Hey there! I didn’t know exactly where to post this, but I wanted to talk about some Mega Evolutions I’ve made for a project (and also Mega Evo’s I’ve rebalanced with some help). Didn’t know exactly where to post this as it doesn’t pertain to Insurgence but I was still wondering; Could you guys help discuss what tiers some of these Mega Evos would fall into (and for some, be repositioned into)?
Some thoughts and opinions:
I’d try to run that Mega Empoleon as an Agility sweeper with Modest nature.
I can see Mega Ledian being quite useful with a fast defense-dropping U-turn.
Mega Farfetch’d dies to any sort of priority and is additionally outsped by common things. Absolutely needs Tailwind or Sticky Web support to be usable. The fact that it is at all usable is a huge improvement, though.
Mega Garchomp: Sand Force + Swords Dance is very similar to Hustle + Hone Claws. I’d say this is a slight improvement, being more initially threatening with earthquake / dragon claw.
The problem with the new Mega Abomasnow is the lack of alternative hail-setting ability pokemon as well as the overall lackluster capability of hail (you’d have to make a mostly mono-ice team to make use of hail in the first place, and that’s defensively terrible). Whereas Tyranitar has Hippowdon, which is a wonderfully reliable sand setter itself. This Mega Aboma would probably have to be run as a stand-alone, giving up hail entirely, and in this use it becomes questionable to take up the mega slot (1.5x buff in damage, while certainly respectable, is coming off a lowish base attack and abysmal speed; tankiness is neutered by bad typing).
No Guard on Mega Houndoom is odd. Solar Power is a stronger Life Orb, which results in a great glass cannon; the actual limitation on its use is not the recoil, but that it requires sun support from the team, which usually means Ninetales, since it cannot coexist with Mega Charizard Y. This means sharing weaknesses, including Stealth Rock. No Guard is cool, but Inferno is the only thing that helps with.
What would be the better ability for Mega Houndoom? I think it would be cool to make something like Spectral Jaws from like Girafarig but ya know, no copycatting.
The first things that come to mind are Sheer Force (basically an easier accessible Solar Power) or Contrary (Overheat!). Other thematically appropriate options include Berserk, Dark Aura, and Soul-Heart.
I like the Contrary Overheat idea! Basically a fire type Serperior.
Also I was thinking… What if I gave Mega Abom an ability that would halve damage in Hail? Surely that would make it worth it and would increase Abom’s longevity while in the Hail.
That would be interesting. Tyranitar has similarly poor typing, but makes itself useful through sheer stats and movepool. Mega Aboma would probably need to have the move Hail on its moveset to keep up its defenses, but with actual tankness it could afford to do so.
Your idea of No Guard on Mega Houndoom piqued my interest, so I looked for a better user. Typhlosion is a pokemon that would significantly benefit from a mega with No Guard. Not only does it get Inferno, but the main coverage move Focus Blast would get perfect accuracy, and the lowering of power by not choosing Fire Blast makes sense because of its access to the strong Eruption. Considering that other starters get interesting megas, this guy should get a nice one too.