Pokémon Go is receiving a major overhaul to its Mega Evolution system, making it easier and more rewarding to evolve your pokémon into the ultimate versions of themselves.
Announced by developer Niantic in a blog post, the update will rework the Mega Evolution feature, which allows you to temporarily boost the strength of your fully-evolved pokémon. The update – that was first teased in a recent Pokémon Go datamine – is live now for players in Australia and New Zealand and is expected to roll out to the rest of the globe “soon”.
It looks to solve many of the frustrations that players have had with the mechanic since it was added back in 2020. Rather than having to collect and spend Mega Energy every time you want to Mega Evolve your pokémon, Mega Evolutions are now a one-time cost. After you Mega Evolve a pokémon for the first time, you can do so again, free of charge, after a short rest period.
If you’re desperate to evolve them again, though, and can’t wait for the cooldown to end, you can reduce the rest period by spending additional Mega Energy.
How Pokémon Go has fixed Mega Evolutions
That tweak will solve one of the community’s biggest existing criticisms of Mega Evolutions – that their benefits don’t match their required time or resource investment. Niantic says the new one-time purchase system will make evolving your pokémon much more affordable, encouraging more players to use the boost.
Additionally, a new Mega Evolution leveling system has been introduced. Every time you Mega Evolve a pokémon, it’ll gain experience towards a new Mega Level. When it reaches a new level, the pokémon will receive bonus rewards, such as a reduction to their rest period. You’ll also have a higher chance of earning Candy XL and earning higher XP rewards when using the Mega Evolved pokémon to catch other pocket monsters of the same Type.
Those changes will go a long way to making Mega Evolutions more worthwhile. With Mega Evolution benefits now persistent, there’s a lot more incentive to use the feature.
Most Mega Raids – the multiplayer battles you must complete to get your hands on Mega Energy – have also been made easier. You should be able to tackle many of them by yourself, so you don’t have to spend time finding other players to team up with. That’ll make acquiring Mega Energy less of a hassle.
Niantic says the pokémon you have Mega Evolved before this update will also feature bonus visual effects to commemorate your achievement. It hasn’t specified when these changes will be implemented outside of Australia and New Zealand just yet.
