Mega Evolution. The one new feature that was introduced in the Sixth Generation of Pokémon that proved to be quite a controversial change, since until this point, all Pokémon had a common rule; all evolution lines are no more than 3 total stages of evolution, regardless of branching lines, and that Legendary Pokémon did not evolve at all. Mega Evolution changed all of that. Mega Evolution, according to the Mega Evolution Guru of X/Y;

“Mega Evolution is a transformation of Pokémon that were thought to be unable to evolve any further!”

“There’s a reason why I used the word “transformation” a moment ago. Mega Evolution differs from Evolution because it ends after a certain amount of time. In other words, it’s a temporary Evolution.”

Check out our analysis after the break!

Mega Evolution, based on his word, is a type of temporary evolution for Pokémon can go through, but it is limited to Pokémon who were previously thought to not evolve any further. As a result, the most notable examples of Pokémon that can undergo Mega Evolution are 3-stage line Pokémon, in addition to Legendary Pokémon.

Now there have been attempts by my friends to claim that a Pokémon that IS NOT fully evolved can go through Mega Evolution, such as Pikachu and Eevee. There is a problem with that, however, and the Guru put it as the following: Mega Evolution is a transformation of Pokémon that were thought to be unable to evolve any further. As a result, since Pikachu evolves into Raichu through a Thunder Stone, and Eevee splits off into numerous different evolutions of differing types with different evolution requirements, this means for both Pokémon to be able to undergo Mega Evolution, Raichu and Eevee’s many evolutions are what will acquire the Mega Evolved form, and never their prior forms.

Now then, people still insist this because of the topic of this part of the analysis of Mega Evolution. Lucario, according to Kalos Mythology, was the first Pokémon to undergo Mega Evolution. However, come Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the first Pokémon to Mega Evolve is Rayquaza based off of humanity’s first ever encounter with Rayquaza when Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre were stuck in an eternal clash prior to it’s arrival. While at first, this can be a simple retcon and nothing else… until you take in the following Pokédex entries for Rayquaza;

“Rayquaza is said to have lived for hundreds of millions of years. Legends remain of how it put to rest the clash between Kyogre and Groudon.”

In other words, while Lucario’s earliest lineage is unknown, I can most certainly say Lucario does not live anywhere near as long as Rayquaza, which, as stated above, lives for hundreds of millions of years. Using Earth as a reference model, this can make a single Rayquaza individual as old, if not older, than the earliest land lifeforms to have ever existed. As a direct result, Rayquaza’s incredibly long lifespan alone is enough to justify WHY it’s the first Pokémon to Mega Evolve.

However, don’t think it ends with that alone. You also have to take into account THE most important aspect of Rayquaza undergoing Mega Evolution; Rayquaza does not require a Mega Stone. Lucario, in addition to every other Pokémon that can go through Mega Evolution (as of the time of writing that is), all but Rayquaza require a Mega Stone. However, it is worth noting that despite the difference, all of them require a Key Stone. In the gameplay, this is also true; if you trade a Rayquaza with Dragon Ascent over to a file of ?R/?S and said file does not have access to the Mega Bracelet, it will be unable to Mega Evolve no different from any other Pokémon that instead uses a Mega Stone.

During the Delta Episode, towards the climax, we learn that Rayquaza ingests meteoroids as part of it’s diet. Most of these meteoroids simply give Rayquaza the power to Mega Evolve. However, if prehistory is indeed true about Mega Rayquaza forcing Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre into submission is correct, this could also mean that some meteoroids that Rayquaza eats can include the very same type of stone that modern history knows of as Key Stones.

So not only did Rayquaza Mega Evolve in the legend according to ?R/?S, but let me go back to the “lives for hundreds of millions of years” point regarding Rayquaza. Given how common rock and debris from space come into contact with Earth, Rayquaza, at any point in time during it’s incredibly long lifespan, could’ve ingested a Key Stone type meteoroid and undergo Mega Evolution long before humankind even existed.

Final Notes:

So the “retcon” in ?R/?S wasn’t even a retcon to begin with. Rayquaza’s method of Mega Evolution, in addition to how long it can live, could’ve easily allowed it to have Mega Evolved long before any other Pokémon could ever have access to a Mega Stone alongside a human trainer with a Key Stone. So, in other words, it would be very easy for history to have made it so Lucario was the first Pokémon to Mega Evolve. Especially considering with how rarely Rayquaza even is sighted by humans to begin with;

“It lives in the ozone layer far above the clouds and cannot be seen from the ground.”

“It flies in the ozone layer, way up high in the sky. Until recently, no one had ever seen it.”

So, in the final notes of this part of the Mega Evolution Analysis, it’s very, very possible for Rayquaza to have Mega Evolved in prehistoric times and nobody would’ve ever noticed, meanwhile Lucario, a very land based Pokémon, could’ve easily been humanity’s first actual confirmed Mega Evolution to have taken place prior to the more recent knowledge of Rayquaza having essentially been there and done that long before Lucario ever would have.

With that said, this has been my first article on NintyBuzz. I look forward to seeing all of you again in the next part of my Mega Evolution Analysis; the Impact on the Gameplay.

Update, Bonus Fact:

This doesn’t change anything to what I said above, but I learned that to Mega Evolve Rayquaza at all, you have to complete Delta Episode, Key Stone or not; even if you already have the Mega Bracelet and a Rayquaza with Dragon Ascent earlier than you should, it won’t be capable of Mega Evolution until you’ve cleared Delta Episode.

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