Pokémon GO's New Mega Levels and Mega Evolve Explained by Niantic
Pokémon GO's latest update to Mega Evolutions, featuring Mega Levels, has been fully explained by Niantic. The Mega Update recently became available globally after fans of the mobile game frequently found the previous Mega Evolution system difficult to use. The Mega Update includes quite a few additions and tweaks to Mega Evolutions that were deemed necessary by GO trainers.
Mega Evolution has been included in multiple Pokémon titles since Pokémon X and Y, and was added to the mobile augmented reality game Pokémon GO in 2020. The addition has allowed for trainers to boost fully evolved versions of their capable Pokémon after collecting enough Mega Energy from Mega Raids, but these raids were frustrating for some players and required multiple allies with very high leveled Pokémon, contributing to the tediousness of the Mega Evolution mechanic. Fortunately for Pokémon GO players, many of their complaints have been addressed by the Mega Update.
The most interesting and brand new aspect of the Mega Update is Mega Levels, which increase as a trainer Mega Evolves one of their mobile pocket monsters. Niantic has explained the latest addition fully on the Pokémon GO website as part of April's Dev Diary. Mega Levels give players brand new bonuses with their Mega Evolved Pokémon, including increased chances of earning Candy XL and increased amounts of XP while catching Pokémon of the same type. The rest period of the Mega Evolved Pokémon will decrease as its Mega Level increases.
Pokémon GO's Mega Update also addresses the larger issues players had with Mega Evolutions in the first place. According to Niantic, most Mega Raids will be easier to complete with fewer people, which will ease some of the irritation with Mega Evolution. And, even more excitingly, Mega Evolving Pokémon will only have a one-time cost. This changes the price from 200 Mega Energy initially and 40 Mega Energy on each subsequent use to simply 200 Mega Energy total. After a rest period that can be reduced using Mega Energy, the Pokémon is ready to Mega Evolve once again.
While some fans may still be upset with developer Niantic for nerfing incense in Pokémon GO and reducing the length and quality of Community Days, a fresh take on Mega Evolutions could ease tensions. Some mobile Pokémon players have shared grievances frequently, even suggesting that the developer does not maintain players' interests. This being said, Niantic has finally tweaked Mega Evolutions in GO after almost 2 years of complaints. Pokémon GO's new take on Mega Evolutions will hopefully make the feature a lot more enjoyable.
Source: Pokémon GO, Pokémon GO/Twitter