My Top 10 Favourite Mega Evolutions

We're a month away from the release of Pokémon: Legends Z-A and the hype is real for this game, especially with the return of Mega Evolutions.

Introduced in the X and Y games back in 2013, Mega Evolutions set the stage for Pokémon games going forward. Nowadays Pokémon games feature some kind of battle gimmick to enhance the battling experience and spice up the game while also adding some uniqueness to the region the game is set in. Of all the battle gimmicks so far, Mega Evolution remains the most popular with many people loving it for giving new looks for old Pokémon and in some cases improving old Pokémon by giving them a power boost and a new ability to make them stronger. So you better believe the fandom went CRAZY when it was announced for Legends Z-A that Mega Evolutions are back, and we're getting new ones along with the old ones no less!

So as a means to hype us up even more for the upcoming game, I thought I'd do a list where I count down my Top 10 Favourite Mega Evolutions. Seems fitting, wouldn't you agree? Oh and before you ask, no, Ash Greninja doesn't count. That's not a Mega Evolution, that's something else called the "Bond Phenomenon". Totally different.

Also, no Legends Z-A Megas will make the list since, you know, the game isn't out yet. But I WILL make a list of my favourite Megas introduced in Legends Z-A after the game comes out in the future.

Number 10: Mega Beedrill

This should be considered an act of impossible odds. How the hell do you make BEEDRILL epic? The answer ended up being quite simple in the end: give it a Mega Evolution.

I'm not sure why GameFreak thought Beedrill of all Pokémon needed a Mega, but I'll forever be glad it got one because they really brought new life to what is usually a bland, easily disposable early route Bug Mon. Beedrill gets a drastic change in appearance where it looks even more ferocious than ever due to having even more stingers and even its face is less round and cuddly looking. The overall design wouldn't be out of place in Yu-Gi-Oh's Battlewasp archetype in my opinion. Funny enough, its design does closer resemble a wasp than a bee now I mention it. This is a bug that looks like it could skewer you like a kebab multiple times over with those large drills, so you'd definitely not want this terrifying bug coming your way. Speaking of, its drills kinda resemble medieval lances to me, giving it a sort of knight-like appearance which further adds to its badass appearance. Now I'm imagining this thing having a jousting match with Escavalier. XD

So what else changes when it Mega Evolves? Its Attack and Speed stats get a HUGE boost, going from 90 and 75 to 150 and 145 respectively, making Mega Beedrill one of the fastest Mega Evolutions out there and giving it an attack power on par with pseudo-legendries! Not bad for an early route Bug Mon eh? And if that wasn't enough, it gains a new ability in the form of Adaptability, which powers up moves of the same type, so watch out for its Bug and Poison type moves as they will HURT! The only downside is that despite its ridiculously high Attack and Speed boost, it's still incredibly frail, especially on the physical side, so you better hope it can kill the opponent quickly enough or else one Rock Slide and it's all over. Still, the huge boost to its Attack and Speed alone are a good reason to use Mega Beedrill and this Mega is the only reason to ever use Beedrill as regular Beedrill's pretty useless.

If there's ever a reason to mutter aloud "Bees. My God.", this is it. With a big boost in Attack and Speed and a ferocious new appearance, Mega Beedrill is mon that you'd have to "bee" crazy to overlook...

Number 9: Mega Gallade

If I were ranking the Megas in terms of designs, Mega Gallade would rank pretty high for how cool it looks.

This guy looks like a total badass. Unlike Mega Gardevoir where it just looks like Gardevoir wearing a wedding dress, Mega Gallade looks like it got a proper upgrade and that it could still kick your ass, only now it can kick your ass even harder because it's Mega Evolved. If Mega Gardevoir can be considered akin to a fairy-tale princess with its design, then Mega Gallade evokes a fairy-tale prince complete with a heroic stance, bladed weapons and a large cape to boot. The helmet-like head also evokes a heroic knight too. When it comes to its new bladed arms, a lot of fans have joked how it kind of looks like he has Duel Disks attached to his arms, and thanks to those people I can not unsee it. I wonder what kind of deck Mega Gallade would play? Something warrior related obviously. XD In any case, I absolutely would not want him swinging those blades MY way!

With this Mega Evolution, Gallade gains a boost to his already impressive Attack power from 125 to 165, a slight boost in Physical Defence from 65 to 95 and he also gains a Speed boost from 80 to 110, meaning compared to regular Gallade he's faster, stronger and able to take more of a hit as he's not so frail anymore. Also he gains the Inner Focus ability, meaning that he's immune to flinching and won't be effected by Intimidate, so don't bother trying to lower his attack with that ability. I will say with Gallade gaining the Sharpness ability in Gen 9, imagine how TERRIFYING a Mega Gallade with Sharpness would be! His Psycho Cuts and Sacred Swords would decapitate the competition!

We can easily say that Wally got a huge upgrade to his team when going from Ruby and Sapphire to Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Mega Gallade is a total badass with an awesome new look, an attack, speed and defence buff and an ability that shows he won't be intimidated by the opposition. Definitely a Mega that'll cut his opponents down to size with ease...

Number 8: Mega Altaria

I'll always remember having fun using this during one of my runs on Alpha Sapphire.

Mega Altaria is one of those Mega Evolutions that goes for "cute and goofy" more than badass, kinda like the recent Mega Dragonite that got revealed for Legends Z-A, only for some reason people hate that but don't seem to hate this one. Weird. Anyway, Mega Altaria basically looks like regular Altaria on steroids with a bulkier body and an increase in mass on the cloud like structures on its back, wings and head. It still very much evokes the "up in the clouds" motif and also somewhat looks very huggable with its big poofy wings and the poofy clouds on its back. Not sure if I'd want it to hug me though as it might feel a bit crushing. XD

As is, this IS a Mega Evolved Pokémon so don't go underestimating it just because it looks poofy and cuddly. This mon gains a boost to its Attack, Special Attack and Physical Defence and they're all an equal 110, giving it balanced stats overall. It may not be any faster, but it's got good defences and decent attacking power both Physical and Special so running a mixed moveset is a viable option for Mega Altaria. Also it gains a new ability, Pixilate, which turns Normal-type moves into Fairy-type moves. So yeah, much like with Sylveon, you can hammer your opponents in the face with a Fairy-type Hyper Beam. Speaking of Fairy-types, that's where Mega Altaria truly shines in my eyes. It's one of the few Mega Evolutions that changes types when it Mega Evolves, going from Dragon/Normal to Dragon/Fairy. This is a stroke of genius to me since it does have a fairy-tale vibe to it and it also makes it more useful in combat as now it has the strength of Fairy-types at its disposal. Also being half Fairy-type makes it the only Dragon-type Pokémon that's immune to Dragon-type attacks. Handy, isn't it? ;)

It may not be the coolest looking Mega, but sometimes a cute looking Mega can be just as awesome. With its stat boosts, poofy appearance, handy new ability and a change in types that makes it stronger than ever, Mega Altaria is worth using. You'd have to have your head in the clouds to say no to this mon...

Number 7: Mega Blastoise

Can't leave out the Mega Evolution of my favourite Kanto starter, can I?

Mega Blastoise is one of those designs that's just a logical upgrade from its predecessor. It's a tortoise with cannons on its back, so what does Mega Blastoise look like? A tortoise with an EVEN BIGGER cannon on its back! But they do a little more with the design by also adding the shell cannon design onto its arms as well, which is really cool. The whole thing gives Mega Blastoise a notably militaristic appearance, like some kind of big weapon the military would bring out to blow away the opposition. The big cannon on its back especially looks like it could knock down towers with a single blow, and that's pretty badass in my eyes. I just love this design, it's so perfect.

What's more badass is the upgrades it gets. With the exception of HP and Speed, it gets a boost to all of its stats with its Special Attack and Physical Defence getting the biggest boosts, going up to 135 and 120 respectively. This makes Mega Blastoise another Mega with well-rounded stats that makes it bulky and also able to pack a punch. It packs an even bigger punch thanks to its ability, Mega Launcher (how appropriate). This ability gives a boost to Pulse related attacks such as Water Pulse, Aura Sphere, Dragon Pulse and Dark Pulse, so those moves will end up really making your opponents feel like they've been blasted by a cannon. While Mega Launcher is pretty situational, it's still useful to have a power boost in these situations.

Mega Blastoise is a badass upgrade for Kanto's best starter, and no other design would've been as perfect for it. With its mighty cannons, a boost to its attack and defences and the Mega Launcher ability, Mega Blastoise will blast away any opponent who stands in its way...

Number 6: Mega Salamence

Given my love of Salamence, naturally I love the fact it can Mega Evolve now. It was cool to see it in the Ruby and Sapphire remakes, especially when the new character Zinnia has this Mega mon as her ace.

Mega Salamence has a noticeable moon vibe going off with its appearance due to the huge crescent shaped wing it has and the fact its red could possibly be a reference to the blood moon, a time when the moon turns red in colour. The wings can supposedly slice things in two, so that's pretty impressive. It also has a more noticeably streamlined appearance than regular Salamence, which fits its aerodynamic nature and how its faster than regular Salamence. I also like how its colours are darker too. I think this shade of blue and red make it look cooler than regular Salamence, as much as I love regular Salamence.

But looks aren't everything. How about the upgrades to its power? Salamence is powerful enough, but Mega Salamence is even stronger. It gains ten extra points to its Attack and Special Attack stats, gets a big boost to its physical Defence from 80 to 130 and twenty extra points added to its Speed, bringing it up from 100 to 120. So yeah, this thing will hit fast and hit hard, especially when you add in the fact Salamence can learn Dragon Dance so Mega Salamence has the chance to be even faster and stronger! Its ability is a letdown though. It gets Aerilate, which is like Pixilate but it changes Normal-type moves into Flying-type moves instead. I mean come on, really? That's the best they could come up with for Mega Salamence? Flying isn't the best typing in terms of offence and the strongest Salamence will get really is a Flying-type Double Edge. I think Speed Boost would've suited it a lot better. Still, its stats are strong enough as is so it's not like it really needs an ability to fight any better. It's still awesome even if its ability is mediocre.

Mega Salamence just further justifies my love for this draconian powerhouse. It's slick, dynamic, powerful kicks all kinds of ass whenever it's in action. Mega Salamence truly flies high above all others...

Number 5: Mega Metagross

Metagross is one of my favourite pseudo-legendries ever, so why wouldn't I include Mega Metagross on the list? Metagross is awesome, so naturally Mega Metagross is awesome too.

Mega Metagross, like Mega Blastoise, feels like one of the most logical designs for a Mega. With Metagross's huge resemblance to a robot spider, its Mega Evolution naturally resembles an upgraded version of Metagross with extra limbs, its forelimbs increasing in size and the whole thing looking bigger and more powerful than before. I love how the X on its face is coloured gold, possibly a reference to shiny Metagross having a gold coloured X, and I love the huge claws on it that make it look as if it could tear through whole armies with its bare hands. It would've looked better without that large spike on its chin though, that just looks a little silly.

Going back to its shiny form for a minute, shiny Mega Metagross is also one of the best looking Mega Shinies out there, so that's another reason to love it. It's so cool that for the anime, they let Steven Stone use a shiny Mega Metagross. What better way than to make him look like a true Champion? ;)

Anyway, Mega Metagross isn't just upgraded in appearance, it's also upgraded in stats too. With the exception of HP, it gets a stat boost to everything, its Speed getting the biggest boost as it goes from 70 to 110, thus making Mega Metagross much faster than regular Metagross and with its Special Defence going from 90 to 110, it's very bulky on both sides so it'll take a hit no matter if it's Physical or Special. It also gains the awesome ability Tough Claws, an ability that powers up moves that make Physical contact. Metagross can learn a lot of moves like that such as several punching moves and its signature move Meteor Mash, so it can take full advantage of this ability. Meteor Mash especially is a big deal as it's one of Metagross's strongest attacks it can learn and it gets a boost from Tough Claws, so it'll REALLY do the damage with that! Even Zen Headbutt gets a Tough Claws boost, so it can do real damage from both its Steel and Psychic typings! That's pretty nuts! Bottom line, if you want Metagross to kick even more ass than it already does, then make it Mega Evolve, because this thing is a one-mon wrecking crew!

Mega Metagross is incredible, both in terms of design and in combat prowess. It's as powerful as it looks, is much faster, more durable and can easily exploit its new Tough Claws ability. Quite the upgrade for the spider-bot mon...

Number 4: All Three Mega Hoenn Starters

A legitimate tie here for I can't pick a favourite among the Hoenn Mega starters, they're all awesome!

All three of them get a new design that stays true to their original appearances while also making them look more powerful. I'd probably say of the three, Mega Blaziken looks the best while Mega Swampert looks the worst, but all three still look great in their own right. The designs also make sense in some way to me, like how Mega Sceptile gets a much bigger and more powerful looking tail, Mega Blaziken looks slick and agile to match its speedy nature and Mega Swampert looks appropriately beefy to match its large attacking power. It's also easy to make jokes on these designs whether it's Mega Sceptile looking like it has a Christmas tree glued to its tail or Mega Swampert looking like a bodybuilder, but I still think the designs are cool in their own right.

For upgrades, all of them get a boost in power. Swampert gets more Attack, Defence and Special Defence and is slightly faster, Blaziken gets a huge Attack and Special Attack boost while getting slight Defence boosts and twenty points added to its Speed stats and Sceptile gets a boost to its Special Attack and Speed with slight boosts to its Attack and Defence. I find it neat how all of them get a boost in different ways with Swampert aiming for a Mighty Glacier battle style, Blaziken being a Lightning Bruiser and Sceptile having the best Special Attack and Speed of the three. Mega Sceptile also gets a type change, going from Grass to Grass/Dragon type which means it gets STAB bonus on Dragon-type attacks now, but it also gives it a quadruple Ice weakness and a weakness to Fairy-types, so it's a bit of a double-edged sword.

For abilities, Mega Swampert gets Swift Swim, Mega Blaziken gets Speed Boost and mega Sceptile gets Lightning Rod. Mega Swampert's on the slow side so Swift Swim can really help mitigate that problem by boosting its speed when it's raining, but that's a bit too situational unless you have a Pelipper or Politoed on your team. Mega Sceptile's ability is also too situational since Lightning Rod only nullifies Electric attacks, meaning its best used when partnered with a Water-type so your opponent's Electric-types don't work on it. Mega Blaziken unquestionably has the most useful ability since Speed Boost making you go faster at the end of each turn is always going to be useful. Still, these three all have abilities that can be put to good use depending on your battle style or what tactics you use, so there's something for everybody with these Mega Starters.

The Hoenn starters really did get great Megas and all three of them are awesome in their own ways. This is why I can't pick a favourite of the three, they're all superb and the ORAS games are so fun to play just for the fact you can use these Mega Evolutions. No matter which starter I pick, I know I'm in for quite a power boost with them...

Number 3: Mega Gyarados

Gyarados is awesome. So how do you make it even more awesome? Give it a Mega Evolution of course!

Mega Gyarados is another design that just makes total sense and really has you thinking "What else was it going to look like?" He basically just looks like a bigger Gyarados, but with some new features to emphasize its sea monster design. The huge fins on its back look somewhat like dragon wings, tying into Gyarados's somewhat draconian design, and I love the new colour palette of dark blue, red, black and yellow on it. It looks incredibly eye-catching, especially with the red stripe and red scales down its side and the black tri-horned crest above its head looks really cool too. While it may not be the most creative looking Mega Evolution, it still works as what a more powerful Gyarados would look like.

Its stats are nothing to sneeze at either. Gyarados is already pretty powerful and is notorious for packing quite a punch, so Mega Gyarados naturally runs with that with thirty points added to its already monstrous 125 point Attack stat and it also gets thirty more points added to each of its defences, so it's more capable of taking hits than before. Oh and the best part? Its type changes to Water/Dark, so it's no longer doubly weak to Electric attacks, meaning it won't die in one hit from a Thunderbolt attack anymore. It does get new weaknesses to Fighting, Bug and Fairy types, but Gyarados can learn attacks to cover those anyway, plus it's immune to Psychic-types because of its new Dark-typing. Sadly it doesn't get any boosts to its Speed, but sometimes a good Attack stat and good defences are enough to take you far. Mega Gyarados also gains the Mold Breaker ability, which is another annoyingly situational ability and isn't anywhere near as useful as Intimidate is, but Mold Breaker can be useful if used well. Being able to hit Levitating Pokémon with Earthquake for example...

Mega Gyarados is just an incredible Mega. What's not to love about it? It took an already awesome Pokémon and made it even more awesome. I's powerful, it gains a handy type-change, it's capable of taking hits and it gains an ability that ignores other abilities. The atrocious Pokémon certainly didn't get an atrocious Mega by any means...

Number 2: Mega Aggron

Aggron is my third favourite Pokémon of all time, so why wouldn't his Mega be on the list? The fact Aggron can Mega Evolve, and you can get it pretty early on is one of the reasons why the Ruby and Sapphire remakes are so fun to play.

Like Gyarados, Mega Aggron is another Mega where its design was the only logical design for it. It's essentially a bigger, more sturdy looking Aggron with a lot more armour and a lighter grey colour scheme that cleverly represents its type-change from Rock/Steel to pure Steel. Even if it may not look all that creative, it still fits that a Mega Evolved Aggron would look like this. It looks like a behemoth that could smash through buildings with its head and feel trees with a single tail swipe. Seriously, I wouldn't want this thing coming my way!

Stats wise, it gets thirty more points to its Attack stats, going from 110 to 140, it gets a VERY beefy boost to its physical Defence, going from 180 to 230 and thus boasting one of the highest Defence stats of all time and gets twenty points added to its middling Special Defence. Still frail on the Special side, but VERY tanky on the Physical side and able to do a lot of damage with its Attack power. But the biggest upgrades it gets is in terms of Ability and type-change. Mega Aggron loses its Rock-typing, becoming pure Steel-type so now it's less weak to Ground and Fighting moves and gets more resistances, making it way more solid than it was before. But then comes its Ability. Mega Aggron's Ability is Filter, which weakens the damage from super-effective hits. Yes, Mega Aggron is that much of a tank that super-effective hits don't do as much damage as they normally do! That is insane! Anyone who thinks they can take it down easily will have to think again! While Special Attacks will still do the most damage to it, even they will struggle to take Mega Aggron down easily thanks to the Filter ability. If only regular Aggron had that ability...

Mega Aggron is just a badass and a wonderful upgrade for my third favourite Pokémon of all time. It looks like an absolute tank, it packs a powerful hit, it can take a beating, its typing is improved and its ability makes it even harder to take down than before. Just...what other reason do I need to love it like I do?! It's Mega Aggron! It's awesome!

It would've been Number 1 on the list if it wasn't for one other Mega that's just a little cooler...

And My Number 1 Favourite Mega Evolution Is: Mega Charizard X

Yeah, sorry to be so boring and basic, but even someone like me who finds Charizard insanely overrated can't help but love this mega. It also helps it's had a lot of cool showings in the anime too, be it the X and Y series or the Pokémon Origins miniseries.

Mega Charizard X...just look at it! JUST LOOK AT IT! Do I need to explain why it looks so epic?! OK, maybe I do, so I will. I love how it turns black in colour as that harkens back to how shiny Charizard is also black. Making it black and blue naturally makes it look even more awesome with both colours really adding so much to its appearance and the two colours are well-balanced too with neither one looking too prominent. I also like how it's still recognizable as Charizard but also looks different too with it gaining spiked shoulders, blue flames pouring out of its mouth and its wings changing shape. The dark blue on the wings also stands out nicely against the black and blight blue on its body. I even love how the flame on the tip of its tail turns blue too. It also makes Charizard look more powerful that way since blue flames are the hottest flames, which makes this Mega look like it could melt just about anything with its powerful flames. Why GameFreak bothered giving Charizard two Megas, I'll never understand since this design just outclasses Mega Charizard Y in every way.

Now for its other upgrades. Mega Charizard X gains a boost in Attack, Special Attack and Defence and its Attack and Special Attack are an equal 130, so it can hit hard from both sides. It also changes typing, going from Fire/Flying to Fire/Dragon. At long last people, Charizard can now be classed as a Dragon-type Pokémon. XD This typing is very useful as it no longer has a double Rock weakness and being half Fire-type means it's one of the few Dragon-types that isn't weak to Fairy-types. But like Mega Metagross, its ability is Tough Claws, which really gives this thing some raw muscle power. Moves that make contact get a boost, which makes Mega Charizard X more useful to use if it has a mostly Physical move set rather than Special. You can imagine that a Flare Blitz or Dragon Rush or Thunder Punch from this guy will really do the damage! It's no wonder Alain won so many battles with this Mega, it really packs a wallop and has the power to back it up!

Mega Charizard X encompasses everything that's awesome about Mega Evolutions for me. It has a kickass design, it's a proper upgrade from its base form, it's powerful, it gets a type-changing that benefits it and its ability makes it even more powerful and ferocious. I know it's the most obvious choice, but that just shows how well GameFreak nailed it with Mega Charizard X. And all of that is why it's my favourite Mega Evolution of all time...

And that's all I have for this list. I hope you enjoyed it and I invite you all to share your thoughts down in the comments below. What are your favourite Mega Evolutions? Do tell me.

Next week, oh woe is me as I'll be tackling Wednesday Season 2. See you then media fans!

Honourable Mentions

Mega Absol

Mega Gengar

Mega Garchomp

Mega Aerodactyl

Mega Rayquaza

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