Similar to my suggestions for the Pokemon World Tournament, I’m pretty much making this list because I don’t have anything better to do right now. Because the word limit prevents me from putting all the Mega Evolutions in one section, this guide will be split into several parts. Here goes.
Venusaur
Attack: 82 - 100 (+18)
Defense: 83 - 123 (+40)
Special Attack: 100 - 122 (+22)
Special Defense: 100 - 120 (+20)
Speed: 80
Venusaur isn’t as popular as Blastoise or Charizard and although it has good Special stats and access to Chlorophyll to make up for its average Speed in sunlight, it didn’t really have much to make it stand out until it received its Mega Evolution. Besides, if you’re relying on Chlorophyll, you only make Venusaur more susceptible to Fire type moves and while Venusaur’s Earthquake, STAB Sludge Bomb or an appropriately typed Hidden Power will hurt most Fire types, it doesn’t have the raw power to ensure a knock out before it’s roasted alive.
Mega Venusaur is still as slow as regular Venusaur and has no way to boost its speed, but it makes up for this by being built like a tank. Increased Attack and Special Attack ensure it can hit harder but it’s greatest asset is it’s endurance. Thick Fat may seem like an odd ability at first, but it’s actually perfect for Mega Venusaur, complimenting its already solid bulk and enabling it to hold its ground against Fire and Ice types who would otherwise obliterate it, leaving Flying and Psychic types as the most reliable answer to this behemoth. Furthermore, access to Giga Drain, Synthesis and Leech Seed can make Mega Venusaur a nightmare to wear down so if you need a Mega who can hold out for a long period of time, this plant dinosaur’s an excellent choice.
Delta Venusaur
Attack: 82 - 100 (+18)
Defense: 83 - 123 (+40)
Special Attack: 100 - 122 (+22)
Special Defense: 100 - 120 (+20)
Speed: 80
Delta Venusaur is a bit more interesting than regular Venusaur, not just because it’s a Psychic and Fairy type but also because it’s Mega Evolution isn’t necessarily better than it’s regular form. It has access to Regenerator, which is a useful Ability for a defensive Pokemon, in addition to having the same bulk as regular Venusaur so it can make that work quite well. Moonlight, Leech Seed, Draining Kiss and even Pain Split compliment this Ability and keep it healthy while Reflect can cover it’s good but not great Defense stat. Delta Venusaur also has access to Calm Mind, enabling it to increase it’s two strongest stats at the same time.
Unfortunately, although Delta Venusaur gets stronger and bulkier when it Mega Evolves, being able to hit harder and take hits without being so reliant on Calm Mind and/or Reflect, it sacrifices Regenerator and replaces it with Hubris, which increases its Special Attack whenever it defeats a Pokemon. This would be excellent on a faster, more aggressive Pokemon - Mega Typhlosion and Armoured Mewtwo can wield this Ability to devastating effect - but Mega Delta Venusaur isn’t speedy enough to be a reliable sweeper so Hubris may not be as useful as Regenerator. You could try using a Trick Room set to sweep but 80 base Speed isn’t slow enough to ensure it will work.
Charizard
Mega Charizard X
Attack: 84 - 130 (+46)
Defense: 78 - 111 (+33)
Special Attack: 109 - 130 (+21)
Special Defense: 85
Speed: 100
Mega Charizard Y
Attack: 84 - 104 (+20)
Defense: 78
Special Attack: 109 - 159 (+50)
Special Defense: 85 - 115 (+30)
Speed: 100
As one of the most popular Pokemon of all time, it makes sense to milk Charizard for all it’s worth, so Gamefreak gave it not one, but two Mega Evolutions. Before we get to them, let’s examine regular Charizard. It’s weak to Water and Electric types but the real bane of it’s existence is Rock types. Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Power Gem, Ancient Power and even Rock Tomb and Rock Throw will either outright crush it or at least leave it roaring in agony while Stealth Rock rips away half of it’s HP as soon as it comes into battle. Focus Blast hurts them but only if it actually hits. Despite the anime’s portrayal, regular Charizard isn’t particularly powerful.
Then Mega Evolution arrived and Charizard became a potent threat to almost anything that stood in its way. Mega Charizard X gains the coveted Dragon typing as well as Tough Claws and 46 points to it’s Attack stat, making all it’s Physical moves overwhelmingly powerful. Earthquake doesn’t get a Tough Claws boost but is powerful enough on its own and Steel Wing was previously shrugged off by most Rock types but now makes them cower in fear. Charizard can even take their attacks a lot better with it’s increased Defense and loss of it’s Flying typing. It also has access to Roost, enabling it to heal up and then continue bringing the pain to it’s hapless opponents. STAB Dragon and Fire type moves gives it almost unresisted coverage, with only a handful of Pokemon like Azumarill and Mega Altaria being able to whether it’s assault, and those Pokemon can still be brought down by Thunder Punch and Steel Wing.
Mega Charizard Y gains a huge 50 points to it’s Special Attack and although it shares it’s base forms massive weakness to Rock types, it’s Drought Ability enables it to blow them away with a decisive Solar Beam on top of increasing it’s Fire power and weakening Water type moves. Roost keeps Charizard Y healthy and although Drought will only last for 5 turns, it’s raw power enables it to maintain a fierce offensive presence even without the sun. Charizard Y doesn’t change type when it Mega Evolves and it’s Flying type attacks don’t have much use outside of hitting Fighting types, most of whom wouldn’t last long against a Drought boosted Flamethrower or Heat Wave anyway, but unlike Charizard X it maintains it’s immunity to Ground type moves and 5 out of 6 entry hazards, though the entry hazard that can hit it, Stealth Rock, is just as painful as it is for regular Charizard.
Delta Charizard
Attack: 84 - 104 (+20)
Defense: 78
Special Attack: 109 - 159 (+50)
Special Defense: 85 - 115 (+30)
Speed: 100
You know how people always wanted Charizard to be a Dragon? We finally got that with Mega Charizard X but Delta Charizard became one without needing a Mega Stone in addition to being a Ghost. While there is no doubt that Mega Delta Charizard is more dangerous, regular Delta Charizard has the distinction of having Yveltal’s Dark Aura as it’s Hidden Ability. Unlike Noctem, this doesn’t wear off after a certain period of time so it’s Dark type moves get a 33% boost as long as it’s on the battlefield but the raw power of Delta Charizard’s Mega Evolution is too good to pass up.
Upon Mega Evolving, Delta Charizard uses Noctem to increase the power of its Ghost and Dark type moves, on top of enabling it to use Lunar Cannon and Phantom Force in one turn. With a stat spread identical to Mega Charizard Y, Delta Charizard becomes a lethal Special Attacker and can do reasonable damage from the Physical side too. However, it has several type weaknesses, although it can hit fellow Dragons and Ghosts just as hard as they can hit it. Sludge Bomb can take care of Fairies, who also lose some of their power as long as Noctem is in effect, and Flamethrower can melt Ice but Delta Charizard is at a disadvantage against Dark types and it’s own Ability can be used against it. Another disadvantage Delta Charizard has compared to a normal Charizard is that it can’t use Roost, but a well timed Pain Split can make up for that.
Blastoise
Attack: 83 - 103 (+20)
Defense: 100 - 120 (+20)
Special Attack: 85 - 135 (+50)
Special Defense: 105 - 115 (+10)
Speed: 78
Blastoise has good defences which get higher when it Mega Evolves and it also has access to Rain Dish and Aqua Ring to slowly restore health, although Rain Dish only works for as long as Rain Dance is in effect. Blastoise is also one of the few Pokemon who can use Skull Bash, which boosts its Defense on the first turn and strikes on the second. This can all be done in one turn if you give it a Power Herb but then Blastoise wouldn’t be able to Mega Evolve. It can also use Rapid Spin to get rid of Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Stealth Rock, Livewire, Permafrost and Sticky Web.
Upon Mega Evolving, Blastoise gets a huge boost to its Special Attack in addition to gaining Mega Launcher which powers up Water Pulse (although Scald’s potential burn is more useful and Hydro Pump is stronger), Dragon Pulse, Dark Pulse and Aura Sphere. Dark Pulse and Aura Sphere are both great moves but although Dragon Pulse is also powerful, it doesn’t have the same coverage as Ice Beam, which doesn’t get a Mega Launcher boost but still hits hard thanks to Mega Blastoise’s base 135 Special Attack. Blastoise’s endurance also improves but it loses Rain Dish and Aqua Ring takes a while to restore a significant amount of HP by itself. A Rest and Sleep Talk set could be used but that would sacrifice a lot of coverage so instead of fighting defensively, it’s better to just blow the opponent away with Special Attacks.
Delta Blastoise
Attack: 83 - 103 (+20)
Defense: 100 - 120 (+20)
Special Attack: 85 - 135 (+50)
Special Defense: 105 - 115 (+10)
Speed: 78
Delta Blastoise is a Fighting and Dark type which means Fairy types can obliterate it. While it can use New Moon to weaken their power and activate Shadow Dance to increase it’s Speed, this isn’t much use when it doesn’t have the raw power needed to blow Fairies away before they can hit it. It’s other weaknesses, Flying and Fighting, aren’t as much of a problem but you still have to be careful around them.
Fortunately, Delta Blastoise’s Mega Evolution gains the same huge Special Attack boost that a normal Mega Blastoise has, on top of the same Ability. Delta Blastoise’s Mega Launcher boosted STAB Dark Pulse and Aura Sphere can both be devastating and unlike regular Blastoise, it can overcome it’s Speed problems thanks to the priority move Vacuum Wave. It also has access to Dragon Pulse, although you might want a more suitable coverage move like Flash Cannon. While this move doesn’t get boosted by STAB or Mega Launcher, Mega Delta Blastoise’s significantly increased Special Attack ensures that it will still hurt and it can be a lifesaver against Fairies if Blastoise manages to pull it off. It’s buffed up endurance allows it to hold out a bit longer and it has access to STAB Drain Punch to keep it’s HP up, although it can’t hit nearly as hard from the Physical side as it can from the Special side. Like regular Mega Blastoise, Delta Mega Blastoise better for attacking than defending.
Beedrill
Attack: 90 - 150 (+60)
Defense: 40
Special Attack: 45 - 15 (-30)
Special Defense: 80
Speed: 75 - 145 (+70)
Regular Beedrill is weak so if you’re not using it’s Mega Evolution, there’s little point in using it at all. Too bad it’s counterpart, Butterfree, didn’t get a Mega too but oh well.
Beedrill’s stats aren’t very high and although the traditional 100 stat boost gained by Mega Evolution would have helped, there would still be other Mega’s who could fare better. However, by lowering Beedrill’s Special Attack, which it doesn’t use anyway, it now has an extra 30 stat points in addition to the 100 it gains by Mega Evolving and it puts all of those points into its Attack and Speed. Mega Beedrill is a powerful glass cannon, able to hit hard and fast with a massive 150 Attack stat (which rivals Groudon and Rayquaza unless they’re in their Primal/Mega forms) and excellent 145 Speed. Adaptability boosts its offensive potential even further, allowing it to land devastating Poison Jabs, X-Scissors and U-Turns. Drill Run also gives it great coverage as it hits Fire, Rock and Steel types super effectively, although there is a chance that it could miss and it doesn’t get boosted by Adaptability. Unfortunately, there’s a reason Mega Beedrill is known as a glass cannon. Although it hits extremely hard, it can’t take hard hits in return, which is why U-Turn is often used to ensure the opponent can’t land a blow if it endures Beedrill’s attack. Also, because Mega Beedrill’s Speed doesn’t get boosted until the turn after it transforms, it would be wise to use Protect to ensure it can Mega Evolve safely.
Pidgeot
Attack: 80
Defense: 75 - 80 (+5)
Special Attack: 70 - 135 (+65)
Special Defense: 70 - 80 (+10)
Speed: 101 - 121 (+20)
Pidgeot was the first regional bird but unfortunately, it didn’t have much going for it until it received its Mega Evolution. Regular Pidgeot became a bit faster when Generation V transitioned to Generation VI but it has neither the power nor the endurance to last long without it’s Mega Stone.
Upon Mega Evolving, Pidgeot gains a massive 65 points to its Special Attack, a decent boost to it’s Speed, a bit more endurance and the No Guard Ability. While No Guard does have the drawback of ensuring that the opponent will always hit Mega Pidgeot, it allows it to launch Hurricanes and Heat Waves with no fear of missing. Hidden Power (Ground) would also be useful due to its considerable Special Attack. Mega Pidgeot still struggles to endure powerful and/or super effective moves, especially now that it has no chance of dodging attacks, but it can U-Turn out if the going gets tough and can also use Roost to keep itself healthy.
Delta Pidgeot
Attack: 80
Defense: 75 - 80 (+5)
Special Attack: 70 - 135 (+65)
Special Defense: 70 - 80 (+10)
Speed: 101 - 121 (+20)
Well, they did it. They turned the Gorgon Medusa into a Pokemon. Delta Pidgeot is a Dark Dragon with the ability to terrify its opponents with Intimidate and Glare as well as a unique, albeit pretty much useless move called Medusa Ray, which turns any opponent into a Rock type. You can also use Marvel Scale along with a Flame Orb to increase it’s Defense but in my opinion, it’s ability to use two Intimidates, the first by entering the battle and the second by Mega Evolving, is more valuable.
Upon Mega Evolving, Delta Pidgeot gains a massive Special Attack boost allowing it to launch devastating Draco Meteors, Dark Pulses, Dragon Pulses or/and Dark Matters, depending on which combination of those moves tickles your fancy. Like regular Pidgeot, it also has access to U-Turn and Roost as well as a higher Speed stat. However, Fairy types are a nightmare for Delta Pidgeot and since most Fairy type attacks are Special, Intimidate is useless against them unless they’re using Play Rough. Delta Pidgeot has access to Sludge Bomb and Sludge Wave, both of which will do a lot of damage to Fairies, but it’s probably wiser to U-Turn out and send in something better suited to fighting them.
Poliwrath
Attack: 95 - 155 (+60)
Defense: 95 - 120 (+25)
Special Attack: 70
Special Defense: 90 - 105 (+15)
Speed: 70
Why the hell isn’t Waterfall a TM or HM in this game? Poliwrath needs it. Anyway, Poliwrath has good Attack and Defense and access to Bulk Up to boost both, but it’s fairly slow and because it can’t learn Aqua Tail, Waterfall isn’t a TM/HM in this game and it’s Special Attack stat is mediocre, it’s STAB Water moves are pretty much useless unless you get a lucky burn with Scald. Fortunately, it does have a powerful Mega Evolution.
Mega Poliwrath is more durable and it’s Attack stat skyrockets by a whopping 60 points (all the more reason for it to have Waterfall). On top of that, it has No Guard, ensuring it’s Dynamic Punch and Hypnosis will never miss and it can use Rock Slide, Poison Jab and/or Ice Punch for coverage. Unfortunately, Mega Poliwrath is still slow and it’s Special Attack doesn’t get boosted, meaning that without Waterfall (seriously guys, you need to fix that) it’s Water typing is pretty much useless on the offensive side. Fortunately being a Water type gives it resistances to Fire, Ice and Water type moves, on top of the resistances to Dark, Bug, Steel and Rock types that it gains through it’s secondary Fighting typing. It’s 7 resistances combined with it’s increased endurance can make Mega Poliwrath surprisingly tough to take down.
Politoad
Attack: 75
Defense: 75 - 95 (+20)
Special Attack: 90 - 120 (+30)
Special Defense: 100 - 140 (+40)
Speed: 70 - 80 (+10)
Unlike Poliwrath, Politoad’s Special Attack is decent so it doesn’t need Waterfall. It’s Drizzle Ability increases the power of its Water type moves for five turns, ten if you don’t Mega Evolve until after the first five turns have ended, although Politoad is in deep doo-doo if the opponent knows Thunder. Since it’s Mega Form also has Drizzle, you could also make use of Water Absorb as this allows Politoad to switch in on Water type moves and either be unaffected or, if it’s already weakened, restore some of its HP.
Upon Mega Evolving, Politoad gains a high Special Defense stat and it’s Special Attack also gets a lot stronger so it can use a powerful Hydro Pump, Surf or Scald, all of which are powered up by Drizzle. Unfortunately, although Politoad has quite a few good Physical Attacks such as Bounce, Earthquake and Ice Punch, it doesn’t gain any more Attack power by Mega Evolving so it’s better to strike from the Special side. Along with its Water type moves it also has access to Ice Beam, Psychic and Hyper Voice. Mega Politoad can also work quite well as a defensive Pokemon due to it’s endurance and many useful status moves, including Hypnosis, Swagger, Encore and Perish Song. Without Water Absorb and/or team support however, it’s only way of healing itself is Rest (unless your opponent is stupid enough to use Heal Pulse or you get a lucky Present) and although a Rest and Sleep Talk set can work well, it limits your coverage.
Alakazam
Attack: 50
Defense: 45 - 65 (+20)
Special Attack: 135 - 175 (+40)
Special Defense: 95 - 105 (+10)
Speed: 120 - 150 (+30)
Alakazam is already one of the strongest non-Legendary Psychic types so it didn’t really need a Mega Evolution. On top of it’s impressive Speed and Special Attack, it has access to Magic Guard, an excellent Ability that blocks all indirect damage, whether it’s poison, burn, entry hazards or even Life Orb damage. Alakazam also has a large Special move pool which includes Psychic, Psyshock, Focus Blast, Signal Beam, Dazzling Gleam, Shadow Ball, Energy Ball and more. However, Alakazam does have a crippling weakness; it despises Physical Attacks because of its pathetic Defense. It’s also worth noting that all priority moves, apart from Vacuum Wave, are Physical.
Although Alakazam never needed a Mega, it still appreciates having one. It’s already high Special Attack is boosted to a massive 175 and it can even outspeed Mega Beedrill and Mega Sceptile, two of the fastest Pokemon in existence, with its 150 Speed. It also has Trace as it’s Ability although whether this is better than Magic Guard depends on what Pokemon you’re facing. For example, if you’re facing a Slaking, for the love of God, don’t Mega Evolve. However, if you’re facing a Furfrou or Mega Frosslass, you can Trace Fur Coat and boost Mega Alakazam’s still low Defense.
One more thing; according to Generation VI, Mega Alakazam only gains 90 more stat points instead of the usual 100. This was changed in Generation VII but due to Pokemon Insurgence beginning development in Generation VI, it’s unlikely that the increase to Mega Alakazam’s Special Defense is actually included in the game.
Slowbro
Attack: 75
Defense: 110 - 180 (+70)
Special Attack: 100 - 130 (+30)
Special Defense: 80
Speed: 30
Why doesn’t Slowking have a Mega Evolution? Oh well, Slowbro does but if you’re using Mega Slowbro, there’s no point in getting one with Regenerator because it loses that Ability when it Mega Evolves. Regenerator’s a great Ability that restores some of Slowbro’s energy if you recall it, enabling Slowbro to be pretty frustrating for its opponents even without its Mega Stone. Low Speed makes Slowbro excellent in Trick Room and a solid Defense stat and good Special Attack enable it to take hits and dish them out pretty well. Add Amnesia, Calm Mind, Light Screen or an Assault Vest to increase it’s Special Defense (and Special Attack in Calm Mind’s case) and you’ve got a fairly tanky Pokemon on your hands.
Mega Slowbro gains a massive 70 points to its Defense, allowing to shrug off almost any Physical Attack. Maybe a STAB Strong Jaw boosted Crunch from Mega Sharpedo could crack that shell but very few other Physical Attackers can bother Mega Slowbro. Unfortunately, it’s Special Defense remains the same when it transforms but it has Calm Mind, Amnesia or Light Screen to make up for this. Shell Armour may seem worthless compared to Regenerator but if you’re trying to make Mega Slowbro hold out against Special Attackers, the last thing you need is a Critical Hit punching through while it’s raising it’s Special Defense. Also, Mega Slowbro still has an excellent recovery move called Slack Off so the loss of Regenerator isn’t much of a problem. It also gains a nice boost to its Special Attack and has a huge Special move pool which includes Surf, Scald, Psychic, Psyshock, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Grass Knot, Shadow Ball, Focus Blast and Signal Beam. Sorry Slowking, but unless you get a Mega Evolution of your own, Slowbro is stronger.
Gengar
Attack: 65
Defense: 60 - 80 (+20)
Special Attack: 130 - 170 (+40)
Special Defense: 75 - 95 (+20)
Speed: 110 - 130 (+20)
The original Ghost, Gengar, has already enjoyed a successful career throughout Pokemon history. High Speed, high Special Attack, four resistances and three immunities, two provided by its Ghost typing and the third provided by it’s Levitate Ability, literally kept Gengar afloat over the years and made up for its weak defences. It’s access to many different Special Attacks such as Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, Thunderbolt, Energy Ball and more, in addition to various status moves like Hypnosis, Confuse Ray, Will-O-Wisp and Toxic, make it an extremely dangerous Pokemon when used correctly. It never really needed a Mega Evolution, but it got one anyway, and that Mega is one of the strongest in the entire game.
The one downside of Mega Gengar is that it loses Levitate and therefore can be hit by super effective Ground type moves. Aside from that though, Mega Gengar does everything regular Gengar does but does it better. A free Mean Look in the form of Shadow Tag prevents your opponent from escaping, it’s Speed increases and it’s Special Attack ascends to a mighty 170. While Mega Gengar is still quite frail, it’s a lethal Pokemon that can be a great asset to your team.
Marowak
Attack: 80 - 135 (+55)
Defense: 110 - 120 (+10)
Special Attack: 50
Special Defense: 80 - 100 (+20)
Speed: 45 - 60 (+15)
Marowak’s not a particularly powerful Pokemon, but it has a niche by having decent Defense and a signature item, Thick Club, to boost it’s Attack. Unfortunately, it’s also slow and can be overwhelmed pretty quickly by Special Attacks. Although Bonemerang and Bone Rush can break Focus Sashes, Sturdy and Substitute, Marowak relies heavily on its Thick Club so if the item is stolen, knocked off or disabled, it becomes pretty much useless. Fortunately, Pokemon Insurgence was kind to Marowak, gifting it with Phantom Force, Shadow Sneak and a Mega Evolution.
Mega Marowak is more resilient, gains a huge Attack boost and summons the spirit of it’s deceased parent or (here’s an even more disturbing thought) it’s deceased child to turn into a part Ghost type. This makes it immune to Normal and Fighting type moves, in addition to the Electric immunity already granted by its Ground typing, and turns Shadow Sneak and Phantom Force into STAB moves. Furthermore, it gains the same Ability as Mega Kangaskhan, Parental Bond, so the living Marowak will strike first and the spirit will strike immediately afterwards. The second hit doesn’t do as much damage as the first but thanks to Mega Marowak’s high Attack stat, the combined damage of both blows can still really hurt. However, Parental Bond doesn’t work on Bonemerang or Bone Rush so if you’re hoping for 4 hits from the former and a maximum of 10 hits from the latter, you’ll be disappointed. This doesn’t really matter though because Earthquake is much more reliable anyway. Despite gaining some more Speed, Mega Marowak is still slow but since Shadow Sneak is a priority move, this weakness isn’t much of a problem. Overall, Mega Evolution was a blessing for Marowak, turning it into a pretty damn powerful Physical Attacker.
Kangaskhan
Attack: 95 - 125 (+30)
Defense: 80 - 100 (+20)
Special Attack: 40 - 60 (+20)
Special Defense: 80 - 100 (+20)
Speed: 90 - 100 (+10)
Kangaskhan’s Attack, Defense, Special Defense and Speed are pretty well balanced and she has no need for her Special Attack anyway because her Physical move pool is larger. This move pool includes STAB Fake Out, Retaliate, Mega Punch, Dizzy Punch, Giga Impact, Return, Frustration and Chip Away in addition to plenty of other options like Brick Break, Hammer Arm, Aerial Ace, Earthquake, Rock Slide, all three of the Elemental Punches, and even Outrage. However, even her Attack, which is her highest stat, doesn’t reach 100 without the boost provided by Mega Evolution. While she can use Scrappy to hit Ghost types with STAB moves, this is pretty much irrelevant because she can also use Crunch and Sucker Punch which, while lacking a STAB boost, can hit them super effectively. Overall, once you get a Kangaskhanite, there’s no point in using regular Kangaskhan.
Technically, the adult Kangaskhan doesn’t Mega Evolve. Ever noticed that the mother still looks exactly the same? The child is the one the transforms and teams up with her mother to become a formidable duo. Parental Bond is an excellent Ability which allows Kangaskhan to break Focus Sashes, Sturdy and Substitutes with ease and is backed up by a generous Attack boost (her Special Attack increases too but there’s still no point in using that). The daughter doesn’t hit as hard as her mother, unless they’re using Seismic Toss, but the combined assault is still enough to overwhelm most opponents. The one disadvantage of Parental Bond is that if Kangaskhan hits a Pokemon with Rough Skin or Iron Barbs, she and her daughter will both take damage. However, her boosted endurance and access to Drain Punch, which hits twice thanks to Parental Bond and thus restores more energy than it normally would, means that even with this one drawback in an otherwise amazing Ability, Mega Kangaskhan can still be tough to wear down.
Pinsir
Attack: 125 - 155 (+30)
Defense: 100 - 120 (+20)
Special Attack: 55 - 65 (+10)
Special Defense: 70 - 90 (+20)
Speed: 85 - 105 (+20)
I’ve never understood why Pinsir isn’t a dual Bug and Fighting type. Before the introduction of X-Scissor in Generation IV, it relied mostly on Fighting and Normal type moves because it’s only Bug option was Fury Cutter. Anyway, Pinsir has a good Attack stat and a decent Defense stat as well as access to Bulk Up, Swords Dance and three useful Abilities; Hyper Cutter to block Intimidate and Attack reducing moves, Mold Breaker to disable certain Abilities including Levitate and Sturdy, and Moxie to increase it’s Attack each time it knocks out a Pokemon. The downsides are that it’s fairly slow, although Quick Attack makes up for this, and can be defeated quite easily by Special Attacks whilst also not doing much if it uses them itself. Despite these weaknesses, Pinsir’s actually an okay Bug without it’s Mega, but is often overlooked because there are so many other Pokemon that provide it with tough competition.
While Pinsir is a decent Bug Pokemon on its own, it’s Mega Evolution is a real powerhouse. It’s already solid Attack stat reaches a considerable 155 and it’s Defense, Special Defense and Speed all gain 20 more points respectively. Although becoming part Flying type means it can be easily crushed by Rock types and loses half of its energy if it switches in on Stealth Rock, it also grants it an excellent Ability called Aerilate which turns all Normal type moves into STAB Flying type moves and gives them a 30% boost. Because of this, Mega Pinsir’s Quick Attack is almost as powerful as ExtremeSpeed and, after boosting with Swords Dance, even Defensive walls like Skarmory will take serious damage from Return, Thrash or Giga Impact. Earthquake and Rock Slide or Stone Edge provide it with great coverage, Brick Break smashes Reflect and/or Light Screen, Close Combat and Superpower provide a lot of raw power at the cost of lowering two of Pinsir’s stats, and X-Scissor is another option for STAB, although Aerilate boosted moves are usually more than enough to get the job done.
Gyarados
Attack: 125 - 155 (+30)
Defense: 79 - 109 (+30)
Special Attack: 60 - 70 (+10)
Special Defense: 100 - 130 (+30)
Speed: 81
Gyarados should be a Water and Dragon type. Lance has one, it learns plenty of Dragon type moves and it’s designed like a sea Dragon. I can only think of one reason why Gamefreak gave it Flying as it’s secondary typing; they feared it would be too powerful without it. It’s only type weaknesses are Rock (which is obviously weak against Water type moves) and Electric and although Gyarados’ Defense isn’t great, it’s Intimidate Ability lowers its opponents Attack power and it’s Special Defense is decent. Despite its crippling weakness to Electric type moves, Gyarados can rip through entire teams after two or three Dragon Dances, which not only boosts its already solid Attack power but also makes up for it’s mediocre Speed. It can also use plenty of powerful Physical Attacks including Aqua Tail, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Crunch, Ice Fang, Outrage and Giga Impact (I would add Waterfall to the list but the developers still haven’t made it into a TM, HM or Move Tutor move). Moxie is an option to increase it’s Attack even further after each kill but if you’re using Mega Gyarados, stick to Intimidate.
Mega Gyarados not only gains even more raw power but is also much more resilient. Although it’s new Dark typing gives it more type weaknesses, none of those types hurt it as much as Electricity hurts regular Gyarados, plus the Dark typing also provides it with a STAB Crunch attack. With both it’s Defense and Special Defense boosted and Intimidate weakening the opponent’s Physical moves before Mega Evolving, Mega Gyarados can take hits from both sides of the attacking spectrum more easily than its base form. It also has Mold Breaker as it’s new Ability so it can obliterate Levitating Pokemon with Earthquake, smash straight through Sturdy Pokemon and even has a chance of landing Critical Hits on Pokemon with Shell Armor or Battle Armor. Unfortunately, it isn’t any faster and although it has a lot of Special moves to choose from, such as Hydro Pump, Scald, Flamethrower, Hurricane, Thunder and Hyper Beam, it’s Special Attack hasn’t received enough of a boost for it to really make use of them. Nonetheless, if Mega Gyarados has time to set up a couple of Dragon Dances, very few Pokemon can stand in its way.
Continues Below In Part 2
