Custom ZO Mega Evolutions

Along with a new plot line, gym leaders, region, and items, another very intriguing feature is included in the Pokémon Zeta/Omicron series, namely a new set of Mega Evolutions, a very popular feature from versions X/Y. Let's have a look at some of them! All Mega Evolutions from Pokémon X and Y are in the game as well.

'''​NOTE: Feraligatr and Bisharp Stats and Analyses are incorrect. An edit is highly appreciated.'''

Mega Typhlosion
This mega doesn't have a lot of versatility in it's optimal set, but it truly excels as a sun sweeper/wallbreaker, because under sun it does an absolutely INSANE amount of damage with eruption, and 125 speed to do it in isn't anything to scoff at either. Though maybe it isn't the objectively best mega, it gets above average coverage and a hell of a lot of damage.

Here's a couple of calcs just to show you the raw power of this mon.

252+ SpA Mega Typhlosion Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Eviolite Chansey in Sun: 301-355 (42.7 - 50.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO

252+ SpA Mega Typhlosion Solar Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mega Milotic: 216-256 (54.8 - 64.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Unfortunately, Dragonite does a number on it, and Mega-Swampert walls it to hell and back, and it struggles with bulky dragon types that aren't weak to focus blast aswell. But after getting a free kill on something it can absolutely spiral out of control with hubris if your opponent has limited answers to it. Winning the weather also makes this mon a lot easier to deal with, and livewire and stealth rocks hurt it really badly aswell.

All in all, Mega Typhlosion is a decent sweeper/wallbreaker that thrives under sun, but has a lot of weaknesses and needs a lot of support to come online and clean up teams with Hubris. That being said, it's a volatile threat that can just ruin teams left unchecked, blowing up and uncontrollably erupting on your opponents pokemon, which makes it awesome in terms of flavour.

Mega Meganium
You are looking at the premier counter to the best mega in the game, Sceptile. Sceptile isn't the only threat this thing puts a stop to. Thanks to its tremendous typing it and ridiculous bulk it can put a stop to threats like Garchomp, Dragonite, Breloom, M-Crawdaunt, M-Cacturn, and Keldeo along with quite a few others. It also has a great utility with its ability Magic Bounce. In a metagame influenced greatly by hazards (ex. Spikes, Stealth Rock, Sticky Web) keeping them off the field is one of the most important tasks to a competitive battler, and Magic Bounce helps keep your side clean. This ability will also put a stop to annoying mons like Sableye from carrying out wth their shenanigans, as Magic Bounce also bounces back status and taunts. Unlike other magic bounces (ex. Espeon & Xatu) it has the perfect typing and bulk to make use of this ability. Unfortunately it has a subpar support movepool with only a few viable options (Aromatherapy, Leech Seed, and Dragon Tail).

Overall this is a very good pokemon that can support teams tremendously with its bulky and ability to deny hazards.

Mega Feraligatr
Mega Feraligatr is a ferocious sweeper, especially when used under rain. To give you an idea of just how power this pokemon is:

+2 252+ Atk Tough Claws Feraligatr Waterfall vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro in Rain: 219-258 (55.5 - 65.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

It has the ability to 2HKO one of its best counter after one Swords Dance under the rain. It is almost impossible to revenge kill considering its Tough Claws boosted Aqua Jet which has priority over other moves. It can also function well as a dragon dance sweeper but it already gained a speed boost with the mega evolution so, in general, the Swords Dance set is better.

Although M-Feraligtr is a beast, there are counters to it. Jellicent which is immune to water type attacks with its ability Water Absob and Superpower, and doesn't really mind taking an Ice Punch. It can respond by crippling it with a Will-O-Wisp, while only being afraid if the gator has crunch. Chesnaught can counter variants without Ice Punch. Vaporeon is also immune to the water type attacks and doesn't take much damage from any of its coverage moves either.

Mega Bisharp
Another extremely dangerous Mega Evolution, Mega Bisharp, is featured in this game. I don't think you need me to tell you how powerful this Mega Evolution is, but I will anyways.

At first glance the stats of Mega Bisharp are quite terrifying, especially the Speed stat. 140 base allows Mega Bisharp to outspeed Timid/Jolly Max Speed Mega Sceptile if it is running Jolly. Mega Bisharp's 65/140/105 defenses make it easily the most terrifying wall, as well as 135/5/140 offenses to back it up. There is pretty much nothing stopping a Defiant boosted Mega Bisharp from completely destroying your team with Sucker Punch and Pursuit. So this Mega reigns supreme for now.

Mega Steelix


Steelix gains a niche in the form of its ability, Foundry, which lets it set up fire type Stealth Rock, and gives it a large boost in power. It also gets a boost in speed, letting it become a viable Rock Polish sweeper. It retains its massive defense, allowing it to counter and set up on some of the most common threats in the game, like M-Scizor. Its typing makes it immune to burn as well. With all that said, M-Steelix is definitely not without glaring flaws. Its pitiful special defense means that strong neutral hits will be KO'ing it. Although its speed has increased, it is still outsped by common scarfers after a Rock Polish. Its poor attacking movepool means that bulky water types can switch into it with impunity, using M-Steelix as setup fodder. Nevertheless, with its unique ability, M-Steelix is very viable on many teams.

Sample Moveset 1: Stealth Rock + 3 Attacks

Steelix @ Steelixite

Adamant Nature

Ability: Sturdy

EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD

Moves:

-Stealth Rock

-Stone Edge

-Heavy Slam

-Earthquake

This set is straightforward; simply set up Stealth Rock, and then proceed to hit the opponent with Foundry boosted Stone edge.

Sturdy ensures that you get up Stealth Rock, if absolutely necessary. 248 HP EVs maximize overall bulk, while 252 Atk EVs with an Adamant Nature ensures you hit hard. Investing in Def/SpD is not preferable, as M-Steelix can easily be KO'd by special attackers regardless, and defensive investment is superfluous. Heavy Slam hits light pokemon for heavy damage, while Earthquake gets Heatran out of the way.

Sample Moveset 2: Rock Polish Sweeper

Steelix @ Steelixite

Adamant/Jolly Nature

Ability: Sturdy

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

-Rock Polish

-Stone Edge

-Heavy Slam / Stealth Rock

-Earthquake

With its improved speed, Adamant M-Steelix can outspeed Jolly base 135s at +2. A Jolly nature can be used to outspeed certain scarfers and pokemon like M-Aerodactyl. Sturdy ensures that you get a Rock Polish. This set is meant to be used as a late-game sweeper; weaken or remove the appropriate counters, then proceed to click Rock Polish and hit the opposing mons with the appropriate move. Heavy Slam and Stone Edge are critical STAB moves, and Earthquake lets you hit Heatran.

Mega Cacturne
In my opinion the most interesting Mega Evolution is Mega Cacturne. With great mixed attacking stats and Speed that is patched up nicely with Speed Boost, this thing becomes SCARY. It also gets great moves like Seed Bomb, Sucker Punch, Giga Drain, Drain Punch, etc. to abuse those amazing stats. It also receives Swords Dance AND Nasty Plot to boost those attacking stats to frightening levels. As far as stopping it goes, Mega Swampert walls it to hell and back. While certainly not on the level of some previously mentioned Mega Evolutions, Mega Cacturne is a neat Pokémon that is fun to use.

Mega Golurk
Mega Golurk gains 100 Attack upon Mega Evolving, giving it the highest Attack stat in the game. It also gains 30 Speed, allowing it to outspeed all Timid/Jolly base 36s with 252 Speed with Adamant Nature. This colossal titan is now an even more colossal titan.

Despite all these bonuses, it does have some notable flaws. First of all, it can't switch in to anything but Choice-locked Fighting, Normal, and Electric attacks. Second, Sticky Web cripples it because its Speed is what it relies on to deal damage. However, its colossal Attack and physical movepool basically makes it near unwallable. In the right scenario, Mega Golurk can potentially 6-0 an entire team, but requires team support to do its job of wallbreaking effectively. Overall, great, but not too great.

Mega Dugtrio
Mega Dugtrio receives a whopping 100 point increase in its base Attack stat when it Mega Evolves with no other stat increases. However, with its frailty, it's still quite difficult to put that to good use.

Mega Reuniclus
Arguably the best mega evolution in the game, M-Reuniclus is expected to have a large effect on Z/O's metagame due to its unique ability, Speed Swap, allowing it to set up Trick Room by simply coming into play. With its incredible power, bulk, coverage, and ability to outspeed any pokemon except Shuckle in Trick Room, M-Reuniclus is a force to reckon with on any team. By completely reversing the speed tier, M-Reuniclus renders sweepers and speed boosters completely helpless.

Reuniclusite is banned from the Phoenix Iota.

Mega Crawdaunt
I'm going to be honest: In Pokémon Z/O Mega Crawdaunt really just doesn't stack up against the big boy Mega Evolutions. If you play versions X/Y competitively, then you should be aware that Crawdaunt is a BEAST in 6v6 play. It is able to abuse Adaptability with Aqua Jet, and perhaps the best move in the game; Knock Off. Unfortunately for our evil lobster, Z/O uses Generation V mechanics, so Knock Off is without its buff.

However, thesuzerain has confirmed that Crawdaunt will be able to acquire Aqua Jet as well as the new priority move, Draco Jet, in the same update that its Mega Stone is released. This makes it much more viable then originally assumed. We will have to do some in-game testing to see how competitive it really is.

Regular Crawdaunt with a Life Orb easily out-damages Mega Crawdaunt. All is not bad for Mega Crawdaunt though, as it did receive a useful boost in speed to make it an even more potent Dragon Dancer. Before Mega Evolution Crawdaunt still couldn't out-speed threats like Gengar and Jolteon with a +1 boost in Speed, but this problem is solved after its Mega Evolution occurs. Overall, there isn't much Mega Crawdaunt has going for it, and there are far superior choices for Mega Evolutions, but only Crawdaunt can boast the title of the tastiest Mega Pokémon.

Mega Milotic
Milotic's Mega Evolution was designed with the intent to add a different spin on a defensive Mega Pokémon. With Mega Milotic's ability to deal damage whenever it is hit by a special attack in addition to its access to recovery moves such as Recover and Refresh, it is able to effectively make switching in and taking hits more costly to the opponent. Its base stats were higher originally, but because Mega Milotic proved to be quite powerful both offensively and defensively, it was given a lower stat increase upon Mega Evolving. Thesuzerain blessed this pokemon with amazing defensive typing as well with 7 resistances, 1 immunitiy, and only 3 weaknesses making it a great stop to common threats like Scizor, Volcarona, M-Lucario, Crawdaunt, Kingdra, and Hydriegon among others. All these factors make it one of the best walls in the game.

Mega Swampert
With the ability Sap Sipper, Swampert easily becomes one of the best Mega Evolutions in the game as it is the only Mega Pokémon in the game with no weaknesses at all, while also converting its one former weakness into an advantage. Swampert has additionally received an addition of 50 to both of its defenses. Now sporting Arceus-esque bulk it becomes an unbreakable wall with no weaknesses. It works well on rain teams since it is immune to the two types that water is weak to.

Mega Sceptile
Sceptile can learn Leaf Storm and Draco Meteor, firing off massive hits and boosting its attack power further with Contrary. Access to Superpower allows M-Sceptile to hit steel types super-effectively and patch up its subpar defenses. With its excellent speed and coverage, M-Sceptile excels as a mid-late game sweeper, able to rack up kills while powering itself up. The bane of stall, M-Sceptile can simply crush walls with its excellent coverage and mixed attacks.

Sample Set:

Sceptile @ Sceptilite

Ability: Overgrow

Naïve Nature

EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Moves:

-Leaf Storm

-Draco Meteor

-Superpower

-Hidden Power Poison / Hidden Power Fire / Substitute

The idea of this set is simple; weaken/remove as many checks to Sceptile as possible, and then proceed to sweep. A Naïve nature with 252 EVs in in Spe allows M-Sceptile to out-speed the vast majority of non-scarfed pokemon. The rest of the EVs are invested to maximize power. Sceptile's three boosting moves provide great power and coverage, and with Contrary, allow M-Sceptile to gain momentum very quickly. HP Poison is preferred in the last moveslot to destroy M-Meganium and hit Togekiss. HP Fire can be used to beat M-Scizor and Ferrothorn. Substitute can prevent mind games with Bisharp.

Other Options:

Giga Drain can be used in the last move slot to regain health while getting kills. Earthquake can be used to KO physically defensive Heatran after a bit of prior damage. Synthesis can be used to heal up, but with Sceptile's mediocre bulk, it is not practical An alternative EV spread with more Atk and less SpA can be used if you need more powerful Superpowers. However, max Spe is crucial.

Checks and Counters:

M-Sceptile has very few checks, as very few pokemon like switching into its STAB attacks and then taking a boosted hit. Barring M-Reuniclus (banned), specially defensive Togekiss is the most solid check, as it has excellent bulk, resists M-Sceptile's boosting moves, can threaten it with thunder wave or super-effective STAB, and proceed to roost. However, after just a bit of prior damage and stealth rocks, M-Sceptile can knock it out with leaf storm + HP Poison. M-Scizor resists M-Sceptile's STAB, easily shrugs off Superpower, and can threaten M-Sceptile with Bug Bite and roost off damage. However, Draco Meteor still dents it considerably, and HP Fire decimates it. 4 HP/252+ Def Chansey can take two un-invested superpowers, but only if stealth rocks are not up. Specially defensive Talonflame can take a hit if rocks aren't up. Both Heatran and Ferrothorn can switch in against M-Sceptile, but still take considerable damage from Draco Meteor. They are clean KO'd if M-Sceptile is running HP Ground/Earthquake or HP Fire, respectively. After some prior damage, both are knocked out by two Superpowers. Faster pokemon can generally threaten M-Sceptile; however, if M-Sceptile can take a hit, it will usually come out on top. Certain users of priority, like CB Dragonite, Weaville, and Thundurus-I can force M-Sceptile out. M-Sceptile is very susceptible to status, especially paralysis. Adamant LO Bisharp can OHKO M-Sceptile from full with either Sucker Punch or Pursuit on the switch, but if Sceptile goes for Substitute on the Sucker Punch, Bisharp is in trouble.

When dealing with M-Sceptile, prediction is key; the goal should be to safely switch something in that can force M-Sceptile out. It is essential to not allow M-Sceptile to attain too many boosts if you cannot out-speed it. Often, the most practical option will be to simply sacrifice a pokemon to regain momentum.

Partners:

Magnezone traps and KOs both Scizor and Ferrothorn, allowing M-Sceptile to forego HP Fire. Gothitelle with HP Ground can trap Heatran. Rotom-W is a great way to bring M-Sceptile into battle safely, and the two have good defensive synergy. Victini and M-Sceptile have good offensive synergy, and Victini's U-turns can grant M-Sceptile free switches in.

Note: Suzerain reduced Mega Sceptile's stats in 1.4.0, reducing its SpA from 170 to 130, and its Spe from 135 to 130.