Turn the megas on bad moons into evolutions, done. The broken ones stay in the shadow realm.
3:45
You're so right!!
Watch Legends Z-A come out and give us MEGA YVELTAL, MEGA ZYGARDE and MEGA XERNEAS.
5:27 before chalk became popular people were already ripping on the prevalence thundurus-I + Landorus-T, with the infamous calls for tpci to #bangenies, that's where the idea that all teams were the same in 2015 started. Chalk doing so well at worlds just solidified the idea in people's minds
Pretty much every format always has its top competitors. Maybe not so extreme as having all 6 slots be the same, but it still tends to end up as a very narrow pool outside of the occasional rogue strategy.
As cool as megas are I think they could honestly use those mega forms as new evolutions for some weaker Pokémon. Great example is Banette as I would love a 3rd evolution to banette that could make it stronger
Just be ready for mega Greninja, it's gonna be Protean and Battle Bond in one
My main issue with Mega-evolutions was that a number of single and two stage Pokemon got a Mega-form that could've just as easily been an actual evolution (with adjusted stats, obviously).
With the new powerlevel of paradox pokemon, mega forms are just easier ways to level the field for old fan favorites, and not have to basically ban 20 pokemon from OU.
I'd say have the Mega Forms be something like the Origin Forms of the Creation Trio.
Have the "ite" stones be hold items that can't be knocked off (also negating Knock Off's damage buff into the holder) that just alter the stat distribution, ability, and/or type of the holder. Also have them change form before battle so players know which mon on the opponent's team is altered. Just basically have it be a new form for the holder. And really optimize the new stat spread to make up for the fact that they can't hold an item anymore.
Maybe the Charizardite X swaps Charizard's Attack and Special Attack, then buffs it's new Attack stat to 120ish by sapping some of the swapped Sp.A, then turns it into a Fire/Dragon, and swaps the Ability to Tough Claws.
Maybe the Beedrillite takes 40 points from both Special Attack and Special Defense, and puts them into Attack and Speed, respectively, and gives it Adaptability.
Something like that.
Honestly I like Megas or Gigantimax Pokémon due to them acting like a team captain or Ace for your team. Gym leaders and other champions has an Ace, so it felt great to have one or even in pvp knowing the opponent has one you have to take down. It made the battles more exciting for me then just using normal non powered up Pokémon.
Tbh the best part of the announcement to me was the unanimous agreement of "Yeah besides any old or new megas we *_are_* getting Mega Char Z, like there's no way 😭😭😭😭😭"
I like how many people talk about how everyone loves megas. I’m personally indifferent of them. I don’t dislike them but like you said GameFreak really focussed on the historically strong ones.
I think an interesting way to handle mega in vgc (in combination with your suggestions) would be to make certain mega stones restricted. If a pokemon is holding one of the restricted stones, they can only be played in a restricted format and take one of the restricted slots just like any other restricted Pokémon
That’d be a good way! Perhaps the mega stones can have like an in-game “rarity” or power allocation. Tier 1 would go to mega stones like Beedrill’s which brings up their stats way up, Tier 2 gets you your Metagross and your Salamence. Tier 3 is for stupid busted legendaries 💀
Bc someone look me in the eye and tell me Mega Salamence with Aerialite didn’t hit so stupidly hard it became a legendary in everything but name
(Only in OU tho as I hear, Doubles provides enough breathing room to stall such a monster)
If there is new megas, I’m 100% certain gen 10 will keep Megas, they will want the Megas to have at least once chance to be used in a standard mainline game for PVP, just like hisuian pokemon
But man they seriously need to rebalance the stats. Weak pokemon can get more than 100 if they really need it, and psuedos and already super strong pokemon should absolutely get less
They should be more like garchomp, an alternate way to use the pokemon but not just an absurd direct upgrade in every way. They can gain like 40 stats sure but a new ability and possible type is more than enough for them
And there absolutely must NOT be a mega dragonite im already sick of regular dragonite
I BELIEVE IN MEGA FLYGON SUPREMACY WE WANT NEW MEGAS 🙏
Giving megas to already strong pokemon basically unraveled any benefit to power creep it brought
I can't wait to see what they glue spikes onto this time!!!!!
I think megas are best kept to spin-offs and single player games. Just lets them do more without exploding the meta into ten trillion pieces. Plus we could get mega xerneas and I don’t have to live in fear of people hating on my stupid deer because it killed everyone in the vgc wars
I just hope that megas will be changed so that the higher the pokemon's original bst, the smaller the stat boost they get when they mega.
That way we don't have to gate keep popular mons from them just because they're already strong!
Mawile is such a cool pokemon and one of my favourites. Unfortunately it sucks without a mega. Wish it could get a lasting buff. It also sucks that a pokemon having a mega means that it probably won’t ever get a chance at a new evolution.
The mega charizard X in the thumbnail is such a cutie
I wish they buffed Pidgeot, i didnt care for it as a kid when i played Red version but I grew to love it. Its definitely a top 10 pick for me now. I like the idea of a bulky flying normal too. Shame that the ravages of time wont let that birdo prosper :P
apparently hot take: Terastallization is a better gimmick than Megas
I'm biased because Tera doesn't cause ridiculous amounts of added work for the trench-level devs each generation
Honestly my problem with megas is that a lot of them should have just been PROPER EVOLUTIONS! Mawile, sableye, and bannette to name a few!
The thing about mega pokemon compared to things like tera and Z-moves is that it's extrememly predictable. You see a mawile? It's gonna mega evolve. You see a salamence? It's gonna mega evolve. You only normally have one or two options for the gimmick and it has less versatility and variety than something like terastalization.
If you have a charizard and a salience though
And then it gets spicyyyyy@@jakariashafin8685
@@jakariashafin8685Then the zard will mega evolve as it's the one that's terrible without its mega. The hard part is then determining which mega it's using.
@@Zelcra uh true I suppose
The only problem with megas was that some of those were DESIGNED to be completely busted in terms of competitive balance.
On top of +100 bst, some of the megas replaced their shitty abilities with completely busted abilities too. I mean, Mega Sableye gains Magic Bounce (Prankster is by no means a shit ability, but he had access to both of them on the turn of mega evolution), Mega Lopunny gains Scrappy (Lopunny has Klutz, Limber and Cute Charm), Mega Pidgeot gains No Guard (while having access to Hurricane), Mega Charizard X gets Tough Claws, Mega Charizard Y gets Drought, Mega Beedrill (in addition to losing 30 SpAtk and gaining a combined 130 Atk and Speed) gets Adaptability (instead of Swarm or Sniper)... and these are actually the innocent ones. Don't even look at Mega Metagross' Tough Claws, Mega Kang's Parental Bond or Mega Gengar's Shadow Tag.
Another thing that could help with pokemon that dont have megas would be the addition of "generic" mega stones, so to speak:
For a basic one, let's say its a mega stone that just gives 20 to every stat (except HP) and the ability stays the same. This would allow for "on entry" abilities to trigger twice, as well as giving some merit to using a pokemon that doesn't have a proper mega form as your mega pokemon.
Where this idea really shines though would be if you took it a step further and applied a lot of the philosophy from Gen 9s Tera into this mechanic, such as adding a generic "Type Mega Stone", which would change your secondary typing, as well as giving you an ability that fits that type, so something like how Pinsir gains the secondary flying type and getting aerilate.
In practice this could be a way of helping out pokémon with bad type combinations, by essentially getting a more useful one in return for using an item, forcibly changing their ability (and maybe not getting a stat boost compared to how normal mega evolution works)
People would 100% just run those on Incineroar and not random bad mons tho
Surprised you didn’t bring up primal groudon or kyogre since they’re usually lumped in with the megas
I miss dynamax :(
Same here
Honestly my Experience with Megas in Competitive has been so terribly negative that I'd cry Tears of Pain if they added all of them back for Gen 10. Praying we'll just continue to get normal Balance Changes to Pokemon like in Gens 8 and 9.
Pokémon that need a mega/would be cool to see:
Flygon
Infernape
Luxray
Snorlax
Electivire
Toxicroak
Quagsire
Dragonite
Crobat
Raichu
What else did I miss that deserves a mega?
Froslass
Sigilyph
Crustle
Druddigon
@yeetuszilla1663those are good ones bro
Remember Mega Slowbro. That guy would singlehandedly vibe check Urshifu and make so much more manageable with Shell Armor, Scald, and a type that hard walls it. And yes, this is also taking Single Strike into consideration
My main issue with megas is that pokemon who got mega evolution will NEVER evolve in any other way. This is of course not a concern on already fully evolved pokemon like Charizard or Beedrill but pokemon such as Mawile and Sableye deserve normal evolution in the same way Girafarig and Dunsparce got theirs eventually. Imagine if Farigiraf never existed before Girafarig had an mega evolution. This really sucks in my opinion.
Plus the issues of balance you mentioned before and the unfair distribution of mega evolution to certain pokemon.
But we can't abuse Dialga or Celebi to turn back in time and change things so we are stuck with broken concept of mega evolution forever.
Yes they look cool BUT they could have been ALTERNATIVE evolutions (in similar way regional forms exist now).
And having access to 2 different mega stones made Charizard really hard to counter because you couldn't even tell wich one it is from team preview (in the same way you can't tell Urshifu sprites apart). But at least Urshifu - once revealed in battle - is now confirmed of its form while charizard - once revealed - was still a mystery until the player decided to click the mega button and either surrpise you with sudden sun or surprise you with sudden change of types. It was harder to work around then Protean Greninja. And they nerfed that!
Anyway maybe i would be less dissapointed about megas if every final form pokemon had one (and if every starter had 2 IF CHARIZARD HAD TO HAVE TWO FOR SOME REASON)
But alas that is too much work for the designer team and then a lot of data would have to be added... like 30% or so more pokemon sprites would needed to exist, and then 3d models of those. They already struggle with what we have now as they can't even put all of pokemon into 1 game.
This is why Z-moves were better. Sure you couldn't predict wich pokemon will use it, but at least any pokemon could use it. Same with dynamax. And while gigantamax were special for certain pokemon - they were not so much different (and sometimes worse) then dynamax counterparts so i really didn't mind that all that much. That is to say Mega form design could have been gigantamax form design and that would have been far more balanced then mega stones.
And perhaps that could be a solution. Turn mega forms into dynamax forms. And let 1 stage evolution pokemon evolve! Free them from mega evolution shackles!
Alternatively they could take a hint from their own pokedex entries - the mega evolution hurts and leads to death of pokemon. So basically after mega evolving make the pokemon faint after 3 turns. So its similar to dynamax but different in that there is no HP bonus and no move change. You can keep your bonus 100 BST then because its just for 3 turns and Protect exists so people could still play around that. Though it would be unfair for defensive megas like Slowbro but then again that thing is broken defensively. Maybe make pokemon lose 20% HP when they are mega evolved. Yes you may still try to heal those but that is less offensive pressure on the opponent.
Still i would prefer is mega evolutions were not in competitive play. I enjoy adaptability in fight we have right now (with terastalization) - you can choose wich pokemon to terastalize and when to do it best and you get to keep having your items normally. Mega stones took away item slots = that basically forces you to mega or else you are missing out. And if you build a team with 2 potential mega evolutions then one of them will end up without an item if you had to bring them both into battle. I never enjoyed competitive plays when mega evolutions were allowed.
[...] Ok so now imagine something different: A mega stone that is a form change item that works outside of battle and allow you to swap your pokemon form between its current one and its regional variant - and yes mega forms would be considered different region forms. That way you can see them clearly in team preview, you can also hold an item normally, but of course stats will be not boosted by 100 if thepokemon was already 3rd stage evolution. As for 1 or 2 stage evolutions their mega forms would change to become their normal evolutions - in wich case their mega stones will be consumable item like water or moon stones are. This would be in my opinion the best they could do to fix this mega issue.
I agree with not being able to evolves megas, because I love saybleye and knowing it can never evolve outside of a possible regional form. Some of these megas should have been just straight evolutions.
I really wish they would just buff pokemon more often by altering stat tables or just create regular evolutions.
I'm down for more mega pokemon as long as incineroar gets a mega.
30 years jail time
I think a rework for stronger/more popular pokemon getting mega like you mentioned would help. Cause kinda like single restricted formats it felt like megas warped teambuilding even for more niche ones like your manectric example. A rework to make them feel like another pokemon/held item option feels like a good way to go about it
My favorite mechanic is terrastilization. All Pokémon and any type. Keeps me on my toes.
My hope is that they still give evolutions and regional forms in ZA. I don’t want them only using megas as an excuse to not give weaker mons permanent upgrades.
I frankly love megas, but I think that’s mostly because I play singles, where the tiering system cuts down on the overcentrialization
I'm glad you touched on Gamefreak being less willing to buff Pokemon because of Megas existing, it so often goes overlooked when discussing this!
Also makes me sad wondering if Gamefreak view giving evolutions to Pokemon like Absol impossible now because if they ever bring megas back it fucks with evolutionary consistency or something.