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Mega Evolution (GO)

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Promotional artwork of Mega Evolution from Pokémon GO

Mega Evolution (Japanese: メガシンカ Mega Evolution) is a temporary transformations that certain Pokémon can undergo. Mega Evolution was introduced to Pokémon GO on August 27, 2020. Like in the core series, Mega Evolution significantly increase a Pokémon's stats and potentially change its type, but its moves will remain the same. However, rather than using a Mega Stone, an eligible Pokémon instead consumes Mega Energy to activate this temporary transformation. In addition, several type-based bonuses take effect while Mega Evolution is active, and become more powerful for Pokémon that have undergone Mega Evolution many times.

In-game artwork of Primal Reversion from Pokémon GO

Primal Reversion (Japanese: ゲンシカイキ Primal Regression) was introduced on February 18, 2023. Rather than using the Blue Orb or Red Orb, eligible Pokémon consume Primal Energy to activate Primal Reversion. In Pokémon GO, Primal Reversion is treated as a special type of Mega Evolution. The two operate nearly identically, but Primal Reversion is more powerful: it grants bonus effects to more types than Mega Evolution, and its damage bonuses in Gym and Raid Battles remain active the entire time a Primal form is in the party, not just when it is the active party member.

Activation

Activating Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion for a Pokémon the first time costs a large amount of species-specific Mega Energy or Primal Energy. Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion last eight hours, after which that Pokémon will enter a rest period for several days. As the rest period counts down, the Energy cost to reactivate Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion decreases proportionally until it reaches 0 at the rest period's end. Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion can be activated anytime during the rest period, so long as the player has enough Energy.

Repeatedly activating Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion on the same Pokémon will increase its Mega Level or Primal Level. A higher Mega or Primal Level reduces both the initial Mega or Primal Energy activation cost and the length of the rest period, making frequent activation far cheaper and easier.

A player can only have one active Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion at a time. Activating Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion on a second Pokémon will revert the first to its base form and start its rest period.

On top of the Mega Energy cost, activating Rayquaza's Mega Evolution also requires that it know the move Dragon Ascent. Rayquaza can learn Dragon Ascent by consuming a Meteorite.

Shadow Pokémon and Clone Pokémon cannot Mega Evolve, but Purified Pokémon and other event forms can.[1] Active Mega-Evolved Pokémon cannot be deployed to defend Gyms, traded, or powered up. Trading a Pokémon resets all progress towards Mega Levels or Primal Levels, and its recipient must pay the full initial amount to activate Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion.

Costs

The following shows the possible costs to activate Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion. The subsequent activation costs decreases with the Pokémon's Mega Level or Primal Level.

Initial cost Base Level
GO Mega Raid icon.png 		High Level
GO Mega Raid icon.pngGO Mega Raid icon.png 		Max Level
GO Mega Raid icon.pngGO Mega Raid icon.pngGO Mega Raid icon.png
100 20 10 5
200 40 20 10
300 60 30 15
400 80 40 20

Effects

Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion grant a variety of type-specific bonuses for an eight-hour period of time, with some having different types from their base forms. Activating Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion will restore a fainted or damaged Pokémon to full HP.

  • For Mega Evolution, type bonuses match the Mega-Evolved Pokémon's types
  • For Primal Reversion and Mega Rayquaza, type bonuses match their associated weather conditions:
    • For Primal Kyogre, these bonuses are applied are to Bug, Water, and Electric types, the same types boosted by Rainy weather.
    • For Primal Groudon, these bonuses are applied are to Ground, Fire, and Grass types, the same types boosted by Sunny weather.
    • For Mega Rayquaza, these bonuses are applied to Flying, Dragon, and Psychic types, the same types boosted by Windy weather.

In battle

Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion temporarily boost the base stats of a Pokémon. They can be used in all types of battles, except most formats of the GO Battle League.

When used in Gym and Raid Battles, Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion provides special damage bonuses to all allies:

  • ×1.3 damage for all moves whose types are boosted by Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion
  • ×1.1 damage increase for all other ally Pokémon's moves

Mega Evolution typically requires the Mega-Evolved Pokémon to be present on the battlefield for the damage bonuses to be active. For Primal Reversion and Mega Rayquaza, they only need to be present within the party that has any member on the battlefield; the damage bonuses are active even if the transformed Pokémon is never sent out or has fainted.[2]

Multiple players can use Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion in the same battle, but the damage bonuses will not stack. Each attack only will receive the highest applicable damage bonus.

Note that the damage bonus is not applied to the user or, for Primal Reversion and Mega Rayquaza, its own party. However, if multiple players use Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion, they can boost each other.

Catching Pokémon

Outside of battle, special bonuses are applied for catching Pokémon that have at least one of the Mega Evolution's or Primal Reversion's boosted types:

  • Bonus Candy
    • This bonus also applies to any Pokémon caught from a raid, regardless of type
  • Increased chance of Candy XL (unlocked at High level)
    • This is a flat rate, depending on Mega Level, added to the success rate for each possible Candy XL.
  • Bonus XP (unlocked at High level)

Walking a Buddy Pokémon

Once a Pokémon's Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion is registered to the Pokédex, walking any Buddy Pokémon from its evolutionary family will also yield its respective Mega Energy or Primal Energy whenever it finds Candy (at 5 Energy per km). Energy can be found this way regardless of whether there is a Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion active.

Level

Mega Levels were introduced on April 28, 2022, as part of an update to Mega Evolutions. As a Pokémon's Mega Level or Primal Level increases, the additional perks for Mega Evolving it improve. Each Pokémon can increase its progress towards the next Mega or Primal Level by undergoing Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion, up to once per day. Mega and Primal Levels are completely reset if a Pokémon is traded.

It takes at least 30 days for a Pokémon to reach Max Level, Mega Evolving it once each day. For a Pokémon that costs Mega Energy100/200/300 to initially Mega Evolve, it would take at least Mega Energy406/783/1160 total to reach Max Level within the minimum 30 days required, and waiting exactly 24 hours in between. If the player chooses to only perform subsequent Mega Evolutions without using Mega Energy, it will take at least 157 days (about 5 months) after the initial Mega Evolution to reach Max Level. In both ideal cases, the player cancels the Mega Evolution immediately to initiate the rest period timer.

Bonus Base Level
GO Mega Raid icon.png 		High Level
GO Mega Raid icon.pngGO Mega Raid icon.png 		Max Level
GO Mega Raid icon.pngGO Mega Raid icon.pngGO Mega Raid icon.png
Mega Evolutions required 1 7 30
Rest period 7 days 5 days 3 days
Mega Energy cost reduction 80% 90% 95%
Catch Candy Bonus Candy1 Candy1 Candy2
Increased Candy XL Chance — +10% +25%
Catch XP Bonus — +50 XP +100 XP

Mega and Primal Raids

Main article: Raid Battle (GO)

Mega-Evolved Pokémon and Primal Reversions may appear as Raid Bosses for Mega Raids and Primal Raids, respectively. Upon completion, the raid rewards a large amount of Energy that correspond to the Raid Boss, and the amount depends on how quicky the raid was completed. Each Mega Raid yields between 150 to 250 Mega Energy, and each Primal Raid yields between 60 to 100 Primal Energy. Upon defeat, the Raid Boss will revert to its normal form and can be caught as such during the bonus challenge.

As Pokémon GO has not featured Mega Diancie in raids, Mega Diancie Energy was instead made available during GO Fest 2023 through Carbink raids and catching wild Carbink.

List of Mega Evolutions and Primal Reversions

Resource Pokémon Boosted Types Initial Cost Release date
GO Venusaur Mega Energy.png Venusaur Mega Energy Venusaur Mega Venusaur GO Grass.png GO Poison.png 200 August 27, 2020
GO Charizard Mega Energy.png Charizard Mega Energy Charizard Mega Charizard X GO Fire.png GO Dragon.png 200 August 27, 2020
Charizard Mega Charizard Y GO Fire.png GO Flying.png
GO Blastoise Mega Energy.png Blastoise Mega Energy Blastoise Mega Blastoise GO Water.png 200 August 27, 2020
GO Beedrill Mega Energy.png Beedrill Mega Energy Beedrill Mega Beedrill GO Bug.png GO Poison.png 100 August 27, 2020
GO Pidgeot Mega Energy.png Pidgeot Mega Energy Pidgeot Mega Pidgeot GO Normal.png GO Flying.png 100 September 18, 2020
GO Alakazam Mega Energy.png Alakazam Mega Energy Alakazam Mega Alakazam GO Psychic.png 200 September 12, 2022
GO Slowbro Mega Energy.png Slowbro Mega Energy Slowbro Mega Slowbro GO Water.png GO Psychic.png 100* June 8, 2021
GO Gengar Mega Energy.png Gengar Mega Energy Gengar Mega Gengar GO Ghost.png GO Poison.png 200 October 23, 2020
GO Kangaskhan Mega Energy.png Kangaskhan Mega Energy Kangaskhan Mega Kangaskhan GO Normal.png 200 April 29, 2022
GO Pinsir Mega Energy.png Pinsir Mega Energy Pinsir Mega Pinsir GO Bug.png GO Flying.png 200 May 11, 2023
GO Gyarados Mega Energy.png Gyarados Mega Energy Gyarados Mega Gyarados GO Water.png GO Dark.png 300* February 9, 2021
GO Aerodactyl Mega Energy.png Aerodactyl Mega Energy Aerodactyl Mega Aerodactyl GO Rock.png GO Flying.png 200 January 7, 2022
GO Ampharos Mega Energy.png Ampharos Mega Energy Ampharos Mega Ampharos GO Electric.png GO Dragon.png 200 January 19, 2021
GO Steelix Mega Energy.png Steelix Mega Energy Steelix Mega Steelix GO Steel.png GO Ground.png 200 December 1, 2021
GO Scizor Mega Energy.png Scizor Mega Energy Scizor Mega Scizor GO Bug.png GO Steel.png 200 August 10, 2022
File:GO Heracross Mega Energy.png Heracross Mega Energy Heracross Mega Heracross GO Bug.png GO Fighting.png 200 April 13, 2024
GO Houndoom Mega Energy.png Houndoom Mega Energy Houndoom Mega Houndoom GO Dark.png GO Fire.png 100* October 1, 2020
GO Tyranitar Mega Energy.png Tyranitar Mega Energy Tyranitar Mega Tyranitar GO Rock.png GO Dark.png 300 July 25, 2023
GO Sceptile Mega Energy.png Sceptile Mega Energy Sceptile Mega Sceptile GO Grass.png GO Dragon.png 200 December 3, 2022
GO Blaziken Mega Energy.png Blaziken Mega Energy Blaziken Mega Blaziken GO Fire.png GO Fighting.png 200 December 3, 2022
GO Swampert Mega Energy.png Swampert Mega Energy Swampert Mega Swampert GO Water.png GO Ground.png 200 December 3, 2022
GO Gardevoir Mega Energy.png Gardevoir Mega Energy Gardevoir Mega Gardevoir GO Psychic.png GO Fairy.png 200 February 8, 2023
GO Aggron Mega Energy.png Aggron Mega Energy Aggron Mega Aggron GO Steel.png 200 September 16, 2022
GO Medicham Mega Energy.png Medicham Mega Energy Medicham Mega Medicham GO Fighting.png GO Psychic.png 100 March 8, 2023
GO Sableye Mega Energy.png Sableye Mega Energy Sableye Mega Sableye GO Dark.png GO Ghost.png 100 June 29, 2023
GO Manectric Mega Energy.png Manectric Mega Energy Manectric Mega Manectric GO Electric.png 100* March 16, 2021
GO Altaria Mega Energy.png Altaria Mega Energy Altaria Mega Altaria GO Dragon.png GO Fairy.png 300* May 15, 2021
GO Banette Mega Energy.png Banette Mega Energy Banette Mega Banette GO Ghost.png 100 October 20, 2022
GO Absol Mega Energy.png Absol Mega Energy Absol Mega Absol GO Dark.png 200 October 22, 2021
GO Glalie Mega Energy.png Glalie Mega Energy Glalie Mega Glalie GO Ice.png 200 December 15, 2022
GO Salamence Mega Energy.png Salamence Mega Energy Salamence Mega Salamence GO Dragon.png GO Flying.png 300* January 10, 2023
GO Latias Mega Energy.png Latias Mega Energy Latias Mega Latias GO Dragon.png GO Psychic.png 300 May 3, 2022
GO Latios Mega Energy.png Latios Mega Energy Latias Mega Latios GO Dragon.png GO Psychic.png 300 May 3, 2022
GO Kyogre Primal Energy.png Kyogre Primal Energy Kyogre Primal Kyogre GO Water.png GO Bug.png GO Electric.png 400 February 18, 2023
GO Groudon Primal Energy.png Groudon Primal Energy Kyogre Primal Groudon GO Ground.png GO Fire.png GO Grass.png 400 February 18, 2023
GO Rayquaza Mega Energy.png Rayquaza Mega Energy Rayquaza Mega Rayquaza GO Dragon.png GO Flying.png GO Psychic.png 400 August 4, 2023
GO Lopunny Mega Energy.png Lopunny Mega Energy Lopunny Mega Lopunny GO Normal.png GO Fighting.png 200 April 4, 2021
GO Garchomp Mega Energy.png Garchomp Mega Energy Garchomp Mega Garchomp GO Dragon.png GO Ground.png 300 November 11, 2023
GO Abomasnow Mega Energy.png Abomasnow Mega Energy Abomasnow Mega Abomasnow GO Grass.png GO Ice.png 200 December 1, 2020
GO Diancie Mega Energy.png Diancie Mega Energy Diancie Mega Diancie GO Rock.png GO Fairy.png 300 August 4, 2023

Updates

  • Prior to September 3, 2020, subsequent Mega Evolutions required 25% of the initial Mega Energy (instead of 20%)
  • Prior to October 15, 2020, Mega Evolution lasted four hours (instead of eight).
  • Prior to 0.189.0 update, there was a bug that caused Mega-evolved Pokémon to be more powerful depending on the level the Pokémon was powered up from.
  • Mega levels and its related perks were introduced on April 28, 2022. [3]. Prior to this update:
    • For a Pokémon with multiple Mega Evolutions, the cost reduction only applies to forms it has previously Mega Evolved into. So if a Charizard has previously evolved into Mega Charizard X for the first time, then it would cost Charizard Mega Energy40 to evolve into Mega Charizard X again, but Charizard Mega Energy200 to evolve into Mega Charizard Y.
    • A Pokémon that has previously Mega Evolved and is then traded will still cost a reduced amount to Mega Evolve.

Trivia

  • Costumes are not displayed on Pokémon that are Mega Evolved.

References

  1. ↑ Mega Evolving your Pokémon — Niantic Support
  2. ↑ Primal Boost remains active even though The Primal Reversion Pokemon is NOT in battle
  3. ↑ Celebrate the Global launch of the Mega Evolution update with Mega Kangaskhan and a Mega Moment event!
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