A Look at Mega Evolutions for the 2018 World Championships

This article will look at every Mega Evolution that has seen decent success in the VGC 2018 format and look at its chances off doing well at the 2018 World Championships. Each Mega Evolution will have how it plays looked at, including notable things about each Pokemon. Sample teams will also be shown for each Mega Evolution that has succeeded in tournament play or on the ladder. Hope you enjoy!

Mega Venusaur

Mega Venusaur has only seen a small amount of success. What this Pokemon succeeds at is being able to stall out its opponents through sapping its health thanks to Leech Seed and Giga Drain. This can make Venusaur a great defensive wall that if properly supported, can be hard to take down. The issue Mega Venusaur will face is since Metagross and Tapu Lele both won the North American Internationals, 2 Pokemon that Venusaur hates to fight and both were carrying Psychic type moves, Venusaur will need to be supported to deal with to combat this.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Patrick Donegan – Top 8 Prague Special Event (Link to team report)
                         

Meghan Hyman – Top 8 in Zelda's Sao Paulo Challenge (Link to team report)
                         

Wilson Foong - Top 4 Malaysian Regionals
                         

Mega Charizard X

Mega Charizard X is a very offensive Mega Evolution. Most successful Mega Charizard X are either Dragon Dance variants which are much more popular or bulkier support variants with Will-O-Wisp that was popularized by Wolfe Glick during his Top 16 2015 World Championships run and again at his 1st place Charlotte Regionals run. The main goal of the Dragon Dance variants is to set up to become an offensive powerhouse. It uses moves like Flare Blitz and either Dragon Claw or Thunder Punch due to the presence of Tapu Fini in the format. Bulkier variants are great at still doing damage, but being able being annoying by burning their target and stalling them out.

Mega Charizard X absolutely hates Intimidate. Pokemon like Incineroar and Landorus-Therian are the most popular as they can lower its attack stat. Landorus doesn't enjoy taking Flare Blitz, even at -1 which can do a decent amount of damage. Incineroar can do decent damage with Knock Off. Thunder Punch and Dragon Claw will do decent damage but if Charizard doesn't have Roost, Incineroar can win the 1v1 against it.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Jamie Boyt – 1st Place Malmo Regionals (Link to team report)
                         

Wolfe Glick – 1st Place Charlotte Regionals (Link to team report)
                         

Eric Rios – Top 4 Latin American Internationals
                         

Alex Gomez – Top 8 Latin American Internationals
                         

Mega Charizard Y

Mega Charizard Y has always been a very strong Mega Evolution in part thanks to its Drought ability. Being able to set up the Sun to power up its fire moves and combined with its base 159 Sp. Attack stat makes it a very strong Pokemon to use. The fire type moves you can expect from it is generally 1 or 2 of Heat Wave, Flamethrower, and Overheat with Solar Beam and Hidden Power [Ground] the most common coverage moves. Some have even run support moves like Tailwind which since it isn't the most common, can prove to be a really strong choice if used.

If there's one Pokemon Mega Charizard Y absolutely hates fighting is Heatran. If Charizard doesn't have Hidden Power [Ground] Heatran can be pain to fight thanks to its Flash Fire ability and Solar Beam is 4X resisted thanks to its Fire/Steel typing. Due to not being bulky, common super-effective moves such as Tapu Koko's Thunderbolt and Landorus' Rock Slide can do significant damage to Charizard and even threaten KOs in some situation. Powerful attacks such as Tapu Lele's terrain boosted Psychic and Snorlax's Return can also do big damage since most Charizard will decide to go for a more offensive route instead of a defensive route which can leave it vulnerable against some very powerful moves.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Cedric Bernier – 1st Place Dallas Regionals
                         

Alberto Lara - Top 8 Oceania Internationals
                         


Brandon Meckley – 1st Place Costa Mesa Regionals
                         

Alex Collins – Top 8 Toronto Regionals
                         

Michele Gavelli – 1st Place Sheffield Regionals
                         

Jackson Finch – Top 8 North American Internationals
                         

Mega Blastoise

Mega Blastoise has established itself as a very niche Mega Evolution in that it's only really succeeded on 1 style of team: Tailwind offense. Most will be very fast so under Tailwind, they can fire off a very power Water Spout to tear through teams. Other common moves are ones that take advantage of its Mega Launcher ability such as Water Pulse in case Water Spout is a bad call, Aura Sphere for Steel types and Dark Pulse for Psychic types. Moves like Ice Beam and Fake Out are also sometimes seen though they aren't as common, though Fake Out is used on the more common Mega Blastoise teams.

One of the biggest pitfalls Mega Blastoise and its teams may find themselves in is if its opponent knows what to expect. Most will lead their Tailwind setter plus Mega Blastoise in order to go for Tailwind turn 1. The most common team often has a Z-Tailwind Kartana which means if Kartana succeeds, you can threaten a powerful  Water Spout and guaranteed Critical hits from your Kartana which can tear through teams.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
ひむけんⅡ世 – 3rd Place March International Challenge (Link to team report)
                         

Sam O'Dell – Top 4 Dallas Regionals
                         

Mega Gengar

Mega Gengar saw a rise in popularity in part to combat the popularity Metagross, the most popular Mega Evolution in 2018. Its base 130 speed stat and base 170 Sp. Attack can allow Gengar to reliably outspeed Metagross to KO it with Shadow Ball. One of the biggest tools Mega Gengar has is its Shadow Tag ability. Simply being able to limit your opponent from switching to be able to force your opponent is a very strong tool. Its Poison typing is also very strong due to how popular the Fairy typing is. Pokemon like the Tapus and Gardevoir for example is huge because Mega Gengar teams are commonly built with the idea in mind of Gengar being able to KO threats for its partners.

This can be shown based on the Kommo-o teams. Gengar can KO the Fairy types Kommo-o hates to fight to allow it to use its Z-move to clean through teams. Mega Gengar teams are either built more offensively to clean through teams much faster or bulkier like Daniel teams which is more defensive to allow it to win games more slower, although the offensive teams have seen more success in the format.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Kyle Livinghouse - Top 16 North American Internationals
                          

James Baek - 1st Place Toronto Regionals
                         

Giuseppe Musicco – 1st Place Stuttgart Regionals (Link to team report)

                         

Dylan Salvanera – 1st Place Roanoke Regionals

                         

Daniel Thorpe – Top 32 North American Internationals (Link to team report)

                         

Mega Kangaskhan

Mega Kangaskhan was the most popular Mega Evolution in the every VGC format in the 6th generation due to how reliably it could 2HKO most of the format that isn't a Steel or Ghost type. The nerf to its Parental Bond ability and the lost of Power-Up Punch really shot Kangaskhan and for the first few months in the format. That all changed when Kangaskhan started winning various Special Events and many players really started to take note of Kangaskhan.

Mega Kangaskhan in the 7th Generation has traded power for bulk as common Kangaskhan are slower and able to take hits. Common Mega Kangaskhan teams in VGC 2018 are very reminiscent of CHALK teams from 2015. Heatran, Landorus-T, and Cresselia are still on the team as they play a very solid roll on the team. Tapu Fini and Kartana are new additions to the team thanks to Tapu Fini's Misty Terrain and Kartana's strong physical output.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS

Paul Chua - 1st Place Madison Regionals + Top 4 North American Internationals

                          

Brian Youm - Top 4 Roanoke and Madison Regionals (Link to team report)

                          

Jirawiwat Thitasiri - Top 8 Costa Mesa Regionals

                          

Jamie Dixon - Top 4 Sheffield Regionals

                          

Juan Naar - Won 3 Latin American Special Events

                          

Mega Gyarados

Mega Gyarados is another Mega Evolution that sees usage simply because it has a positive matchup versus Metagross. Its Water/Dark typing means it can wall Gyarados since it resists its Iron Head and Ice Punch, doesn't take much damage from Stomping Tantrum, and is immune to Zen Headbutt. For the most part, Mega Gyarados will try to setup Dragon Dance to increase the power of Crunch and Waterfall. Its Mold Breaker ability can allow it to bypass abilities such as Storm Drain to use water type moves and Lightning Rod to use Electric type moves which is very helpful.

After Isaac used Mega Gyarados at Oceania Internationals, it hasn't really seen any success since. A few Gyarados have seen decent success at Regionals, but no one was really able to make Top Cut with it. I can only assume its due to how the niche of having a very strong match-up against Metagross isn't strong enough as non-Mega Pokemon like Incineroar and Suicune can do that job better than Gyarados.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS

Chelsea Tan - 1st Place Singapore Open (Link to team report)

                          

Isaac Lam - Top 4 Oceania Internationals (Link to team report)

                          

Ziyue Xiong - Top 8 Melbourne Regionals
                          

Mega Scizor

Mega Scizor is a Mega Evolution that has only seen a very small amount of success, mainly from Carson when he won Latin American Internationals. The strength of Scizor lies in how it has a positive matchup against the Tapus and a decent match-up against Metagross. Thanks to its Technician ability, Scizor can use Bug Bite which takes advantage off the large amount of berries in the format and being able to steal those berries is very helpful.

Mega Scizor has only really succeeded on Rain teams. This is probably due to how being able to neutralize its crippling weakness to Fire type moves is very helpful. If there's one thing Mega Scizor needs, its terrain support. Tapu Lele's Psychic Terrain means it can't use Bullet Punch so Pokemon like Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko can become great partners for Scizor to help fix this issue.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS

Carson Confer - 1st Place Latin American Internationals + Top 8 Madison Regionals

                          

Malcolm Mackellar - Top 8 Melbourne Regionals

                          

Jairo Contreras - Top 8 Toronto Regionals

                          

Mega Tyranitar

Mega Tyranitar is a Pokemon that received early success from when Alessio Yuri used it to win Oceania Internationals. The strength of Mega Tyranitar is it essentially plays as a normal Dragon Dance Tyranitar, but the extra bulk and the ability to choose when to Mega Evolve to keep the sand up. You can read more on Tyranitar in this article on the site that was published very recently and linked here.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS

Alessio Yuri Boschetto - 1st Place Oceania Internationals

                          

Andrea di Tivoli - Top 8 Stuttgart Regionals

                          

Guntur Prabowo - 1st Place Melbourne Regionals

                          

Aditya Subramanian - Top 8 Madison Regionals

                          

Kamaal Harris - Top 32 North American Internationals

                          

Eric Rios - 1st Place Valencia Special Event (Link to team report)

                          

Mega Blaziken

Mega Blaziken is a very hyper offensive Mega Evolution and the teams its built around showcase this. The common moves you'll see on Mega Blaziken is Flare Blitz and Superpower for your main attacks with Rock Slide as your common coverage moves to hit Pokemon like Charizard for super-effective damage. 

Trevor's team is very offensive. We've seen Blaziken + Bisharp used a little bit but hasn't really seen success until Trevor used it. The core can be very difficult to switch into. The Scarf Tapu Bulu can combo with Blaziken to have a sizable chance to flinch your opponent over and over again. Nicholas' team has multiple modes to use in his games. Blaziken + Torkoal to fire off Sun boosted fire type moves, Torkoal + Oranguru for a Trick Room mode, Tapu Lele + Kartana for an offensive mode. The main success of Blaziken teams is its meant to overpower your opponent to win games.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS

Trevor Rosberg - 18th Place North American Internationals

                         

Nicholas Bingham - Top 4 Melbourne Regionals + Top 8 Perth Regionals

                         

Mega Swampert

Mega Swampert is a Pokemon that was largely benefited by how in the 7th Generation, a Mega Evolution's speed is automatically received once they Mega Evolve. This meant once Swampert Mega Evolves in the Rain, it's Swift Swim ability automatically activates so it can become insanely fast in the Rain. Mega Swampert hasn't really seen any success in the 2018 season despite the hype it got very early on. You'll often see Swampert paired with Pelipper as it can use Earthquake alongside it without damaging its partner. 

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS

Alister Sandover - Top 16 North American Internationals + Top 4 Auckland Open + 2nd Place Malaysian Special Event and Singapore Open

                         

Mega Gardevoir

Mega Gardevoir suffered from the nerf to its Pixilate ability. This didn't change Gardevoir's success much at all as these players were able to use Gardevoir successfully. Conan used it very early on in VGC 2018 and put Gardevoir on the map. Conan Wild's Gardevoir team set the stage for the framework of how Gardevoir teams mainly look by adding an extra Fairy type in the form of a Tapu, a bulky Fake Out user as well as Intimidate, a bulky Pokemon that can do decent damage, and a Pokemon to round out what the team struggles with.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS

Conan Wild - Peaked with a 1796 rating on the Season 1 Championship Ladder (Link to team report)

                         

Nathan Wright - Top 8 Charlotte Regionals

                         

Stephen Mea - Top 16 Latin American Internationals + Top 8 Toronto and Madison Regionals

                         

Benjamin Tan - 1st Place Malaysian Special Event (Link to team report)

                         

Adrian Sigler - 1st Place Portland Regionals

                         

Yuanhao Li - 2nd Place Portland Regionals

                         

Jake Muller - Top 16 North American Internationals (Link to team report)

                         

Mega Mawile

Mawile is another Mega Evolution that found its home on Rain teams even though it's not exactly designed for the Rain. The common build for Mawile teams is pairing with Gothitelle as Gothitelle provides Shadow Tag and support moves like Helping Hand, Trick Room, and Heal Pulse to help support Mawile. Pokemon like Politoed can support Mawile mainly because of its Drizzle ability which can help Mawile take Fire type moves from Pokemon like Charizard and Incineroar much better. Incineroar can help very much in the mirror and a Tapu in either Tapu Koko or Tapu Bulu can help in other matchups like Kommo-o for example.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS

Yanqing Sun - 2nd Place Roanoke Regionals (Link to team report)

                         

Benjamin Tan - 1st Place Malaysian Regionals and Singapore Special Event

                         

Mega Manectric

Manectric picked up popularity around February with 3 Top Cut appearances at Regionals and a couple of small appearances in the next few months. Manectric teams have received an article in the past, which you can read about here. 

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS

Alvin Hidayat - 1st Place Collinsville Regionals + Top 16 Dallas Regionals

                         

Davide Cauteruccio - Top 4 Malmo Regionals

                         

Jeremy Shacket - Top 4 Portland Regionals

                         

Joseph Selmer - Top 4 Salt Lake City Regionals

                         

Brian Youm - Top 8 Charlotte Regionals (Link to team report)

                         

Louis Milich - Top 8 Collinsville Regionals (Link to team report)

                         

Mega Salamence

Salamence teams are mainly seen in 2 different forms: Either bulky set-up teams or more offensive teams. Hirofumi, Ashton, and Gary were the first 3 users of the bulkier variants whose main goal is for Salamence to set-up with Dragon Dance while its teammates help support its efforts to do so. Len went for a more offensive direction with a mixed-attacking Salamence paired with a Sand mode which is reminiscent of 2015's Japan Sand mode that was very popular around May 2015. Due to the popularity of Pokemon like Tyranitar which can give Salamence issues, that we will most likely see going into the World Championships, Salamence teams will need to prepare for this.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Hirofumi Kimura - 1st Place Japan Nationals (Link to team report)
                         

Ashton Cox - Top 4 Oceania Internationals + 2nd Place Collinsville and Charlotte Regionals
                         

Gary Qian - Top 4 Portland Regionals (Link to team report)
                         

Len Deuel - Top 8 North American Internationals
                         

Jake Powell - Top 16 North American Internationals
                         

Mega Metagross

Metagross has proven to become the most popular Mega Evolution in the 2018 format. Due to the gaining Stomping Tantrum which means Metagross is able to hit Pokemon it otherwise couldn't. Metagross is commonly paired with Pokemon like Tapu Lele to power up its Psychic type moves, Intimidate users like Incineroar and Landorus-T, and generally a slower mode like either Porygon2 + Araquanid or Amoonguss.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
David Koutesh - Top 4 Toronto Regionals + Top 8 North American Internationals
                         

Alessio Yuri Boschetto - Top 4 Toronto Regionals + Top 8 North American Internationals
                         

Jeremy Rodrigues - Top 8 Roanoke Regionals + 1st Place North American Internationals (Link to team report)
                         

Jens Arne Mækinen - 2nd Place Oceania Internationals + Top 8 Sheffield Regionals and Valencia Special Event
                         

Javier Valdes - Top 8 Oceania Internationals
                         

Mega Latias

Latias is a Mega Evolution whose main goal is to set-up through clicking Calm Mind. It can then use moves like Ice Beam and Psyshock to try and deal with teams. Latias teams tend to be very bulky as they can cycle Intimidate with Landorus-T and Incineroar to help. Latias commonly paired with Tapu Fini to help against other Dragon types like Salamence or opposing Latias. Latias hasn't really seen to much success which is probably due to the popularity of Incineroar which Latias can't touch at all. The popularity of Tyranitar going into the World Championships will also hurt Latias as well.

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Heinz Heckmann - Top 8 Prague Special Event
                         

Tommy Cooleen - 20th Place North American Internationals (Link to team report)
                         

Matthias Sucholdolski - Top 8 Stuttgart Regionals
                         

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