Mar 15, 2015, 11:31 AM (This post was last modified: Mar 15, 2015, 11:33 AM by iflytoohigh.)
Hello, everyone!
I had received so much helpful information the last time that I posted here (regarding shifting from previous eSports to trying out the competitive side of Pokémon for a change), that I wanted to gather some thoughts on something that I have yet to formulate my own definitive opinion on as I've been learning.
I know that this most recent generation of Pokémon switched things up by throwing in Mega Evolutions, but I am having a difficult time determining whether these are more of a gimmick and a way to seemingly add depth to competitive battling, or if they actually are a game-breaking inclusion (or exclusion, for those who opt not to use them).
I'm not seeking a debate on whether or not people enjoy the new Megas so much as I'm interested in how they actually do (or do not) make a significant difference in terms of competitive success. Is it truly necessary to have a Mega in each of your lineups? Could they be considered just another evolution level or are they actually more than that? If they are important, does that importance vary depending on what type of battles you're doing (i.e. singles, doubles, triples)?
Thank you for any and all thoughts on this matter. I personally find the aesthetics of some of the Megas to be incredible, but I can't tell if there's much more substance to them than that, outside of a few stat buffs and Ability changes.
I don't believe Mega Evolutions are absolutely crucial. It really is dependent on you team; there are plenty of teams that don't need a Mega-Evo. In any battle format, Mega-Evo's give Pokemon a chance to work in battle, and they do add a lot of depth to the metagame. By no means are the a "game-breaking inclusion" as you call them...except maybe Mega-Kangaskhan. Megas are powerful, but just like any other Pokemon, there are many Pokemon that can defeat it. You cannot expect your Mega to destroy the opposition. Use it carefully and deliberately.
In singles, Megas are extremely common. Most people like to bring a Mega-Evo, so if you play singles, probably bring one, although don't force one onto the team if it's not necessary. Any team can work without a Mega.
In Doubles and VGC, oh boy. You'll see MegaKangaskhan a lot. Lots of Mega-Mawiles and Mega-Salamences too. Of course, you can use any Mega and it will still be viable. Some people bring two Megas. But again, Megas are NOT truly necessary, more so in VGC. Since you can only bring in 4 Pokemon, you have to decide whether a Mega will help you or harm you. Think back to Sejun Park's team from VGC 2014, he used that Mega-Gyarados brilliantly, but left it out during the Finals because it was weak to the opponents Rotom-Cut, and he ended up winning Worlds. So while Mega's are helpful in VGC, you just need to think about whether or not including it in your 4 Pokemon you bring in will actually help or not. Again, don't expect that just because it's a Mega that it will blow the opposition away
(Mar 15, 2015, 11:54 AM)Revenant L Wrote: I don't believe Mega Evolutions are absolutely crucial. It really is dependent on you team; there are plenty of teams that don't need a Mega-Evo. In any battle format, Mega-Evo's give Pokemon a chance to work in battle, and they do add a lot of depth to the metagame. By no means are the a "game-breaking inclusion" as you call them...except maybe Mega-Kangaskhan. Megas are powerful, but just like any other Pokemon, there are many Pokemon that can defeat it. You cannot expect your Mega to destroy the opposition. Use it carefully and deliberately.
In singles, Megas are extremely common. Most people like to bring a Mega-Evo, so if you play singles, probably bring one, although don't force one onto the team if it's not necessary. Any team can work without a Mega.
In Doubles and VGC, oh boy. You'll see MegaKangaskhan a lot. Lots of Mega-Mawiles and Mega-Salamences too. Of course, you can use any Mega and it will still be viable. Some people bring two Megas. But again, Megas are NOT truly necessary, more so in VGC. Since you can only bring in 4 Pokemon, you have to decide whether a Mega will help you or harm you. Think back to Sejun Park's team from VGC 2014, he used that Mega-Gyarados brilliantly, but left it out during the Finals because it was weak to the opponents Rotom-Cut, and he ended up winning Worlds. So while Mega's are helpful in VGC, you just need to think about whether or not including it in your 4 Pokemon you bring in will actually help or not. Again, don't expect that just because it's a Mega that it will blow the opposition away
Thanks for the rapid and thoughtful reply. I believe that your words echo where my thoughts were taking me on the entire issue. It seems like they add an additional layer of strategy, but they aren't necessarily game-breaking.
Lols, well, maybe Mega-Kanga?
In all seriousness, thanks for your input! I don't have any particular expectations of Megas being OP or underwhelming--I just wanted to know what those of you who are more well-versed in the competitive scene thought. ^^
Megas should be the strongest pokemons, so yeah.. having one of them (i'm talking about top tier Megas - Kang, Metagross, Mence, Mawile, CharY) in your Battle Box can make the difference. It's true that most of the teams are well prepared to counter those pokemons, but it's also true that you can build your team to support your Mega to let it sweep easily, that is the most common strategy on every great team. In battle, Megas also offer a simple win condition: if you kill the counters to your Mega, at this point you have something that your opponent can't really touch.
Anyway a team without a Mega is still viable but if that means "throwing a bunch of pokemons just to get an overall good type coverage" you can't really go far as these teams are usually countered by... well organized Mega teams.
(Mar 16, 2015, 12:21 AM)GMX Wrote: Megas also offer a simple win condition: if you kill the counters to your Mega, at this point you have something that your opponent can't really touch.
This is a statement that refers to all sweepers mega or not. For instance, if you are found without a counter on their team to your sweepers, you can win. Regardless if your sweeper is mega or not.
Personally I do not find them necessary at all and I've battled in double and brought my mega about 1/10 or 15 battles. It not because this mega doesn't work in my team, because he does. Its just overall there are better sweepers in my team based on the situations.
I believe they're more personal preference.
(Mar 16, 2015, 12:21 AM)GMX Wrote: Megas also offer a simple win condition: if you kill the counters to your Mega, at this point you have something that your opponent can't really touch.
This is a statement that refers to all sweepers mega or not. For instance, if you are found without a counter on their team to your sweepers, you can win. Regardless if your sweeper is mega or not.
Personally I do not find them necessary at all and I've battled in double and brought my mega about 1/10 or 15 battles. It not because this mega doesn't work in my team, because he does. Its just overall there are better sweepers in my team based on the situations.
I believe they're more personal preference.
You're right, but there's a difference in bulk between Mega sweepers and non-Mega. It's all based on the situations but i would always set up a comfortable position for my Mega (if possible) instead of relying on something else which would fall down after the first misplay (such as Bisharp). Howewer there are pokemon on which you can set up a good win condition too, such as Heatran or Rotom-W thanks to their unique typing.
I'm not trying to suggest to use 5 supports around a Mega, i just want to say that they should have a specific EV spread for a specific role in a team so that you are not afraid to bring your Mega in a battle, because there are 3 pokemons which can make some work to give you a favorable match up anyway.
personally i think it is necessary for every team to have a mega pokemon.i have two on my team sometimes cuz if the first mega is KO'd without mega evolving then you got a revenge killer.i have teams with no mega pokemon and they work amazingly sometimes even better.but megas are for people who need that extra power if you think you can make a team without a mega then you have to be an expert battler else you're gonna be crushed by the opposing team.
-adolf hipstar
Mega Evolutions serve the purpose of making a core so you can build your team around it, however, the core of a team can be anything else such as a strategy, idea or just a lead.
To be honest, Mega Evolution is not necessary to win but it gives you an edge since they have above average offensive abilities.
Recently I have been grappling with this question for awhile now especially when Smogon OU Council has decided to do an "experimental tier" where if the Mega Evoultion mechanic never existed at all (btw don't take this as a initiative that they'll eventually ban all Megas, its just like an additional metagame to play). Now when it comes with using Mega Evolutions, I'm going to be blunt and say you don't necessarily need one but its going to be harder to win battles without factoring the massively low opportunity cost, easy/foreseeable win conditions, and massive power creeps. Likewise you can construct team without a particular Mega Evolution in mind but don't leave out possibility of facing opposing Megas during team building or even in battle.
Mega Evoutions IMO are the easiest and most foreseeable win conditions in the game to use because of their relative ease to use in battles with the low opportunity cost. I keep mentioning "opportunity cost" since well its just that these Megas are that strong to the point where they are likely going to win you the battle the good majority of the time. Obviously there are huge differences between the obviously overpowered Megas like Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Gengar, or even Mega Salamence to others lesser used ones like Mega Pidgeot, Mega Glalie, or Mega Steelix. Some of you might not agree with me with that statement but statistically all three of those Pokemon have been a driving force of the Competitive Battling throughout Generation 6. From a singles battle perspective, Kang, Mence, and Gengar have been amoung the best Mega Pokemon in the game because of their relative ease to use in battle. These three have either the potential to 1) sweep across entire teams with little to no effort, 2) provide unfathomably support for the team members to sweep, or 3) can wall/stall the a good portion of the game.
Obviously these points are just for singles but even so Megas are suppose to be the your main or secondary options in regards to one's play style. You can try not building around Megas but it'll be considerably difficult to beat opposing teams who the majority all opt for a particular Mega. It might be difficult to use a non Mega team in doubles but I'm sure people can realize their win condition might be a team effort instead id just one Pokemon.
Wow, thank you SO much to all of you who have contributed to this discussion so far. All of the points made regarding Megas in general have been quite helpful. It seems as though some people find them to be necessary while others not so much, which is a huge relief, as it solidifies for me that this is a question worth pondering after all.
In addition to carefully considering all of the feedback that I receive here in this thread, I think what I'll need to do next is observe more competitive play and see what sorts of strategies exist utilizing Megas, as well as what that very same strategy may look like without one. I still personally consider myself to be a novice at competitive battling, but maybe my next step in this would be to construct two very similar teams--one with a Mega core and one with a non-Mega core--and see how they differ and compare.
Thank you, again, to all of you that took the time to comment so far! I'm looking forward to seeing what others think about this.
