Pokémon Legends: Z-A has sparked a familiar fandom response, as each new Mega Evolution reveal has elicited criticisms over its design. The question that we have to ask is whether these criticisms are valid, or if they’re just the result of fans who dislike any form of change, even when they spend most of their time asking for it.

The Pokémon franchise opened the door for new iterations of existing Pokémon in Pokémon X & Y, when Mega Evolutions were introduced. Mega Evolutions are temporary transformations that are used mid-battle. This meant that Game Freak wasn’t locked in with a whole new evolution, so even if the fans didn’t like them, they weren’t guaranteed to appear in future games. 

The Escapist recaps

• The Mega Evolution mechanic debuted in Pokémon X & Y, allowing Pokémon to transform into new, more powerful forms temporarily. 
• Mega Evolutions existed in both Gen 6 & 7, before being dropped in Pokémon Sword & Shield, as the Dynamax mechanic replaced them. 
• Mega Evolutions have remained a core part of Pokémon Go since its introduction. 
• Mega Evolutions made their return in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, where they were now tied to a timer that depleted over the course of the battle. 
• Pokémon Legends: Z-A has also introduced Z Mega Evolution forms, which are faster but have a meter that drains quickly. 

Mega Evolutions have been called lazy 

The Mega Evolution mechanic was extremely popular with fans, despite breaking the series’ balance. Players could only use a single Mega Evolution per battle, so it meant needing to strategize around that one selection. 

While some Mega Evolutions were far too strong, like Mega Rayquaza, Primal Kyogre, and Primal Groudon, their presence made the battle system seem fresh. Fans also liked how it gave some forgotten Pokémon, like Kangaskhan, a new lease on life. 

There was just one problem: not everyone was happy with the new designs. Many were criticized for being too lazy, like Mega Blastoise just adding some new cannons, or Mega Kangaskhan only causing the parent and child to separate. 

Mega Evolutions have the potential to be genuinely creative and do fun things with established designs, especially the Gen 1 Pokémon that have existed for nearly thirty years now. Their temporary nature means they can be throwaway concepts, so Game Freak should come up with awesome, memorable ideas. 

Fans took an instant dislike to the new Mega Evolutions

Mega Evolutions vanished for a few generations, but they finally returned in 2025’s Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Rather than going back to the past, like Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is set after the events of Pokémon X & Y, with a story contained entirely within Lumiose City. 

Naturally, a new game set in the Kalos region meant that there would be more Mega Evolutions introduced. The first of these to be officially announced was Mega Dragonite, marking the first new Mega Evolution since Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. 

And the fans hated it. 

It took nanoseconds for complaints to ring out about how lazy the design was, with many saying they just made the tail bigger, threw some wings on its head, and called it a day. Was this the best Game Freak could come up with? Dragonite is one of the most popular Pokémon of all time, and the Mega Evolution barely looks any different from its base form.

These laziness accusations have continued into the Mega Dimension DLC, with both Mega Lucario Z and Mega Zeraora taking a ton of flak for their lack of innovation. Fans are swift to write these designs off as lazy or uninspired, even from short trailers. 

But are these designs, as well as the less liked Mega Evolutions from the Gen 6 era (like Mega Pidgeot), truly deserving of ire? The main issue is familiarity, and it’s not exclusive to Mega Evolutions. See, Pokémon fans are quick to dismiss any new designs as being “not Pokémon enough,” despite Gen 1 having big balls, piles of slime, and just regular old birds on their roster.

People have a notion of what a Pokémon should be, which quickly leads to a negative response when something like a Bramblin or Klefki is introduced. People didn’t grow up with them, hence they’re bad. 

Mega Evolutions get this even worse, because they’re expanding upon beloved designs. Longtime fans are often resistant to change, even when they keep asking for it in the mainline games, leading to people slamming the new Mega Evolutions online after seeing them for just 10 seconds in a trailer. 

Is this dismissive attitude fair? No, especially when the game isn’t even out yet, but it’s the risk Game Freak always takes when adding something to an established Pokémon line. Fans have spent a lot of time looking at these creatures, and any shake-up is going to be met with a snobbish rejection, especially if the designs are perceived as lazy. 

Truly creative Mega Evolutions can avoid the backlash

It seems that the guaranteed way to avoid taking grief from the Pokémon fanbase is for a Mega Evolution to become a meme. We saw this with Mega Victreebel, whose awesome trailer had fans clamoring for a Pokémon survival-horror game. The fact that it had a goofy design with a… questionable vine placement around the neck also made it stand out from the crowd. Suddenly, a Pokémon best known for making weird noises in the anime was now a hot commodity in the game. 

Mega Starmie might be the biggest beneficiary of memification. When fans first learned that Starmie was getting a Mega Evolution that just gave it bigger legs, they found the idea creepy. When it finally came out, however, and people had the chance to edit it into photos, they suddenly loved how weird and wacky it was. 

And that’s the key to making a good Mega Evolution. Just throwing bits on an established Pokémon or changing the colors around is going to draw the ire of people who have been used to seeing it for decades. A Mega Evolution is only effective when it does something fun, rather than just being a vehicle for better stats and new merch. 

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