Before we can mention the best of the best, we have to talk about the worst of the best. That's right. It's the appetizer before the main course. We'll just cover the least useful and design lacking Mega Evolutions here before we do the best Megas.
For this list, we choose Mega Evolutions with the least usefulness compared to all Megas, how they differ from their base forms and a dash of design choice as well. Note: Stat counts are displayed like the following below each entry- HP/Attack/Defense/Special Attack/Special Defense/Speed.
And even though we call this the 'Worst" List, these are all still great Pokemon to use in battle. These just happen to be the Megas that got the short end of the stick.
And even though we call this the 'Worst" List, these are all still great Pokemon to use in battle. These just happen to be the Megas that got the short end of the stick.
Mega Beedrill
Pokédex #015
Type: Bug/Poison
Ability: Adaptability
Original Stats: 65/90/40/45/80/75
Mega Stats:65/150/40/15/80/145
Mega Beedrill was a welcome surprise to the Mega table. Unfortunately it gets all its stat boosts devoted to Attack and Speed.... Nothing else. It's understandable however. All Mega Evolutions have only a 100 base stat increase from their original forms and HP is always kept untouched. I just think only buffing Beedrill's Attack and Speed was a mistake.
Decreasing Special Attack makes sense as Beedrill knows mainly Physical moves and doesn't use that stat much. I feel that should've been devoted to increasing Defense, as it still stands at an abysmal 40. Mega Beedrill's Adaptability Ability isn't totally suited for it as well. It does give a nice boost to its Bug and Poison-Type attacks, which is great because they usually lack in power. The downside is you have to bank on Mega Beedrill's Attack stat because Bug and Poison aren't effective against mainly types and aren't great against many others actually. Mega Beedrill is a glass cannon, and there are much better glass cannons out there to use that don't require the use of Mega Evolution. That being said, I do enjoy its design a good amount.
Usefulness: C
Improvement: C+
Design: B
Decreasing Special Attack makes sense as Beedrill knows mainly Physical moves and doesn't use that stat much. I feel that should've been devoted to increasing Defense, as it still stands at an abysmal 40. Mega Beedrill's Adaptability Ability isn't totally suited for it as well. It does give a nice boost to its Bug and Poison-Type attacks, which is great because they usually lack in power. The downside is you have to bank on Mega Beedrill's Attack stat because Bug and Poison aren't effective against mainly types and aren't great against many others actually. Mega Beedrill is a glass cannon, and there are much better glass cannons out there to use that don't require the use of Mega Evolution. That being said, I do enjoy its design a good amount.
Usefulness: C
Improvement: C+
Design: B
Mega Pidgeot
Pokédex #018
Type: Normal/Flying
Ability: No Guard
Original Stats: 83/80/75/70/70/101
Mega Stats: 83/80/80/135/80/121
Another surprise Mega from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire is Mega Pidgeot, a Mega Evolution to one of the first Pokémon you may have caught. I want to like Mega Pidgeot a lot, but I can only like it so much. You may or may not have heard me mention that Pidgeot, Noctowl and Talonflame are the only regional birds (the ones you can catch in the first routes of a game) that have usable Special Attack. Pidgeot is the one of the trio without a definite reason for Special Attack. Noctowl has it because it uses many Psychic-Type moves and Talonflame because it has access to many Fire-Type attacks. It just so happens that Mega Pidgeot's main boost is to its Special Attack stat... for some odd reason.
This doesn't work super well on this Mega. The increase in Speed is nice though. Just like Mega Beedrill however, I felt the stats could've been distributed better. Why the increase to only Special Attack when its standard Attack is better and it has access to better physical moves? That alongside the combination of the No Guard ability make it very meh. No Guard is an ability that ensures that moves used by the user and the opponent will always hit when a Pokémon that knows No Guard is in battle. This is used in tandem with low accuracy moves like Dynamic Punch and One Hit KO moves. The only move with less than perfect accuracy this guy has access to is Hurricane, which is nice because it's so strong but its the only real use No Guard has on Mega Pidgeot. Check yourself before you wreck yourself...
Usefulness: C
Improvements: C-
This doesn't work super well on this Mega. The increase in Speed is nice though. Just like Mega Beedrill however, I felt the stats could've been distributed better. Why the increase to only Special Attack when its standard Attack is better and it has access to better physical moves? That alongside the combination of the No Guard ability make it very meh. No Guard is an ability that ensures that moves used by the user and the opponent will always hit when a Pokémon that knows No Guard is in battle. This is used in tandem with low accuracy moves like Dynamic Punch and One Hit KO moves. The only move with less than perfect accuracy this guy has access to is Hurricane, which is nice because it's so strong but its the only real use No Guard has on Mega Pidgeot. Check yourself before you wreck yourself...
Usefulness: C
Improvements: C-
Design: C+
Mega Heracross
Pokédex #214
Type: Bug/Fighting
Ability: Skill Link
Original Stats: 80/125/75/40/95/85
Mega Stats: 80/185/115/40/105/75
Mega Heracross is such an odd Mega Evolution. What I love about Mega Heracross is its philosophy per se, giving a Pokémon without any evolutionary line a Mega Evolution to give it some usability again. Unfortunately though, Mega Heracross didn't get the best design and Ability if I must say. It looks super goofy in my opinion and Skill Link doesn't benefit it too much. It does have it uses however though. Skill Link makes it so that moves that hit 2 - 5 times will always hit for 5 times. Heracross can learn Fury Attack, Rock Blast, Arm Blast, Bullet Seed and Pin Missile so one can choose from up to 4 of those moves to get max efficiency out of Skill Link. The problem is that Mega Heracross benefits and suffers from Skill Link. These moves do great damage if you can properly exploit a Pokémon's weakness, but usually only if you can. The 5 hit moves do get a great buff because of Skill Link and Heracross's great attack but they won't tear down many Walls, which is what Heracross it meant for. They can easily shut down Sweepers, but that's about it at this point.
Usefulness: C+
Improvements: C+
Design: C-
Usefulness: C+
Improvements: C+
Design: C-
Mega Houndoom
Pokédex #229
Type: Dark/Fire
Ability: Solar Power
Original Stats: 75/90/50/110/80/95
Mega Stats: 75/90/90/140/90/115
Oh Houndoom... So much potential in a mediocre shell. Mega Houndoom is a decent Mega Evolution, but unfortunately still ends up on this list however... Mega Houndoom's design is great though. As much as fan art over the internet pushes this thing as a Cerberus-like beast, its design is great when considering that Pokémon is rated E for Everyone. It's other things... lack. The 140 Special Attack stat is great but it's Attack is still average and Houndoom works best as a mixed attacker. It's Ability is also Solar Power, which increases damage dealt in Sunny weather at the cost of HP. This means that Mega Houndoom pretty much HAS to run Sunny Day, which can be a bummer. Mega Houndoom is not the worst, he just has a lot of catch up to do...
Usefulness: C
Improvements: C
Design: B
Usefulness: C
Improvements: C
Design: B
Mega Sharpedo
Pokédex #319
Type: Water/Dark
Ability: Strong Jaw
Original Stats:70/120/40/95/40/95
Mega Stats: 70/140/70/110/65/105
Could there be any more teeth on Mega Sharpedo?! This monster of a 'Mon was a foreseeable Mega for the remake of Ruby and Sapphire. Sharpedo was one of the mixed Megas that just happened to be outclass by the others. Strong Jaw as an Ability makes design sense, but there's only so many moves Sharpedo can make use of it. The only real benefit is increasing the attack of Crunch, which gets a boost from Strong Jaw and Same Type Attack Bonus. Its stat distribution is even and good, there's just so many other Megas that work better than this one. Points for effort.
Usefulness: C+
Improvements: C+
Design: B-
Usefulness: C+
Improvements: C+
Design: B-
Mega Banette
Pokédex #354
Type: Ghost
Ability: Prankster
Original Stats: 64/115/65/83/63/65
Mega Stats: 64/165/75/93/83/75
Oh Mega Banette... It tries to be great in so many departments and doesn't quite make the mark. The stat distribution is all-around, which I adore. Every possible stat is upped to create a virtually better Pokémon. I can appreciate that, it's just that Mega Banette doesn't benefit much from its new form. It's Attack gets a massive boost, which is good but I think Banette could use a lot more defenses. It tends to use a mix of physical and support moves to hurt. It also gains Prankster as an Ability... Which would've been cool if Banette had a better support movepool... You can't win 'em all.
Usefulness: C
Improvements: C+
Design: C+
Usefulness: C
Improvements: C+
Design: C+
Mega Glalie
Pokédex #362
Type: Ice
Ability: Refrigerate
Original Stats: 80/80/80/80/80/80
Mega Stats: 80/120/80/120/80/100
For a base stat perspective, I loved Glalie. So I adore the fact that it's Mega Evolution retains most of the even stat distributions. It allows Glalie to very rounded out, but it's just dominated by some of the other Megas too much not to be on this list. The Refrigerate Ability is somewhat useful for converting Normal Type moves into super-powered Ice ones. It's super unfortunate that Glalie's main job is to suicide with Explosion and Mega Glalie is more than guaranteed a KO with it Ice Type Explosion at about 330 base power. You really don't want to use your one Mega Evolution per battle for a suicider, which really nerfs Mega Glalie.
Usefulness: C+
Improvements: B-
Design: B
Usefulness: C+
Improvements: B-
Design: B
Mega Abomasnow
Pokédex #460
Type: Grass/Ice
Ability: Snow Warning
Original Stats: 90/92/75/92/85/60
Mega Stats: 90/132/105/132/105/30
As if Abomasnow couldn't get any more fierce.. It definitely gets some style points, but that's about it. Abomasnow retains its same Ability in Snow Warning, which causes Hail when it enters battle. This could be better if this wasn't the ONLY Ability standard Abomasnow could know. If either form had a different Ability, it would make this Pokémon so much more useful. It's stat distribution makes it more of a tank, which it does need to fend of common Fire Types.
Usefulness: D+
Improvements: C-
Design: C-
As if Abomasnow couldn't get any more fierce.. It definitely gets some style points, but that's about it. Abomasnow retains its same Ability in Snow Warning, which causes Hail when it enters battle. This could be better if this wasn't the ONLY Ability standard Abomasnow could know. If either form had a different Ability, it would make this Pokémon so much more useful. It's stat distribution makes it more of a tank, which it does need to fend of common Fire Types.
Usefulness: D+
Improvements: C-
Design: C-
Mega Gallade
Pokédex #475
Type: Psychic/Fighting
Ability: Inner Focus
Original Stats: 68/125/65/65/115/80
Mega Stats: 68/165/95/65/115/110
Oh does it hurt my heart to do this to Gallade. In case you didn't know, Gallade is in my list of Top 10 Favorite Pokémon. Sadly, Mega Gallade doesn't bring ANYTHING new to the table. It gets a decent stat boost which I do enjoy though. It buffs its great Attack stat, while also giving its lacking Defense and Speed a boost too to make it much more rounded out. But that's where the usefulness of Mega Gallade ends. There's nothing new to Gallade, which is kind of the point of a Mega Evolution. It keeps its original Ability of Inner Focus (prevents flinching) and typing, so Mega Gallade just becomes a stat boost. It wish I could like its design more. I like it, I just want to like it a lot more. It does compliment Mega Gardevoir however, which is an appeal.
Usefulness: C+
Improvements: C
Design: C+
Usefulness: C+
Improvements: C
Design: C+
Mega Audino
Pokédex #531
Type: Normal/Fairy
Ability: Healer
Original Stats: 103/60/86/60/86/50
Mega Stats: 103/60/126/80/126/50
Before anything else... Mega Audino is adorable above all else. It's stat buffs into its Defense and Special Defense allow it to last much longer now in battle. It's actually beneficial that it retains Healer as an Ability, that gives it 1/3 of a chance to heal from a status condition at the end of a turn. This coupled with self healing moves allow Mega Audino to be a pesky Pokémon. The downside is that so many other Pokémon can do this just as well without Mega Evolving. Mega Audino is one of those Pokémon that just barely made it onto this list. It's still adorable though...
Usefulness: B-
Improvements: B-
Design: B
Usefulness: B-
Improvements: B-
Design: B
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