Ah, here we go with Mega Evolutions. See, in the sixth generation, Nintendo gave a bunch of older Pokemon the ability to achieve 'Mega Evolution', a state of heightened stats and abilities that is temporarily achieved in battle. It's basically Super Saiyan for Pokemon, and only one pokemon in a party can Mega Evolve in the course of a single battle. This ended up being met with way too many Digimon jokes for my liking, and while no new mega evolutions are introduced in the seventh generation, it did give the sixth generation its own identity, while allowing older pokemon a chance to go toe-to-toe against the powerhouses from the fifth and sixth generation. The backstory is essentially that an ancient meteor (ORAS) or the previous usage of Xerneas/Yveltal's powers ends up creating these powerful mega stones that resonate with a specific species of Pokemon and allows them to achieve new forms.
These Mega Evolutions range from drastic physical changes that felt like an actual evolution, or sometimes just an insane addition of details that make it particularly messy-looking. The degree of how much a pokemon changes varies from form to form, but the common thing is that all of these power-ups are temporary.
Interestingly, half of the mega evolutions seen here are only available in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire onwards, being a large influx of new forms introduced halfway through a generation. Also, while Mega Evolutions didn't have any specific pokedex entries or a separate pokedex slot, what with being a temporary power-up, the seventh generation gave some of them brand-new dex entries which, rather alarmingly, characterize Mega Evolution as a harrowing, painful process that sometimes causes those that mega evolve to lose their minds. Time will tell if the sixth generation's "culmination of bonds between trainer and pokemon" or the seventh generation's "barbaric and unnatural powered-up state caused by the radiation of rocks" ends up holding water.
The paragraphs here are going to be relatively shorter than my normal reviews, because most of the time I'm just going to talk about the visual design and how it compares to the original design. Important to note: the scores are given to alternate forms as how they enhance/alter the original design, and less of the design as its own thing.
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#003: Mega Venusaur
- Types: Grass/Poison
- Japanese name: Mega Fushigibana
- Category: Seed
The first mega evolution we're going to be talking about are that of the original Kanto starters, and the Kanto crew did get far more mega-evolutions and attention compared to the newer generations, in a rather obvious attempt to cash in on nostalgia. Venusaur's mega evolution ends up expanding on Venusaur itself. It's got an extra new set of leaves, a bunch of vines, and the plant on its back's grown bigger... but sadly this ends up being marred by the hideously un-detailed pink flower on its head and butt. I wouldn't mind if the flower at least had a core like the central flower, or something that's more detailed, but this ends up making Mega Venusaur somewhat torn in-between looking badass and weirdly adorable. I loved Venusaur so I used Mega Venusaur a lot, but I've always been bothered by that rather silly flower. I do like that it expands on Venusaur's whole concept, but compared to how great the Mega Charizards and Mega Blastoise look, I've always felt that Mega Venusaur is somewhat shortcharged. I do like that its plant is bigger, though, which may or may not be a callback to its original bad generation 1 sprite. Also absolutely adore that its new ability is "Thick Fat", which is actually a lot more useful than it sounds, halving damage from fire and ice-type moves that Venusaur's normally weak to. Overall, though, while I do like Mega Venusaur a fair bit, it doesn't really absolve it of how weird it looks. And now, editing these pages after the Galar games and seeing how well they made a Venusaur 'super mode' in those games, yeah, Mega Venusaur's stock kind of goes down a bit in my books.
4/6.#006: Mega Charizard X & Y
- Types: Fire/Dragon [X]; Fire/Flying [Y]
- Japanese name: Mega Lizardon
- Category: Flame
Yeah, Charizard is the breakout star of the first generation, and, rather unfairly, Charizard ends up receiving not one, but two Mega Evolutions, while all the other starters not from the first and third generations don't even get acknowledged. For what we did get, though, I do appreciate that the two Mega Charizards are like divergent evolutions to satisfy different parts of the fanbase. The first mega evolution revealed is Mega Charizard Y, who remains Fire/Flying, and just emphasizes everything Charizard is -- a flying, fire-breathing lizard. It's actually my favourite of the two, and I absolutely love how sleek it looks, with larger, more bat-like wings, extra wings on its arms, a more serious-looking head design and it's apparently lost its big fat belly. Nintendo also gave Mega Charizard Y Groudon's Drought ability. Mega Charizard Y essentially ups the factor about what makes Charizard appealing in the first place, essentially being the sort of mega evolution I hoped Charizard would get.
Overall, I still think Mega Charizard X is perhaps a wee bit too obviously-edgy for my liking, but I've warmed up a lot to Mega Charizard X. From a sheer coolness factor, both Charizards are pretty dang cool, and I actually appreciate Nintendo for making the two forms look distinct yet equally cool. Now give the other starters the same amount of attention, dammit!
4/6. #009: Mega Blastoise
- Type: Water
- Japanese name: Mega Kamekkusu
- Category: Shellfish
The third member of the original Kanto starter trio gets perhaps the single most badass-looking mega evolution. the guns get emphasized as Blastoise gets turned into a literal tank, with the two guns on his shell fused into a single gigantic tank turret, and Blastoise's posture looks a fair bit more menacing than he usually is. I'm not sure about the weird pointy goatee-esque protrusion on Mega Blastoise's chin, but I absolutely love the extra mini-shells on his arms that end in arm cannons. I absolutely love that. Mega Blastoise gets the ability "Mega Launcher", which is Clawitzer's ability, highly appropriate since Clawitzer's lugging an anatomical part that's essentially a gigantic bazooka. I don't have much to say about Mega Blastoise other than he's just so amazingly cool, changing the most out of the three Kanto starters yet looking basically the same as well. I dunno. It's not that Mega Venusaur or the two Mega Charizards are bad at all, it's just that Mega Blastoise expands so much on what makes regular Blastoise so appealing as a design, and adds its own twist that makes Mega Blastoise still feel like its unique entity.
5/6. #015: Mega Beedrill
- Types: Bug/Poison
- Japanese Name: Mega Supia
- Category: Poison Bee
HOLY FUCK! Yeah, Mega Beedrill is easily the coolest-looking mega evolution on this list, and I am including even the starters here. Beedrill's a pretty cool design, but Mega Beedrill ramps up everything effective about Beedrill and makes him look so much more threatening. The sleekness of his abdomen, the transformation of the lower legs into those stylish striped spears, the more lance-esque main arms, the sleekness of the eyes, the extra set of wings... I absolutely love the grooves on Mega Beedrill's abdomens where the lower legs are presumably stored, and Mega Beedrill ends up just looking ten times meaner than regular Beedrill and looking so absolutely kickass. I honestly can forgive them not giving Beedrill's buddy Butterfree a mega evolution, because Mega Beedrill just works so well as a final stage of an angry hornet monster with drill-lances for limbs. Look at this thing. It's just so badass. Look at this thing. It's going to end you.
6/6.#018: Mega Pidgeot
- Types: Normal/Flying
- Japanese Name: Mega Pijotto
- Category: Bird
I'm... I'm not really sure about Mega Pidgeot, honestly. It's kind of like Pidgeot decided to go for a particularly edgy haircut, angry that it's been forgotten over far more interesting bird pokemon from subsequent generations, and I do like how distinct it looks from Pidgeot and Pidgeotto. The red-and-yellow hair is shorter, with a long red ponytail that trails behind and a bang that sticks forwards (apparently serving as Mega Pidgeot's flight stabilizer?) and I do like the extra blue tinges on the tips of Mega Pidgeot's feathers and tail. But honestly, it's not that impressive, and feels more inoffensive than actually impressive like some of these other mega evolutions do. I'm not sure why... I think they ended up throwing in one too many details for my liking. It's not unpleasant, of course, but Mega Pidgeot could've been so much cooler looking. As it is, it's neat and definitely looks a lot better in animated or 3D model form. Kinda redundant, I think -- and while the part of me that likes Pidgeot likes that he gets some attention, part of me sort of wished that they had either tried a bit more, or not tried at all.
2/6. #065: Mega Alakazam
- Type: Psychic
- Japanese name: Mega Foodin
- Category: Psi
I'm not sure why the 'armour' parts of Alakazam's body gets turned from brown to purple, but I absolutely loved the hilarity of Alakazam evolving into a proper mystical wizard, with a gigantic bushy beard, a yoga pose and five spoons. Mega Alakazam's a lot more serene-looking and nowhere as threatening as regular Alakazam, and that's a bit of a shame, really. Mega Alakazam's the first mega evolution here that was given dex entries in the seventh generation, and it's apparently had all its power converted into psychic energy, meaning its hovering pose isn't because it's showing off, but because its muscles have all atrophied, trading its muscles for even more psychic energy, including the ability to see your history from birth to death with a single glance. Overall, while a neat twist on Alakazam, it does feel a bit weird. Maybe if the colouration was closer to regular Alakazam instead of being washed-out, and if the legs felt more organic? Eh. I get where they're going for. It's fun.
3/6. #080: Mega Slowbro
- Types: Water/Psychic
- Japanese name: Mega Yadoran
- Category: Hermit Crab
HAHAHAHAHA this thing. Yeah, whereas everyone gets more badass and scarier, Slowbro ends up becoming a hilarious giant drill that bounces around on its tail, because apparently all the mega evolution energy went to the Shellder that now wraps around Slowbro's body like a giant cocoon, and poor Slowbro looks so confused at what's going on. There is apparently no change in the main Slowpoke body, whereas Shellder ends up being impregnable armour, and the dex assures us that "it's pretty comfortable in there", so it's not like Shellder's trying to digest the Slowpoke body or anything. It's just really hilarious and makes Slowbro something far more akin to a hermit crab or a snail creature, and it's just such a ridiculous monster and exaggeration of the base Slowbro design that I can't help but love him once the shock of "WTF is this" has faded. I'm not quite sure if Shell Armour is that game-breaking of an ability that Mega Slowbro gains it, but from a design standpoint, Mega Slowbro's so hilarious that I can't dislike it. What a silly-looking motherfucker. It even still has the angry Shellder eyes if you look at it from behind!
4/6. #094: Mega Gengar
- Types: Ghost/Poison
- Japanese name: Mega Genga
- Category: Shadow
Speaking of traditionally badass, meet Mega Gengar, who has evolved from a simple humanoid into a monstrous shadow-beast whose bottom half of his body seems to be perpetually stuck in the ground, with the tips of his arms being also buried underground most of the time. Giving Mega Gengar a pretty drastic transformation with gigantic spiky arms, a tail and a generally more bestial look that's half-buried in the shadows is cool enough, but best of all is the absolutely manic eyes that they give Mega Gengar. This is one psychotic motherfucker, and that third eye doesn't look particularly docile either. Mega Gengar looks like a demonic creature truly emerging from the shadows, and it's apparently "sunk into another dimension", and the process of mega evolution has caused its relationships to be completely warped, causing it to lose interest in even its trainer, and only seeing its opponent as prey. Mega Gengar's just so cool, and I particularly fell in love with the one in the Pokken games. Mega Gengar gets the ability Shadow Tag, meaning that if Mega Gengar evolves in front of you, there's literally no escape as this monstrous poisonous shadow-demon goes absolutely wild with no control before you. Mega Gengar's design is so unmistakably still Gengar, yet it's also transformed into a design with its own unique identity, and is easily one of the best designs among the mega evolutions.
6/6. #115: Mega Kangaskhan
- Type: Normal
- Japanese name: Mega Garuura
- Category: Parent
After being mostly forgotten since the first generation, Kangaskhan gets a mega-evolution in the sixth that propelled it into the one strongest and most powerful pokemon in the sixth-generation metagame. See, Kangaskhan's mega evolution causes the mother to... not change at all! But the baby has mega-evolved, popping out of mama's pouch with a significantly altered form, and it's ready to fight alongside its mom via the Parental Bond ability... which allows Mega Kangaskhan to attack twice in a turn. Sure, the second strike only hits for 50% of the damage that Kangaskhan would normally deal, but the increased stats and the chance to proc extra effects makes Mega Kangaskhan perhaps the single most over-powered mega evolution until Rayquaza came along, and Parental Bond would be nerfed in the seventh generation. Mega Kangaskhan is one of the best 'stories', so to speak, among the mega evolutions. See, Kangaskhan's whole deal is that she's a good mother to her child, so of course when given the chance to mega evolve, she will give all her energy to her child, who in turn hops out to help mama in battle. The seventh generation dex entries gives some bittersweet notes about how the mother's worried about her son's future, because all the kid knows is fighting... although, to be fair, this is the Pokemon world. Fighting's like almost all you can do here. Overall, another pretty neat mega evolution in concept and execution.
4/6. #127: Mega Pinsir
- Types: Bug/Flying
- Japanese name: Mega Kairosu
- Category: Stag Beetle
I'm a sucker for monstrous bugs, am I not? But come on. Look at Mega Pinsir and tell me this thing isn't a badass motherfucker. Pinsir's always prominently based on a stag beetle, but they never gave him the chance to fly... until mega-evolution was a thing! Pinsir's back cracks open like elytra to reveal the gloriously translucent hindwings, transforming Pinsir into a Bug/Flying monstrosity with the ability Aerialate, effectively transforming every single Normal-type move in Pinsir's repertoire into a Flying-type move. I absolutely love the spikier stag beetle horns, the added vestigial wings on Pinsir's arms and the rigid, talon-like feet... and best of all, Mega Pinsir's eyes just look so angry and brutal and embodies what the original Pinsir is about -- a nightmare bug monster that looks horrifying and wants to rip you apart with all the sharp appendages at its disposal. And while other mega evolutions' dex entries are relatively dark, Mega Pinsir is just apparently super-excited and happy to be able to fly and skewer opponents on its giant pincers. Like, yeah, it's still a murder machine, but it's a happy murder machine. Easily one of the best-looking mega evolutions that I honestly wish was a regular evolution so that I can have this glorious bug monstrosity in my party 24/7. Mega Pinsir's pretty great.
6/6. #130: Mega Gyarados
- Types: Water/Dark
- Japanese name: Mega Gyaradosu
- Category: Atrocity
Thankfully, not everyone gets turned into part-Dragon by the mega evolutions. Gyarados is perhaps up there with Charizard as the pokemon that everyone wishes is a dragon, and while I agree that Gyarados's Water/Flying type, while making sense, isn't the most ideal... Nintendo's decision to make Mega Gyarados into a Water/Dark monster is definitely far, far more appropriate to Gyarados's personality. I'm of two feelings about Mega Gyarados, because I've always thought that its front body always felt way too bulky and big, but I really love the extra red details that run down its body, the super-long facial beard, the gigantic dorsal fin and the black central horn... ultimately Mega Gyarados is a great design, I just am not sure about the proportions, which look honestly somewhat lobster-esque from some angles. Poor Mega Gyarados is apparently driven into even further degrees of rage by mega evolution, causing the brain to degenerate so that no other function other than destructive instincts remain, and that its body is even burdened, causing it to become even more ferocious. Just like Mega Charizard Y, I appreciate Mega Gyarados a lot for recognizing and enhancing a lot of the design aspects that made the original Gyarados so well-done. I just feel that maybe there's one or two design choices that end up hurting Mega Gyarados somewhat and make its design a wee bit too cluttered.
4/6. #142: Mega Aerodactyl
- Type: Rock/Flying
- Japanese name: Mega Putera
- Category: Fossil
4/6. #150: Mega Mewtwo X & Y
- Types: Psychic/Fighting [X], Psychic [Y]
- Japanese name: Mega Myutsu
- Category: Genetic
Mewtwo is the only pokemon other than Charizard to obtain two mega evolutions, and Mega Mewtwo Y is the first mega evolution to be made public... before we even know what mega evolutions are! Everyone suspected that this is the ever-fabled Mewthree, a different clone of Mewtwo... and then mega evolutions are revealed and everyone lost their minds. Mewtwo felt far more natural as a pokemon to have multiple mega evolutions due to the artificial nature of its origin, with Mega Mewtwo Y being smaller and far more fluid-looking, seemingly showing off a Mewtwo that's gotten a lot more in touch with its Mew genes. I really like Mewtwo Y's arms and legs, and how lithe is body is... but try as I might, I can't ever get over how ridiculous that weird arc on Mewtwo Y's head is. The head-tail I can get behind, but that weird arc looks like a teapot handle. Mega Mewtwo Y emphasizes Mewtwo's special attack abilities, and it does play up Mewtwo's psychic power from its design of constantly floating, while the weird head-tail thing makes it clear that, no, Mewtwo will never be as natural-looking as Mew. I like the head-tail, but I'm genuinely not sure about the bizarre teapot handle thing.
Mega Mewtwo X is a physical attacker, and it's now transformed into a Psychic/Fighting Pokemon, able to kung fu your face when it doesn't feel like levitating you into the air and shattering your bones is personal enough. Mega Mewtwo X expands on what Mewtwo is, really, going the 'human' route and making Mega Mewtwo X extra shoulder guards, a more compact tail and extra artificial-looking ridges on his lower arms and thighs. Like the two Charizards, one of the Mewtwo is just an expansion on what made the original design so iconic, while the other is a bolder, more drastic change. For my part, having grown up mostly with the Adventures version of Mewtwo, I do like how the two Mewtwos look like one embraces his Mew genes and the other embraces the human genes. Overall, I think I still prefer original Mewtwo to both of these, but they're both honestly neat little variations that I don't particularly care for, but don't dislike.
3/6. #181: Mega Ampharos
- Types: Electric/Dragon
- Japanese name: Mega Denryu
- Category: Light
Look at this glorious design. It's basically regular Ampharos, but with glorious, glorious hair. Apparently, according to the seventh-generation pokedex entries, the excess energy from mega evolution stimulates Ampharos's genes, causing it to regrow the wool it's lost. Simultaneously, this also stimulates its "long-sleeping dragon's blood" because, thanks to a pun that only makes sense with Ampharos's Japanese name (Denryu can mean 'electric current' or 'electric dragon'), Ampharos is now Electric/Dragon. And... yeah, I actually buy it. Ampharos's design has always been ambiguous, having shed most of his sheep inspiration alongside his wool, and this glorious mega form with luxurious hair just makes Ampharos look pretty glorious. Again, I do like how varied the actual Dragon-type is, which befits the large, large amount of different creatures attributed the term 'dragon' in real mythology. I do love the fact that out of all the Johto Pokemon, it's Ampharos that gets a mega-evolution, too. It also helps that, y'know, I really do like Ampharos. It's a pretty fun mega evolution and one that honestly does feel pretty dang creative.
3/6. #212: Mega Scizor
- Types: Bug/Steel
- Japanese name: Mega Hassamu
- Category: Pincer
Mega Scizor is honestly a pretty far deviation from regular Scizor, as much as Scizor himself is a pretty far deviation from Scyther. Still, Mega Scizor at least maintains the exact same colour scheme and upright body structure as regular Scizor, which makes them look way similar... but look at every single detail on Scizor, and Mega Scizor swaps them all out for a design that truly emphasizes the 'robot' part of Scizor. Mega Scizor swaps out the giant crab-claws for a pair of serrated chainsaw-esque blades, and has changed the look of his face, shoulder-guards and even the legs into a design that truly looks a powered-up Gundam form or something. I didn't really like this design all that much when I saw it in the sixth generation. I obviously love the diabolical-looking shredding pincer-claws, and while I'm not a big fan of the extra black cross on Mega Scizor's face, the amount of random details thrown in is at least kept to a minimum. I think it's the weird legs that really bothered me? That and the fact that Mega Scizor's form looks so artificial compared to the clean, organic bug-man design of Scyther and Scizor, and how weirdly impractical those claws look once you really think about it. I think it's Pokken Tournament that really ended up making me like Mega Scizor a lot more, by showing it in motion where it just emphasizes everything on flying and hovering around and using those chainsaw-pincers more like giant bludgeons than snapping claws. Very Kamen Rider, I approve.
The seventh generation added some extra details for Mega Scizor, noting that this mega evolution in particular is a strenuous ordeal for your Scizors to go through, with it being way too heavy after anything longer than a short battle, and after a long time passes, the energy from the mega evolution causes Mega Scizor to get so fast that it starts to melt. What the hell, man! Overall, Mega Scizor's... cool. I definitely think it's the least-interesting design compared to its two predecessors, but it's cool in its own right.
5/6. #208: Mega Steelix
- Types: Steel/Ground
- Japanese name: Mega Haganeru
- Category: Iron Snake
And here we go with Mega Steelix. Most of the mega evolutions I've talked prior to this dude have all garnered positive reviews or, at worst, indifference, but Mega Steelix is one of the more horrifyingly cluttered designs as far as mega evolutions go. What a godawful mess this design is. Like, I appreciate the weird rotating chunks of shrapnel around Mega Steelix's neck, which at least looks neat when animated, but everything else? It doesn't help that Steelix itself isn't the most sleek of designs either, but Mega Steelix just adds far, far too many clutter. Those extra weird horns that just out of its chin, those weird little black rocks that alternate with Steelix's actual rocks, the giant rainbow-coloured mega evolution crystal growths that just look so out of place... there's so much bullshit going on with Mega Steelix that I really wished that they had taken out several of these minimal-thought random rock related details out. It's a design that actively makes Steelix look worse, and I actively forget this thing exists most of the time and groan every time I remember this thing exist. I'm not sure if there's another mega evolution I think looks as crappy as Mega Steelix, but the single point that Mega Steelix gets in my rating is solely because of the neatness of the swirling ring of rock shards.
1/6. #214: Mega Heracross
- Types: Bug/Fighting
- Japanese name: Mega Herakurosu
- Category: Single Horn
Heracross joins his buddy Pinsir in getting a mega evolution, and I absolutely respect that. While Mega Pinsir just emphasizes the same stag beetle qualities of its original inspiration, Mega Heracross straight up becomes a different beetle, with the iconic horns of the Dynastes hercules, the Hercules Beetle, one of the largest rhinoceros beetles in the world, and immensely popular in Japan. And Mega Heracross does look badass once you get over the fact that the lower horn ends up looking like a Pinocchio nose. The whole gimmick of Mega Heracross is that those bulbous arms actually can open up like arm-mounted machineguns, explaining Mega Heracross's ability, Skill Link (all multi-hit moves will hit for the maximum amount of times it can hit). It's a neat little design that, while not how I would go designing a mega evolution for Heracross, really shows the amount of thought put into Mega Heracross compared to Mega Steelix up above. There's a lot of things I like about Mega Heracross, and it does look like it can truly throw down with the mightiest fighting-types out there, but at the same time I've always found the weird vent on its crotch (it is an actual vent to let out excess mega evolution heat), the patch of orange on its head and the fact that the wings on its back has taken a bizarre shade of yellow detracts somewhat from the cleanliness of Mega Heracross's design. And yes, I know actual real-life hercules beetles are yellow, but it doesn't change the fact that when I first mega-evolved my Heracross, it looked like he's wearing a funny pair of diapers. Overall, though, it's a neat enough design that this could easily be a permanent evolution for Heracross and no one would really complain. Yellow bits aside.
4/6.#229: Mega Houndoom
- Types: Dark/Fire
- Japanese name: Mega Heruga
- Category: Dark
I was slightly disappointed to find that Mega Houndoom isn't a hellhound made out of lava, or that he evolved into a Cerberus, or a skeletal dog... but you know what? It essentially just takes the whole devil-doberman deal that Houndoom already is, and just elaborates on everything that makes Houndoom cool. I do like the forked tail, and the sleeker legs, and the fact that the tiny little skull necklace on Houndoom's neck has grown into a gigantic collar with horns. It's not the best-looking mega evolution out there, but that's partly because regular Houndoom already looked so cool. I guess it's the neck-collar design that threw me off somewhat? Overall, though, while I prefer regular Houndoom, Mega Houndoom's not a bad design. Sadly, apparently Mega Houndoom is actually melting from the intense temperatures of mega evolution, which is why it's claws are red. That's pretty sad, actually. Design-wise... could be better?
3/6.#248: Mega Tyranitar
- Types: Rock/Dark
- Japanese name: Mega Bangirasu
- Category: Armor
I'm not really sure what the logic behind the design of Mega Tyranitar is. Are they trying to go for a ridiculously-charming factor like what they did with Slowbro and Ampharos? Mega Tyranitar just looks insanely ridiculous while at the same time doesn't quite look as messy as Mega Steelix. I guess it's the charm inherent with old Kaiju suits that often have extraneous details anyway? It's like the mutated form of one of Godzilla or Ultraman's enemies or something, which I guess has some inherent charm. I do feel that between Mega Tyranitar's weird head-spikes, the giant wing-like back spikes that look like something exploded and the banana-peel tail, Mega Tyranitar has one too many details going on. Like, I think I would be fine if we exorcised the weird banana-peel tail, which would lead to a cleaner design while still being "bigger and scarier gojira". I do like the fact that its torso and abdomen has transformed into some sort of weird Pupitar face. Of course, Mega Tyranitar's been driven absolutely berserk by mega evolution and its back splitting open, turning him into even more of a berserking force of nature. Mega Tyranitar's not my thing, but I've warmed up to it somewhat over the years, whereas if you asked me a couple of years ago I'd probably have lumped Mega Tyranitar alongside the likes of Mega Steelix and the Kyurem forms in the Overdesigned Box of Shame. He's all right, even if he's not my thing.
2/6.#254: Mega Sceptile
- Types: Grass/Dragon
- Japanese name: Mega Jukain
- Category: Forest
We're getting into the Hoenn mega evolutions, and there's a lot of them, since, y'know, the second set of games in the sixth generation are Hoenn remakes. While Blaziken unfairly had a mega evolution in XY, and the only non-Kanto starter to get that treatment, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire would grace Sceptile and Swampert with mega evolutions of their own. I absolutely love Mega Sceptile, and how it returns into a sleeker, more menacing form that looks more Grovyle and Sceptile. Mega Sceptile is now Grass/Dragon, which is... okay? I mean, I guess he feels left out because Blaziken and Swampert have been dual-typed for a decade. Meag Sceptile also has a lot more red highlights to his tail, spine and leaf-blades, and while I could do without the weird X-shaped chest blade, I really appreciate all the extra details they gave Mega Sceptile, like the bug-bitted head-leaves and the extra colours. Best of all, Mega Sceptile highlights Sceptile's most distinctive feature -- his big-ass tail. See, Mega Sceptile can launch that Christmas tree like a goddamn missile at enemies, which is gloriously awesome. It not stands with its back and its spear-missile tail pointed at its enemies, and those seed-pods are still capable of shooting out deadly spores at the enemy. It's not enough that Sceptile is a dinosaur swordsman, he's now got a mobile missile emplacement on his back, and he's a dragon! I can only handle so much badass, Nintendo! Mega Sceptile is also awesome enough to star in Pokken Tournament and he might be the single most badass-looking cool dude in that game.
6/6.#257: Mega Blaziken
- Types: Fire/Fighting
- Japanese name: Mega Bashamo
- Category: Blaze
I love Blaziken, but it is a design that I feel is way too cluttered especially compared to its two fellow Hoenn starters. Its details have been more neatly arranged, swapping the two tapering hair locks into a more sleeker-looking set of shorter... hair-things. It has also lost its yellow and has had black incorporated into its legs and body, which is a pretty vast improvement -- and regular Blaziken himself isn't even particularly bad-looking either. Mega Blaziken also has those arm-flame things that trail behind like some kung-fu sleeves or whatever, which also look particularly badass. There's really not much to say about Mega Blaziken, really -- it just takes the base Blaziken form, tidies it up and makes the final result look astronomically more pleasing... and I already like regular Blaziken! Mega Blaziken was initially debuted in XY through an event-only distribution, but later made available to everyone via ORAS. Oh, and its cool new ability is Speed Boost, Ninjask's "increase a speed every turn and fair only because Ninjask is a weak bug" ability. So, yeah, you could imagine that Mega Blaziken is an actual terror in the games. Blaziken and Lucario were the two poster children back when Mega Evolution was being advertised, and I actually do like that their mega evolutions are the most traditionally Super-Saiyan-esque, so to speak.
4/6. #260: Mega Swampert
- Types: Water/Ground
- Japanese name: Mega Raguraji
- Category: Mud Fish
Whereas Mega Blaziken and Mega Sceptile emphasized the sleekness that made their regular forms so beloved by the fandom, Mega Swampert goes on a wholly different direction, and I love it. It's a glorious exaggeration of Swampert's glorious brute strength, and it looks like an evolution of Swampert while simultaneously looking so different, with Swampert having bulked up significantly, looking like a monstrous powerhoseu with gigantic arms, far more prominent cheek-fins and some badass-looking head fins. While I do miss the adorable derpy frogginess of regular Swampert, Mega Swampert does end up looking like a glorious powerhouse, and its ability is Swift Swim, which means it's fast in the rain. How is this possible? He's a bulky fat fish-man! Well, apparently those orange bits on Mega Swampert's arms are actually jet boosters to allow it to zip forwards in the water, presumably punching holes through ships with a rocket-powered, muscle-powered Mega Swampert punch. It's just a mega evolution that looks so buff and bulky and powerful, and it's one that just works pretty damn well, honestly.
5/6. #282: Mega Gardevoir
- Types: Psychic/Fairy
- Japanese name: Mega Sanaito
- Category: Embrace
Setting aside the legion of creepy fans that actually do want to marry Gardevoir, I do think that Mega Gardevoir is a decent design. Newly given the Fairy typing in this generation, Mega Gardevoir seems to want to emphasize this typing, but doesn't really end up changing much. It changes regular Gardevoir's ballroom dress into a more elaborate one, splits the weird chest-blade thing into two, and gets rid of all the green on every part of Gardevoir except for her head-crest thing, and makes the spiky elf-ear-spike things more prominent. I definitely wished that they had kept more of the green, maybe for the inner parts of her dress or for her gloves or something, but I do like the whole bridal dress deal. It's a neat little extrapolation of Gardevoir's normal guardian-angel-in-a-dress theme, and in its shiny colouration, Mega Gardevoir's dress even becomes jet-black, which is so cool. Like, I'm definitely sure I prefer the more colourful and sleeker regular Gardevoir, but as a mega evolution, this one's pretty graceful and neat.
4/6. #302: Mega Sableye
- Types: Dark/Ghost
- Japanese name: Mega Yamirami
- Category: Darkness
Mega Sableye is probably one of my favourite mega evolutions out there. They didn't really change that much about Sableye's base design and the main body, really -- an extra central head-horn, more spiky-looking ears and the swap from blue diamond eyes to red diamond eyes... these are changes that, eye aside, isn't going to be particularly prominent if you don't compare Mega Sableye and the original Sableye side-by-side. But, obviously, the biggest change is that one of Sableye's gemstones pop out and has transformed into a gigantic piece that Mega Sableye lugs around, using the giant gemstone as a shield while it grins cheekily, its shit-eating gremlin grin prominently reflected in the gemstone. And if the little animated trailer for the mega evolutions debuting in ORAS is anything to go by, sometimes Mega Sableye gets squished by his own gemstone shield thing. It's adorable! Like, Sableye's one of those designs that I really can't think of really expanding, so it's definitely a great decision to keep the gremlin-ghost body as close to the original design as possible, while giving him a gimmick that distinguishes itself clearly from the regular Sableye. Plus, while the one of the seventh generation dex entries note how Sableye's chest gem rips out and expands in a horrifyingly graphic manner, the few bits of the anime I've seen about Mega Sableye show that it's more distressed that one of its gemstones fell out more than the fact that it just "ripped out of its chest".
6/6. #303: Mega Mawile
- Types: Steel/Fairy
- Japanese name: Mega Kuchito
- Category: Deceiver
While Sableye would wait until ORAS until he received a mega evolution, his version-exclusive buddy Mawile received one in XY, as well as the Fairy-typing... and honestly, I like Mega Mawile's design so much. Mega Mawile now has two giant venus flytrap mouth-things, but the best part of it is how much smoother Mega Mawile's main body looks. The addition of pink details to the tips of Mega Mawile's sleeve-like arms and dress ends up working in so well with the pink interior of the horn-mouths, and it even works into Mega Mawile's retconned state as a Fairy-type. Mega Mawile's one of the stronger mega evolutions out there, too, with its two fangs appropriately doubling its attack... and multiplication is a horrifyingly powerful thing as far as these competitive things go. I'm not the biggest fan of how the horn-mouths are a bit curly and wavey, but those end up looking far less weird in motion. Apparently mega evolution gave these two horn-jaw things a mind of their own? Mega Mawile's honestly just a pretty great design, that, like Sableye, ends up looking distinct from the original design while still unmistakably building on what made Mawile so interesting in the first place. Hell, I honestly wish Mega Mawile was a permanent evolution, because I really do like its design!
6/6. 
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