Rogue Mega Evolution

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Rogue Mega Evolution (Japanese: 暴走メガシンカ Rampaging Mega Evolution) is a phenomenon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A whereby wild Pokémon undergo Mega Evolution on their own after exposure to high concentrations of Mega Power, which drives them into a berserk, painful state. There are 16 Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon that can be found as part of the game's main missions, and another 10 encounters are added in hyperspace as part of the Mega Dimension DLC. After a Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon is defeated, the player receives its corresponding Mega Stone.

The player encountering the Rogue Mega Victreebel

After the main story, Zygarde is fought in a similar way, but is not a Rogue Mega Evolution. Similarly, Mega Dimension would also reintroduce Primal Reversion, in which Kyogre and Groudon will go rogue under this transformation.

History

Background

Rogue Mega Evolution occurs when wild Pokémon are exposed to high concentrations of Mega Power, a form of energy released by Ange from within Prism Tower. This causes them to Mega Evolve, despite not meeting the requirements for a proper Mega Evolution, such as a bond with a Trainer or a Key Stone. Mable also entertains the idea that Xerneas's unlimited life energy could fuel Rogue Mega Evolutions in place of Mega Power.

Following Lysandre's activation of the ultimate weapon during the events of Pokémon X and Y, Ange begun releasing the Mega Power it was keeping inside throughout Lumiose City, which drew wild Pokémon into the city in large numbers. Quasartico Inc. shut down Prism Tower to investigate the energy under the guise of renovation work.

Six months prior to the events of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the first known instance of Rogue Mega Evolution occurred with a Pidgeot. AZ and Eternal Flower Floette attempted to battle the Pokémon, but the man was unable to keep up due to his advanced age. Fortunately, Urbain/Taunie stepped in for AZ and battled alongside Floette. Their success impressed Quasartico Inc.'s Vinnie, who was also responding to the issue, and he began sharing some intelligence on Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon with the young Trainer. These events inspired Urbain/Taunie to create Team MZ in order to help quell further Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon, later recruiting Lida, Naveen, and the player to the team.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Rogue Mega Evolution is introduced to the player during Main Mission 09: "Chase That Mysterious Pokémon!", after Zygarde tracks down the player and leads it to the site of a soon-to-be Rogue Mega Absol. For this encounter, AZ gifts the player a Mega Ring and temporarily loans them his Lucario. After the Rogue Mega Absol is pacified, it chooses to join the player. From this point onward, Team MZ is routinely notified by Quasartico Inc. about instances of Rogue Mega Evolution being detected around Lumiose City, which come in three at a time, leading to a total of 16 Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon being battled.

During the game's climax, after Hyperrogue Ange Floette takes control, numerous wild Pokémon throughout the city undergo Rogue Mega Evolution at the same time. The player and their various allies must defeat these Pokémon to reach Zygarde. The phenomenon of Rogue Mega Evolution comes to an end in Lumiose City after Zygarde destroys Ange.

Mega Dimension

Rayquaza undergoing Rogue Mega Evolution at Hyperspace Sky Pillar

As the Rust Syndicate and Quasartico Inc., helped by Team MZ, investigated Hyperspace Lumiose, it was discovered that the dimension contained Pokémon at risk of Rogue Mega Evolution. While the reason why the phenomenon is occuring in Hyperspace Lumiose is not fully known, Urbain/Taunie suspects that it may be a ripple effect from the events with Ange. Throughout the main story of the DLC, six Rogue Mega-Evolved are battled and caught, including Rogue Mega Darkrai, the Pokémon responsible for Hyperspace Lumiose existing in the first place.

In the post-game, specifically during Hyperspace Mission 13: "A Ruby-Red Legend" and Hyperspace Mission 14: "A Sapphire-Blue Legend", Team MZ faces off against Rogue Primal Groudon and Rogue Primal Kyogre, respectively. In turn, this allows for them to create a distortion that leads to a Rogue Mega Rayquaza, concluding Hyperspace Mission 12: "The Greatest Gift". Rogue Mega Zeraora can also be found during Side Mission EX3: "Raging Lightning". The DLC also introduces another seven instances of Rogue Mega Evolution as side missions.

Most of the Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon can be refought in the "Rogue Mega Arena" portals, where the player can earn more hyperspace points. The only exceptions to not appear in that specific portal are Darkrai, the super-ancient Pokémon, and Zeraora.

Mechanics

Before the battle starts, the player's Pokémon are fully healed and their Mega Power is set to zero. When the battle begins, the player and their ally are transported to a circular battlefield. The Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon can use moves against the player and other Pokémon, but not their ally. Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon have several times their normal amount of HP, take greatly reduced damage from non-Plus Moves, and a few also have modest increases to some of their non-HP stats, as well. Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon usually prioritize attacking the player instead of their Pokémon. Even if the player or their teammate's Pokémon have types that would ordinarily make them immune to a move that a Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon uses, they will still take (albeit heavily-reduced) damage from it. Some of those attacks will drop orbs of Mega Power in various sizes, which the player must collect in order to Mega Evolve their Pokémon or use Plus Moves. Eventually, the Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon can prepare a more devastating special attack, which can be stopped with Plus Moves. If such an attack is stopped, the Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon will be stunned for a while, being unable to attack. Some Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon can summon other low-level Pokémon from their Evolution line as reinforcements.

In Mega Dimension, all Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon can be fought at higher levels in Hyperspace Lumiose. Pokémon fought in Hyperspace will be affected by donut energy, making the battles timed based on the donut consumed. Picking up black energy orbs that the Rogue Mega Pokémon drop when stunned will temporarily freeze the timer. The time limits are relieved on rematches in Quasartico Inc.

Exclusive to these battles, Kyogre, Groudon and Rayquaza will have an effect on their field that simulates the Ability of their Primal Reversion/Mega Evolution during their second phases making certain types of moves have less or no effect.

During story progress, if the player blacks out, they can choose to restart the battle, continue it with the previously dealt damage, or forfeit. If the player chooses to continue or restart the battle, their party will be fully healed, and the donut (if one is used) will have its timer refilled. Rayquaza, being the only exception, will have to be fought from the start of the first phase if the player blacks out. Zeraora also has to be fought from the start if the player loses to it, but it is not part of the story.

Rogue Mega Evolution Simulator 3000

In the post-game, specifically during Main Mission 41: "The One That Takes", Vinnie will challenge the player to a rematch against virtual simulations of the Rogue Mega-Evolved Victreebel, Hawlucha, and Tyranitar in preparation to face Yveltal, something only possible through Quasartico Inc.'s Rogue Mega Evolution Simulator 3000. After beating all three simulations, the player can engage in rematches with any of the 16 Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon at any time to earn rewards and see how quickly they can complete them.

Unlike the original battles, the player must face the Pokémon on their own, without any assistance. After pacifying the Pokémon, Vinnie will record the time it took to beat them, and will give the player ×3 Exp. Candy M as a reward. The rematchs at Quasartico Inc. are unlocked after beating post-game of Pokémon Legends: Z-A and all story Rogue Megas of Mega Dimension DLC. Defeating the new Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon in the Mega Dimension DLC unlocks additional rematches at Quasartico Inc. headquarters. While Vinnie is absent at the headquarters, a female Team Flare Nouveau member takes his place as the attendant for Rogue Mega Evolution Simulator 3000.

Rogue Mega Rush

Rogue Mega Rush (Japanese: 暴走(ぼうそう)メガラッシュ Rampaging Mega Rush) is a boss rush available in Pokémon Legends: Z-A's Mega Dimension. It is unlocked by defeating every Rogue Mega Evolution, including the event-exclusive Mega Zeraora. It is one of the three rematch options in Pokémon Legends: Z-A and the Mega Dimension DLC.

The player must fight all 27 Rogue Mega Evolutions (except Hyperrogue Ange Floette) in a set order. They are fought in the same order as in the story, with the exception of Zeraora, being fought in between Heatran and Darkrai, and Zygarde, being fought as the very last battle; in the case of the five batches of three Rogue Mega Evolutions each during the main story, they are fought in the order displayed in the missions list, with the exception of the third batch, which are fought in reverse order. They are all level 100, and the player can only heal their party 3 times between battles. Healing moves such as Synthesis, Wish and Giga Drain do not count towards this. The player is not allowed to switch their party members or use items. The only reward is a title called "Mega Rush Master" for online play. Kyogre, Groudon, and Zygarde are the only Pokémon in Rogue Mega Rush to not use Mega Evolution.

List of Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon

There are 16 Rogue Mega Evolution Pokémon encounters in Pokémon Legends: Z-A's base game and 10 Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon encounters (including Primal Reversions) in the Mega Dimension DLC:

Notably, the battles against Darkrai and the super-ancient Pokémon have two phases: in the first, they are in their base forms, while in the second, they undergo Rogue Mega Evolution or Rogue Primal Reversion. Zygarde is the only Pokémon in this list that is neither a Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon nor a Rogue Primal Pokémon, and it is the only Pokémon that does not drop any Mega Power when stunned, unlike all the other Pokémon.

Mission	Location	Pokémon		Level		Assistance	Reward	Rogue Mega Rush Order
				During battle	After capture
Main Mission 9 Chase That Mysterious Pokémon!	Jaune Sector 6		Absol  Dark	25	30	–	Absolite	1
Main Mission 11 A Rogue Mega Slowbro	Aymlis Park		Slowbro  Water  Psychic	34	–	Urbain/Taunie  Bayleef  Pignite  Croconaw  Manectric	Slowbronite	2
Main Mission 12 A Rogue Mega Camerupt	Jaune Sector 3		Camerupt  Fire  Ground			Lida  Clauncher  Staryu  Vanillite	Cameruptite	3
Main Mission 13 A Rogue Mega Victreebel	Magenta Sector 9		Victreebel  Grass  Poison			Naveen  Ariados  Sableye  Scraggy	Victreebelite	4
Main Mission 16 A Rogue Mega Beedrill	Vert Sector 5		Beedrill  Bug  Poison	41		Urbain/Taunie  Meganium  Emboar  Feraligatr  Manectric	Beedrillite	5
Main Mission 17 A Rogue Mega Hawlucha	Magenta Sector 3		Hawlucha  Fighting  Flying			Lida  Clauncher  Staryu  Vanillish	Hawluchanite	6
Main Mission 18 A Rogue Mega Banette	Jaune Sector 9		Banette  Ghost			Naveen  Ariados  Sableye  Scraggy	Banettite	7
Main Mission 21 A Rogue Mega Mawile	Magenta Sector 6		Mawile  Steel  Fairy	48		Urbain/Taunie  Meganium  Emboar  Feraligatr  Manectric	Mawilite	10
Main Mission 22 A Rogue Mega Barbaracle	Bleu Sector 5		Barbaracle  Rock  Fighting			Lida  Clawitzer  Vanillish  Staryu	Barbaracite	9
Main Mission 23 A Rogue Mega Ampharos	Rouge Sector 6		Ampharos  Electric  Dragon			Naveen  Ariados  Sableye  Scrafty	Ampharosite	8
Main Mission 27 A Rogue Mega Froslass	Aymlis Park		Froslass  Ice  Ghost	53		Naveen  Ariados  Sableye  Krookodile  Scrafty	Froslassite	11
Main Mission 28 A Rogue Mega Altaria	Magenta Sector 4		Altaria  Dragon  Fairy			Lida  Clawitzer  Vanillish  Emolga  Staryu	Altarianite	12
Main Mission 29 A Rogue Mega Venusaur	Jaune Sector 8		Venusaur  Grass  Poison			Urbain/Taunie  Meganium  Emboar  Feraligatr  Manectric	Venusaurite	13
Main Mission 32 A Rogue Mega Dragonite	Vert Sector 3		Dragonite  Dragon  Flying	59		Urbain/Taunie  Meganium  Emboar  Feraligatr  Manectric  Meowstic	Dragoninite	14
Main Mission 33 A Rogue Mega Tyranitar	Jaune Sector 4		Tyranitar  Rock  Dark			Naveen  Ariados  Sableye  Krookodile  Scrafty	Tyranitarite	15
Main Mission 34 A Rogue Mega Starmie	Bleu Sector 9		Starmie  Water  Psychic			Lida  Starmie   Clawitzer  Emolga  Vanilluxe	Starminite	16
Main Mission 42 To Keep the World in Balance	Wild Zone 20		Zygarde  Dragon  Ground	84	84	–	Zygardite	27
Hyperspace Mission 1 Hyperspace Lumiose Survey No. 1	Hyperspace Disaster Arena		Absol  Dark  Ghost	105	75	Korrina  Machamp  Hawlucha  Sirfetch'd  Lucario  Urbain/Taunie  Goodra  Meganium  Emboar  Feraligatr  Avalugg	Absolite Z	17
Hyperspace Mission 3 Hyperspace Lumiose Survey No. 2	Hyperspace Hunting Grounds		Staraptor  Fighting  Flying	120			Staraptite	18
Hyperspace Mission 6 Hyperspace Lumiose Survey No. 3	Hyperspace Sushi Paradise		Tatsugiri  Dragon  Water	140			Tatsugirinite	19
Hyperspace Mission 8 Hyperspace Lumiose Survey No. 4	Hyperspace Second-Sight Arena		Meowstic  Psychic	150			Meowsticite	20
Hyperspace Mission 9 Hyperspace Lumiose Survey No. 5	Hyperspace Infernal Arena		Heatran  Fire  Steel	180	80		Heatranite	21
Hyperspace Mission 11 Hyperspace Lumiose Survey No. 6	Hyperspace Newmoon Nightmare		Darkrai  Dark	200	85		Darkranite	23
Hyperspace Mission 13 A Ruby-Red Legend	Hyperspace Desolate Land		Groudon  Ground		80		Red Orb	24
			Groudon  Ground  Fire
Hyperspace Mission 14 A Sapphire-Blue Legend	Hyperspace Primordial Sea		Kyogre  Water				Blue Orb	25
Hyperspace Mission 12 The Greatest Gift	Hyperspace Sky Pillar		Rayquaza  Dragon  Flying		85		–	26
Side Mission EX3 Raging Lightning	Hyperspace Lumiose		Zeraora  Electric			Korrina  Machamp  Hawlucha  Sirfetch'd  Lucario  Emma  Lopunny  Malamar	Zeraorite	22

Other instances

During Main Mission 37: "Operation Protect Lumiose", after Hyperrogue Ange Floette takes control, it will cause numerous wild Pokémon to undergo Rogue Mega Evolution across Lumiose City. As the player traverses the ruined streets to reach Zygarde, they will be forced to battle some of these Pokémon, with all of their levels being 62. Unlike the previous encounters, these all take place as regular wild Pokémon battles (though the Pokémon cannot be caught). The player will be assisted by characters from the various organizations they have encountered throughout the game. Each ally will Mega Evolve their ace Pokémon at the start of the battle.

Location	Pokémon		Level	Assistance
Vernal Avenue		Mega Gengar  Ghost  Poison	62	Lida  Starmie   Clawitzer  Vanilluxe  Emolga Naveen  Scrafty   Ariados  Sableye  Krookodile
		Mega Heracross  Bug  Fighting
Vert Street		Mega Kangaskhan  Normal		Ivor  Falinks   Heracross  Medicham  Machamp Gwynn  Chandelure   Banette  Gourgeist  Gengar
		Mega Pidgeot  Normal  Flying
		Mega Garchomp  Dragon  Ground
Jaune Street		Mega Blastoise  Water		Canari  Eelektross   Heliolisk  Ampharos  Stunfisk
		Mega Steelix  Steel  Ground
Jaune Sector 3		Mega Aggron  Steel		Lebanne  Dragalge   Noivern  Tyrantrum  Garchomp
		Mega Salamence  Dragon  Flying
Galerie de la Lune		Mega Gardevoir  Psychic  Fairy		Corbeau  Scolipede   Arbok  Gyarados  Roserade
		Mega Gallade  Psychic  Fighting
Magenta Sector 2		Mega Alakazam  Psychic		Grisham  Charizard   Pangoro  Malamar  Pyroar  Tyranitar  Salamence Griselle  Pyroar   Talonflame  Camerupt  Aerodactyl  Metagross
		Mega Aerodactyl  Rock  Flying
		Mega Metagross  Steel  Psychic

In between each battle, additional Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon will appear. However, the player cannot battle them, as their allies will step forward to face them so the player can continue on to their goal:

• Following the battle alongside Ivor and Gwynn, the latter will depart to battle two Mega Sharpedo and a Mega Scizor.
• Following the battle alongside Canari, she, along with Tarragon and the workers from Racine Construction, will face two Mega Beedrill and a Mega Lopunny.
• Following the battle alongside Lebanne, Jacinthe will appear and establish a Jacinthe Zone in which the two will face three Mega Houndoom and two Mega Abomasnow.
• Following the battle alongside Grisham and Griselle, the pair will face six Mega Pinsir.

During Mega Dimension, other Pokémon go under the effects of Rogue Mega Evolution, similar to battles leading up to Ange. These, too, are fought in Hyperspace Lumiose, requiring donuts to be made of a particular level. Defeating these Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon will receive a Mega Stone of the corresponding Pokémon. Crabominable is the only Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon that must be defeated in a side mission.

Location	Pokémon		Level	Reward
Hyperspace Lumiose		Mega Garchomp Z  Dragon	110	Garchompite Z
		Mega Crabominable (×2)  Fighting  Ice	114	Crabominite
			116
		Mega Scovillain  Grass  Fire	120	Scovillainite
		Mega Chimecho  Psychic  Steel	130	Chimechite
		Mega Golisopod  Bug  Steel	140	Golisopite
		Mega Golurk  Ground  Ghost	150	Golurkite
		Mega Glimmora  Rock  Poison	170	Glimmoranite

Trivia

• Out of the 87 Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution, 49 undergo Rogue Mega Evolution in Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Mega Dimension DLC.
• Absol is the only Pokémon to be fought as a Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon twice, as Mega Absol in Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Mega Absol Z in the Mega Dimension DLC.
  • In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Mega Absol is the only Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon that can be caught after being defeated. In the Mega Dimension DLC, all Rogue Mega-Pokémon battled as part of the main hyperspace missions, as well as Zeraora, can also be obtained, and are in fact required to be captured.
• Mega Crabominable and Mega Zeraora are the only Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon that are fought as part of side missions.
• Mega Zeraora and Mega Garchomp Z are the only Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon to be event-exclusive. While Mega Zeraora's EX side mission does not itself require a specific event for it to trigger, it requires the first two EX side missions, unlocked with the Mystery Gift distributions for the Diancite and the Mewtwonite X and Mewtwonite Y, to be cleared in order to trigger.
• Mega Rayquaza is the only Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon battled in the Mega Dimension DLC whose Mega Evolution was introduced in Generation VI. While the primal states of Kyogre and Groudon were also introduced in Generation VI, they are not considered to be Mega Evolutions.
• After defeating Rogue Mega Absol, all the Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon faced in Lumiose City appear in groups of three, with each group having at least one Mega Evolution newly introduced in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
• Every Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon battled as part of the main hyperspace missions share exactly one type weakness with Mega Darkrai.
• The Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon bear some similarities to the Noble Pokémon from Pokémon Legends: Arceus:
  • Both groups have been affected by an outside source (either Ange or the space-time rift). In battle, these groups also appear larger than what is the usual for their species.
  • Mechanically, both are fought in an arena with specific conditions untypical of average battles, such as an enlarged health bar. If the player loses, they may either restart the battle or from a certain checkpoint (with Rayquaza being the exception).
  • Both groups play a major role in their respective main stories and can be rebattled post-game for rewards. Similarly, Zygarde in Legends: Z-A, and Arceus, Dialga and Palkia in Legends: Arceus, while technically not part of their respective groups, can be rematched, as they are fought in similar ways.
  • Battles against Noble Pokémon reuse a leitmotif from the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Wild Battle track, while battles against Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon typically use a leitmotif from the Pokémon X and Y Wild Battle track.
• This phenomenon shares some similarities to the effects of Laquium in Pokémon Horizons: The Series, as both turn the Pokémon more powerful, but causes them to enter a berserk state, signaled by a pink aura.
• None of the major Rogue Mega Evolutions are Normal-type. Although Staraptor is dual-type Normal/Flying, its primary type is replaced by the Fighting type as Mega Staraptor.

In other languages

Rogue Mega Evolution

Language		Title
Chinese	Cantonese	失控超級進化寶可夢 Sāthung Chīukāp Jeunfa Pokémon
	Mandarin	失控超級進化寶可夢 / 失控超级进化宝可梦 Shīkòng Chāojí Jìnhuà Bǎokěmèng
French		Les Pokémon Méga-Ferox
German		Megamanie-Pokémon
Italian		Megaevoluzione ferox
Korean		폭주 메가진화 Pokju Mega Jinhwa
Spanish		Megaevolución descontrolada

Rogue Mega Rush

Language		Title
Chinese	Cantonese	失控超級爆湧挑戰
	Mandarin	失控超級爆湧挑戰 / 失控超级爆涌挑战
French		Défi Méga-Furieux
German		Megamanie-Marathon
Italian		Megassalto ferox
Korean		폭주 메가 러시 챌린지
Spanish		Superdesafío

Related articles

• Ange
• Mega Evolution
• Noble Pokémon
• Rematch

Mega Evolutions

Introduced with Pokémon X and Y

Introduced with Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

Introduced with Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Introduced with Mega Dimension

Related mechanics: Primal Reversion • Bond Phenomenon • Ultra Burst
See also: Mega Evolution characteristics • Mega Stone • Key Stone • Infinity Energy • Mega Energy • Rogue Mega Evolution • Mega Power

This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.