National Dex # 012

Mega Butterfree

• Typing A: Psychic / Fairy
• Typing B: Bug / Psychic
• Typing C: Bug / Fairy

Base Stats:

• HP: 60
• Attack: 45 (-30) = 15
• Defense: 50
• Special Attack: 90 (+40) = 130
• Special Defense: 80 (+30) = 110
• Speed: 70 (+60) = 130
• Ability: Tinted Lens

Potential Obtained Moves:

Moonblast and Moonlight

Just like regular Beedrill, regular Butterfree is currently in the pits of PU as this article is written. Remember when Generation V simply blessed most Bug-types with new moves like Quiver Dance? Currently, it is not doing much for the first generation butterfly to stay in NU with all of the Magmortars shooting Fire Blast cannons in the air. That's not the only embarrassing news it has. Remember when it was one of the prominent threats in NU? That's already gone because Vivillon, the 666th advocate of Giratina, blows it off as if Vivillon summoned Typhoon Haiyat with its demonic hurricane-like wings. If Beedrill had made its "Rags to Riches" story, I bet it is time for Butterfree itself to unleash its inner psychic prowess with a powerful Mega Evolution and the powers of the moon.

In this theoretical experimentation, Butterfree is taking notes about nymphs and metamorphoses to become a Fairy / Psychic nymph Pokémon. After it sheds its underwhelming Bug / Flying typing, its new Fairy / Psychic dual typing gives it new defensive possibilities thanks to its Fairy half, and thanks to its new Psychic secondary typing, it gets more offensive coverage, especially against Fighting- and Poison-type Pokemon. Keeping Tinted Lens as its Mega ability means that its Quiver Dance-boosted attacks will make sure that even Pokémon that resist them will not take those well if their HP has been reduced vastly. Unlike Beedrill, which completely gave up both of its defensive stats, Butterfree has a decent chance to tank special attacks and strike back in return. We do not know just how many tiers this potential Mega Evolution may climb up, but if it reaches at least UU, then it may be the antithesis to the tier's premier Fairy-type named Florges. If its Bug typing is kept with its second typing becoming either Psychic or Fairy, it just might be possible for it to leave an interesting dent on the UU metagame, perhaps OU to some extent. As to how much change in the future UU or OU Mega Butterfree could do as a late-game special sweeper, that is something that we may only find out later this upcoming holiday.

National Dex # 059

Mega Arcanine

• Typing: Fire

Base Stats

• Base Stats
• HP: 90
• Attack: 110 (+20) = 130
• Defense: 80 (+20) = 100
• Special Attack: 100 (+20) = 120
• Special Defense: 80 (+20) = 100
• Speed: 95 (+20) = 115
• Ability: Regenerator, or Intimidate

Potential Obtained Moves:

None

Oh, the good old reliable K9 of Pokémon during 1996 should at least have an honorary Mega Evolution for the 20th anniversary of Pokémon. Now, for Arcanine, building a Mega Evolution concept both thematically and competitively is very tricky due to its flexibility. For me, when I think of Arcanine, it's either the dog that is a police officer's most reliable bomb detector and rescuer or the dog equivalent of one of many mythical creatures from either Polynesia or China. This flexibility also applies to Smogon's standard movesets throughout all generations. I have seen battles where Arcanine sweeps early- or late-game and where it becomes a very tanky Pokemon with a tough fur to extinguish, or even a mix of both offensive and defensive Pokemon.

With the confusion of even setting the playstyle in which Arcanine fits best, I will make a wish maker's bet that Mega Arcanine might be the first Mega Evolution to receive 20 points to each of its base stats save for HP. Due to how flexible it is, why not keep its entire movepool and typing? This is the possible conclusion I have come to. As for the ability, I had to think back on the existing playstyles that it has been used on throughout the generations. With a Mega Evolution, Mega Arcanine could either have Regenerator or keep Intimidate as its ability, for the former can be used both offensive and defensive purposes, while the Intimidate ability would allow it to apply two Attack drops upon entry on an opposing physical attacker like Machamp.

National Dex #196

Mega Espeon

• Typing: Psychic

Base Stats

• HP: 65
• Attack: 65 (-5) = 60
• Defense: 60 (+70) = 130
• Special Attack: 130 (-10) = 120
• Special Defense: 95 (+35) = 130
• Speed: 110 (+10) = 120
• Ability: Solar Power or Synchronize

Potential Obtained Moves:

None

If any of you played Pokémon Colosseum on the GameCube a decade ago, you'll recall a bona fide anti-hero wielding two of the most unlikely companions to save the Orre region through unconventional ways. His partners are Espeon and Umbreon. These two were among the most popular Eeveelutions even to this day for their unique appeal to both boys and girls to the point that the Pokémon fandom just have to pair the two of them together just about every single time, including Pokkén Tournament having the two of them together as support Pokemon. Espeon in some way has been an interesting story in the early generation metagames, being compared to Gardevoir for how both were outclassed in OU, for example, by Alakazam in the third generation in every way. Even then, the physical / special split in Generation IV did little to bring Espeon above NU. However, Dream World abilities made it stand out in OU, above its brother Umbreon, with the power of Magic Bounce. Another factor that helped it rise to OU last generation was the presence and introduction of Unova's vast number of Fighting-types running amok on the tier followed by the era that the Smogon community would now call "of the weather wars", when it made its allegiance with the menacing sun teams thanks to Morning Sun. However, as of now, it ends up in UU, where its brother Umbreon has been residing for the past two generations.

So now here is where Espeon's Mega Evolution comes in and just might make it an exceptional Pokémon that is able to tank attacks, hit hard, and attacks faster than its foes. Normally, regular Espeon is set to just hit as many foes as it can. But after constant meditation and mastering the ever-changing weather patterns, it has learned how to harness the energy of the sun to amplify the power of its attacks. As to how Solar Power may work for it besides as the theme of Espeon's preference on daytime, this is a Mega Evolution that you can use both on a sun-based weather team or merely for its great stats. With Mega Espeon's defenses bolstered to base 130, it can sponge more attacks to set up for a late-game sweep, or do better at supporting roles. I'm certain you notice that both its base Special Attack and Speed stat reach up to 120. While this can make Mega Espeon a bit faster, it comes at the cost of not being able to hit as hard as regular Espeon if it's not under sun. If Solar Power is too strong for such a niche skill, keeping Synchronize can make its support sets more annoying to deal with.

National Dex # 197

Mega Umbreon

• Typing: Dark

Base Stats

• HP: 95
• Attack: 65 (+35) = 100
• Defense: 110 (+40) = 150
• Special Attack: 60 (+25) = 85
• Special Defense: 130 (+20) = 150
• Speed: 65 (-25) = 40
• Ability: Poison Touch or Pressure

Potential Obtained Moves:

None

Besides everything that I can tell you about its involvement in Pokémon Colosseum, here is something that is rather misleading about its Pokédex entry in LeafGreen: "It usually excretes toxic sweat all over its body's pores when threatened or agitated". However, Umbreon does not learn any Poison-type move at all except for TMs like Toxic and Hidden Power Poison. Speaking of Toxic, I'm certain that all of you know that Umbreon has been filling mainly a support role for five generations already, carrying Toxic and some other healing move like Moonlight or Rest. At times, you may have found ones using Curse-based attacking sets that end up being a hit-or-miss build. While Espeon had a rough start, Umbreon on the other hand was OU from second up to the fourth generation for its typing, bulk, and movepool. However, the vast number of good Fighting-types in Generation 5 made its existing roles more difficult to execute. What made it drop to UU, besides the abundance of reliable Fighting Type Pokemon, was the increasing popularity of weather teams, as Umbreon was not able to take rain-boosted Hydro Pumps and sun-boosted Fire Blasts, nor Excadrill's repeated Earthquakes. What made UU be its home this generation was the great invasion of the Fairy-types.

Having a good base HP stat is a must for support Pokémon. However, Umbreon is going to need more boosts to its defenses if it has to tank a strong attack while it heals off the damage with Moonlight. Adding some points into offensive stats, Umbreon now has a chance of doing decent damage to its foes with Foul Play or use moves like Psychic and Dark Pulse if playing the Calm Mind setup game. These boosts already combine the aspects of every set it has run in the past generations. However, the most valuable highlight of Mega Umbreon would be the potential abilities it might have. If it ever ends up applying its Pokedex entry about using its lethal poison to incapacitate his foes in practice, Poison Touch could an interesting ability, for all of its attacks may have a chance of poisoning the opponent's Pokémon. While Poison Touch's chance to trigger is only 30%, this ability could possibly be used as a decent conditional pressure for the opposing team's sweepers, not just the tanks and walls. While it is true that poison is better for walls, for sweepers that do not have some kind of protection for poison, it limits their time to sweep before going down. Another ability we could consider to further emphasize Mega Umbreon's defensive capabilities is Pressure, would be a serious problem to Choice sweepers, like Victini, that use moves with 8 PP like V-create and Fire Blast, or for Pokemon that just have to spam Earthquake or Return with a Choice Band. With Pressure as its possible ability, if Mega Umbreon eats up a low-PP attack like Hydro Pump and it heals on the same turn, the foe may lose valuable PP that it could have used later on another Pokémon. Even if the foes inflict Toxic on Mega Umbreon, unless they use Taunt on it, it can just use Heal Bell to remove the status.

National Dex # 330

Mega Flygon

• Typing: Dragon / Ground

Base Stats Version A:

• HP: 80
• Attack: 100 (+20) = 120
• Defense: 80 (+10) = 90
• Special Attack: 80 (+40) = 120
• Special Defense: 80 (+15) = 95
• Speed: 100 (+15) = 115
• Ability: Sheer Force or Levitate

Potential Obtained Moves:

Quiver Dance and Hyper Voice

Unlike for its brother Garchomp, Flygon's fame has all but vanished from the OU scene for a couple generations already. If one looks at the in-game non-legendary Dragon-types of Generation III's Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, not the ORAS remakes, excluding Flygon, the choice is restricted to either the difficult-to-get Bagon, obtainable only after beating the eight Gym Leader, or the more accessible yet underwhelming Altaria. So, where does Flygon belong in competitive battling? It ends up in the middle of the pack of the three. It had some use in the higher competitive tiers both in the third generation, not as much as Salamence but more than Altaria, and the early fourth generation before Garchomp, another Dragon / Grouond Pokemon, shaped and redefined the metagame and took over the OU tier as its turf.

With both Salamence and Altaria finally blessed with Mega Evolutions, Flygon is the last Dragon-type of the Hoenn trio in need of salvation. Finally unleashing its power as a true desert Dragon, this Mega Evolution brings Flygon back with a new light to not just compete with Mega Altaria and Mega Garchomp in OU but possibly even pick up Mega Salamence's torch into the realms of Ubers. With a boost of 40 points to its Special Attack and a lower boost to its others base stats, Flygon still holds the quality of being a Pokémon with balanced base stats. However, its newfound Speed bring some of its past common sets a new leash of life. However, if Game Freak is kind enough to make Quiver Dance and Hyper Voice moves that Flygon can learn by level up in Pokémon Sun and Moon, this Mega Evolution will have a new way of differentiating itself from its regular forme by capitalizing on that Special Attack. If you take to consideration that a lot of Flygon's special coverage moves have secondary effects, Sheer Force makes them even more powerful. Yet there are times when being completely immune to a certain type is too good to pass up. Hence, the possibility of keeping Levitate could never hurt a Pokémon that does not have a lot of weaknesses.

Base Stats Version B:

• HP: 80
• Attack: 100
• Defense: 80 (+30) = 110
• Special Attack: 80 (+20) = 100
• Special Defense: 80 (+50) = 130
• Speed: 100
• Ability: Shield Dust

Potential Obtained Moves:

Quiver Dance and Stealth Rock

A defensive variant with 30 more points in Defense and 50 in Special defense is also plausible. Combine a newfound access to Stealth Rock with Roost and Defog, and Flygon has the capability of being a lead Mega Evolution, like Mega Aggron, that does not mind tanking most special attacks and a few physical attacks. However, if this second version ends up being Flygon's Mega Evolution, we should consider giving it the most bland and forgotten ability: Shield Dust. For those that are not in the know of this ability, it protects the user from secondary effects applied by enemy attacks. If any of you still recall the move "Scald", that is the trump move of 5th Generation with its 30% chance to burn. With Shield Dust, Scald will never burn Mega Flygon, or Jirachi's Body Slams will never paralyze it. You could say that Flygon can be the anti-Serene Grace Mega Evolution thanks to Shield Dust that can be played with mixed set with Stealth Rock, Quiver Dance, and two attacks of your choice: notably Earth Power and Dragon Pulse or Draco Meteor.

However, with so many possibilities and changes that might come, Flygon might end up possibly being UU again like in the 4th generation. Perhaps Game Freak might be so kind to give it two Mega Evolutions like they did with Mewtwo and Charizard. Or it might not top OU material but still an OU Pokémon with a very strong niche that other future OU challengers may not have.

National Dex # 337

Mega Lunatone

• Typing: Rock / Dark

Base Stats

• HP: 70
• Attack: 55 (-20) = 35
• Defense: 65 (+35) = 100
• Special Attack: 95 (+20) = 115
• Special Defense: 85 (+45) = 130
• Speed: 70 (+20) = 90
• Ability: Shadow Tag or Magic Guard

Potential Obtained Moves:

Dark Pulse

With the next games being called Sun and Moon, let's not forget about the ongoing buzz with both Solrock and Lunatone possibly getting a Mega Evolution. While Solrock has some redeeming niches in PU, Lunatone sits at E Rank, in the same tier, mind you: a tragic and depressing ranking in the lowest tier. Even if its set is good, it just cannot do so easily. Even if its movepool is expansive, Lunatone just cannot perform many roles effectively. It is usually played as a late-game sweeper, but it is usually outclassed at that too. Its Rock typing means it can only check Normal- and Flying-types, while being Psychic type happens to be a massive curse because it gives Lunatone weaknesses to Dark, Steel, and Bug. It also cannot weaken physical attackers with Will-O-Wisp like Solrock, and it also has underwhelming HP and Defense stats. So, how much buffing does it need for in upcoming generation? A LOT!

So now, I present to you the possible future of a Mega Lunatone. If Solrock is the sun that protects the planet with its bright fiery light, Lunatone is the challenger that uses its shadows to balance the extreme blinding lights with dark skies and using the moon. There are two abilities that could dictate the flow of a fight with Mega Lunatone. If it gets Shadow Tag, I believe Gothitelle, Mega Gengar, and Wobbuffet can tell you just how much pressure this ability can apply to your opponent's strategy no matter which point in the game Mega Lunatone should come out. Otherwise, if Shadow Tag is too broken, Magic Guard can just give Mega Lunatone immunity to all formes of residual damage. But in most cases, Shadow Tag happens to be that one ability that can turn almost any Pokémon into a dangerous threat either defensively or offensively, and it is an ability not to mess with.

National Dex # 338

Mega Solrock

• Typing A: Fire / Fairy
• Typing B: Fire / Psychic
• Typing C: Rock / Fairy

Base Stats

• HP: 70
• Attack: 95 (+15) = 110
• Defense: 85 (+60) = 145
• Special Attack: 55 (+20) = 75
• Special Defense: 65 (+25) = 90
• Speed: 70 (-20) = 50
• Ability: Drought or Magic Guard

Potential Obtained Moves:

Recover

So, how does Mega Solrock perform as a Mega Evolution? A part of me is convinced that Game Freak may explore many new ways or add extra conditions as to what makes a Pokémon an approved Mega Evolution. If you look at Mega Solrock's typing, Rock is not there. Rather, it gains a new dual typing that makes it gain an immunity to Dragon-type attacks, be neutral to Steel-, Ghost-, Dark-, and Grass-type attacks, and resistant to Bug-type attacks. Added to its list of buffs is the trade of regular Solrock's Speed of 70, which loses 20 points that are transferred to Special Attack, allowing Mega Solrock to gets some niche uses of Fire Blast to deal with physical walls like Skarmory and Steelix.

The concept of this Mega Evolution is to amplify Solrock's capability to tank more physical hits than the ones it currently can, since Will-O-Wisp is not enough to protect regular Solrock from powerful Fighting- and Steel-type moves. Now with Recover, Mega Solrock can do better tank both type of attacks, especially physical ones. However, its underwhelming HP stat gives it a fair weakness to special attacks despite the extra buff. A way to capitalize on Mega Solrock's low Speed is Trick Room. The reason you would usually get this Mega Evolution is if you need Mega Solrock to be a deterrent to physical attackers thanks to Will-O-Wisp. With powerful abilities like Magic Guard protecting it from Toxic or Drought to act as an alternative to Ninetales or Mega Charizard Y, Mega Solrock can carve itself a unique niche in the future OU metagame, where you keep playing either regular Solrock as a lead support or as a tanky Mega Evolution that relies on its typing.

If Game Freak choose to keep at least one of its existing types, they could make Mega Solrock either Fire / Psychic, giving it a decent amount of offensive and defensive presence, or otherwise Rock / Fairy, allowing it to be played as a counterlead to a lot of the common entry hazard setters or Steel-types.

National Dex # 350

Mega Milotic

• Typing: Water / Fairy

Base Stats

• HP: 95
• Attack: 60
• Defense: 79 (+11) = 90
• Special Attack: 100 (+50) = 150
• Special Defense: 125 (+20) = 145
• Speed: 81 (+19) = 100
• Ability: Competitive

Potential Obtained Moves:

Dazzling Gleam

Any of you who played the original third generation games knows that Feebas is a very difficult Pokémon to catch, since it can only be caught by fishing in a certain square of a river in a certain route. However, getting a Milotic certainly rewards the effort, since it is no slouch in competitive plays. Just like Gyarados, Milotic is a majestic Pokémon that has a very displeasing looking pre-evolution that you had to commit to get their awesome evolution. In Generations 3 and 4, it usually plays a similar role to Vaporeon, but with a focus on Special Defense. Mostly decent in OU and UU throughout the generations, it has developed an interesting role even in Doubles with the introduction of Competitive. As the antithesis to Gyarados, it may as well be blessed with a Mega Evolution.

Keeping Competitive as its ability, Mega Milotic sees use to prevent foes from setting up Sticky Web or take advantage of Intimidate to boost its Special Attack. Mega Milotic's boosts in Defense and Special Defense, coupled with a Water / Fairy typing, also make it a tough Pokémon to just one-shot. While making it part Dragon would be better defensively, that would leave its niches greatly contested by other Dragon-types that outperform it in some ways or another. Initially, most would still use regular Milotic for its slow, bulky supporting or bulky attacking role. What makes this theoretical Mega Evolution functional in OU is how it can differentiate itself from Azumarill as a legitimate Mirror Coat wielder. The last thing a frail special sweeper would want is to get KOed by their attack being fired back at it. Milotic's current Doubles set can also be played using this Mega Evolution, which makes it just as good as being able to use either form of Gyarados in Doubles with great effect.

National Dex # 398

Mega Staraptor

• Typing: Fighting / Flying

Base Stats

• HP: 85
• Attack: 120 (+50) = 170
• Defense: 70 (+20) = 90
• Special Attack: 50 (+5) = 55
• Special Defense: 60 (+20) = 80
• Speed: 100 (+5) = 105
• Ability: Justified, Intimidate, or some subpar ability

Potential Obtained Moves:

None

Normally, when we are thinking of bird Pokémon that are found in early routes from a competitive point of view, most will categorize them as NU or PU. However, when the 4th generation came, Starly's family tree broke the trend with its final evolution. While most Normal / Flying types in the past generations have to resort to Steel Wing or a Hidden Power just to hit Rock-, Ice-, and Steel-types, Staraptor's talons have the insane capability of striking Close Combats at them without even having hands or paw-like hands! Does it sound absurd and miraculous? It is a big fat yes for the first Normal / Flying type that can be played in OU quite well for three generations straight. Though it is mostly considered the BorderLine veteran by Smogon's community, something feels amiss about Staraptor even to this day. Should Staraptor be a Fighting / Flying type for that awesome STAB on both Close Combat and Brave Bird? For just about every Pokémon fan, that would be a yes. But in this case, if regular Staraptor is still great with that Reckless Double Edge and Brave Bird, giving it a Mega Evolution and a secondary Fighting typing might allow it to take full advantage of Close Combat too.

If given enough opportunities, Mega Staraptor may be a Pokemon that will do heavy damage no matter what. However, due to its limited base 105 Speed, Mega Staraptor would need proper timing to be played effectively. Hence, get rid of faster Pokémon that are faster or have priority, then clean up the rest. While Mega Staraptor seems to be a powerful mid- and late-game cleaner, it would work as an early-game wallbreaker if it manages to get a Justified boost when struck by Knock Off or any other Dark Type moves. Just the typing and improved stats might allow Staraptor to reach B, A, or even S in the Viability Rankings of OU. If Game Freak has no intentions of repeating the mistake they did with Mega Kangaskhan, they could either just let it keep Intimidate or just give it a subpar ability like Keen Eye. In the case of Intimidate, it is one of those great abilities that virtually never makes any Pokemon broken.

Will Mega Staraptor greatly disrupt OU to the point of it going to Ubers? That I am not certain of, due to how quickly it can still be picked off by many priority wielders like Talonflame and Scizor before Mega Evolving. However, if the community finds this Mega Evolution too much to bear, bringing Mega Staraptor to Ubers is not that bad of an idea just to add more noteworthy Flying-types to the tier besides Lugia, Ho-oh, Mega Salamence, Rayquaza, and Yveltal. Speaking of Talonflame, imagine the two of them doing the Brave Bird spam again or even Monotype. Only this time, it will seriously hurt with the addition of Mega Staraptor.

National Dex # 472

Mega Gliscor

• Typing: Ground / Flying

Base Stats

• HP: 75
• Attack: 95 (+50) = 145
• Defense: 125 (+35) = 160
• Special Attack: 45
• Special Defense: 75
• Speed: 95 (+15) = 110
• Ability: Guts

Potential Obtained Moves:

None

Contrary to Gligar, which had been subpar in the second and third generation, when Gliscor was introduced in generation IV it was quite a surprising Pokémon. When it comes to performance, Gliscor is one of the few Pokémon with a balanced stat distribution that are competitively viable. As of now, Gliscor's evolution line happens to have all of its members perform greatly in their corresponding tier: Gligar in UU and Gliscor in OU. While one may say that is unnerving to make a great Pokemon in OU have a Mega Evolution, since it is tricky to take into account factors like how strong should it be without being brought to Uber levels. Or, if it is to reach Ubers, it should be able to reach high Ubers rankings without having Mega Rayquaza's levels of unstoppable fury. The best role way one could see Mega Gliscor have is one that gets outclassed by other Pokémon: a bulky attacker.

With its new base stats only focusing on Attack, Defense, and Speed, Mega Gliscor now has the capability of sweeping on its own if opposing special attackers or Pokémon with a base Speed stat higher than 110 have been removed. With its access to a plethora of offensive moves, Mega Gliscor is not just limited to Earthquake and Knock Off. Sometimes, giving it the elemental Fangs or Rock-type attacks for more offensive coverage can help Gliscor sweeping. Though one could say that this kind of Mega Evolution for Gliscor could be used for defensive purposes, it is not that good compared to regular Gliscor thanks to its new ability, Guts, which is more useful for offensive purposes. If regular Gliscor gets burned or paralyzed before Toxic Orb activates, unlikely as it may be, then it will be most likely useless for the rest of the match, for Poison Heal is what truly makes it worth using. But for Mega Gliscor, Guts is actually a free Attack boost that helps it more than it hurts it, regardless of the kind of status. Will it greatly break the trend of future OU? The possibility of having a new Mega Lucario, which pushes OU to its brink thanks to a good ability coupled with great stats, is there. Add its Tailwind to buff up the entire team's Speed, Choice Scarf wielders, and Aqua Jets from Azumarill may be a necessity to beat it.

National Dex # 530

Mega Excadrill

• Typing A: Steel
• Typing B: Ground
• Typing C: Ground / Steel

Base Stats

• HP: 110
• Attack: 135 (-20) = 115
• Defense: 60 (+70) = 130
• Special Attack: 50
• Special Defense: 65 (+48) = 113
• Speed: 88 (+2) = 90
• Ability: Filter, Oblivious, or Rough Skin

Potential Obtained Moves:

Spikes

Remember my mentions of the phrase "weather wars" throughout the article? This mole was one of the 5th generation Pokémon that got banned to Ubers because of the benefits it gets all around: a great ability in the form of Sand Rush, a dual typing that makes it immune to sandstorm and powerful offensively, stats that make it not always easy to KO, and the ability to just spam Earthquake like no other. Currently, Excadrill is finally OU again, where it is manageable to beat thanks to the nerf of weather-inducing abilities. While offensive sets are still good, it has been playing more of a tanky attacker build with the arrival of the many Fairies introduced this generation. So while it is still good in OU, Excadrill plays a niche in Ubers as a lead Stealth Rock. Hence, a Mega Evolution may just be what it needs to thrive in the Ubers environment, where legendaries and other incredibly legendary-like Mega Evolutions clash. Simply, this Mega evolution is primarily focused on Ubers.

With the need to use its amazing HP stat, its Mega Excadrill's bulk is buffed to a very good 110 / 130 / 113, alongside its Speed being increased to 90, the common Speed tier of most legendary Pokemon; however, this comes with its Attack getting reduced a bit to 115. Taking a guide from Mega Aggron, Filter adds extra bulk to the one that it may get with those boosted defenses, reducing the impact of Fire-, Ground-, Fighting-, and Water-type moves. With these traits, Mega Excadrill might become one of the primary users of Rapid Spin even in unofficial metagames such as Anything Goes if Ghost-types and Protect users will not be as common. If it ever gets hit by Sticky Web, since Mega Excadrill will most likely run defensive builds, it won't care about Speed drops from Sticky Web, and it will be able to spin it away and retaliate with a strong attack. As for other potential abilities, if it gets Oblivious, being immune to Taunt can let it just set up Stealth Rock without a care, and maybe Spikes as well if it gets to learn it by level up or move tutor in the next generation. Lastly, Rough Skin is never a bad ability to have as demonstrated by Garchomp and Ferrothorn, and it will allow Mega Excadrill to punish attackers with contact moves. As for the typing, having a pure typing of either Steel or Ground is just as good as its current dual typing. Whichever of these three abilities Mega Excadrill might get and whatever typing, it will be one of those Pokémon that may as well be banned to OU and return to Ubers like in Generation V. Perhaps this time Mega Excadrill may be staying there for good.

National Dex # 059

Mega Chandelure

• Typing: Fire / Ghost

Base Stats

• HP: 60
• Attack: 55 (+55) = 110
• Defense: 90 (+30) = 120
• Special Attack: 145 (+35) = 180
• Special Defense: 90 (+30) = 120
• Speed: 80 (-50) = 30
• Ability: Shadow Tag, No Guard, or some exclusive new ability

Potential Obtained Moves:

Pursuit and Phantom Force

Do any of you remember the day when Bandai Namco and Game Freak introduced Chandelure as a Fighter in Pokkén Tournament months ago? While most of us still remember that day, I'm certain that many recall when they crawled under fear of Game Freak releasing Chandelure's hidden ability, Shadow Tag, last generation. In the end, it was averted and it got a rather underwhelming ability in Infiltrator. Currently, Chandelure is making use of that scary base 145 Special Attack in UU, acting as a special wallbreaker. Here is a Mega Evolution greatly inspired by its Pokedex entry and Pokkén Tournament, which has been released recently. This time, no Pokémon may survive the soul harvesting season.

With its Special Attack finally reaching Deoxys-A's level of 180, just one Fire Blast may be all Mega Chandelure needs to OHKO or 2HKO some of UU's or OU's special walls. As for other Pokémon, don't even consider them. However, with its Speed reduced to 30 and its Defense stats reaching a total of 120, plus its Attack reaching 110 for some interesting mixed attacking sets with newly obtained moves like Pursuit and Phantom Force, it is evident that Chandelure becomes a tanky attacker like Mega Mawile. That would usually mean late-game or Trick Room sweeping, right? You are correct. But the biggest highlight would be the abilities it might get. If it finally has Shadow Tag like how it should have had originally in the 5th Generation, banhammers are bound to chase it until its Mega Evolution is in Ubers. If Shadow Tag is too much, perhaps No Guard could make it playable in OU for its perfectly accurate attacks, especially Fire Blast.

If I have to increase speculation even more, if Chandelure gets its Mega Evolution this year, its ability will be something not only completely new and exclusive to its Mega Evolution, but it will also be based on its burst attack from Pokkén Tournament called Final Ticker in order to reflect its murderous soul-burning nature.

Just imaging yourself calling out your poor little Pikachu to battle a sorcerer's Mega Chandelure with 70% health. Your rodent has 50 HP left, and you command it to use Volt Tackle while Mega Chandelure sets up Trick Room. Your Pikachu does not just faint. Mega Chandelure picks up your Pikachu's soul and eats it with fire healing off some of the damage it took. You bring out your Adamant, Skill Link, Life Orb Cinccino next to hopefully kill this soul reaper with Rock Blast. However, you realized too late that your Pokemon are under the effects of Trick Room as your fancy scarf Pokémon turns to roasted chinchilla with Mega Chandelure using one Flamethrower. Once again, Mega Chandelure eats your poor Cinccino's soul to heal more of its HP to full. You only have Florges left at full health. Sending it into battle, you command it to use Calm Mind as the soul reaper burns her with Will-o-wisp. What really sucks is that your Florges is a defensive support set with only Moonblast as its attack. Your Florges tries to do as much damage as it can with one Moonblast, only for it to bring Mega Chandelure's health down by 12%. As it hits your Florges with one Flamethrower, its health bar is in the red where Will-O-Wisp knocks it out in flames. For Mega Chandelure, it just feasts on your poor Florges's soul and heals itself to full health. With your three Pokemon unable to battle, it gazes at you with a snarky laugh. The last thing you see is Mega Chandelure charging at you with its blowtorch and flames surrounding your untimely demise.

Just to translate the story in the paragraph above, this speculated ability inspired by Final Ticker takes the concept of Regenerator and the move Giga Drain into one ability where Mega Chandelure heals some of its HP whenever a Pokemon faints. It does not matter how the enemy Pokémon fainted (through attacking, status, recoil, hazards). Should its Mega Stone be available in Pokémon Sun and Moon, I speculate that there may be an isolated island in the very southeast of the Alola Region inspired by the real-life Easter Island.