Pokemon GO gave players a big surprise yesterday by dropping Mega Evolutions into the game with close to no warning. There was a teaser tweet the prior day, but most of the community was just expecting more details this week, rather than the actual release of the new gameplay mechanic.
Now that Mega Evolutions are here and many of the rumors and theories from the big datamine leak have been confirmed, trainers have a lot of new activities to complete in the game. First off, there is the A Mega Discovery special research, which will help players learn the basics about Mega Evolutions and pick up some helpful items along the way. After that, Pokemon GO trainers are going to want to start powering through some Mega Raids and earning the resources need to mega evolve their own Pokemon.
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An important catch to Mega Evolutions is that they don’t last forever. As a matter of fact, they don’t last very long at all. That means that Mega Energy is going to be a precious resource and players are going to have to be very careful and selective about when they decide to burn through it for a Mega Evolution.
Once players do decide to cash in some Mega Energy and help a Pokemon reach its new ultimate form for a temporary period of time, they will have four hours to enjoy the Mega Evolution benefits. Once the Mega Evolution takes place a timer starts, which can be viewed in the general menu. After that timer drops down to zero, the Pokemon will return to its normal form and players will have to spend the required amount of Mega Energy if they want to see the powerful form return for another four hour period.
Only a handful of Pokemon have Mega Evolutions in Pokemon GO at this point, but it seems like a lot more will be on the way in the coming months. This seems like a major new mechanic and will likely greatly impact the metagame and how players achieve success if difficult Battle Raids. To get started, players should make sure they work through all of the Mega Discovery tasks to unlock those rewards and familiarize themselves with the basics of Mega Evolutions. The min maxers are already hard at work examining the mega evolutions and there will likely be some detailed strategy guides in the coming days explaining when it’s most beneficial to use those rare forms in the mobile AR game.
Now that the Special Research event is live and the new mechanic is in place, the festivities should give trainers a good reason to continue catching the best Unova Pokemon in the game and getting closer to that complete Pokedex. Check back for more Pokemon GO updates closer to the event. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GO is available now in select regions on Android and iOS devices.
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