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Hello everyone! Today we will be looking at another batch of potential Mega Evolutions, this time looking at the second criteria, which is the “visual looks”. As you may recall from my last article, there is a quote about the condition for picking Mega Evolutions: “The standard selection process for Pokémon to be Mega-Evolvable is based on three points: [B]visual looks[/B], [B]popularity[/B] and [B]game balance[/B].”
As the visual look of a Pokémon is a subjective matter, what you may see in the list may not be what you might think would fit this criteria. Certainly, your mileage may vary. I do attempt to pick my choices based on a variety of interests, so as to touch on as much people’s idea of beauty. Here are twelve Pokémon that would fit the “visual looks” criteria, if I am the judge. If you are ready, let’s move on.
Machamp
[B]Type:[/B] Fighting
[B]Ability:[/B] Scrappy
[B]Stat Boosts:[/B] Atk +40, Def +20, SpAtk +10, SpDef +20, Speed +10
We start this list with a muscular macho Pokémon, who has its audience who like how they look. Machamp is one of the trade evolutions, along with Gengar, Alakazam and Golem. The former two received a Mega Evolution that exaggerate their strengths, which are pursuing targets (Shadow Tag) and analysing targets (Trace) respectively. Machamp’s evolution should be based around strength, so Mega Machamp could be more muscular, and probably grow another pair of arms.
I would have gone with Huge Power to emphasise on Machamp’s strength, but I felt that Huge Power would make Machamp too strong, so I went with the next best thing for it: Scrappy. This will allow Machamp to hit Ghost-types, which is something it wasn’t able to do before. Doing this would make Machamp more vulnerable to status, as well as losing perfect accuracy attacks, so it’s a somewhat fair tradeoff.
For Machamp’s stat increases, Attack obviously received the biggest increase. The defences are to make Machamp bulkier, and the Special Attack increase is filler. It has some Fire attacks, but using them on the Physical side is usually stronger than using them on the Special side, so the point is moot.
Rapidash
[B]Type:[/B] Fire/Flying
[B]Ability:[/B] Aerilate
[B]Stat Boosts:[/B] Atk +30, Def +20, SpAtk +20, SpDef +10, Speed +20
One of the most common ideas in which Rapidash will evolve into is a pegasus, and as such, will be a winged creature. This makes it an easy Fire/Flying-type because of that. If everybody expects a certain design direction, give them what they expect.
The ability of choice doesn’t seem difficult as well, because when extra Flying-type is made, Aerilate comes to mind, making Rapidash the other Aerilate user. Like Pinsir, Rapidash have the right attacks to make use of this awesome ability, with moves like Quick Attack, Double-Edge and Thrash. It goes hand-in-hand with its Fire STAB, Wild Charge and Drill Run, making for a type combination with few resists (Rotom-H is the only one).
Now for stats. I decided that Rapidash would have the biggest increase in Attack, since it cannot boost it otherwise. Of all the stats, Defence is increased a bit to match Special Defence. The addition in Special Attack may not sound like it means much, but you never know when someone wants to use that Special Attack on a Physical wall.
Jynx
[B]Type:[/B] Ice/Psychic
[B]Ability:[/B] Wonder Skin
[B]Stat Boosts:[/B] Def +10, SpAtk +50, SpDef +20, Speed +20
When it comes to female Pokémon, Jynx isn’t considered the best because it looked somewhat unconventional to those seeking beauty, with the fatter look. Perhaps a Mega Evolution to give it a more desirable look is needed to make Jynx more attractive.
Stats are simple. Special Attack got a big upgrade to take advantage of that Ice and Psychic attacks, while other stats got a minor boost. Since Jynx isn’t exactly going to be able to take Physical hits (no relevant Physical resistances), the Defence upgrade is not as big as Houndoom’s (Def +40).
Now for the ability. I felt Wonder Skin fit Jynx thematically, which will fit a diva like her. Usually Magic Bounce is better, but I think that Jynx would be too good with Magic Bounce, so I went with something that fits thematically and has some use, thus Wonder Skin. It could be useful because it might avoid some nasty status like Toxic and Sleep, which helps a lot in setting up.
Lapras
[B]Type:[/B] Water
[B]Ability:[/B] Refrigerate
[B]Stat Boosts:[/B] Atk +20, Def +30, SpAtk +20, SpDef +20, Speed +10
Now for something that would have a likely Mega Evolution for its visual look. Lapras is something of a carrier and a loch-ness monster. A Mega Evolution for Lapras would emphasise its dinosaur look, as well as making Lapras’ shell look tougher and more comfortable to sit on. More importantly, Lapras must retain its gracefulness.
There is currently one example of a Mega Evolution where a Pokémon lost one of its types, so I am looking for something to replicate this. It seems Lapras is finally the one I am looking for, since its Ice-type is more of a hinderance than a help. Even then, Refrigerate is its ability to keep its link to the Ice-type it used to have. It has enough Normal-type attacks to use, including Body Slam, Return/Frustration and Hyper Voice. It won’t be stronger without the Ice STAB, but in Lapras’ case, the loss of a type could be beneficial in the long run (it won’t be taking too much Stealth Rock damage after that).
Stat increase is all-around, with a bit more put into Defence to survive a few hits. The extra Speed makes setting up Dragon Dance a tad easier, while extra offences make every attack more powerful, since Lapras could viably be either Physical or Special.
Mantine
[B]Type:[/B] Water/Electric
[B]Ability:[/B] Levitate
[B]Stat Boosts:[/B] Atk +20, Def +20, SpAtk +30, SpDef +20, Speed +10
Mantine is a stingray that might be able to do well in the visual looks department, because stingrays are a ground where great designs could be bred. You could make it look like an [URL=”http://www.sunstar-solutions.com/AOP/SOW/images/stingray2.jpg”]airship[/URL], a [URL=”http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/089/8/0/stingray_kite_by_nostr.jpg”]kite[/URL] or even a [URL=”http://neolodger.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/stingray-xbox.jpg”]controller[/URL]. One idea I have is to give Mantine a more electrical charge, turning it into a part-Electric type, nullifying its main weakness. There are stingrays with electrical abilities, which is where the idea originated.
To maintain its floatiness, Levitate would compensate its new type. It was too bad that it couldn’t be useful because its type combination gave it two weaknesses to types that are not desirable, but now, it has only one (uncommon) weakness! However, Mantine doesn’t learn any Electric attacks now, so to start things off, it will learn Discharge, Thunderbolt and Wild Charge in its main movepool. This is sure to scare Skarmory, which is always welcomed.
For our stats, Mantine’s defences are increased to make it able to take more hits, while its attack stats are increased as well. I think that if I don’t put some into Attack (thus, wasting some of it), it would have been too good due to the type and ability change.
Milotic
[B]Type:[/B] Water/Fairy
[B]Ability:[/B] Marvel Scale
[B]Stat Boosts:[/B] Atk +10, Def +30, SpAtk +30, SpDef +30
Recently, Gyarados, its counterpart, got a Mega Evolution. Milotic may not be as popular as Gyarados, but it could use a Mega Evolution all the same. To counteract with Gyarados’ ruthlessness. Therefore, the Fairy-type on Milotic. Certainly, such a graceful and beautiful Pokémon would certainly be better than before, and would be an attractive choice.
Gyarados received stat upgrades on three of its best stats (not Speed) and a minor one on its worst. Milotic seeks to follow the same upgrades, since both it and Gyarados retains HP and Speed, and they are the same. The Attack increase is negligible, but making Dragon Tail slightly stronger is not a bad thing. Mega Milotic would be able to take a lot of punishment due to Recover and Scald, so its lack of Leftovers isn’t too much of an issue.
I decided to keep Milotic’s ability because it fits Milotic the best, being the main user of it for so long. It has some benefits if you are willing to use them. It would be able to use Rest well, and even if it is burned or poisoned, it would take less damage overall. Since Milotic isn’t available yet, I am going to guess that it learns Dazzling Gleam, because its beauty seem to fit this move. This would be its other STAB if it needed that.
Lopunny
[B]Type:[/B] Normal
[B]Ability:[/B] Fur Coat
[B]Stat Boosts:[/B] Atk +10, Def +20, SpAtk +10, SpDef +50, Speed +10
Lopunny has always been a Pokémon that tend to arouse males, similar to Gardevoir. This is in part due to its voluptuous stature and a bunny motif (because rabbits are sexy I guess). If Gardevoir could get one to give it a more feminine look, then it would be OK for Lopunny too. Since Lopunny is a “furry” Pokémon (it has some prominent fur, and it even cloaks its body with its ear fur in danger), let’s emphasise that trait.
Fur Coat is the first ability of choice for Lopunny. Because of this, Lopunny is able to take a lot of hits, despite not having enough resistances. This is helped by a modest increase in Defence, which is sure to increase it even further. Adding to that, Special Defence received a huge increase as well, emphasising the defensive part of Lopunny. The other three stats have their increases spread out, but the Speed could see some use.
Lopunny’s movepool is able to take advantage of the great increase in defences. One way to do this is to use Entrainment on a partner so that they have doubled Defence, and it would be a safe Baton Pass set up user because of the defences. It couldn’t use the combination of Agility and After You well before, but perhaps this would help it much more because the defences now give it more chances. If Lopunny’s not going to be used anymore (and is low on health), then it would sacrifice itself using the power of Healing Wish (or Endeavour for the last hit).
It would be interesting to see how well a (physically) defensive Normal-type will do. Yes, it doesn’t have recovery in the way Blissey does, but if Mega Lopunny does, that would make it a lot difficult to take down.
Mismagius
[B]Type:[/B] Ghost/Fairy
[B]Ability:[/B] Soundproof
[B]Stat Boosts:[/B] Def +20, SpAtk +30, SpDef +20, Speed +30
It’s a shame that Mismagius didn’t receive a Fairy-type, because this is one of the best candidates to benefit from Fairy’s resistances. Another thing that is going for it is its banshee origins, which is itself a type of fairy. For this Mega Evolution, we have here another Pokémon with an extra Fairy-type. Some people think that it should get a Psychic-type due to the magician, but I feel that the banshee origin makes it unique, due to having a magician already (Alakazam).
The extra Fairy-type meant that coverage will be great, because it will get Dazzling Gleam if it doesn’t (we don’t know if Mismagius learns it due to it not being in X & Y, but it should get it) for almost perfect neutral coverage. Calm Mind and Nasty Plot are great ways to boost your power too. You do need to now watch out for Bullet Punch in addition to Shadow Sneak, since its Defence isn’t quite high, though.
Now the ability. When coming up with ideas on what would be the best ability, I went for Soundproof over several candidates such as Magic Guard or Magic Bounce. Mismagius doesn’t necessarily benefit from the immunity of sound-based moves behind a Substitute (the only move it’s weak to is Snarl), although it helps that it is immune to Roar. Actually, the main advantage of Soundproof is the immunity from Perish Song. This will not only allow Mismagius to be unaffected by its own weapon, but you don’t need to use another turn to put it back in to use another song.
Finally, the stats. I put more emphasis on the power and speed, so that it would provide a decent answer to Mega Gengar’s terror of trapping (not that Mismagius would be trapped itself). Defences also got a bit of an increase too, and that is great, because Mismagius’ Defence didn’t change after evolving from Misdreavus.
Weavile
[B]Type:[/B] Dark/Ice
[B]Ability:[/B] Technician
[B]Stat Boosts:[/B] Atk +30, Def +20, SpAtk +10, SpDef +20, Speed +20
So far, a lot of the choices are based around cuteness and beauty as part of their “visual look”, so let’s break the pattern with something more cool and beastly. Weavile is the one I am looking at now. What could be the result? It would likely be sleeker and more king-like, to emphasise its frill or mane.
As a lot of people know, Weavile is best used with Technician because it has a lot of moves that would love to take advantage of Technician. Some of them include Beat Up, Ice Shard, Bite and Low Kick (on lighter foes). Unfortunately, Weavile was not given Technician at all. It does get Icicle Crash in Generation 6, which is good, which is a way to compensate for the lack of power. Some Mega Evolutions benefit from being early at the party, and Weavile is one of them. It’s a lead’s worst nightmare, thanks to Beat Up having 33 BP doing 6 hits, hitting any Pokémon that does not resist Dark for massive damage. Boosts are same as Mega Aerodactyl, a Pokémon whose highest stats are Attack and Speed.
Leavanny
[B]Type:[/B] Bug/Steel
[B]Ability:[/B] Overcoat
[B]Stat Boosts:[/B] Atk +20, Def +30, SpAtk +20, SpDef +30
Leavanny’s Bug/Grass-type may be great in some ways, but if Leavanny now wears armoured leaves, that would be something I would like to see. The progression of garments is actually pretty cool, so I can see this fitting well.
The ability of choice is one of Leavanny’s previous abilities, in order to maintain its powder immunity as a Grass-type. The Steel-type is definitely an improvement in terms of resistances. It lost some old ones, but the new ones would be welcomed, to resist previous weaknesses (Poison, Bug and Ice).
Stats are nothing special. Defences got a bigger boost to make Leavanny’s set-up efforts easier, while the Attack stats could be put to great use. I didn’t add Speed because it’s not always a necessity to increase it, like I did for most entries so far. Mega Leavanny won’t be the fastest Bug/Steel (Durant is), even if its Speed is relatively high.
Its typing makes it easier to use its rather good movepool, which includes 5 options to Baton Pass, recovery (Synthesis and Heal Bell), dual screens and last but not least, Sticky Web. You may think that Leavanny won’t have any Steel STAB, but Leavanny does in fact learn Steel Wing as a TM. Yes, it’s true. Strange, isn’t it? Then again, it learns Bug Buzz too.
Garbodor
[B]Type:[/B] Poison/Steel
[B]Ability:[/B] Regenerator
[B]Stat Boosts:[/B] Atk +30, Def +30, SpAtk +20, SpDef +30, Speed -10
Garbodor is the epitome of hideousness, since it repels those who appreciate Pokémon that look pleasant or beautiful, but it attracts those who are able to see the beauty of something that is made of garbage. There are fans who like beautiful and ugly Pokémon too. When it comes to visual looks, Garbodor is definitely one that fits. Yes, it doesn’t look pleasant, but that’s the beauty of it. It could go one step further with garbage and become encased in a metal garbage can, like an armour.
That trash can armour will give Garbodor the Steel-type, giving it plenty of resistances. In order to emphasise on Garbodor’s defensive nature, it will have Regenerator to heal every time it switches out, which is useful since Mega Evolutions can’t have healing items. Even the stats gave it a substantial defence upgrade.
The attack upgrade might not mean much, but you will never know when a Drain Punch/Giga Drain/Gunk Shot will come in handy with dispatching opponents. To balance this a bit, Mega Garbodor’s Speed will be reduced, which it won’t necessarily use because Mega Garbodor will be used mainly for walling.
Golurk
[B]Type:[/B] Ground/Ghost
[B]Ability:[/B] Hustle
[B]Stat Boosts:[/B] Def -10, SpAtk +60, SpDef -10, Speed +60
Finally, we have Golurk. Golurk may be an artificial Pokémon, but it is a very well-designed artifical Pokémon, who have fans because it is gigantic, a robot and is powerful. The Mega Evolution of Golurk will focus on the removal of its sparadrap to unleash that power.
For the ability, Hustle would be the ability of choice. It grants more power in exchange of having less accurate physical attacks, to simulate Golurk’s uncontrollable power if its belt is out. Because of the power output of Hustle (it is around 210 Base Attack), I won’t increase the Attack stat. The real increases are the Special Attack and Speed, because the lack of restraint would power these up. In exchange of these upgrades, its defences took a slight hit, because the lack of restraint make it less resilient. The stats essentially translate to a 50% boost to all three stats.
Perhaps it could be uncontrollably strong (the boost is essentially +186), perhaps the loss of resilience and accuracy make it more balanced, but this is the Mega Evolution I am most psyched with. It’s difficult to execute because you will still be slow when you Mega Evolve, making you open for harm with your lowered defences. But if you managed to survive whatever comes your way, you are able to use that strength to smash stuff. If you don’t want to risk the accuracy drop, you could go Special (lots of wonderful Special attacks!), with Shadow Punch because that is not affected by accuracy.
Maybe your favourites that are not beautiful isn’t listed. I won’t mind reading what you think would fit the “visual looks” criteria, so here’s your chance to sound off in the comments.
The next article is going to be a challenge, because the next criteria will be based on the “game balance” criteria. Since the game is complex, it’s difficult to see what would help aid the game’s balance. What I do know is that I will attempt to have as many types as possible among my choices, because that would be a good starting point. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it.
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