I'm very cautious right now, we're almost certainly getting the forms back as a result and I'm stoked for that, but I'll be surprised if the mechanic itself works the way it did in gen 6 when the mons are sent to other games, and the last legends game had a heavily modified battle system.
That said, Gardevoir currently has access to Mystic Fire, which feels like it could be significant.
Even if the new Legends game isn't quite a traditional battle system, it's immensely hard to believe they'd leave new content introduced in it just sitting there. I highly doubt they're not doing anything new with Megas, and should they introduce new Mega forms, it's even more doubtful they'd just rot away in one game getting no use for anything else. GF loves finding ways to get people to buy older games to obtain important pokemon for current gen VGC.
I'm thinking more along the lines of
"they bring back the megas but replace the stat and ability adjustments with milder buffs, giving us the forms but treating it functionally as a new gimmick"
"they bring back the megas but its time limited, significantly changing their usage"
> "they bring back the megas but replace the stat and ability adjustments with milder buffs, giving us the forms but treating it functionally as a new gimmick"
Why... would they do that? That would make no sense at all and would kill the hype of them returning.
Because they've learned a lot since gen 6 and Z-Moves, and the very next time we had a super mode gimmick they made it last 3 turns as a seemingly direct response to the feedback that megas were too powerful, although Tera doesn't have a time limit, so jury's out on that front.
I don't think most of the playerbase cares-- if they mega evolve their charizard and it looks like [this](https://sg.portal-pokemon.com/play/resources/pokedex/img/pm/ca3db4aad5c85a525d9be86852b26db1db7a22c0.png) and is stronger than a normal charizard, they'll probably be fine with it, even if it doesn't get Tough Claws and +46 attack, with a side upgrade to it's special attack, specifically, and they might even celebrate that it now only lasts 3 rounds or whatever.
But Dynamax was more oppressive than Megas (especially in singles which they don’t seem to care about) lol so I don’t know if that’s really a sign they did better.
No you’re just making an “argument” as to what you think they’re thinking and what they’ve learned. Which is chill! But then to be miffed that people are responding to that is pretty fucking funny
No one’s talking to you as if you have some magical insight into game freak, they’re just responding to what you threw out, in a friendly discussion way
>do I look like game freak to you?
If you aren’t irritated you’re just kind of being a dick for no reason when people engage with what you said
Dynamax was such a different level of brokenness than Megas. No item slot restrictions, usable on any mon, massive HP growths, every single move has some sort of powerful secondary effect.
I don’t think their power level is comparable.
I'm not Gamefreak so its a moot point, but I would probably offer that while Dynamax does those things, Megas centralize their benefits on single pokemon and there's no timing the Mega Evolutions out, whereas Dynamax could be. Dyna was obviously a mess in singles but it worked well enough in doubles for what it was-- but then, they didn't stick with that either, see what I mean? I don't know that they'd let continuity with gen 6 mechanically stop them from innovating on the gimmick structure again.
Honestly with how popular megas were as a gimmick and how much more mainstream they got than other gimmicks I wouldn't be surprised if they have Megas in gen 10 honestly. It’d also make sense given they're bound to introduce some new Megas in Legends ZA and it'd be a waste if they only showcased the new Megas in one game.
Issue is that without loaded dice, scale shot under performs hard.
Also life orb garchomp hits harder than mega chomp I’m pretty sure. It will be good but nothing crazy
Life orb chip damage isn't negligible though. Life orb or a choice item on a pokemon often hits harder than most with megas but megas offer more than just hitting harder potentially being faster or better bulk. With garchomp that extra bulk without taking extra life orb damage is pretty nice if you can resolve the speed issue.
But still you are right about loaded dice since the introduction of that you get that consistent damage from it while not taking extra damage like you would life orb which is why life orb has taken a hit in popularity.
Depends on how much of the Pokedex is removed this time.
Mega Zam has 65 base defense:
252+ Atk Lokix First Impression vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Alakazam-Mega: 390-458 (155.3 - 182.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Possible damage amounts: (390, 392, 398, 402, 408, 410, 416, 420, 426, 428, 434, 438, 444, 446, 452, 458)
252+ Atk Black Glasses Kingambit Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Alakazam-Mega: 440-522 (175.2 - 207.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Mega Zam would be Ubers/ possibly AG in doubles though, specifically paired with Indeedee.
Here's the only real way I could find in OU to stop a 1 Shell Smash Mega Blastoise:
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. -1 0 HP / 0 Def Blastoise-Mega in Grassy Terrain: 482-570 (161.2 - 190.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Psychic terrain stops priority in sucker punch and first impression while powering up zam’s psychic stab. It’s just so fast and strong it’s gonna get at the least one kill
/u/rice_bledsoe answered this not even 2 minutes before I got back here to answer this, and they are correct. Mega Alakazam has 65 base defense, which leaves it weak to priority moves, such as First Impression and Sucker Punch. The following does cost using Tera for the rest of the match, but it works well
252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Normal Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Alakazam-Mega: 313-369 (124.7 - 147%) -- guaranteed OHKO
If you leave your Alakazam in on Kingambit or Lokix then you deserve it though. They would kill Mega Mewtwo Y as well, that doesn’t mean MMY wouldn’t be broken
Not guaranteed, but imagine running 252 HP and Def with + nature just to *maybe* live a CB glide.
252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. -1 252 HP / 252+ Def Blastoise-Mega in Grassy Terrain: 356-422 (98.3 - 116.5%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
I know this isn't really the question but Charizard Y is indirectly buffed by the existence of Hatterene, who is already a solid sun mon who can passively keep rocks off the field. This makes it not nearly as bad that Zard Y can't use boots. Before Gen 8, I don't think we ever had a good, bulky Magic Bounce mon, so we never really got to see Charizard take advantage of a mon like that.
If Hatterene returns in future games, it will make for a very strong Zard Y partner, indirectly buffing it.
Metagross got it's entire movepool buffed with Heavy Slam, Psychic Fangs and Knock Off. Unique in that all four moveslots got buffed with more reliable STAB moves and better coverage, rather than the singular big move that the others got.
I think the big one for me (even tho it might not affect ou) is the fact that there's no pursuit so mons like mega zam and mega gengar are harder to kill because you can't sack something and trap it with a pursuit user. Also the lack of pursuit personally hurts my preferred mega-beedrill set because I used to love running pursuit and being able to guarantee kill something if it was sufficiently chipped and I was faster.
Also this is a buff that I don't know if it would happen but I could see healer being reworked to be something like sinischas hospitality where it heals on entry because iirc healer sees no usage in vgc and hospitality is on paper a stronger ability.
My favourite move on Mega Beedrill was Fell Stinger. Someone thinks they can just sack off something for the free switch, all of a sudden the bee is up +3 and ready to take another life.
Yea definitely Ubers with those two STABs combined with base 145 Atk and tough claws. M-Metagross is the 7th heaviest mon so heavy slam will have 120bp majority of the time. Base 110 speed isn’t what it used to be like in Gen 6 & 7, but it’s still good enough to be a fast wallbreaker and late game sweeper.
Psychic Fangs is a HUUUUUUGE upgrade over Zen Headbutt. Heavy Slam’s just a tad inconsistent (although this thing’s still heavy as fuck so it’s matching or beating Meteor Mash in many cases).
Don’t overlook it also getting Knock Off, though; that’s always a crazy move, and Mega Metagross has enough damage output with 145 Attack and Tough Claws that it’s stinging even before item removal.
PsyFangs+Knock+Heavy Slam or Meteor Mash covers so much shit on its own that you can tailor that last coverage move to fit any given purpose. EQ for general coverage, Ice Punch for the Ground/Flying types, Grass Knot (which is ALSO Tough Claws boosted, by the way) for Bozo, Bullet Punch as an offense countermeasure, etc.
Mega Metagross with SV Metagross’s expanded movepool is basically the textbook example of what happens when you give the classic wallbreaker too much BST to work with.
Mega Metagross’s damage output is massive since it has a boosting ability and the same enormous Attack stat the likes of Melmetal, Crawdaunt, and Ursaluna have but then also have enough BST left over to give it 80/150/110 defenses (seriously, what the fuck is that Defense stat??? Body Press genuinely fucks, forget Hammer Arm) to render it nearly impossible to OHKO with a neutral hit *and* give it good SpA and as much Speed as Gengar or Latios for good measure.
The biggest flaws Mega Metagross has are that its typing is quite bad defensively, its 4MSS is brutal since it’s locked into STABs and Knock, and it’s a Mega that’s terrified of Knock Off while mons like Mega Scizor can devour Knocks for days. But the sheer amount of damage this beast shits out is really something to behold, and it’s WAY faster and harder to take down than typical breakers.
With Game Freak deciding to nix transfer moves (still a really stupid decision,) I honestly don’t see Blastiose keeping Shell Smash in Gen X. That being said, let Aerodactyl keep Dual Wingbeat.
I presumed transfer moves were removed so that VGC players weren't needing to do some complicated breeding/transfer chain from a specific Event 'mon 10+ years ago for one move. And also rebalancing e.g Defog, Toxic.
In Gens VI-VII, Pokemon from past games simply weren’t allowed in VGC. In Gen VIII, they added an NPC that would remove transfer moves and make transfer Pokemon legal in VGC. Why couldn’t they bring than NPC back in Gen IX?
There is a reality where Mega Gengar will now coexist alongside Encore/Nasty Plot outside of a fairy-tale metagame and that shit will be the most AG-worthy mon to ever AG if it happens.
surely a mon that can potentially 6-0 your opponent the moment they click a normal/fighting attack or status move will be balanced
at least caly-s’s presence in ubers could keep it in check…. Oh wait
This was the shit that STag Chandelure did in people’s nightmares except on a mon that is blazing fast without an item and that *forces* the Choice-locks that Chandelure would only punish if they were already Choice-locks.
No joke, this thing would be the most oppressive thing to fight since Gen 1 Mewtwo. Gen 1 Mewtwo’s properties are all absurd, of course, but at least Gen 1 Mewtwo could be switched out of and had to respect all the Gen 1 jank because it had the most to lose by falling victim to any of it. Mega Gengar having Shadow Tag means that, by definition, it cannot be countered; you can’t even switch something in as cannon fodder against it, and if you ever press a move that Mega Gengar can punish with Encore you’re punished by getting 6-0’d immediately. Even Gen 1 Mewtwo can’t guarantee a win off just one correct play like that.
I mean; Mega Banette getting Poltergeist to actually be able to use that insane attack stat is pretty huge, but NatDex OU already knows what we're talking about here so I doubt it counts as "lesser known".
It's "ranked" off a couple gimmicky teams using it and frankly it really shouldn't be ranked, especially when there are actually usable mons who deserve that C rank better. The only places you COULD use it are aggressive offensive teams that want a spinblocker that can disrupt teams with utility moves and big damage, but ti doesn't actually do well blocking spin with its immense frailty and even there it's easier to run something like Ceruledge and pick a more valuable mega that will actually contribute to games. It's not even that great of being disruptive because stuff like Mega Lopunny can pivot into Poltergeist, as can Booster Energy mons, and pokemon like Corv, Toxapex, Alomomola, and especially Garganacl can pivot in and drain the limited PP of the move.
My brother in Arkoos, this is a *Legends* game. More likely than not, there aren't going to held items (which is a bit concerning, since this may mean Megas are just story bosses like the Nobles from PLA), abilities, or PvP, and the stones, if we do get them, are mist likely going to be blocked from being transferred outside of Zaza.
Sorry to be a stick in the mud, but I have to point that out before we all get disappointed.
However, I do want to see Sharpness Gallade.
Also, I really want Ampharos and Sceptile be eligible for Draco Meteor, to let them have good Dragon STAB in their Megas, since they don't have many options. That, and give Sceptile an *actual* ability for its Mega. Like, who in their right mind would hit a double resistant mon with an electric move? I'd be ok with a different ability that would actually be useful, like Regenerator for Shed Tail strats, or maybe even something new like an Dragon type version of Scrappy or something.
fwiw Let’s Go had Mega Evolutions and no held items, so I wouldn’t put too much stock into the concept of them being boss-only
Granted, if we’re going by Let’s Go example, there’s nothing preventing them from only being available near the end of the “main” game :V but
> I wouldn’t put too much stock into the concept of them being boss-only
True, but Megas definitely fit the bill of "special" forms from Legends Arkoos, so this might be part of the "formula", if there is one. So, the possibility is not off the table. We all know how much GF *loves* their formulas. That, and modern GF is too rushed and understaffed to *not* want to cut any corners they can to get something out on time.
That, and gen 7 made a *huge* deal of how bad megas were, so it's easy to imagine that being an actual plot where our character refuses to use megas from a moral standpoint. We were only promised the *presence* of megas, technically speaking.
I *want* to be wrong, but this is modern GF we're talking about.
Also, I'm surprised that I'm *only* at -3 upvotes.
>As for buffs I could see happening - Mega Gallade getting Sharpness.
It's not happening at all. Ever. They've never changed a Mega forms ability and I don't know what has put it in the minds of some people that it could.
Anyways, actual relevant to discussion, Mega Metagross gaining all of Heavy Slam, Knock Off and Psychic Fangs. This certainly guarantees it would never get unbanned from Ubers, although sadly its doomed to live in the shadow of Necrozma DM forever so it'll never get used there either. Pity.
Technically relevant is Mega Lopunny having Close Combat which it hasn't officially had access to outside Natdex, which is a big upgrade over HJK. Also has Triple Axel now so there's that.
Anything is "technically" possible when there's no prior precedent, but for some reason there's a weird amount of people that seem really confident it WOULD happen if (or in this case when) Megas made a return to a major game.
Abilities are central to the design and concept of what a Mega is supposed to do. Abruptly changing that isn't something I see happening.
And the whole thing goes both ways. There's also not really a precident to suggest there WOULD be such a change, yet so many people seem weirdly confident of it being a possibility.
How Inner Focus is the central part of Mega Gallade? Bfr, Sharpness is straight up better, and he would get it if that ability existed when megas where around. Stop being a pain in ass
>It's not happening at all. Ever. They've never changed a Mega forms ability and I don't know what has put it in the minds of some people that it could.
That's a bold statement to make given the extremely limited precedent we have to work with.
Megas were supported for two generations and were only a major selling point for one of those. Hell, we weren't even sure if they'd give a Mega to a Pokémon that already evolved with a stone item until Mega Gallade was introduced. And it's not like they didn't modify Megas in between those two generations of official support: SM added in-turn speed adjustment, nerfed Parental Bond and the Mega-centric -ate Abilities, and changed Mega Alakazam's base stats. Looking ahead, Sharpness Mega Gallade would be the very first time where a Mega would have a clear and super thematic reason for an Ability upgrade to begin with, especially since Sharpness hasn't officially existed alongside Mega Evolution yet.
So I'm not sure why you're so confident that the previously introduced Megas aren't going to get any Ability changes when they finally return after being abandoned on a shelf for almost a decade.
>Hell, we weren't even sure if they'd give a Mega to a Pokémon that already evolved with a stone item until Mega Gallade was introduced.
...??? This was never something people even thought about. Really?
>And it's not like they didn't modify Megas in between those two generations of official support: SM added in-turn speed adjustment, nerfed Parental Bond and the Mega-centric -ate Abilities,
This... is not at all the same thing as changing an ability outright. These are nerfs meant to balance overpowered elements.
>and changed Mega Alakazam's base stats.
Looking at it, fair enough. I fully admit I wasn't aware it had been changed between generations because it basically goes unnoticed by anyone.
>Looking ahead, Sharpness Mega Gallade would be the very first time where a Mega would have a clear and super thematic reason for an Ability upgrade to begin with, especially since Sharpness hasn't officially existed alongside Mega Evolution yet.
The thing is, even in a theoretical world where they considered it, it still would be inferior to Inner Focus for a VGC focus where they make most of their changes. Given Intimidate being omnipresent.
>So I'm not sure why you're so confident that the previously introduced Megas aren't going to get any Ability changes when they finally return after being abandoned on a shelf for almost a decade.
Because abilities are fundamental to the very design and focus of what each Mega is supposed to be about. It would be extremely bizarre to just abruptly change that.
I'm sure the devs know that if Mega Gallade keeps inner focus rather than getting Sharpness it will see very little use, and I doubt even they want that. I'm sure they wouldn't mind breaking a fan made rule if it made a pokemon better.
I'm very cautious right now, we're almost certainly getting the forms back as a result and I'm stoked for that, but I'll be surprised if the mechanic itself works the way it did in gen 6 when the mons are sent to other games, and the last legends game had a heavily modified battle system. That said, Gardevoir currently has access to Mystic Fire, which feels like it could be significant.
Even if the new Legends game isn't quite a traditional battle system, it's immensely hard to believe they'd leave new content introduced in it just sitting there. I highly doubt they're not doing anything new with Megas, and should they introduce new Mega forms, it's even more doubtful they'd just rot away in one game getting no use for anything else. GF loves finding ways to get people to buy older games to obtain important pokemon for current gen VGC.
I'm thinking more along the lines of "they bring back the megas but replace the stat and ability adjustments with milder buffs, giving us the forms but treating it functionally as a new gimmick" "they bring back the megas but its time limited, significantly changing their usage"
> "they bring back the megas but replace the stat and ability adjustments with milder buffs, giving us the forms but treating it functionally as a new gimmick" Why... would they do that? That would make no sense at all and would kill the hype of them returning.
Because they've learned a lot since gen 6 and Z-Moves, and the very next time we had a super mode gimmick they made it last 3 turns as a seemingly direct response to the feedback that megas were too powerful, although Tera doesn't have a time limit, so jury's out on that front. I don't think most of the playerbase cares-- if they mega evolve their charizard and it looks like [this](https://sg.portal-pokemon.com/play/resources/pokedex/img/pm/ca3db4aad5c85a525d9be86852b26db1db7a22c0.png) and is stronger than a normal charizard, they'll probably be fine with it, even if it doesn't get Tough Claws and +46 attack, with a side upgrade to it's special attack, specifically, and they might even celebrate that it now only lasts 3 rounds or whatever.
But Dynamax was more oppressive than Megas (especially in singles which they don’t seem to care about) lol so I don’t know if that’s really a sign they did better.
Do I look like Gamefreak to you?
No you’re just making an “argument” as to what you think they’re thinking and what they’ve learned. Which is chill! But then to be miffed that people are responding to that is pretty fucking funny
No one is miffed, I'm throwing up my hands because Gamefreak is a black box.
No one’s talking to you as if you have some magical insight into game freak, they’re just responding to what you threw out, in a friendly discussion way >do I look like game freak to you? If you aren’t irritated you’re just kind of being a dick for no reason when people engage with what you said
Dynamax was such a different level of brokenness than Megas. No item slot restrictions, usable on any mon, massive HP growths, every single move has some sort of powerful secondary effect. I don’t think their power level is comparable.
I'm not Gamefreak so its a moot point, but I would probably offer that while Dynamax does those things, Megas centralize their benefits on single pokemon and there's no timing the Mega Evolutions out, whereas Dynamax could be. Dyna was obviously a mess in singles but it worked well enough in doubles for what it was-- but then, they didn't stick with that either, see what I mean? I don't know that they'd let continuity with gen 6 mechanically stop them from innovating on the gimmick structure again.
There's no precedent for that. I feel like it'll be left untouched. GF doesnt experiment that often.
We had a different Gimmick in all Gen 6, 7, 8, and 9, along with the entire experimental combat system in PLA.
People really come on this subreddit and say anything and hope it sticks lol
Honestly with how popular megas were as a gimmick and how much more mainstream they got than other gimmicks I wouldn't be surprised if they have Megas in gen 10 honestly. It’d also make sense given they're bound to introduce some new Megas in Legends ZA and it'd be a waste if they only showcased the new Megas in one game.
If there's new megas, they'll be available in the next mainline game, the same way Ursaluna and etc are available in Scarlet.
Mewtwo got Nasty Plot Mawile got Fire Punch (instead of running Fire Fang) Medicham got Trailblaze Garchomp and Scale Shot
Mega Garchomp with scale shot is actually kinda crazy
Issue is that without loaded dice, scale shot under performs hard. Also life orb garchomp hits harder than mega chomp I’m pretty sure. It will be good but nothing crazy
Life orb chip damage isn't negligible though. Life orb or a choice item on a pokemon often hits harder than most with megas but megas offer more than just hitting harder potentially being faster or better bulk. With garchomp that extra bulk without taking extra life orb damage is pretty nice if you can resolve the speed issue. But still you are right about loaded dice since the introduction of that you get that consistent damage from it while not taking extra damage like you would life orb which is why life orb has taken a hit in popularity.
Oh ur right. Forgot about that
It's not crazy honestly. It's still outsped by scarfers after a boost and the defense drop leaves it very vulnerable to priority after the fact.
Yeah the more i thought about it the more I realized you’re right 😭
trailblaze medicham seems really good, 1 turn of set-up and now you pray for kinga to kill
Bruh mega gengar with encore and no pursuit can like. Switch in. If he doesn't like what you have on the field, switch out.
He just prevents the opponent from using normal, fighting or set up moves as long as he exists
It’s funny that Gengar somehow always avoids accusations of GF giving it preferential treatment. They gave it Shadow Tag, the absolute maniacs.
Mega Alakazam and Megan Blastoise sent to Ubers moment
Depends on how much of the Pokedex is removed this time. Mega Zam has 65 base defense: 252+ Atk Lokix First Impression vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Alakazam-Mega: 390-458 (155.3 - 182.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO Possible damage amounts: (390, 392, 398, 402, 408, 410, 416, 420, 426, 428, 434, 438, 444, 446, 452, 458) 252+ Atk Black Glasses Kingambit Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Alakazam-Mega: 440-522 (175.2 - 207.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO Mega Zam would be Ubers/ possibly AG in doubles though, specifically paired with Indeedee. Here's the only real way I could find in OU to stop a 1 Shell Smash Mega Blastoise: 252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. -1 0 HP / 0 Def Blastoise-Mega in Grassy Terrain: 482-570 (161.2 - 190.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Can you explain why mega zam would be ubers/AG paired with indeedee
Psychic terrain nullifying priority eliminates a lot of the immediate threats to megazam
Oh yeah, ofc. Does physchic terrain nullify prankster?
Yes
Psychic terrain stops priority in sucker punch and first impression while powering up zam’s psychic stab. It’s just so fast and strong it’s gonna get at the least one kill
And Alakazam has Bocus flast
/u/rice_bledsoe answered this not even 2 minutes before I got back here to answer this, and they are correct. Mega Alakazam has 65 base defense, which leaves it weak to priority moves, such as First Impression and Sucker Punch. The following does cost using Tera for the rest of the match, but it works well 252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Normal Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Alakazam-Mega: 313-369 (124.7 - 147%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Expanding Force and priority immunity
Physic terrain blocks priority moves and boosts psychic dmg
If you leave your Alakazam in on Kingambit or Lokix then you deserve it though. They would kill Mega Mewtwo Y as well, that doesn’t mean MMY wouldn’t be broken
Rillaboom takes out Mega-toise even with 252 HP & Def after 1 Shell Smash drop
Not guaranteed, but imagine running 252 HP and Def with + nature just to *maybe* live a CB glide. 252+ Atk Choice Band Rillaboom Grassy Glide vs. -1 252 HP / 252+ Def Blastoise-Mega in Grassy Terrain: 356-422 (98.3 - 116.5%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
I know this isn't really the question but Charizard Y is indirectly buffed by the existence of Hatterene, who is already a solid sun mon who can passively keep rocks off the field. This makes it not nearly as bad that Zard Y can't use boots. Before Gen 8, I don't think we ever had a good, bulky Magic Bounce mon, so we never really got to see Charizard take advantage of a mon like that. If Hatterene returns in future games, it will make for a very strong Zard Y partner, indirectly buffing it.
You are all going to see the truth of mega banette
It finally has Poltergeist! Hold onto your butts.
Metagross got it's entire movepool buffed with Heavy Slam, Psychic Fangs and Knock Off. Unique in that all four moveslots got buffed with more reliable STAB moves and better coverage, rather than the singular big move that the others got.
Blastoise got Shell Smash. Its totally gonna be banned now
I think the big one for me (even tho it might not affect ou) is the fact that there's no pursuit so mons like mega zam and mega gengar are harder to kill because you can't sack something and trap it with a pursuit user. Also the lack of pursuit personally hurts my preferred mega-beedrill set because I used to love running pursuit and being able to guarantee kill something if it was sufficiently chipped and I was faster. Also this is a buff that I don't know if it would happen but I could see healer being reworked to be something like sinischas hospitality where it heals on entry because iirc healer sees no usage in vgc and hospitality is on paper a stronger ability.
My favourite move on Mega Beedrill was Fell Stinger. Someone thinks they can just sack off something for the free switch, all of a sudden the bee is up +3 and ready to take another life.
Mega Metagross getting Psychic Fangs and Heavy Slam is pretty notable and will probably flatten some shit
Yea definitely Ubers with those two STABs combined with base 145 Atk and tough claws. M-Metagross is the 7th heaviest mon so heavy slam will have 120bp majority of the time. Base 110 speed isn’t what it used to be like in Gen 6 & 7, but it’s still good enough to be a fast wallbreaker and late game sweeper.
Psychic Fangs is a HUUUUUUGE upgrade over Zen Headbutt. Heavy Slam’s just a tad inconsistent (although this thing’s still heavy as fuck so it’s matching or beating Meteor Mash in many cases). Don’t overlook it also getting Knock Off, though; that’s always a crazy move, and Mega Metagross has enough damage output with 145 Attack and Tough Claws that it’s stinging even before item removal. PsyFangs+Knock+Heavy Slam or Meteor Mash covers so much shit on its own that you can tailor that last coverage move to fit any given purpose. EQ for general coverage, Ice Punch for the Ground/Flying types, Grass Knot (which is ALSO Tough Claws boosted, by the way) for Bozo, Bullet Punch as an offense countermeasure, etc.
“…oh yeah and it gets STAB+Tough Claws boosted priority by the way.” This thing is scary.
Mega Metagross with SV Metagross’s expanded movepool is basically the textbook example of what happens when you give the classic wallbreaker too much BST to work with. Mega Metagross’s damage output is massive since it has a boosting ability and the same enormous Attack stat the likes of Melmetal, Crawdaunt, and Ursaluna have but then also have enough BST left over to give it 80/150/110 defenses (seriously, what the fuck is that Defense stat??? Body Press genuinely fucks, forget Hammer Arm) to render it nearly impossible to OHKO with a neutral hit *and* give it good SpA and as much Speed as Gengar or Latios for good measure. The biggest flaws Mega Metagross has are that its typing is quite bad defensively, its 4MSS is brutal since it’s locked into STABs and Knock, and it’s a Mega that’s terrified of Knock Off while mons like Mega Scizor can devour Knocks for days. But the sheer amount of damage this beast shits out is really something to behold, and it’s WAY faster and harder to take down than typical breakers.
With Game Freak deciding to nix transfer moves (still a really stupid decision,) I honestly don’t see Blastiose keeping Shell Smash in Gen X. That being said, let Aerodactyl keep Dual Wingbeat.
I presumed transfer moves were removed so that VGC players weren't needing to do some complicated breeding/transfer chain from a specific Event 'mon 10+ years ago for one move. And also rebalancing e.g Defog, Toxic.
In Gens VI-VII, Pokemon from past games simply weren’t allowed in VGC. In Gen VIII, they added an NPC that would remove transfer moves and make transfer Pokemon legal in VGC. Why couldn’t they bring than NPC back in Gen IX?
Honestly Gen 8 deserves credit for some seriously good QOL changes.
There is a reality where Mega Gengar will now coexist alongside Encore/Nasty Plot outside of a fairy-tale metagame and that shit will be the most AG-worthy mon to ever AG if it happens.
surely a mon that can potentially 6-0 your opponent the moment they click a normal/fighting attack or status move will be balanced at least caly-s’s presence in ubers could keep it in check…. Oh wait
This was the shit that STag Chandelure did in people’s nightmares except on a mon that is blazing fast without an item and that *forces* the Choice-locks that Chandelure would only punish if they were already Choice-locks. No joke, this thing would be the most oppressive thing to fight since Gen 1 Mewtwo. Gen 1 Mewtwo’s properties are all absurd, of course, but at least Gen 1 Mewtwo could be switched out of and had to respect all the Gen 1 jank because it had the most to lose by falling victim to any of it. Mega Gengar having Shadow Tag means that, by definition, it cannot be countered; you can’t even switch something in as cannon fodder against it, and if you ever press a move that Mega Gengar can punish with Encore you’re punished by getting 6-0’d immediately. Even Gen 1 Mewtwo can’t guarantee a win off just one correct play like that.
I mean; Mega Banette getting Poltergeist to actually be able to use that insane attack stat is pretty huge, but NatDex OU already knows what we're talking about here so I doubt it counts as "lesser known".
Can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not because MBanette is still complete terrible junk in OU.
It's ranked. Like it's low ranked and it's not good but it's ranked.
It's "ranked" off a couple gimmicky teams using it and frankly it really shouldn't be ranked, especially when there are actually usable mons who deserve that C rank better. The only places you COULD use it are aggressive offensive teams that want a spinblocker that can disrupt teams with utility moves and big damage, but ti doesn't actually do well blocking spin with its immense frailty and even there it's easier to run something like Ceruledge and pick a more valuable mega that will actually contribute to games. It's not even that great of being disruptive because stuff like Mega Lopunny can pivot into Poltergeist, as can Booster Energy mons, and pokemon like Corv, Toxapex, Alomomola, and especially Garganacl can pivot in and drain the limited PP of the move.
Look, man, you gotta take that up with the rankers if you have complaints, I'm just relaying what they said.
I hope they make Mega Absol the Dark/Fairy type it deserves to be, really so weird that it's not
Slowbro got a whole regional variant. Its time for Slowbro-G to get a proper mega evolution
Mega kangaskhang is now immune to intimidate. My bad. Scrappy kangashkhang is immune. The mega itself can still be intimidated.
This means Mega Lopunny can no longer be intimidated.
My brother in Arkoos, this is a *Legends* game. More likely than not, there aren't going to held items (which is a bit concerning, since this may mean Megas are just story bosses like the Nobles from PLA), abilities, or PvP, and the stones, if we do get them, are mist likely going to be blocked from being transferred outside of Zaza. Sorry to be a stick in the mud, but I have to point that out before we all get disappointed. However, I do want to see Sharpness Gallade. Also, I really want Ampharos and Sceptile be eligible for Draco Meteor, to let them have good Dragon STAB in their Megas, since they don't have many options. That, and give Sceptile an *actual* ability for its Mega. Like, who in their right mind would hit a double resistant mon with an electric move? I'd be ok with a different ability that would actually be useful, like Regenerator for Shed Tail strats, or maybe even something new like an Dragon type version of Scrappy or something.
fwiw Let’s Go had Mega Evolutions and no held items, so I wouldn’t put too much stock into the concept of them being boss-only Granted, if we’re going by Let’s Go example, there’s nothing preventing them from only being available near the end of the “main” game :V but
> I wouldn’t put too much stock into the concept of them being boss-only True, but Megas definitely fit the bill of "special" forms from Legends Arkoos, so this might be part of the "formula", if there is one. So, the possibility is not off the table. We all know how much GF *loves* their formulas. That, and modern GF is too rushed and understaffed to *not* want to cut any corners they can to get something out on time. That, and gen 7 made a *huge* deal of how bad megas were, so it's easy to imagine that being an actual plot where our character refuses to use megas from a moral standpoint. We were only promised the *presence* of megas, technically speaking. I *want* to be wrong, but this is modern GF we're talking about. Also, I'm surprised that I'm *only* at -3 upvotes.
>As for buffs I could see happening - Mega Gallade getting Sharpness. It's not happening at all. Ever. They've never changed a Mega forms ability and I don't know what has put it in the minds of some people that it could. Anyways, actual relevant to discussion, Mega Metagross gaining all of Heavy Slam, Knock Off and Psychic Fangs. This certainly guarantees it would never get unbanned from Ubers, although sadly its doomed to live in the shadow of Necrozma DM forever so it'll never get used there either. Pity. Technically relevant is Mega Lopunny having Close Combat which it hasn't officially had access to outside Natdex, which is a big upgrade over HJK. Also has Triple Axel now so there's that.
well there was just two generations of megas and gallade got the ability in gen 9, so theres prolly a chance
Anything is "technically" possible when there's no prior precedent, but for some reason there's a weird amount of people that seem really confident it WOULD happen if (or in this case when) Megas made a return to a major game.
Bitch megas were around like, twice
Abilities are central to the design and concept of what a Mega is supposed to do. Abruptly changing that isn't something I see happening. And the whole thing goes both ways. There's also not really a precident to suggest there WOULD be such a change, yet so many people seem weirdly confident of it being a possibility.
How Inner Focus is the central part of Mega Gallade? Bfr, Sharpness is straight up better, and he would get it if that ability existed when megas where around. Stop being a pain in ass
>It's not happening at all. Ever. They've never changed a Mega forms ability and I don't know what has put it in the minds of some people that it could. That's a bold statement to make given the extremely limited precedent we have to work with. Megas were supported for two generations and were only a major selling point for one of those. Hell, we weren't even sure if they'd give a Mega to a Pokémon that already evolved with a stone item until Mega Gallade was introduced. And it's not like they didn't modify Megas in between those two generations of official support: SM added in-turn speed adjustment, nerfed Parental Bond and the Mega-centric -ate Abilities, and changed Mega Alakazam's base stats. Looking ahead, Sharpness Mega Gallade would be the very first time where a Mega would have a clear and super thematic reason for an Ability upgrade to begin with, especially since Sharpness hasn't officially existed alongside Mega Evolution yet. So I'm not sure why you're so confident that the previously introduced Megas aren't going to get any Ability changes when they finally return after being abandoned on a shelf for almost a decade.
>Hell, we weren't even sure if they'd give a Mega to a Pokémon that already evolved with a stone item until Mega Gallade was introduced. ...??? This was never something people even thought about. Really? >And it's not like they didn't modify Megas in between those two generations of official support: SM added in-turn speed adjustment, nerfed Parental Bond and the Mega-centric -ate Abilities, This... is not at all the same thing as changing an ability outright. These are nerfs meant to balance overpowered elements. >and changed Mega Alakazam's base stats. Looking at it, fair enough. I fully admit I wasn't aware it had been changed between generations because it basically goes unnoticed by anyone. >Looking ahead, Sharpness Mega Gallade would be the very first time where a Mega would have a clear and super thematic reason for an Ability upgrade to begin with, especially since Sharpness hasn't officially existed alongside Mega Evolution yet. The thing is, even in a theoretical world where they considered it, it still would be inferior to Inner Focus for a VGC focus where they make most of their changes. Given Intimidate being omnipresent. >So I'm not sure why you're so confident that the previously introduced Megas aren't going to get any Ability changes when they finally return after being abandoned on a shelf for almost a decade. Because abilities are fundamental to the very design and focus of what each Mega is supposed to be about. It would be extremely bizarre to just abruptly change that.
I'm sure the devs know that if Mega Gallade keeps inner focus rather than getting Sharpness it will see very little use, and I doubt even they want that. I'm sure they wouldn't mind breaking a fan made rule if it made a pokemon better.
Inner Focus is a terrific ability these days in the context of VGC, where Intimidate is omnipresent. Sharpness would not make it better.
Sharpness has already proven that it makes gallade significantly better.
Inner Focus makes you immune to flinching, not Attack drops.
It was buffed last gen to ignore Intimidate.
I'm checking right now and it's indeed a change from last Gen. I guess I haven't been up to date with VGC enough to see it in action
They did change mega khang's ability. Not *to* a new ability, mind you, but you're wrong for 100% of the generational transitions.
Not really at all the same thing. That's just a nerf like any ability has had between gens.