From 1996 to 2013, the mainlinePokemongame formula remained largely the same: players begin an adventure as a new Pokemon trainer,choose their starter Pokemon,set out to fill out their Pokedex while competing in the Pokemon league, and take down a villainous organization in the process. For the most part, everything was cut and dry for the better part of the series' lifespan, aside from additions like new Pokemon, new types of battles, and changes in mechanics.
However, it’s safe to say that all of that changed with the introduction of thePokemon XandYgames in October of 2013, which marked the series' first ever simultaneous worldwide release. These titles were already monumental for the franchise, as they were the first fully 3DPokemongames. Little did fans know, they were about to receive much more than the addition of the brand new Fairy type. They were going to see the series' first ever game-changing mechanic: Mega Evolution.
RELATED:Pokemon: Every Gen I Mega Evolution, Ranked
Initially, many fans considered the Mega Evolution mechanic to be a gimmick that would never stick. However, years later, fans are begging for it to make a return to mainlinePokemontitles. Since its debut, fans have been introduced tonew gimmicks like Z-Moves,Dynamaxing, and Gigantamaxing, with Mega Evolution since being phased out of the series, but not entirely. Now, it looks likePokemongames can’t decide what to do with Mega Evolution, resulting in a strange relationship with the fan-favorite mechanic.
Mega Evolution During the 6th Generation Games
InPokemon XandY, Game Freakintroduced fans to Mega Evolution,a form of temporary evolution that certain Pokemon can achieve resulting in a change in appearance, increased stats, possible type changes, and more thanks to a strong relationship with their trainer. While fans were unsure of the mechanic at first, many began to vouch for it as the spice the series needed to keep it fresh, shaking up the game’s typical formula, as well as brining new life to the competitivePokemonmeta.
Mega Evolution quickly became synonymous with the 6th generation of Pokemon, even making its way into the next year’s mainline installments,Pokemon Omega RubyandAlpha Sapphire,remakes of the 3rd generation games. After its inclusion inOmega RubyandAlpha Sapphirealong with brand new Mega Pokemon, fans seemed certain that the new mechanic would be a mainstay in the franchise, but were also curious as to how it keep itself fresh. But at the same time, Mega Evolution had made its way to many ofPokemon’s spin-off titles as well.
Mega Evolution in 6th Generation Spin-off Games
The mechanic eventually made its way into manyPokemonspin-off games, which became increasingly abundant with free-to-play titles on both the Nintendo 3DS and mobile devices.
The first of these was thePokemon Trozei-like mobile gamePokemon Shuffle, which incorporated Mega Evolution as a way to make more matches in the game.Pokemon Rumble Worldquickly followed suit, being a free-to-play installment of thePokemon Rumbleseries on the 3DS, making Mega Evolutions work much like they do in the mainline games. In addition to titles likePokemon PicrossandPokemon Duel, the mechanic also came toPokken TournamentandPokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, but after that is where the series' relationships with Mega Evolution really gets confusing.
RELATED:Pokemon: Every Gen III Mega Evolution, Ranked
Mega Evolution in Gen 7
While the temporary evolution gimmick had become normalized in thePokemonfranchise as a whole,making its way to the TCGand anime as well, fans weren’t quite sure what to expect with the 7th generation ofPokemongames. What made things even more rocky wasPokemon SunandMoon’s brand new gimmick mechanic, in the form of Z-Moves: ultra-powerful attacks that any Pokemon could perform when holding a Z-Crystal of the same type as any one of their moves. While these were much more inclusive than Mega Evolutions, many argued that they lacked a certain unique charm and ultimately came off as bland and unexciting.
It initially seemed like Z-Moves were replacing Mega Evolutions entirely, but just weeks away from the launch ofSunandMoon, fans received confirmation that they would be present in the games, but not explored any further.Pokemongame director Junichi Masudahas explained that the reasoning for this is due to Game Freak wanting to make each player feel like they can use their favorite Pokemon in a special way with Z-Moves. Ultimately, it seemed to many like this marked the phasing out of the gimmick mechanic, but things only got more strange from there.
Where Mega Evolution Gets Confusing
While many weren’t quite sure what to expect from thePokemonseries in 2018, it was announced that fans would be returning to Kanto once again forPokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu!andLet’s Go,Eevee!. To this day, it is debated among fans as to whether these games can be considered mainline titles or spin-offs, mainly due to how much the conventions of the games changed to match the2016 mobile hitPokemon GO.Despite this, fans were excited to see Mega Evolution make a return, but were confused that it seemed less sidelined than inSunandMoon, with it being more incorporated and not simply relegated toLet’s Go’s postgame.
Mega Evolution Today
Now, aside fromPokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu!andLet’s Go,Eevee!, which seem to be up for debate anyways, fans haven’t seen a new instance of Mega Evolution in almost three years. It seems that Game Freak essentially put the nail in the Mega Evolution coffin with 2019’sPokemon SwordandShieldon the Nintendo Switch, which introduced even more new gimmick mechanics withDynamaxing and Gigantamaxing,getting rid of both Z-Moves and Mega Evolutions entirely. Many fans consider this to be where the mechanic “died,” but for whatever reason, The Pokemon Company seems intent on keeping it alive inPokemon’s spin-off games.
Despite being excluded fromSwordandShield, Mega Evolution remains alive and well: Mega Evolutions came to ongoing 2019 mobile gamePokemon Masters EX, appeared as a core mechanic in 2020’sPokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DXon the Switch, and was onlyjust added toPokemon GOlate last year.Even now, ongoingPokemonmobile games continue to update with content related to Mega Evolutions. While it seems that the mechanic has been relegated to existing exclusively in spin-off titles, that’s not to say fans haven’t been hopeful that they’ll see it return once again.
Now,much of the conversation around Mega Evolutionrevolves around the upcoming 4th generation remakes,Pokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearl. Fans have noticed that aside from the more chibi overworld art style, battles in the upcoming games look very similar to those inPokemonLet’s Go. With ILCA taking over development ofBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearl, many have noted that this could mark remakes as spin-offs, which would make Mega Evolution seemingly even more likely to appear. While nothing is for certain yet, it is clear thatPokemonhas had quite an interesting relationship with one of its most beloved mechanics.
MORE:Pokemon GO Announces Spring Event With Shiny Bunnelby and Mega Lopunny
