Mega Evolutions are the most annoying Pokémon battle gimmick

On February 27, during the 30th anniversary Pokémon Presents stream, Game Freak revealed a new Mega Evolution for Pokemon Legends: ZA: Mega Garchomp Z. Hopefully this will be the last.

Mega Evolutions have been part of the Pokémon battle dance for some time, being introduced in 2013 alongside Pokémon And Y. The idea is that certain Pokémon can hold the appropriate key items (i.e., Venusaur holding Venusaurite) to evolve in battle beyond the typical late-stage evolution (i.e., Venusaur becomes Mega Venusaur). The Pokémon will have a new appearance and its base stats will increase significantly, usually by around 100 points overall.

The Mega Evolution gimmick missed some games — neither it nor similar paradigm-shifting Z-Moves were present in 2019. Sword And Shield or 2022 Scarlet And Purple — but come back to Pokemon Legends: ZA. As of this writing, according to Serebii, around 90 Pokémon can Mega Evolve, although some, like Charizard and Tastugiri, have multiple forms.

It is funny. Sometimes you think back to something you hated as a child — olives, for example — and wonder whether it really offended you as you remember it, whether you’ve grown up, whether your memory has clouded what was otherwise harmless. Then reality hit.

Mega Evolutions were stupid in 2013. They’re still stupid now. And the olives are still not good.

For 30 years, Pokémon has built its battles around an advanced version of Rock Paper Scissors — 18 different types, each with its own strengths and weaknesses against the other types. While Game Freak has implemented various quality of life changes over the years, the core concept remains the same. You attack water-type Pokémon with electric or grass-type moves. You swap your electric type Pokémon when a ground type Pokémon appears. The challenge comes from knowing the types of Pokémon you’re facing (there are currently over 1,000 Pokémon, it’s harder than you think) so you can know whether to attack or run away.

Mega Evolution eliminates all that strategy, reducing single-player Pokémon battles to simply a numbers game. The competitive advantage of Mega Evolution’s stat boosts means that, in most cases, you no longer need to worry about type matching charts, as long as both Pokémon are at the same level. I am playing Legend: ZA on and off since its release in October 2025. Whenever I’m in a pinch, I just Mega Evolve whatever Pokémon is on the field, and boom — we’re safe.

Since the items required for Mega Evolution must be owned by the Pokémon, this gimmick also trivializes another core component of Pokémon battles. Pokémon can only hold one item at a time. Give Charcoal to a Pokémon, and it will increase the damage dealt by its fire-type moves — especially good for fire-type Pokémon, which already get the same type attack bonus for fire-type moves. Let another Pokémon hold the Leftovers and its health will recover each turn. There are hundreds of items to hold, providing countless possibilities for trainers to flex their strategy. But what would you do, give your Pokémon a little advantage that could help in certain circumstances? Or looking for an item that immediately changes things? Come on.

The obvious solution sounds easy: just…don’t get involved with mechanics. But the problem with Legend: ZA is that it effectively forces you to do it. For most of the game, you battle against opposing trainers or wild Pokémon. But every so often, you’re required to defeat several “Rogue Mega Evolutions,” high-level Pokémon that have Mega Evolved without a trainer and pose a threat to local residents in PokéParis. Defeating all these Pokémon requires you to use your own Mega Evolution in boring boss fights where you spam the same attacks over and over while rolling around on a bland, round battlefield. That’s why I keep getting deadlocked in the game. Every time I encounter one of these boss fights, I groan and quit the game, leaving my attention to other games for a few weeks.

The arrival of Mega Garchomp Z enters Legend: ZA — as one of Pokémon’s 30th anniversary gifts — shows that The Pokémon Company isn’t shying away from Mega Evolutions. If anything, remember that December 2025 Mega Dimensions expansion adds many new Mega Evolutions, Mega Garchomp Z is likely far from the last. However, the gimmick is the only one that keeps coming back. I’m disappointed, it probably won’t work.

But hey, at least we got Mega Dragonite out of him.