On Feb. 27, during the 30th-anniversary Pok\u00e9mon Presents stream, Game Freak revealed a new Mega Evolution for Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Z-A<\/em>: Mega Garchomp Z. May this be the final one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mega Evolutions have been part of the Pok\u00e9mon combat dance for a while, having been introduced in 2013 with Pok\u00e9mon X<\/em> and Y<\/em>. The idea is that certain Pok\u00e9mon can hold a corresponding key item (i.e., Venusaur holds Venusaurite) to evolve in battle beyond its typical final-stage evolution (i.e., Venusaur becomes Mega Venusaur). The Pok\u00e9mon will take on a new look and see its base stats increase significantly, typically by around 100 points across the board.<\/p>\n The Mega Evolution gimmick skipped a few games \u2014 neither it nor the similarly paradigm-shifting Z-Moves were present in 2019\u2019s Sword<\/em> and Shield<\/em> or 2022\u2019s Scarlet<\/em> and Violet<\/em> \u2014 but returned again for Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Z-A<\/em>. As of this writing, according to Serebii, around 90 Pok\u00e9mon can Mega Evolve, though some, like Charizard and Tastugiri, have multiple forms.<\/p>\n It\u2019s funny. Sometimes you think back on a thing you hated as a kid \u2014 olives, for instance \u2014 and wonder if it\u2019s really as offensive as you remember, if you\u2019ve matured, if your memory is clouding an otherwise innocuous thing. Then reality sets in.<\/p>\n Mega Evolutions were dumb in 2013. They\u2019re still dumb now. And olives still aren\u2019t great.<\/p>\n For 30 years, Pok\u00e9mon has built its battles around an advanced version of Rock Paper Scissors \u2014 18 various types, each one with its own strengths and weaknesses against other types. Though Game Freak has implemented various quality-of-life changes over the years, that core concept has remained the same. You attack the water-type Pok\u00e9mon with electric- or grass-type moves. You swap out your electric-type Pok\u00e9mon when a ground-type Pok\u00e9mon appears. The challenge comes from knowing the type(s) of the Pok\u00e9mon you\u2019re facing (with more than 1,000 these days, it\u2019s harder than you\u2019d think) so you can know whether to attack or escape.<\/p>\n Mega Evolution does away with all of that strategy, reducing single-player Pok\u00e9mon battles to a mere numbers game. The competitive advantage of Mega Evolution\u2019s stat boosts means, in most cases, you no longer have to think about the type-matching chart, provided both Pok\u00e9mon are around the same levels. I\u2019ve been playing Legends: Z-A<\/em> on and off since its October 2025 release. Whenever I find myself in a pinch, I simply Mega Evolve whatever Pok\u00e9mon is on the field, and boom \u2014 we\u2019re safe.<\/p>\n Since the items needed for Mega Evolutions must be held by Pok\u00e9mon, the gimmick also trivializes another core component of Pok\u00e9mon battles. Pok\u00e9mon only can hold one item at any given time. Give a Pok\u00e9mon a Charcoal, and it\u2019ll increase the damage its fire-type moves deal \u2014 terrific for fire-type Pok\u00e9mon, who already get the same-type attack bonus for fire-type moves. Let another Pok\u00e9mon hold Leftovers and they\u2019ll regain some health each turn. There are hundreds of held items, allowing countless possibilities for trainers to flex their strategic chops. But what\u2019re you gonna do, give your Pok\u00e9mon a marginal advantage that could help in specific circumstances? Or go for the item that instantly changes the tide? Come on.<\/p>\n The obvious solution sounds straightforward: just\u2026don\u2019t engage with the mechanic. But the issue with Legends: Z-A<\/em> is that it effectively forces you to do so. For most of the game, you battle opposing trainers or wild Pok\u00e9mon. Every so often, though, you\u2019re required to defeat a few \u201cRogue Mega Evolutions,\u201d high-level Pok\u00e9mon who\u2019ve Mega Evolved without a trainer and pose a threat to nearby citizens in Pok\u00e9Paris. Defeating these Pok\u00e9mon all but requires you to use Mega Evolutions of your own in tedious boss fights where you spam the same attacks repeatedly while rolling around a bland, round battlefield. It\u2019s why I keep hitting a wall in the game. Every time I come up against one of these boss fights, I groan and put the game down, letting my attention get captured by a different game for a few weeks.<\/p>\n Mega Garchomp Z\u2019s arrival in Legends: Z-A<\/em> \u2014 as one of Pok\u00e9mon\u2019s big 30th birthday presents, no less \u2014 suggests The Pok\u00e9mon Company isn\u2019t shying away from Mega Evolutions. If anything, given that December 2025\u2019s Mega Dimension<\/em> expansion added a bunch of new Mega Evolutions, Mega Garchomp Z is likely far from the last one. The gimmick is the only one that keeps coming back, after all. To my chagrin, it\u2019s probably not going anywhere.<\/p>\n But hey, at least we got Mega Dragonite out of it.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Mega](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pokemon-legends-z-a-mega-starmie.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2\")
\n <\/picture>Image: Game Freak\/The Pok\u00e9mon Company, Nintendo via Polygon<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/static0.polygonimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/dragonite.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1\")
\n <\/picture>Image: Game Freak\/The Pok\u00e9mon Company, Nintendo<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n