by Julián Jorge Fernández Loyarte
Mega Evolutions, temporary transformations that fully-evolved Pokemon can unlock in the middle of battle, have been absent from the mainline Pokemon games for over seven years. Fortunately, Pokemon Legends: Z-A not only revived this beloved battle mechanic, but it also gave brand-new Mega Evolved forms to twenty-six different Pokemon, all of which originate from a variety of generations, not just the sixth one.
As one would expect from these amazing transformations, every single new Mega Evolution in the game is extremely powerful, and their massive strength is perfectly reflected in the new and groundbreaking real-time combat system. Needless to say, Pokemon Legends: Z-A is filled to the brim with fascinating Mega Evolutions, but the following examples are the absolute strongest ones to debut in the new game (so far).
Mega Meganium
Benefits Heavily From Its New Secondary Fairy Type
- Types: Grass/Fairy
- Base Stat Total: 625
Meganium has been dismissed as a dull-looking Starter Pokemon with a disappointing stat distribution since its debut in the Second Generation. There’s no doubt that it was in dire need of an upgrade, and its new Mega Evolution finally elevated this highly underrated Grass-type Pokemon.
Mega Meganium not only looks a more beautiful than its base form, but it's also significantly stronger, mainly because its added Fairy Typing has increased its offensive and defensive abilities (although it now has a double weakness to Poison-type attacks). Additionally, its Special Attack stat rose from 83 to a whopping 143, meaning that it can unleash special moves like Petal Blizzard and Dazzling Gleam to knock out its opponents in mere seconds.
Mega Emboar
Even Though It Wields A Fiery Spear, Its Defenses Got The Biggest Buff
- Types: Fire/Fighting
- Base Stat Total: 628
Emboar is an obvious outlier among Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s starter trio, not only because it originates from Generation Five instead of Generation Two, but also because its base form already has two types: Fire and Fighting. This has always been a powerful Starter Pokemon that hits hard and can receive multiple hits in return, so its new Mega Evolution follows that same philosophy, seeing as it doesn’t change its typing, nor does it affect its stat distribution in a drastic way.
Mega Emboar wields a beautiful fiery spear in reference to its main source of inspiration, Zhang Fei. While the addition of this new weapon obviously means that its Attack stat has been increased (from 123 to 148), curiously enough, the stat that received the biggest buff was its Special Defense, which went from 65 to 110, the exact same as its Defense. Mega Emboar may be slow, but in exchange, it's now more powerful and durable than ever before.
Mega Greninja
It Seems Ash-Greninja Was Not Enough
- Types: Water/Dark
- Base Stat Total: 630
The fact that the three Kalos Starters—Chesnaught, Delphox and Greninja—didn’t have Mega Evolutions, even though they originate from the generation in which the mechanic was introduced, never sat well with Pokemon fans. Fortunately, Pokemon Legends: Z-A rectifies that mistake by giving them cool-looking Mega Evolved forms. Unfortunately, they can only be obtained by fighting other players in online ranked battles across three seasons, so Mega Greninja is the only one that has been available since launch.
The existence of this form is especially weird, considering that Greninja already had access to a transformation that made it more powerful, Ash-Greninja. However, since that form was pretty much deleted from the games back in Scarlet and Violet, it seems Mega Greninja is here to take its place. This Mega Form keeps things simple boasting slightly higher Speed and Special Attack stats. On the other hand, Legends: Z-A's lack of abilities drags Mega Greninja down significantly; Protean was a big reason Greninja's base form became a mainstay in the competitive scene back in its debut generation.
Feraligatr
A Powerful Dragon With A Big Set Of Chompers
- Types: Water/Dragon
- Base Stat Total: 630
Feraligatr has the strongest Mega Evolution among the game’s starter trio, not to mention that it’s even more efficient in combat than Mega Greninja, with whom it shares the same base stat total. The main reason why Mega Feraligatr is so incredibly powerful is its brand-new Dragon typing, something that fans have been seeking for decades.
This Mega Evolved Pokemon can use Dragon-type moves (like Dragon Claw or Outrage) and actually get STAB from them. That's not all, because its Attack stat was buffed by an additional 60 points, so it can definitely deal a lot of damage to its opponents. Hopefully, whenever Mega Feraligatr is made available in a game with Abilities, it’ll get access to something good that can take advantage of its play style, like Strong Jaw or Sheer Force, and make it even more destructive.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
