Will Mega Evolution Return to Pokemon Sword and Shield?

Mega Evolution is painfully absent from Pokemon Sword and Shield, but several clues and rumors suggest that the beloved mechanic may make a comeback.

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Mega Evolution was a widely beloved mechanic, first introduced in Pokemon X and Pokemon Y, which did not make a comeback with the launch if Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. Instead, Dynamax and Gigantamax were introduced, which filled a similar role, though with different mechanics involved. While many fans mourned the loss of Mega Evolution, and its removal was one of the many things wrong with Sword and Shield at launch, some fans believe that the popular mechanic may indeed be making a comeback to the games, potentially through the rumored Kalos DLC. Fans have jumped to this conclusion by connecting several strange coincidences within the game and its recent DLCs.

The Current Mega Evolution Theory

Fans are currently holding onto the belief that Mega Evolution will eventually make a return in Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield sometime in the near future. This is mostly due to two common theories running in the community. First, it is rumored that the next DLC coming to Sword and Shield will bring players back to the Kalos region. While this is based on some interesting trends and design choices by Game Freak, it is by no means set in stone and nowhere near confirmed. However, if players visit Kalos, it would be wild for Mega Evolution to not make an appearance as it was such a pivotal part of Pokemon X and Pokemon Y. Those were the first games to feature Mega Evolution, it played a large role in the story and main progression of the games, and it was a key selling point that added a lot of depth to competitive battling. The feature was then brought back for Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

Another big reason why players believe Mega Evolution is coming back is that the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLCs brought back a large number of the Pokemon capable of Mega Evolution. While this is not the strongest evidence for the return of the feature, there seems to have been a deliberate selection process for which Pokemon to bring back, especially with the upcoming Crown Tundra DLC, as there are a a few “one-off” Pokemon that do not evolve, and are not great Pokemon by themselves, but with Mega Evolution they became a lot better. The complete list of Pokemon in the games (or coming to the games) is below. Spoiler Warning: Skip this section if players do not want to be spoiled on which Pokemon are returning with the Crown Tundra.

• Venusar
• Charizard
• Blastoise
• Alakazam (Isle of Armor)
• Slowbro (Isle of Armor)
• Gengar
• Kangaskhan (Isle of Armor)
• Pinsir (Isle of Armor)
• Gyarados
• Aerodactyl (Crown Tundra)
• Mewtwo (Crown Tundra)
• Steelix
• Scizor (Isle of Armor)
• Heracross (Isle of Armor)
• Tyranitar
• Sceptile (Crown Tundra)
• Blaziken (Crown Tundra)
• Swampert (Crown Tundra)
• Gardevoir
• Sableye
• Mawile
• Manectric
• Sharpedo (Isle of Armor)
• Altaria (Crown Tundra)
• Absol (Crown Tundra)
• Glalie
• Salamence (Crown Tundra)
• Metagross (Crown Tundra)
• Latias (Crown Tundra)
• Latios (Crown Tundra)
• Rayquaza (Crown Tundra)
• Lopunny (Isle of Armor)
• Garchomp (Crown Tundra)
• Lucario
• Abomasnow
• Gallade
• Audino (Crown Tundra)
• Diancie (Crown Tundra)

At this point, only a handful of the Pokemon that can Mega Evolve are missing (or will be missing) from the Sword and Shield roster come the Crown Tundra launch date. The addition of Pokemon like Audino and Absol are interesting, as both are relatively weak Pokemon by themselves, but get a good boon from Mega Evolution that make them at least somewhat viable in competitive battling. These two don’t seem to have any special ties to the Crown Tundra and its snowy environment, though there are likely to be non-snowy areas in the DLC zone, but it’s still raising a few eyebrows at their inclusion.

The Rumored Kalos DLC

What started as mere speculation has quickly gained traction in the Pokemon community. There are several theories as to why Kalos could be the setting for a large-scale DLC for Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. First and foremost, geographically Kalos and Galar are close in proximity. Galar is based on the United Kingdom, while Kalos is based on France, making the two just a ferry-ride away from one-another. Kalos was also involved in a great war with another region, presumably Galar, around 3,000 years ago which brought about the rise of Meltan and Melmetal – which are now coincidentally being introduced to Sword and Shield alongside the Pokemon GO/Pokemon Home integration.

In terms of other defining features, Kalos and Galar both have railways and ports that could easily connect to the other region. Each region has a port town on the body of water that would, in theory, run between the two regions. So much like in the beloved FireRed and LeafGreen titles with the Sevii Islands, players could take a boat and journey to the new region.

Mega Evolution and Dynamax/Gigantamax

The interesting thing about Mega Evolution would be how it would integrate into Sword and Shield alongside Dynamax and Gigantamax. Previously, Mega Evolution would be a one-per-battle mechanic that would allow a Pokemon to change forms provided the Pokemon is holding their respective Mega Stone. But will Mega Evolution stack with Dynamax? Gigantamax also provides a special form change, so in theory Mega Evolution and Gigantamax wouldn’t mix, unless they separated the form changes of Mega Evolution and Gigantamax. The easy solution would be to not allow Mega Evolved Pokemon to Dynamax/Gigantamax, which could add a little more choice to how players compose their teams to compete in VGC competitive battling.

If Mega Evolution were to make a comeback, Game Freak would need to approach its reintroduction very carefully and figure out how to work it in alongside the popular Dynamax mechanic. If combined, team compositions could be very interesting, or very annoying, for the competitive scene. While there is no word on if or when Mega Evolution is coming to Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield, the clues in the game currently – as well as the DLC rumors – make it a very real possibility. Certainly die-hard fans of the series wouldn’t mind either, as it was such a beloved mechanic in prior titles.

Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are available now for Nintendo Switch.

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