Mega Evolution (GO)

Mega Evolution (Japanese: メガシンカ Mega Evolution) is a temporary transformations that certain Pokémon can undergo. Mega Evolution was introduced to Pokémon GO on August 27, 2020. Like in the core series, Mega Evolution significantly increase a Pokémon's stats and potentially change its type, but its moves will remain the same. However, rather than using a Mega Stone, an eligible Pokémon instead consumes Mega Energy to activate this temporary transformation. In addition, several type-based bonuses take effect while Mega Evolution is active, and become more powerful for Pokémon that have undergone Mega Evolution many times.

Promotional artwork of Mega Evolution from Pokémon GO

In-game artwork of Primal Reversion from Pokémon GO

Primal Reversion (Japanese: ゲンシカイキ Primal Regression) was introduced on February 18, 2023. Rather than using the Blue Orb or Red Orb, eligible Pokémon consume Primal Energy to activate Primal Reversion. In Pokémon GO, Primal Reversion is treated as a special type of Mega Evolution. The two operate nearly identically, but Primal Reversion is more powerful: it grants bonus effects to more types than Mega Evolution, and its damage bonuses in Gym and Raid Battles remain active the entire time a Primal form is in the party, not just when it is the active party member.

Activation

Activating Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion for a Pokémon the first time costs a large amount of species-specific Mega Energy or Primal Energy. Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion last eight hours, after which that Pokémon will enter a rest period for several days. As the rest period counts down, the Energy cost to reactivate Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion decreases proportionally until it reaches 0 at the rest period's end. Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion can be activated anytime during the rest period, so long as the player has enough Energy.

Repeatedly activating Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion on the same Pokémon will increase its Mega Level or Primal Level. A higher Mega or Primal Level reduces both the initial Mega or Primal Energy activation cost and the length of the rest period, making frequent activation far cheaper and easier.

A player can only have one active Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion at a time. Activating Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion on a second Pokémon will revert the first to its base form and start its rest period.

On top of the Mega Energy cost, activating Rayquaza's Mega Evolution also requires that it know the move Dragon Ascent. Rayquaza can learn Dragon Ascent by consuming a Meteorite.

Shadow Pokémon and Clone Pokémon cannot Mega Evolve, but Purified Pokémon and other event forms can. Active Mega-Evolved Pokémon cannot be deployed to defend Gyms, stationed at Power Spots, traded, powered up, or Dynamaxed. Trading a Pokémon resets all progress towards Mega Levels or Primal Levels, and its recipient must pay the full initial amount to activate Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion.

Costs

The following shows the possible costs to activate Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion. The subsequent activation costs decreases with the Pokémon's Mega Level or Primal Level.

Initial cost	Base Level	High Level	Max Level
100	20	10	5
200	40	20	10
300	60	30	15
400	80	40	20

Effects

Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion grant a variety of type-specific bonuses for an eight-hour period of time, with some having different types from their base forms. Activating Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion will restore a fainted or damaged Pokémon to full HP.

For Mega Evolution, type bonuses match the Mega-Evolved Pokémon's types
For Primal Reversion and Mega Rayquaza, type bonuses match their associated weather conditions:
- For Primal Kyogre, these bonuses are applied are to Bug, Water, and Electric types, the same types boosted by Rainy weather.
- For Primal Groudon, these bonuses are applied are to Ground, Fire, and Grass types, the same types boosted by Sunny weather.
- For Mega Rayquaza, these bonuses are applied to Flying, Dragon, and Psychic types, the same types boosted by Windy weather.

In battle

Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion temporarily boost the base stats of a Pokémon. They can be used in all types of battles, except in the GO Battle League outside of special events.

When used in Gym and Raid Battles, Mega Evolution and Primal Reversion provides special damage bonuses to all allies:

×1.3 damage for all moves whose types are boosted by Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion
×1.1 damage increase for all other ally Pokémon's moves

Mega Evolution typically requires the Mega-Evolved Pokémon to be present on the battlefield for the damage bonuses to be active. For Primal Reversion and Mega Rayquaza, they only need to be present within the party that has any member on the battlefield; the damage bonuses are active even if the transformed Pokémon is never sent out or has fainted.^[1]

Multiple players can use Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion in the same battle, but the damage bonuses will not stack. Each attack only will receive the highest applicable damage bonus.

Note that the damage bonus is not applied to the user or, for Primal Reversion and Mega Rayquaza, its own party. However, if multiple players use Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion, they can boost each other.

Catching Pokémon

Outside of battle, special bonuses are applied for catching Pokémon that have at least one of the Mega Evolution's or Primal Reversion's boosted types:

Bonus Candy
- This bonus also applies to any Pokémon caught from a raid, regardless of type
Increased chance of Candy XL (unlocked at High level)
- This is a flat rate, depending on Mega Level, added to the success rate for each possible Candy XL.
Bonus XP (unlocked at High level)

Walking a Buddy Pokémon

Once a Pokémon's Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion is registered to the Pokédex, walking any Buddy Pokémon from its evolutionary line will also yield its respective Mega Energy or Primal Energy whenever it finds Candy (at 5 Energy per km). Energy can be found this way regardless of whether there is a Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion active.

Level

Mega Levels were introduced on April 28, 2022, as part of an update to Mega Evolutions. As a Pokémon's Mega Level or Primal Level increases, the additional perks for Mega Evolving it improve. Each Pokémon can increase its progress towards the next Mega or Primal Level by undergoing Mega Evolution or Primal Reversion, up to once per day. Mega and Primal Levels are completely reset if a Pokémon is traded.

It takes at least 30 days for a Pokémon to reach Max Level, Mega Evolving it once each day. For a Pokémon that costs 100/200/300 to initially Mega Evolve, it would take at least 406/783/1160 total to reach Max Level within the minimum 30 days required, and waiting exactly 24 hours in between. If the player chooses to only perform subsequent Mega Evolutions without using Mega Energy, it will take at least 157 days (about 5 months) after the initial Mega Evolution to reach Max Level. In both ideal cases, the player cancels the Mega Evolution immediately to initiate the rest period timer.

Bonus	Base Level	High Level	Max Level
Mega Evolutions required	1	7	30
Rest period	7 days	5 days	3 days
Mega Energy cost reduction	80%	90%	95%
Catch Candy Bonus	1	1	2
Increased Candy XL Chance	—	10%	25%
Catch XP Bonus	—	50 XP	100 XP

Mega and Primal Raids

Main article: Raid Battle (GO)

Mega-Evolved Pokémon and Primal Reversions may appear as Raid Bosses for Mega Raids and Primal Raids, respectively. Upon completion, the raid rewards a large amount of Energy that correspond to the Raid Boss, and the amount depends on how quickly the raid was completed. Each Mega Raid yields between 150 to 250 Mega Energy, and each Primal Raid yields between 60 to 100 Primal Energy. Upon defeat, the Raid Boss will revert to its normal form and can be caught as such during the bonus challenge.

As Pokémon GO has not featured Mega Diancie in raids, Mega Diancie Energy was instead made available during GO Fest 2023 through Carbink raids and catching wild Carbink, with the 2024 Glitz and Glam Special Research allowing Mega Diancie Energy through the Special Research and quests.

List of Mega Evolutions and Primal Reversions

Resource			Initial Cost	Release date
	Venusaur Mega Energy	Mega Venusaur	200	August 27, 2020
	Charizard Mega Energy	Mega Charizard X	200	August 27, 2020
	Charizard Mega Energy	Mega Charizard Y	200	August 27, 2020
	Blastoise Mega Energy	Mega Blastoise	200	August 27, 2020
	Beedrill Mega Energy	Mega Beedrill	100	August 27, 2020
	Pidgeot Mega Energy	Mega Pidgeot	100	September 18, 2020
	Alakazam Mega Energy	Mega Alakazam	200	September 12, 2022
	Slowbro Mega Energy	Mega Slowbro	100*	June 8, 2021
	Gengar Mega Energy	Mega Gengar	200	October 23, 2020
	Kangaskhan Mega Energy	Mega Kangaskhan	200	April 29, 2022
	Pinsir Mega Energy	Mega Pinsir	200	May 11, 2023
	Gyarados Mega Energy	Mega Gyarados	300*	February 9, 2021
	Aerodactyl Mega Energy	Mega Aerodactyl	200	January 7, 2022
	Ampharos Mega Energy	Mega Ampharos	200	January 19, 2021
	Steelix Mega Energy	Mega Steelix	200	December 1, 2021
	Scizor Mega Energy	Mega Scizor	200	August 10, 2022
	Heracross Mega Energy	Mega Heracross	200	April 13, 2024
	Houndoom Mega Energy	Mega Houndoom	100*	October 1, 2020
	Tyranitar Mega Energy	Mega Tyranitar	300	July 25, 2023
	Sceptile Mega Energy	Mega Sceptile	200	December 3, 2022
	Blaziken Mega Energy	Mega Blaziken	200	December 3, 2022
	Swampert Mega Energy	Mega Swampert	200	December 3, 2022
	Gardevoir Mega Energy	Mega Gardevoir	200	February 8, 2023
	Sableye Mega Energy	Mega Sableye	100	June 29, 2023
	Mawile Mega Energy	Mega Mawile	100	October 12, 2024
	Aggron Mega Energy	Mega Aggron	200	September 16, 2022
	Medicham Mega Energy	Mega Medicham	100	March 8, 2023
	Manectric Mega Energy	Mega Manectric	100*	March 16, 2021
	Altaria Mega Energy	Mega Altaria	300*	May 15, 2021
	Banette Mega Energy	Mega Banette	100	October 20, 2022
	Absol Mega Energy	Mega Absol	200	October 22, 2021
	Glalie Mega Energy	Mega Glalie	200	December 15, 2022
	Salamence Mega Energy	Mega Salamence	300*	January 10, 2023
	Latias Mega Energy	Mega Latias	300	May 3, 2022
	Latios Mega Energy	Mega Latios	300	May 3, 2022
	Kyogre Primal Energy	Primal Kyogre	400	February 18, 2023
	Groudon Primal Energy	Primal Groudon	400	February 18, 2023
	Rayquaza Mega Energy	Mega Rayquaza	400	August 4, 2023
	Lopunny Mega Energy	Mega Lopunny	200	April 4, 2021
	Garchomp Mega Energy	Mega Garchomp	300	November 11, 2023
	Lucario Mega Energy	Mega Lucario	200	July 27, 2024
	Abomasnow Mega Energy	Mega Abomasnow	200	December 1, 2020
File:GO Gallade Mega Energy.png	Gallade Mega Energy	Mega Gallade	200	January 11, 2025
	Diancie Mega Energy	Mega Diancie	300	August 4, 2023

Updates

Prior to September 3, 2020, subsequent Mega Evolutions required 25% of the initial Mega Energy (instead of 20%)
Prior to October 15, 2020, Mega Evolution lasted four hours (instead of eight).
Prior to 0.189.0 update, there was a bug that caused Mega-evolved Pokémon to be more powerful depending on the level the Pokémon was powered up from.
Mega levels and its related perks were introduced on April 28, 2022.^[2] Prior to this update:
- For a Pokémon with multiple Mega Evolutions, the cost reduction only applies to forms it has previously Mega Evolved into. So if a Charizard has previously evolved into Mega Charizard X for the first time, then it would cost 40 to evolve into Mega Charizard X again, but 200 to evolve into Mega Charizard Y.
- A Pokémon that has previously Mega Evolved and is then traded will still cost a reduced amount to Mega Evolve.

Trivia

Costumes are not displayed on Pokémon that are Mega Evolved.