Why do you guys want regular evolutions over megas

[TheCableGuy]

It's simple: Megas make Pokemon look like machines, human tools that transform at its owner's will. Regular evolutions forged the feel that Pokemon are another world's animals, adapting by changing their shape to new circumstances, just like those known to us do. And that's what Pokemon games seem to me since their beginnings: natural selection simulator.

I don't like Mega Evolution and will always prefer normal evolution. In my humble opinion Mega Evolution = Digivolution, and if I wanted Digivolution I'd be playing Digimon, not Pokemon.

Exactly! This is exactly why I can't find any love for the Megas, At least not as they are implemented..
The way Megas should of been are more like Form-Changes similar to Meloetta, Deoxys, or Giratina
And they should of been Limited Strictly Limited to Only Stage 1 and Stage 2 Pokemon only.
It's just not true Evolutions..... Just more like "Unstable Form changes."

But this really Does now feel too much like Digimon Digivolutions.....
And honestly, I've spent way too much of my life as it is trying to explain to people that Pokemon is NOT Digimon...

I especially hate that they're giving them to 3rd stage Pokemon.
It feels like they're just "Pushing the boundaries" of what it means to have Pokemon evolve,
Thus redefining everything we know about Evolution, instead of just re-balancing those Pokemon like they should.

Worst yet, is that they've given Pokemon Like Absol an Awesome Evolution that it can't keep,
When they could of just gave him (and most other stage 2 Pokemon) that Evolution, balanced it's stats,
foregone the whole concept of Mega Evolutions and the game would of been richer and more complete...
I would of been just fine if they had introduced Mega-Evolution as means to special Evolve Certain Pokemon Like Absol... Even that would of made more sense...

Simply put, Mega Evolutions should of been implemented just for those Pokemon that have limited Viability
to bring lower tier Pokemon up to par with mainstream (for in-game Competitive balancing)
as well as adding in something Special to the Game's Lore and Canon...

But this feels like they Did it ONLY to satisfy a select group who couldn't accept Pokemon for what it was.
But now they're stuck because they're going to have to add Megas to EVERY Pokemon that has existed or ever will exist
just to satisfy these few malcontents, all the while completely taking Pokemon in a completely different direction that it was never meant to go:

To become the next Digimon.

 

[FullMoon]

I personally don't mind Mega Evolutions. The idea of a Pokémon evolving to a more powerful form going even past the limits because of a strong bond with it's trainer is very endearing to me. You can only have one in your team, so it's not like the previous stage of the Pokémon is completely useless. People use regular Garchomp over Mega Garchomp after all, same thing with Scizor. It's just one extra feature that doesn't really take anything from the series.

I do agree that regular evolutions shouldn't simply go away because they can still improve some other mons, considering the backlash Game Freak got from the evolutions in Gen IV and still gets to a lesser extent, I can totally understand why they would stop with them and just resort to Megas, since at least those are optional so if you don't like it, you can simply keep using the regular mon since it's going to be the same as ever.

 

[firepanda]

Because Mega evolutions exclude normal evolutions, but not vice versa. For a weak pokemon like Sableye, if it gets mega gets a power up. However, it could have received a normal evo and then a mega later down the track, which would be two power ups!

Personally, I think megas are often overdesigned (although they seem to be better at this for ORAS) or just plain weird. On the other hand, there have been some great cross gen evolutions, like Gallade, Crobat, Porygons, Yanmega and Froslass. Yes, there were some bad ones in Gen IV (Mamoswine, Magmortar, Magnezone and some people dislike Probopass, although I think they did a great job on him) but that is to be expected because there were so many cross-gen evos in that gen. The success rate is much higher than with megas.

 

[FullMoon]

Considering how Mega Sableye is performing in the meta right now, I think it had enough of a power up as it stands. Mega Evolution managed to make even Beedrill be viable competitively, so really there's not much to complain there.

I'm not saying I don't want new evolutions, hell, I would love it if Mega Evolution and new regular evolutions could co-exist, but I think Game Freak wants to slow down on the number of new Pokémon. We have more than 700 Pokémon already. If they keep adding too many it's going to get ridiculous, so they went with Mega Evos which are basically the same Pokémon, but with a few differences in design and buffed. Besides, whether an evolution or Mega looks good or not is all a matter of opinion. I'm personally more fond of the Megas than I am of most cross-gen evolutions. Hell, Gallade is my favorite of the bunch and he got an even better Mega Evolution imo. So you can't say for certain whether the Megas or new evos are better than the other since it all comes down to opinion.

All in all, I would be down for new evolutions, but if we are going to stick to Megas, then I'm fine with it.

 

[DarkMoonsDream]

I'll be honest: When I first heard about mega evolutions I thought about them as completely unnecessary and redundant. With time I learned to live with them, even if I'm still not a great fan of them. However, I also accepted that this kind of evolutions is perhaps not all that bad for some mons. Nowadays I think I belong to the same group as some others here. For some mons this fleeting evolution might have been exactly what they needed. I am especially against giving stage three mons another full evolution. On the other hand I too think that for some mons a permanent evolution would have been the correct way to go. This goes especially for generally weaker mons that were not used much so far, meaning they were basically discarded into a box after capture, and that didn't have an evolution. For some of these mons a mega evolution is kinda ambiguous, they are half-way to an evolution but not completely.

All in all I would say I am mixed about the question mega evolution vs full evolution. It depends on the mon for me. Up to now I still prefer not mega evolving my mons if possible. One of my reasons could be a certain amount of nostalgia or a feeling that the mons I train are like digital animals that live in their own world with their somewhat own life, as e. g. Gnomowladny also mentioned. But I also don't want each and every mon to get a mega evo anyway. Because if that happens, we're basically back to square one as in the time before mega evolution was introduced.

Long story short, I think you really have to think carefully about what is better for a mon: A full evolution or a mega one. It is really dependent on the mon itself. And I still hope that normal evolutions will be the standard way to go and that mega evos stay exclusive to some mons. Meaning those that are already fully evolved or already have great stats. These mons who only need a little push can get a mega evolution if they really need it. For all others, meaning the VERY BIG majority, I would prefer normal evolutions.

 

[CrackFox]

I like megas but I find that it's difficult to use them against your friends if they aren't gonna use megas as well. In the interests of fairness I don't use them much outside of the game but they certainly add a new level of interest to certain Pokemon. I imagine that will quickly diminish as more Pokemon qualify for mega evolution, it wont seem so special anymore. I'd be very happy if we got a mega Ludicolo though.

 

[DraconicBandGeek]

Banette's mega really should've been a regular evolution. I mean it would make sense in order to balance it with Duskinor (or however you spell it). Her mega was created after Dusclops got an evo so why couldn't she have just gotten a regular evolution as well?

 

[firepanda]

Do some people not use megas? How? They're kind of a core part of the game.

 

[IlluminationTheory]

It's not mechanic abuse because that's the way it works, actualy using your brains instead of reckless mega evolving right away.

A 4th stage for pokemon would be far more broken than Mega Evolution will ever be, a 4th stage would be able to hold an item and you can have more than one per team unlike Mega Evolution.

Another benefit of Mega Evolution: it's not permanent, the people that like Sneasel, Magmar, Electabuzz and such are forever stuck with evolutions they don't like. I'm so glad Mega Heracross is a Mega Evo, it's easily my most hated design ever and i'm glad it's not permanent.

What i mean is it allows you to abuse that mechanic, which is OP. As for balance in a team, well you can have only one Mega but as many legendaries as you like?

Not in battle tower! One mega, no (top-tier) legends. Imagine it's the same online, but I don't participate in tournaments so don't know for sure.

I think they're a great idea - give fan favourites new options and designs without sacrificing what made the pokémon appealing in the first place. Not least because if the first mega doesn't succeed, Game Freak can keep trying again. They're the best of both worlds, and give you legendary strength without being unbalanced. Megas also have the luxury of sticking closer to their original designs - you don't have to reinvent the wheel and completely overhaul the pokémon, just give them a few touch-ups and let 'er rip. Mega Venusaur is a phenomenal example - it's not a Solarsaur, or a Lilysaur, or a Tomatosaur, it's very clearly a Venusaur that's got out of hand. Its new ability is a godsend, the extra attacking power is welcome, but Venusaur hasn't itself been made redundant, it's just been given a few new toys.

Love to see more of this kind of thing. I'd like to add Fabled Forms - a bit like AZ's Floette. Unusual takes on existing pokémon, well-hidden, slightly redesigned, and with different stats, or moves, or abilities. Well hidden, deep beneath the overworld, but often rumoured; a crystal Onix, an ugly Milotic, a burning Bastiodon...

 

[Cute Charm]

I have a love/hate relationship with megas even though I don't actively use them in-game unless I'm forced to against my will. On one hand, I like some of their designs, but on the other hand they just seem forced and out of place for the franchise. I actually have a list why I would like to see more normal evolutions and "wasted designs" are at the top of the list. I mean take one look at mega Audino and tell me it wouldn't have been a great design for an actual evolution.

Secondly the whole concept is very...non-pokemon. A lot of other people have pretty much said it better than I ever could that it's more or less artificial and Digimonesqe rather than something you'd see in the realistic setting pokemon is supposed to be set in.

Thirdly, they prevent any possible evolutions happening in the future. And in the case of Mega Kangaskan we will never have a long overdue pre-evo now.

And lastly it just really seems like they're spending way too much time on coming up with new mega designs that a lot of them just seem lazy and lack the heart that yes, even Lickilicky and the other much hated evolutions have. GF also seems like they're turning mega evolution into the breakout mechanic of this generation and back peddling on what they said about the other new mechanics before XY came out.

Do some people not use megas? How? They're kind of a core part of the game.

They may be a core part of the game, yes, but it's a part of the game that divided the fanbase in two.

It also seems hypocritical that your friends in-game gracefully decline the offer to master mega evolution because it goes against their personal codes as the types of trainers they want to become. But god forbid you imagine the PC with some of the same standards or have your own similar standards outside the game.

 

[Robo-Floatzel]

Honestly, I rather have neither new regular evolutions or new Megas and just do what Gen 5 did and have 100% new Pokemon in the region with no connection to older species, because I feel Game Freak shows more originality that way, because why not just alter the existing Pokemon to make them better, do they really NEED a new evolution or a Mega? Better yet, what's wrong with how certain Pokemon already are?

I don't hate the concept of Mega Evolutions, because the idea of a Pokemon having an ultimate form is very interesting. The problem I have is that I think the concept of Megas is poorly executed, which all they do is just add 100 to the stats, change the appearance and sometimes the type and ability of the Pokemon. Half of them look extremely ugly and over-designed IMO and make me less interested in using them, as well as the fact that many of them just turn into game-breakers like Lucario and Mawile do. While some Pokemon are improved, others which were fine the way they were become broken. Another thing is that many Megas are given to Pokemon that didn't even need them at all, such as Mega Slowbro for instance.

One of the worst things about Megas is that the game essentially tries to shove them down your throat as much as possible, the point in case being the forced tutorial at the Tower of Mastery, in which they make you use a Lucario and force you to Mega-evolve it whether you like it or not, and the game makes you lose the battle if you refuse to Mega-evolve it. If I was just given a Lucarionite I'd be fine since 1. I can get a Riolu on Route 22 right before the first gym, and 2. Do I REALLY need a Mega Lucario because I was given a Venusaurite/Charizardite/Blastoisite earlier in the game by Professor Sycamore, which on that topic, they force you to choose a Kanto starter just to shove Megas down your throat even more, like it's all the game cares about is Megas.

But the WORST thing about Mega Evolution is the fact that there's too much wasted potential, and to me, there's nothing worse than wasted potential. Why can't there be a cost to using them like having there be a turn limit and them a status condition is applied as soon as they revert back, rather than just "you Mega-evolve it, then you can't use any other Megas in the battle", because if anything, they don't balance the game, they only make the game even MORE unbalanced than it was before. One can make an argument against this, but I think the concept of Mega Evolutions was not executed well, as if anything, they are just over-glorified formes.

People constantly compare Mega Evolutions to Digimon, but honestly, I think even Digimon has it's limits. Mega Evolutions definitely don't feel like Pokemon, that's for sure, the way they look, the way they function, they just don't feel like Pokemon at all, but more like something else entirely. In physical appearance, they're more like generic JRPG monsters than they do Pocket Monsters, or even Digimon for that matter; as for how they function, @Gnomowladny put it best in his post:

It's simple: Megas make Pokemon look like machines, human tools that transform at its owner's will. Regular evolutions forged the feel that Pokemon are another world's animals, adapting by changing their shape to new circumstances, just like those known to us do. And that's what Pokemon games seem to me since their beginnings: natural selection simulator.

And if anything, this is what Mega Evolutions are best described as, not like Digimon but like tools or weapons, something that goes against the original intentions of the franchise, being the bond between a Pokemon and it's trainer, and even though the games CLAIM that Mega Evolution is the result of a deep bond between a Pokemon and it's trainer, it just doesn't feel like it, but more like this transformation is forced upon as a means of the trainer just using the Pokemon as basically nothing more than a mindless beast that only exists to serve it's human master, and I feel this goes against what Pokemon stands for. Satoshi Tajiri based the concept of Pokemon evolution on the concept of how many animals change their appearance completely as they grow older, namely how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, as Tajiri collected bugs when he was a child. Formes are one thing, but Mega Evolutions just feel forced and desperate.

The last thing I want to point out is that Mega Evolutions are essentially nothing more than a gimmick that's being used as a means of keeping people interested, and when a franchise starts to rely more on gimmicks than anything else, it's usually a sign that a franchise is dying. If Mega Evolutions were done better, were far more balanced, and possibly introduced in an earlier generation, I would be fine, but the Pokemon franchise is almost at it's 20th anniversary and the fact that they're really pushing Megas feels like they're running out of ideas.

 

[IlluminationTheory]

The last thing I want to point out is that Mega Evolutions are essentially nothing more than a gimmick that's being used as a means of keeping people interested, and when a franchise starts to rely more on gimmicks than anything else, it's usually a sign that a franchise is dying. If Mega Evolutions were done better, were far more balanced, and possibly introduced in an earlier generation, I would be fine, but the Pokemon franchise is almost at it's 20th anniversary and the fact that they're really pushing Megas feels like they're running out of ideas.

I don't really think that holds up to any kind of scrutiny. I think if the idea well were running dry they wouldn't dare mess with the formula too much, a company out of ideas would be trying to make their games as beige as possible. Not only have Game Freak got new ideas, the ideas are brave and unusual enough to put a few of the traditionalists' noses out of joint.

You can tell when a company is genuinely out of ideas because people stop having strong feelings about their products. The breadth of opinion in this thread suggests that is probably not the case.

 

[DarkMoonsDream]

Do some people not use megas? How? They're kind of a core part of the game.

How do I play the game without megas? With training and teamwork. The concept which worked for each and every generation before this one and still does. I did the mandatory mega evolution at the tower, but afterwards I didn't really use them anymore. I tried it out, but ultimately decided to avoid using mega evolutions if possible. I was still able to beat the Elite 4 without Megas. Okay, the EP-all may have something to do with this, but meh. And in the OR/AS-demo I'm still able to beat the expert without mega evolving any mon. Even when my mons are 6 levels lower than his Hariyama and Glalie is not really equipped to deal with that one. If you're wondering why I'm talking about the demo, I'm living in Europe. The games are not out here yet. The official release date is the 28th.

 

[ChisanaInu]

Personally, I like Mega Absol even more than normal Absol so I would not object to evolving it permanently. Either way, I simply do not like the concept of mega evolutions. It's taking the easy way out and I think it takes the fun out of it.

 

[firepanda]

Do some people not use megas? How? They're kind of a core part of the game.

How do I play the game without megas? With training and teamwork. The concept which worked for each and every generation before this one and still does. I did the mandatory mega evolution at the tower, but afterwards I didn't really use them anymore. I tried it out, but ultimately decided to avoid using mega evolutions if possible. I was still able to beat the Elite 4 without Megas. Okay, the EP-all may have something to do with this, but meh. And in the OR/AS-demo I'm still able to beat the expert without mega evolving any mon. Even when my mons are 6 levels lower than his Hariyama and Glalie is not really equipped to deal with that one. If you're wondering why I'm talking about the demo, I'm living in Europe. The games are not out here yet. The official release date is the 28th.

I was more wondering why they didn't do it from a competitive-ish perspective. But I can definitely see the un-appeal in megas (indeed, frequently I'm sick of them myself especially all the focus on them in the plot).

 

[DarkMoonsDream]

Ah, so that's what you meant. Well, I'm not really active competitively. Which might make not using megas easier for me. But in my amateurish view of competitive play I could imagine that good revenge killers can take care of megas. Or walls. And of course teamwork, entry hazards and a good strategy. But as I am not the best person to answer the question of how to kill megas in competitive play without using megas yourself, I will not speculate too much about this.

 

[BlackButterfree]

I guess it's because Mega's have the 100 BST cap, and that they pretty much mean the end of an evolutionary chain, preventing it from ever becoming better. Not to mention, it's a temporary form change. If it was a permanent evolution (in most cases), I think we'd all be very happy with that fact.

 

[CrystaI]

The 100 BST increase upon ME is actually nothing impressive when compare to regular evolution, whereas the BST increase can go up to the highest of 340 (Magikarp -> Gyarados, Feebas -> Milotic). BTW, according to my statistical calculation up to the 4th Gen, out of the total 249 evolutions of 493 Pokemon, do you know that 196 which is 78.7% had BST increase of larger or equal to 100? only 51 evolutions had BST increase of lower than 100, only Scizor had no BST increase, and the rare case of Nincada -> Shedinja is oppositely a decrease of 30 BST (if this can technically consider as "regular evolution"). And then, the BST increase average of these 249 evolutions up to 4th Gen is 139.

I haven't calculate the BST statistics since Gen4, so currently I don't have BST info up to Gen6. But still, basing on the BST samples up until Gen4, I can still say BST increase of regular evolution is generally much higher than ME. And hence that's why I prefer regular evolution, is because the BST increase is not capped, most of the time its improvement is much greater than Mega Evolution.
Of course there is still 21.3% of regular evolution's BST increase is lower than 100, especially for the ones that are already having BST of higher than 400, the BST increase upon the next evolution is generally lower than 100. But nonetheless, I can still say regular evolution's BST increase is by the majority far greater than ME. More importantly it is permanent, and doesn't restricted to having only one fully evolved Pokemon in your team of 6.

Hence there comes a doubt from me. For the originally low-tiers like Mawile and Sableye, if they got regular evolution instead of ME, will their BST increase be higher than 100? From my opinion according to my BST statistical observation, such probability is rather big.

 

[Rainami]

agree with op, cross gen evos suck, megas are amaze

Hence there comes a doubt from me. For the originally low-tiers like Mawile and Sableye, if they got regular evolution instead of ME, will their BST increase be higher than 100? From my opinion according to my BST statistical observation, such probability is rather big.

....since when was sableye low tier.

I don't know why you're complaining about a BST increase cap when nearly all of the mega evolutions are really good or at least fairly impressive. Okay, Mega Mawile's BST is meh. And look at that, it's uber. Do you really want it to be stronger than it already is? Psst, don't be silly.

If it was a permanent evolution (in most cases), I think we'd all be very happy with that fact.

no

the thought of a sableye evolution nauseates me and I'm glad mega sableye exists to prevent it from ever happening

some other cross gen evolution concepts nauseate me too but mostly sableye

though I'd be chill with a pre evo

Spoiler

sabelly <3
sablewel </3

 

[BlackButterfree]

agree with op, cross gen evos suck, megas are amaze


....since when was sableye low tier.

I don't know why you're complaining about a BST increase cap when nearly all of the mega evolutions are really good or at least fairly impressive. Okay, Mega Mawile's BST is meh. And look at that, it's uber. Do you really want it to be stronger than it already is? Psst, don't be silly.

If it was a permanent evolution (in most cases), I think we'd all be very happy with that fact.

no

the thought of a sableye evolution nauseates me and I'm glad mega sableye exists to prevent it from ever happening

some other cross gen evolution concepts nauseate me too but mostly sableye

though I'd be chill with a pre evo

Spoiler

sabelly <3
sablewel </3

I meant that if many of the Mega's were in fact actual permanent evolutions, all of us on both camps would be happier. (Mawile, Audino, Lucario, Houndoom and Sableye would be perfect for this. Maybe some others.)