The X megastones always felt like they were artificially made. Maybe silph co. or some other entity. Meanwhile Y felt very natural evolutions of the Pokemon.
This video focuses pretty heavily on the fact that mega evolutions were modified in so many different ways, but it also serves as a great way to bring old Pokemon back from the dead. Mawile went from one of the worst Pokemon in the game to one of the best, and so did Sableye. It’s an unconventional way to balance the game and give more Pokemon niches in battle, but many of the previously weaker Pokemon do appreciate it.
Oftentimes, we wind up making videos shorter than we would like, because we don’t want them to get too long. We could have gone on and on about other cool stuff like Heracross getting Skill Link or the cool upgraded designs we got, but we want to upload videos consistently. The longer our script is, the longer it’ll take to turn it into a finished video. We leave a lot of things on the cutting room floor, to ensure that we get at least one video out every week.
Mega evolution is the most flexible of the generational gimmicks, and that’s our favorite part about it. But we’ll acknowledge that there’s a lot of other cool aspects of the mechanic that we didn’t talk about today. Whenever we cover a topic like this where there are zillions of things we could discuss, I just start writing the script and see where it takes me. Anything that doesn’t make it into the final product goes into my notes for later, so who knows? Maybe we’ll revisit this topic some other time.
Vibrava (and it's evolution line) need a new ability: reverberation. It makes them immune to sound based moves and they reflect those moves back with 1/2 power. Even sound based status moves will be reflected back with half potency.
Fun fact: Alakazam was the only pokémon at the time that didn't have a 100 base power boost when mega evolving. That's because at the same time, Alakazam got 10 points to its special defense, Increasing its BST to 500, but Game Freak didn't program its mega evolution well and gave it 90 points instead. This was fixed in Sun and Moon.
For some reason vibrava mass outbreaks are really common in the Savannah Biome, like, a one in three chance I see one every day. Does anyone else have it, or is it just me?
Vibrava and flygon (and any potential mega flygon) should get an ability like pixilate, but make it bug instead. Unfortunately still not a bug-dragon type, but its getting there
While Megas are my favorite gimmick in terms of lore and thematics, I can’t speak too highly of them gameplay wise. Poor campaign balance aside, a ton of Megas ended up being popularity picks and/or ones that didn’t need the buff, resulting in the opportunity cost factor of the mechanic to leave the comparatively weaker or less popular Megas that had more to gain in the dust, because which would you rather bring to a serious battle: Mega Salamance or Mega Camerupt. It also ended up being nothing more than a bandaid fix in the long run, suffice to say when your potential viability is tied to a gimmick that isn’t directly built into your design, then you’re just gonna go back to being terrible once the gimmick is gone; going a step further, because Megas are for fully evolved Pokémon only, mons like Mawile & Sableye can never hope for a permanent buff in the form of a cross gen evolution (this is why I will never wish a Mega upon a single or two stage Pokémon, like Ledian).
While I won't deny that it's REALLY cool that Mega Evolution have Pokemon buffs they REALLY needed, and some Megas completely changes a Pokemon's playstyle like Pidgeot and Diancie stated in the video. And personally I like how they designed Mega Garchomp, it's like they knew Garchomp is already very powerful so they cut Garchomp's speed by 10 and then boost its offenses and bulk for its Mega…. But then they ditched that entirely going into ORAS as they create Mega Metagross and Salamence.
But personally, a problem I have with Megas is that it comes with an opportunity cost competitively, basically they cannibalize each other. A Pokemon can have a solid Mega, but there would be very little reason to run it instead of one of the other Megas that are significantly stronger or more useful. And every Mega is not treated equally like Audino and Ampharos.
Personally, I think it's probably better for a Pokemon to get a PERMANENT buff in the form of new Evolutions or Regional forms because they can persist on indefinitely, unlike Mega Evolution which can come and go without much warning. As we see with Pokemon like Gliscor, Weavile, Kingambit, Annihilape, Archaludon, etc. and alternate forms like Alolan Ninetales, Alolan Marowak, Garmanitan, Obstagoon, Hisuian Samurott, Hisuian Zoroark, Sneasler etc
Mega Evolution wasn't utilized the best by the devs. Several Pokemon that got it didn't need it, like Salamence, Gengar or Tyranitar. Some of the ones that did need a boost weren't gifted with enough power or have been given the wrong kind of boost, examples being Blastoise or Banette. A few defensive ones like Audino or Steelix had too much of an opportunity cost to be worth using in PvP.
What I'm trying to say is: Mega Evolution had its flaws in how it was executed and I think it's worth pointing out, if only to avoid sounding like an obsessive fanboy who sees nothing wrong with his favourite. It's still a really cool mechanic that helped several Pokemon immensely. There's a reason why it's so beloved (besides nostalgia and "being the first", of course).
to be honest. Mega Evolutions are by far the BEST generational gimmick, and its a good way to power up otherwise weak pokemon, instead of giving regional variants or weak upgrades to all pokemon. as you said, mawile is a pretty bad pokemon, but its mega made it a force to be feared. dynamax and gigantamax never did such a thing nor has z-moves or terralizing. Gamefreak really should just keep expanding upon this ideer, giving weak pokemon megas, and populare mega users extra mega forms. sure they made some mistakes (mega-rayqazza was not needed.) but if they fokus on weak, or rarely ysed yet beloved pokemon, then megas could become one of the best thing that has happende to the pokemon series.
Nah, call it unpopular opinion or not but megaevolution is easly one of the worst mechanics ever introduced. Its very limited, giving advantages to only a very restricted portion of pokemon and frankly, it does it in the most lazy way poossible. If i remember correctly it only gives the pokemon +100 inbase stats and a new ability (most of the times useless). its also the most braindead gimmick, you almost NEVER chose to not evolve the pokemon, giving it 0 strategical value. damn you even have to waste your item slot to give your pokemon the stone, which makes it even less creative and strategical. if they really wanted to buff some pokemons they cound have just give them straight up new evolutions, looking at sebleye, mewhaile, banette ecc…
Vibrava is one of the BEST middle stage Pokémon. The metamorphosis of an Antlion is resembled well, while still bearing a resemblance to Flygon. It also doesn’t look awkward, like a lot of middle stages tend to.
I feel really bad about how highschool me felt about Megas, I was a huge hater when they came out and only changed my mind when they added more in ORAS. I almost feel like had I tried to like them in XY maybe they'd've kept making em into Gen VII
Just got a 2ds since my previous ones broke. Z moves and Megas brought me so much nostalgia to get the system
The X megastones always felt like they were artificially made. Maybe silph co. or some other entity. Meanwhile Y felt very natural evolutions of the Pokemon.
A few more thoughts on mega evolution:
This video focuses pretty heavily on the fact that mega evolutions were modified in so many different ways, but it also serves as a great way to bring old Pokemon back from the dead. Mawile went from one of the worst Pokemon in the game to one of the best, and so did Sableye. It’s an unconventional way to balance the game and give more Pokemon niches in battle, but many of the previously weaker Pokemon do appreciate it.
Oftentimes, we wind up making videos shorter than we would like, because we don’t want them to get too long. We could have gone on and on about other cool stuff like Heracross getting Skill Link or the cool upgraded designs we got, but we want to upload videos consistently. The longer our script is, the longer it’ll take to turn it into a finished video. We leave a lot of things on the cutting room floor, to ensure that we get at least one video out every week.
Mega evolution is the most flexible of the generational gimmicks, and that’s our favorite part about it. But we’ll acknowledge that there’s a lot of other cool aspects of the mechanic that we didn’t talk about today. Whenever we cover a topic like this where there are zillions of things we could discuss, I just start writing the script and see where it takes me. Anything that doesn’t make it into the final product goes into my notes for later, so who knows? Maybe we’ll revisit this topic some other time.
Vibrava (and it's evolution line) need a new ability: reverberation. It makes them immune to sound based moves and they reflect those moves back with 1/2 power. Even sound based status moves will be reflected back with half potency.
Yay!
I hope mega/base aggron get good recovery when he comes back, yes lets give this massive pokemon that is meant to take hits unable to heal
Fun fact: Alakazam was the only pokémon at the time that didn't have a 100 base power boost when mega evolving. That's because at the same time, Alakazam got 10 points to its special defense, Increasing its BST to 500, but Game Freak didn't program its mega evolution well and gave it 90 points instead. This was fixed in Sun and Moon.
vibrava was the first shiny I ever got back in gen 3 (but I didn't know about shinies lol) so i was super confused as to why its wings were orange 🧡
For some reason vibrava mass outbreaks are really common in the Savannah Biome, like, a one in three chance I see one every day.
Does anyone else have it, or is it just me?
Vibrava and flygon (and any potential mega flygon) should get an ability like pixilate, but make it bug instead. Unfortunately still not a bug-dragon type, but its getting there
I would love a base pokemon that has weather setting ability
Then the mega has an ability that takes advantage of it
For each form of burmy it evolves into wormadam of corresponding form also only if it’s female while male Burmy evolves into Morthim
A monday upload? This migbt be a different timeline i woke up in
when ZA comes out, I hope more Pokemon get the Aggron buff of losing a type. it’s such a fascinating way to improve a Pokemon with bad defenses
a comment about vibrava: i stole its name for a writing project of mine.
When Trapinch evolved into Vibrava the first time I played Ruby, I was terribly confused.
Honestly, I’d love it if a lot of the new Mega Evolutions in Legends Z-A were of Unova, Alola, Galar, and Paldea’s Pokemon.
VGC players in shambles rn. Megas were such a mid mechanic in VGC being so centralizing, overpowered, and generally being stupid.
It’s like a trash single restricted format. But they’re cool so ig it maybe gets a pass.
While Megas are my favorite gimmick in terms of lore and thematics, I can’t speak too highly of them gameplay wise. Poor campaign balance aside, a ton of Megas ended up being popularity picks and/or ones that didn’t need the buff, resulting in the opportunity cost factor of the mechanic to leave the comparatively weaker or less popular Megas that had more to gain in the dust, because which would you rather bring to a serious battle: Mega Salamance or Mega Camerupt. It also ended up being nothing more than a bandaid fix in the long run, suffice to say when your potential viability is tied to a gimmick that isn’t directly built into your design, then you’re just gonna go back to being terrible once the gimmick is gone; going a step further, because Megas are for fully evolved Pokémon only, mons like Mawile & Sableye can never hope for a permanent buff in the form of a cross gen evolution (this is why I will never wish a Mega upon a single or two stage Pokémon, like Ledian).
While I won't deny that it's REALLY cool that Mega Evolution have Pokemon buffs they REALLY needed, and some Megas completely changes a Pokemon's playstyle like Pidgeot and Diancie stated in the video. And personally I like how they designed Mega Garchomp, it's like they knew Garchomp is already very powerful so they cut Garchomp's speed by 10 and then boost its offenses and bulk for its Mega…. But then they ditched that entirely going into ORAS as they create Mega Metagross and Salamence.
But personally, a problem I have with Megas is that it comes with an opportunity cost competitively, basically they cannibalize each other. A Pokemon can have a solid Mega, but there would be very little reason to run it instead of one of the other Megas that are significantly stronger or more useful. And every Mega is not treated equally like Audino and Ampharos.
Personally, I think it's probably better for a Pokemon to get a PERMANENT buff in the form of new Evolutions or Regional forms because they can persist on indefinitely, unlike Mega Evolution which can come and go without much warning. As we see with Pokemon like Gliscor, Weavile, Kingambit, Annihilape, Archaludon, etc. and alternate forms like Alolan Ninetales, Alolan Marowak, Garmanitan, Obstagoon, Hisuian Samurott, Hisuian Zoroark, Sneasler etc
Are ya Skyrimming my man? Just wanna know if… you get to the cloud district very often?
Funny thing… Hyper Cutter does in fact “cut hyperly” when you were able to us cut in the overworld.
Mega evolution is terrible because it’s a band-aid to a problem not a solution
If they really wanted to buff mawile they would’ve given her a evolution not a mega
Imo, EVERY SINGLE MEGA is pointless and could’ve been a buff, an evo, or nothing (in the case of mons like garchomp)
you ever kick ball through brick wall?
blud rly didnt know what galar was called
Mega Garchomp isn't as bad as people say it is
Mega Evolution wasn't utilized the best by the devs. Several Pokemon that got it didn't need it, like Salamence, Gengar or Tyranitar. Some of the ones that did need a boost weren't gifted with enough power or have been given the wrong kind of boost, examples being Blastoise or Banette. A few defensive ones like Audino or Steelix had too much of an opportunity cost to be worth using in PvP.
What I'm trying to say is: Mega Evolution had its flaws in how it was executed and I think it's worth pointing out, if only to avoid sounding like an obsessive fanboy who sees nothing wrong with his favourite. It's still a really cool mechanic that helped several Pokemon immensely. There's a reason why it's so beloved (besides nostalgia and "being the first", of course).
Things I took away: Elias has green hair.
Jk.
The best part of this video was you two riffing off of each other the entire time. Came for the Mega Evolutions, stayed for the banter. Vibrava.
I found a shiny Trapinch very early into the second S/V dlc. I think Vibrava has the best shiny in that line.
The ME in MEPlaysGames stands for Mega Evolution.
You say "vih-brah-vah"
I say "vi-brave-ah"
We are not the same
It should be a bug type
to be honest. Mega Evolutions are by far the BEST generational gimmick, and its a good way to power up otherwise weak pokemon, instead of giving regional variants or weak upgrades to all pokemon. as you said, mawile is a pretty bad pokemon, but its mega made it a force to be feared. dynamax and gigantamax never did such a thing nor has z-moves or terralizing.
Gamefreak really should just keep expanding upon this ideer, giving weak pokemon megas, and populare mega users extra mega forms.
sure they made some mistakes (mega-rayqazza was not needed.) but if they fokus on weak, or rarely ysed yet beloved pokemon, then megas could become one of the best thing that has happende to the pokemon series.
Wonder when I'll see your arch rivals, MEDon'tPlaysGames.
I think Mothim should have a Mega for absolutely no reason.
Nah, call it unpopular opinion or not but megaevolution is easly one of the worst mechanics ever introduced.
Its very limited, giving advantages to only a very restricted portion of pokemon and frankly, it does it in the most lazy way poossible.
If i remember correctly it only gives the pokemon +100 inbase stats and a new ability (most of the times useless).
its also the most braindead gimmick, you almost NEVER chose to not evolve the pokemon, giving it 0 strategical value.
damn you even have to waste your item slot to give your pokemon the stone, which makes it even less creative and strategical.
if they really wanted to buff some pokemons they cound have just give them straight up new evolutions, looking at sebleye, mewhaile, banette ecc…
Vibrava is one of the BEST middle stage Pokémon. The metamorphosis of an Antlion is resembled well, while still bearing a resemblance to Flygon. It also doesn’t look awkward, like a lot of middle stages tend to.
my Vibrava comment is: i was brutally headbutt by a Vibrava while taking a shower
Oooh, a new vid going over my fav mechanic, Christmas did come early
the word vibrate should be replaced with vibrava 🙂
Vibrava Doesn't have a niche in gen 3 ou while trapinch and flygon do
Swift Swim in Japanese (according to Bulbapedia) is still Smooth Swim, maybe it implies they just slide around in the rain and not really swim?
I feel really bad about how highschool me felt about Megas, I was a huge hater when they came out and only changed my mind when they added more in ORAS. I almost feel like had I tried to like them in XY maybe they'd've kept making em into Gen VII
This was a nice treat of a video for my birthday, I can't wait to see what new megas come out with ZA. Also I like Vibrava more than Flygon SUE ME
I hope they give vibrava/flygon a mega that is the Bug Dragon type that everyone wants for it.
Vibrava is also fired
vibrava is cool