Mega Evolution is an additional, temporary evolution form of specific Pokémon that reached their final evolution stage. They have greatly increased Combat Power, but their HP remains the same. Certain Pokémon may also change their types after being Mega Evolved.
Similarly to the main series games, Mega Evolution is temporary, however in Pokémon GO it is a temporal change of form that occurs in Trainer's Pokémon collection instead of a single battle.
Mega Evolved Pokémon can be assigned as a Buddy Pokémon and used to battle in raids and Gyms or against another Trainers and Team GO Rocket members. However, they cannot be deployed to defend Gyms, traded, powered up nor used in GO Battle League matches while Mega Evolved.
Mega Evolving a Pokémon
Mega Evolving Charizard
In order to Mega Evolve a Pokémon, Trainer needs Mega Energy of specific Pokémon.
Pokémon will remain in their Mega form for 8 hours. Only one of Trainer's Pokémon can be Mega Evolved at any particular time. If another Pokémon is Mega Evolved, the previous Mega Evolved Pokémon will revert to standard form and enter rest period. While Pokémon can be Mega Evolved in a raid lobby, this cannot be done if another Pokémon is Mega Evolved.
Mega Evolved form selection screen
If Pokémon such as Charizard has different Mega Evolution forms, Trainer can choose into which one they want to Mega Evolve such Pokémon.
Each Mega-Evolved Pokémon for first time is registered to the Mega Pokédex.
Clone or Shadow Pokémon cannot be Mega Evolved. Purified or costumed (Blastoise, Gengar) Pokémon can be Mega Evolved, but they do not have their white aura or costume while Mega Evolved.
Mega Energy
Mega Energy is a consumable resource that is similar to Pokémon Candy, as each Pokémon species has specific Mega Energy. While a Pokémon is Mega Evolved, its Mega Energy will deplete over time. Unlike Candy, each individual type of Mega Energy has a limit of 2000 in Trainer collection.
Mega Energy for a particular species can be received by battling that specific Pokémon in Mega Raids, a special Tier of Raid Battles, or completing Research tasks. Completing a Mega Raid in a shorter time would award more Mega Energy, which is given upon completion of the raid and does not require a catch.
Buddy Pokémon can earn corresponding 5 Mega Energy per km via walking (along with the usual Candy) if it is part of previously a Mega-Evolved Pokémon's Evolutionary line. For example, if a Trainer had registered Mega Venusaur in their Pokédex, any Bulbasaur, Ivysaur and Venusaur can earn Mega Energy when assigned as Buddy Pokémon.
Mega Evolving a Pokémon for the first time costs a high amount of Mega Energy. Mega Evolving that single Pokémon subsequent times do not require Mega Energy again, if its rest period is over. Mega Energy can be used to skip the rest period. Mega Evolving other Pokémon of the same species still requires full cost. Pokémon like Charizard have two Mega forms, both of them require to be unlocked at full cost first.
Mega Level and bonuses
Mega Evolving a Pokémon progresses that specific Pokémon's Mega Level and unlock increasing bonuses.
Mega Pokémon boost the attack power of all other Pokémon when battling in Raid Battles by 10%. Attacks that share their type with the Mega Pokémon's type(s) receive a 30% boost. However, these bonuses do not stack if there are multiple Mega-Evolved Pokémon battling simultaneously, only the higher will be applied.
| Level | Total times Mega-Evolved | Rest period (day) | Bonuses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 bonus catch Candy |
| Base Level | 1 | 7 | 1 bonus catch Candy |
| High Level | 7 | 5 | 1 bonus catch Candy 10% increased Candy XL chance 50 bonus XP |
| Max Level | 30 | 3 | 2 bonus catch Candies 25% increased Candy XL chance 100 bonus XP |
While a Pokémon Mega Evolved, the Trainer gain bonus Candy for catching Pokémon that share a type with the Mega Evolved Pokémon, or for any raid boss caught. These do not stack with each other.
If a Pokémon that has previously been Mega Evolved is traded, their Mega Level is reset, and that Pokémon is considered to have never Mega Evolved at all.
List of Mega-Evolved Pokémon
There are currently 21 Mega-Evolved forms released
| 743 |  |
21 |  |
121 |  |
734 |  |
550 |   |
743 |   |
231 |   |
 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALL 743 |
See List of Pokémon and List by release date | ||||||||||||||
| MEGA 21 |
See List of Mega-Evolved Pokémon and List by release date | ||||||||||||||
| EVENT 121 |
See List of Event Pokémon or List by release date | ||||||||||||||
| LUCKY 734 |
See Lucky Pokémon | ||||||||||||||
| SHINY 550 |
See List of Shiny Pokémon and List by release date | ||||||||||||||
| SHINY 3 STARS 550 |
See List of Shiny Pokémon and List by release date | ||||||||||||||
| 3 STARS 743 |
See Pokémon Appraisal | ||||||||||||||
| PERFECT 743 |
See Pokémon Appraisal | ||||||||||||||
| SHADOW 231 |
See List of Shadow Pokémon and List by release date | ||||||||||||||
| PURIFIED 231 |
See List of Shadow Pokémon and List by release date | ||||||||||||||
The following Mega Pokémon have not been released in Pokémon GO.
The following Pokémon are capable of Mega Evolve in the main game series, but their data about Mega Evolution has not been added in Pokémon GO.
The following Mega Pokémon have not been released in Pokémon GO.
The following Pokémon are capable of Mega Evolve in the main game series, but their data about Mega Evolution has not been added in Pokémon GO.
Regular and Mega-Evolved Pokémon comparison
| Pokémon | Stats | Mega Energy |
Max Evolution cost | Mega Evolution | Stats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Base | High | Max | |||||
| 2,720 CP Attack: 198 Defense: 189 Stamina: 190 |
|
200 | 41 | 21 | 11 | 3,698 CP Attack: 241 Defense: 246 Stamina: 190 | ||
| 2,889 CP Attack: 223 Defense: 173 Stamina: 186 |
|
200 | 41 | 21 | 11 | 3,850 CP Attack: 273 Defense: 213 Stamina: 186 | ||
| 2,889 CP Attack: 223 Defense: 173 Stamina: 186 |
|
200 | 41 | 21 | 11 | 4,455 CP Attack: 319 Defense: 212 Stamina: 186 | ||
| 2,466 CP Attack: 171 Defense: 207 Stamina: 188 |
|
200 | 41 | 21 | 11 | 3,941 CP Attack: 264 Defense: 237 Stamina: 188 | ||
| 1,846 CP Attack: 169 Defense: 130 Stamina: 163 |
|
100 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 3,383 CP Attack: 303 Defense: 148 Stamina: 163 | ||
| 2,129 CP Attack: 166 Defense: 154 Stamina: 195 |
|
100 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 3,680 CP Attack: 280 Defense: 175 Stamina: 195 | ||
| 2,545 CP Attack: 177 Defense: 180 Stamina: 216 |
|
100 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 3,755 CP Attack: 224 Defense: 259 Stamina: 216 | ||
| 2,878 CP Attack: 261 Defense: 149 Stamina: 155 |
|
200 | 41 | 21 | 11 | 4,336 CP Attack: 349 Defense: 199 Stamina: 155 | ||
| 3,391 CP Attack: 237 Defense: 186 Stamina: 216 |
|
300 | 61 | 31 | 16 | 4,717 CP Attack: 292 Defense: 247 Stamina: 216 | ||
| 2,586 CP Attack: 181 Defense: 165 Stamina: 233 |
File:Kangaskhan mega energy.png | 200 | 41 | 21 | 11 | 3,850 CP Attack: 246 Defense: 210 Stamina: 233 | ||
| 2,783 CP Attack: 221 Defense: 159 Stamina: 190 |
|
200 | 41 | 21 | 11 | 4,118 CP Attack: 292 Defense: 210 Stamina: 190 | ||
| 2,852 CP Attack: 211 Defense: 169 Stamina: 207 |
|
200 | 41 | 21 | 11 | 4,245 CP Attack: 294 Defense: 203 Stamina: 207 | ||
| 2,414 CP Attack: 148 Defense: 272 Stamina: 181 |
|
200 | 41 | 21 | 11 | 3,655 CP Attack: 212 Defense: 388 Stamina: 150 | ||
| 2,635 CP Attack: 224 Defense: 144 Stamina: 181 |
|
100 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 3,842 CP Attack: 289 Defense: 194 Stamina: 181 | ||
| 2,340 CP Attack: 215 Defense: 127 Stamina: 172 |
|
100 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 3,580 CP Attack: 286 Defense: 179 Stamina: 172 | ||
| 2,004 CP Attack: 141 Defense: 201 Stamina: 181 |
|
300 | 61 | 31 | 16 | 3,163 CP Attack: 222 Defense: 218 Stamina: 181 | ||
| 2,526 CP Attack: 246 Defense: 120 Stamina: 163 |
|
200 | 41 | 21 | 11 | 3,301 CP Attack: 314 Defense: 130 Stamina: 163 | ||
| 3,510 CP Attack: 228 Defense: 246 Stamina: 190 |
File:Latias mega energy.png | 300 | 61 | 31 | 16 | 4,801 CP Attack: 289 Defense: 297 Stamina: 190 | ||
| 3,705 CP Attack: 260 Defense: 212 Stamina: 190 |
File:Latios mega energy.png | 300 | 61 | 31 | 16 | 5,007 CP Attack: 335 Defense: 241 Stamina: 190 | ||
| 2,059 CP Attack: 156 Defense: 194 Stamina: 163 |
|
200 | 41 | 21 | 11 | 3,745 CP Attack: 282 Defense: 214 Stamina: 163 | ||
| 2,362 CP Attack: 178 Defense: 158 Stamina: 207 |
|
200 | 41 | 21 | 11 | 3,405 CP Attack: 240 Defense: 191 Stamina: 207 | ||
The required amount of Mega Energy varies according to the Rest period in hours
Reception and adjustments
Despite being highly-anticipated by the community, Mega Evolution caused a public backlash regarding its implementation. A Reddit post criticizing Mega Evolution received over 8000 upvotes and 100 rewards within the launch day. Many have pointed out the duration of Mega Evolution is not worth the Raid Passes spent on collecting Mega Energy. The difficulty of Mega Evolving one's desired species is also in concern due to specific Mega Energy and the rarity of Mega Raid Battles.
Since there is specific Mega Raid Bosses pool, there would be no way to Mega Evolve any Pokémon that has its Mega Evolved form released but is no longer available in Mega Raids. Initially, once all Beedrill Mega Energy from A Mega Discovery was used, there was no possibility to continue on Mega Evolving Beedrill for a longer time period.
Outside of Mega Evolution, replacing team contribution with speed bonus does harm to Premier Balls in Tier 5 Raid Bosses. It is impossible to defeat certain Legendary Pokémon in a short time, even for large group, while having more Trainers mean lowering the damage bonus.
Regarding to this, Niantic has made a statement "We are actively listening to your feedback and look forward to sharing more about how this feature will grow in the future." in the Pokémon GO official Twitter page.
On September 3rd, 2020, several updates were made after listening to feedback. The Mega Evolution cost of subsequent Mega Evolution was reduced from 25% of the original cost to only 20%. Amount of Mega Energy given from Mega Raids was increased.[1] Niantic also announced that they are working on implementing features which would allow Trainers to obtain Mega Energy in more ways.
On October 15th, 2020, the duration of Mega-Evolved form has doubled from four hours to eight hours. The cap of each individual type of Mega Energy has increased from 999 to 2000.[2]
Since November 12th, 2020, more updates were added, including:[3]
- Earning corresponding Mega Energy from Buddy Pokémon if it is part of previously Mega-Evolved Pokémon's Evolutionary line. Detail is described above.
- Earning additional Candies when Trainers catch a Pokémon that shares a type with the active Mega-Evolved Pokémon. Additional Candies are given from catching Raid Bosses regardless of their types.
On April 29th, 2022, along with A Mega Moment, a multitude of changes for Mega Evolution were implemented.[4][5]
- Mega Raids are easier.
- Pokémon can be Mega Evolved from raid and battle-prep screens.
- Pokémon that has been Mega Evolved before now have an additional visual effect added to their information page.
- Mega Levels, rest period and bonuses of XP and Candy XL are introduced.
Gallery
Promotional images
Promotional video
Trivia
Trainer in Raid Lobby with active Mega-Evolved Pokémon
- In original game series, Mega Evolution was an additional evolution that allowed Pokémon to transform into stronger form of their final evolution stage during battle.
- Mega Evolution was first mentioned in the Pokémon Presents on June 17th, 2020. It would be released in Fall 2020.[6]
- It was officially released on August 27th, 2020.[7]
- Similarly, to Team GO Rocket features, Mega Evolution was introduced with a Special Research – A Mega Discovery.
- 5 days after release, with the beginning of September 2020, three-week long Mega September event series started and it revolved around Mega Evolution.
- In the original game series, all Mega-Evolved Pokémon share the same stamina stat as normal form. This is also true in Pokémon GO, with Mega Steelix being the only exception.
- In a Raid Lobby, Trainers with an active Mega-Evolved Pokémon have a respective icon next to their avatar and an aura surrounding them.
- Mega Lucario and Mega Mewtwo Y along with balloon of Mega Charizard X were featured in the key artwork for 4th Anniversary.
- Mega Evolution does not count as evolution for the purpose of Research tasks.
- Previously, trading a Pokémon that has been Mega Evolved before would retain the Mega Energy discount when Mega Evolving it again. This is no longer the case since the update from A Mega Moment.
- Mega Evolving a Pokémon revives and fully heals it.
References
- ↑ Community Note: Updates to Mega Evolution. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2020-09-04.
- ↑ Updates to Mega Evolution!. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2020-10-16.
- ↑ Mega Venusaur leaves Mega Raids on October 23. Plus, take a sneak peek at some Mega Evolution updates.. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2020-10-24.
- ↑ Dev Diaries: a mega update to Mega Evolution in Pokémon GO is coming soon!. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2022-04-29.
- ↑ Celebrate the Global launch of the Mega Evolution update with Mega Kangaskhan and a Mega Moment event!. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2022-04-29.
- ↑ PokemonGoApp. In 2020, Mega Evolution will be coming to Pokémon GO! You can look forward to meeting Mega-Evolved Pokémon in the real world!. Twitter. Retrieved on 2020-06-17.
- ↑ Mega Evolution is here! Battle in raids against Mega Venusaur, Mega Charizard, Mega Blastoise, and more!. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2020-08-29.
