The New Mega Evolutions Thread (MOD NOTE: Read first post!)

[IlluminationTheory]

Immunities to fighting, psychic and normal make it a fairly safe switch-in. I use a Mega Absol on my main team, but I'm always nervous of actually bringing it in - I'll usually wait for the free switch when one of my team faints. Prankster's crazy, too, can give you the first go whether you mega evolve or no, and with two distinct Sableyes on the field, the opponent won't necessarily know what kind of gremlin they're facing.

BST isn't everything. It wasn't moving first without Prankster, anyway - by opting out of speed tiers, Mega Sableye can put some of those points where they'll become more useful.

 

[Gard81]

I do admit I like the thought of Sableye taking advantage of both of its abilities during the turn it Mega Evolves, however after that one-turn-wonder, I'm not sure about its usability outside of Trick Room teams. If its Sp. Def. doesn't see any improvement, it'll just get picked off by Moonblast or Dazzling Gleam users.

 

[Alola]

I do admit I like the thought of Sableye taking advantage of both of its abilities during the turn it Mega Evolves, however after that one-turn-wonder, I'm not sure about its usability outside of Trick Room teams. If its Sp. Def. doesn't see any improvement, it'll just get picked off by Moonblast or Dazzling Gleam users.

When it Mega Evolves, only one ability will become active. Mega Evolution has higher priority than prankster.

And agreed. M-Gardevoir, Clefable, Sylveon etc will walk all over it.

 

[Gard81]

I do admit I like the thought of Sableye taking advantage of both of its abilities during the turn it Mega Evolves, however after that one-turn-wonder, I'm not sure about its usability outside of Trick Room teams. If its Sp. Def. doesn't see any improvement, it'll just get picked off by Moonblast or Dazzling Gleam users.

When it Mega Evolves, only one ability will become active. Mega Evolution has higher priority than prankster.

And agreed. M-Gardevoir, Clefable, Sylveon etc will walk all over it.

Really? That's a shame. I thought it could at least get one Prankster-aided move in before it gets rewritten. That just makes it even less tempting to use.

 

[Winterdaze]

why...would you leave your Mega Sableye in on special Fairies in the first place

I expect Sp.Def will get a boost too, albeit a smaller one. The official site usually only describes the stats that get the biggest boost. My only real disappointment is that Special Attack got a major increase rather than Attack, a more powerful Knock Off would have made it even more annoying. In any case I think a lot of people are underestimating the sheer utility value of a Magic Bounce user that also happens to be a bulky ghost.

When it Mega Evolves, only one ability will become active. Mega Evolution has higher priority than prankster.

No, turn order is decided before mega evolution happens. So status moves will still get priority for the first turn.

 

[Gard81]

why...would you leave your Mega Sableye in on special Fairies in the first place

Note that I did not say anything about Special Fairies, I just mentioned Moonblast/Dazzling Gleam users, for example a Magic Guard Alakazam with a Life Orb can really put a dent in it with Dazzling Gleam.

 

[Norzan]

RIP hopes and dreams for Mega Sableye

480 stats with Magic Bounce? Why would we use it over Mega Absol?

Or even Espeon, Espeon is just as good (or even better) and doesn't take up a Mega slot.

 

[Zeb]

Magic Bounce was one I had thought about, but I didn't think it would get it. It's a good ability but I'm not sure whether it will redeem the low BST it's going to have. Though with a potential speed drop I guess it might end up with 110/120 points to spend, but it's still not a lot to something so low.

Don't know why people are comparing offensive Magic Bouncers with what is going to be a defensive one though. Mega Absol is super frail, has no recovery, if it doesn't manage to kill something it will die. Espeon has a bad typing in mono Psychic, isn't great defensively, has a pretty crappy movepool barring some decent support moves like dual screens, Wish, Baton Pass and has the ability to go offensive with Psychic/Dazzling Gleam/Hidden Power etc. Sableye is going to be bulkier, has more good utility moves in Knock Off, Will-o-Wisp, Taunt, Recover, Foul Play, good typing in Dark/Ghost. Mega Sableye will probably be a better choice on defensively oriented teams since its play style will likely mesh well there, while Mega Absol/Espeon will suit offensive teams more since they are fast and can hit somewhat hard. Plus offensive teams would like Espeon's dual screens.

At least with Mega Sableye being different to regular Sableye you won't actually know which one it's using until it Mega Evolves (or doesn't as the case may be). Slightly disappointing, but still very interesting to see how it turns out.

Also the Sugimori art of Mega Sableye is beautiful.

 

[Team Gaara]

I'm disappointed that Mega Sableye doesn't keep Prankster. I guess I'll have to wait to see how people end up using it before I try it out, myself, since I'm having trouble seeing how it could work out with a boosted Sp. Attack and Magic Bounce since it's supposed to be defensive. I guess you could take advantage of Prankster before deciding to Mega Evolve?

 

[Ampharos King]

Some are forgetting what Magic Bounce can do for Mega Sableye.

The ability to bounce back Taunts, entry hazards, status moves, Leech Seeds, etc. is invaluable. That's better than just stopping them outright with Prankster Taunt.

Not taking as much damage from Knock Off is also a plus.

The only real downside I can see with Mega Sableye is that it loses precious Leftovers recovery (and because of that, unpredictability). Most Prankster sets run Leftovers, and if Sableye loses HP it should restore some back at the end of the turn. If Sableye gets hurt and there is no HP recovery, there's a good chance it has the Mega Stone.

Before people outright say that "Magic Bounce Sableye is bad," Mega Sableye should be tested. Unlike other Magic Bounce users, it isn't frail, and like Mega Absol it isn't weak to Knock Off or Pursuit. Mega Sableye still has Prankster priority on the turn it Mega Evolves, which might be a good time to use Recover and whatnot. Mega Sableye can run Calm Mind sets now with its boosted Special Attack. Mega Sableye is resistant to most status moves and can actually bounce them back against opponents. It doesn't have to rely on Taunt as much.

Mega Sableye has potential in UU.

 

[Zeb]

Headcanon: Mega Sableye pulls faces at the opponent through the gem, which the opponent sees as a huge Sableye face due to the gem magnifying it. It's still a prankster, even if it doesn't have the ability. Thinks its untouchable behind the gem while pulling the faces too!

 

[Joshawott]

In regards to the Mega Slaking discussion, while I don't think the Pokémon should receive one, I do agree that if it does that it should lose Truant (and that would be the main draw) - but to counter that, like @The Outrage; suggested, we see stats changed to say, make it drop out of the coveted 100-speed tier and/or lowered defences.

Also if anyone has seen MCM's announcement there will be new megas revealed at the London comic con in the end of October. So yes there will be more!!

Any chance you could shoot me a link? I scanned their Facebook and Twitter but couldn't see anything.

 

[IlluminationTheory]

RIP hopes and dreams for Mega Sableye

480 stats with Magic Bounce? Why would we use it over Mega Absol?

Or even Espeon, Espeon is just as good (or even better) and doesn't take up a Mega slot.

Espeon and Mega Absol are both glass cannons - Mega Sableye seems to be the exact opposite. You'd use it to fill a different niche to Mega Absol - just cos it's got the same ability doesn't mean it's competing.

 

[Zeb]

Guesses for Mega Sableye's stat spread:

50 HP / 75 Atk / 125 Def (+50) / 95 Sp.Atk (+30) / 95 Sp.Def (+30) / 40 Speed (-10)

or if the Speed drops to 30 (they say it drops slightly, but how much is slightly to something that starts at base 50 anyway?) then maybe this:

50 HP / 75 Atk / 125 Def (+50) / 105 Sp.Atk (+40) / 95 Sp.Def (+30) / 30 Speed (-20)

It says Def and Sp.Atk increase, which would be why the Sp.Atk gets the extra 10 over Sp.Def. Though would prefer Defence and Sp.Def to be the focus, don't really like how it's Defence and Sp.Atk. :/

The 125 Defence and 95 Sp.Def would be cool though because Mega Mawile has the same!

 

[Alola]

why...would you leave your Mega Sableye in on special Fairies in the first place

I expect Sp.Def will get a boost too, albeit a smaller one. The official site usually only describes the stats that get the biggest boost. My only real disappointment is that Special Attack got a major increase rather than Attack, a more powerful Knock Off would have made it even more annoying. In any case I think a lot of people are underestimating the sheer utility value of a Magic Bounce user that also happens to be a bulky ghost.

When it Mega Evolves, only one ability will become active. Mega Evolution has higher priority than prankster.

No, turn order is decided before mega evolution happens. So status moves will still get priority for the first turn.

Turn order? What do you mean by that?

Mega Evolution has a priority of 6+, matching that of switching a Pokemon (which always happens before a Pokemon utilizes Prankster).

Prankster gives priority moves a status of 1+.

So when Mega Evolution occurs, Sableye naturally loses Prankster for Magic bounce, without the chance to ever activate the former. A Pokemon can't activate both abilities that it has when it Mega Evolves, in this sense. The only "turn order" that applies pre-Mega Evolution is the Speed of the Pokemon Mega Evolving, as it keeps its initial speed for that turn.

 

[Zeb]

Turn order? What do you mean by that?

Mega Evolution has a priority of 6+, matching that of switching a Pokemon (which always happens before a Pokemon utilizes Prankster).

Prankster gives priority moves a status of 1+.

So when Mega Evolution occurs, Sableye naturally loses Prankster for Magic bounce, without the chance to ever activate the former. A Pokemon can't activate both abilities that it has when it Mega Evolves, in this sense. The only "turn order" that applies pre-Mega Evolution is the Speed of the Pokemon Mega Evolving, as it keeps its initial speed for that turn.

Winterdaze means the turn order (which Pokemon moves first and which moves second) is decided once you choose your move. Mega Evolution happens after you choose your move, so Mega Sableye will be able to use Prankster the turn it evolves as the game already decided the order. It's the reason why Prankster doesn't work for Mega Banette the first turn it Mega Evolves, because it already worked out the turn order prior to it Mega Evolving.

 

[Dr. Buni]

I just noticed the text of the original post was completely changed. Meh...

Anyways, Mega Sableye's artwork looks awesome. Loving how Sableye and Mawile got the best-looking megalutions.

 

[The Outrage]

50 HP / 75 Atk / 125 Def (+50) / 105 Sp.Atk (+40) / 95 Sp.Def (+30) / 30 Speed (-20)

It says Def and Sp.Atk increase, which would be why the Sp.Atk gets the extra 10 over Sp.Def. Though would prefer Defence and Sp.Def to be the focus, don't really like how it's Defence and Sp.Atk. :/

The 125 Defence and 95 Sp.Def would be cool though because Mega Mawile has the same!

I really hope slight speed decrease actually means 20 points. If anything, it would have been nice to see it drop 30 points considering its not really out-speeding anything at this point. I'm hoping it doesn't waste any stats on attack (most Megas don't have an optimal spread because of distributing to pointless stats). Either way, it may be cool to have the same defensive spread as Mawile, but it kind of sucks when you realize Mawile has the better defensive typing.

I don't know....maybe a Calm Mind set might actually work for it? Prankster + Calm Mind on your Mega Evolution turn and you get rid of your SpD problem. I'm sure it can force switches if you get it in on a physical attacker who knows full well you can set up burn and increase your defense all in one turn. I kind of wish there was a Dark equivalent of Vacuum Wave.

EDIT:

Also, it would be nicer if there was more harmony in the flavor text of the Pokemon and what it actually does. I'm starting to wonder whether the people designing the Pokemon in terms of story and the people giving them stats are completely different people who don't talk to each other.

During battle, Mega Sableye shelters itself behind the jewel, from where it can take advantage of any openings its target leaves exposed.

Couldn't they just talk about how the energy from Mega Evolution not only made the jewel grow but also gave it properties that reflected non-damaging moves?

 

[Mijzelffan]

In regards to the Mega Slaking discussion, while I don't think the Pokémon should receive one, I do agree that if it does that it should lose Truant (and that would be the main draw) - but to counter that, like @The Outrage; suggested, we see stats changed to say, make it drop out of the coveted 100-speed tier and/or lowered defences.

The base 100 speed tier is not exactly coveted in OU anymore, I know mega gardevoir and medicham are criticized for being too slow to sweep thanks to it. As a bulky wallbreaker it doesn't really matter as long as you're faster than the walls you're supposed to break, but as a sweeper base 100 is too slow (extremespeed slaking anyone, let's do it). Both your suggestions would mean there's more points to put into the other stats (you need +100 base stat total), which might only make mega slaking more broken.

 

[Norzan]

Slaking without Truant, having a non hindering ability (it can even be Run Away) and not even getting any stat boost would be a Mega Evo on its own, well at least the Mega Stone would mean Slaking wouldn't be able to hold Life Orb, Leftovers, Choice Band/Scarf.