Mega Slither Wing
New Ability: Cotton Down
Type: Bug/Fighting
New stats:
HP: 85
Attack: 151 (+16)
Defense: 105 (+26)
Special Attack: 85
Special Defense: 151 (+46)
Speed: 93 (+12)
(670 BST)
New moves: Struggle Bug, Rage Powder
Description:
Mega Evolution gave Slither Wing the adaptations it needed to fit into the rest of the modern-day Pokemon world. Between a primordial, more aggressive temperament, and increased strength, perhaps no one adaptation was more important than its coat of fur, which has become heavier and more reflective, causing even the strongest attacks to bounce off like they were mere inconveniences. Notably, however, the fur also scatters if attacked, and now serves as a useful deterrent to slow attackers down.
Slither Wing aims to function as a powerful yet interesting bulky pivot (or bulky breaker). In Singles, Cotton Down takes advantage of its massive special bulk (and fairly solid physical bulk) and solid defensive profile to tank the hits that it needs to and then hinder the opponent by lowering their speed. Said speed drop can be leveraged in a variety of ways, whether it be using it to outspeed and dispose of a key threat with your STABs and your solid coverage options, or using that drop to force a switch that you can take advantage of with a Bulk Up, recovery, or just chunking the switch with your attacks. Outside of this, its movepool is perfect for taking advantage of this - Bulk Up and Will-o-Wisp pair perfectly with Slither Wing's newfound special bulk, letting it handle physical attackers with relative ease and letting it truly take advantage of its huge special bulk. The former even provides a powerful setup option, letting it potentially serve as a powerful late-game wincon. Morning Sun and its various coverage options in Flare Blitz and Earthquake cap off its toolkit, with the former giving it some powerful longevity and the latter letting it take on a variety of threats that would otherwise wall it.
In Doubles, this pokemon can also prove to be a solid option. Here, Cotton Down becomes even more powerful, punishing your opponent with the equivalent of a non-damaging Icy Wind if they choose to attack it. Being weak to Heat Wave and some of the stronger options in the meta is undesirable, sure, but between a coveted Earthquake resist and useful resists against Fighting- and Dark-types, its typing still provides plenty of meaningful defensive utilty that complements its massive defenses and Cotton Down. Speed control is an extremely important part of any Doubles strategy, and Cotton Down can provide a powerful means of accomplishing this end, as this requirement doesn't take up a moveslot, leaving you free to run whatever options you choose to run, be it tools such as Will-o-Wisp or its newly-gained Struggle Bug to further cripple the opponent, U-turn to pivot out freely while also chipping your opponent down, or even Rage Powder to help redirect attacks and activate its ability. That said, Cotton Down, powerful as it may be, also affects your ally, which can leave them vulnerable if you don't manage this risk properly, but it does also open up the door for fun synergies with Defiant, Competitive, and even Contrary users.
Mega Wo-Chien
New Ability: Rotting Grudge (This pokemon gains the resists of the Poison type; also cannot be poisoned.)
Type: Dark/Grass
New stats:
HP: 85
Attack: 110 (+25)
Defense: 115 (+15)
Special Attack: 125 (+25)
Special Defense: 160 (+25)
Speed: 80 (+10)
(670 BST)
New moves: Toxic
Description:
The grudge that gave life to Wo-Chien was strengthened with the power of mega evolution. In doing so, it fueled Wo-Chien's dark powers as well as its resiliency, rendering it capable of draining the life force from not just vegetation, but also organic beings as a whole. However, the process also internalized those same negative emotions, corrupting what little was left of its heart and soul. Now, a toxic, heavy aura surrounds Wo-Chien, one that chokes out the willpower and strength of those who dare to fight it - an extension of the ugliness that now fuels its every waking moment.
Dark/Grass is an extremely undesirable typing to have as a slow, passive, defensive pokemon, with 7 unsightly weaknesses to common types (and an extremely common move in U-turn) that befall its myriad of potentially useful immunities and resists. Naturally, any good mega evolution will invariably find a way to work around this weakness, and really what better way to do it than to give it a third set of resists? In particular, Poison's set works extremely well - it is THE Tera Type on Wo-Chien in every tier where Tera is allowed, and for good reason: being able to shut off its Fairy, Fighting, and Bug weaknesses and flip them on their head is huge, especially when those types are all over the place. Now, what Wo-Chien lose in Tablets of Ruin, it more than makes up for with a much less detrimental defensive typing and much better defensive stats overall, and it can truly fulfill its purpose as a defensive stopgap now that it no longer has to worry about being chunked by stray U-turns. In addition, its utility moveset, while not super impressive, also gets a new toy in Toxic, which lets it put some serious pressure on opponents that can't deal with it effectively. This compliments its existing access to Knock Off, Ruination, and Leech Seed, making it a much more annoying foe to deal with, especially now that it can't be as easily removed as its base would be.
Mega Iron Thorns
New Ability: Geothermal Charge (Immune to Ground-type moves. If this pokemon is hit by one, increase its special attack by 1 stage. Redirects Ground-type attacks to the user.)
Type: Electric/Rock
New stats:
HP: 100
Attack: 134
Defense: 126 (+16)
Special Attack: 126 (+56)
Special Defense: 92 (+8)
Speed: 92 (+20)
(670 BST)
New moves: no
Description:
The machinery that powers Iron Thorns reacted strangely with the energy of mega evolution, mysteriously giving the electrical energy coursing through its body an earthly influence. This influence has also extended to the rest of its body, with its smooth, metallic exterior toughening yet also lightening up, turning it into a nimble fighter despite its size. It can fire massive bursts of pure electrical energy from its mouth and spikes, and while still coolheaded, its combat prowess has become much more tactical in nature.
Iron Thorns has a noticeably massive special movepool for a pokemon designed to be a physical attacker. Between its ol' reliable STABs in Thunderbolt and Power Gem as well as useful coverage moves featuring options such as Ice Beam, Flamethrower, and Earth Power, there's a lot of useful moves on the special attacking side. However, Iron Thorns can't utilize any of them because its special attack is so poor, so it ends up having to use much weaker coverage on the physical side, hindering its sweeping potential unless you choose to use Tera, which is not an option in this meta. Even outside of that, the single biggest reason Iron Thorns fails is because it's a slow Electric/Rock type in a meta with no shortage of Ground-types and really not that much to show for it, as its other resists don't particularly matter too much. Other Dragon Dancers tend to be better because of some combination of higher initial speed, less shit defensive typing, and overall better coverage, so Iron Thorns is really going to need a lot in order to stand out.
This mega evolution seeks to patch up these flaws and turn Iron Thorns into an interesting Dragon Dance sweeper, one perfectly capable of applying its mixed offenses to deal some heavy damage. Geothermal Charge not only grants it a valuable Ground immunity (what with all the Ground-types running around), but even punishes them with a special attack boost, one that it can take full advantage of as its physical attack is already being boosted on its own using Dragon Dance. This in turn helps it use its sizable special movepool, whether it be running Ice Beam to snipe Grounds or Flamethrower or Earth Power to snipe Steels. Speaking of which, it's not like it's limited to Dragon Dance builds either - with a newfound immunity to one of the most common types in the game, it can prove a potent offensive pivot or offensive stealth rocker, using its vast special movepool to pick and choose its counters as it sees fit.
