Pokémon Go Mega Evolution guide

Pokémon Go now has Mega Evolution, allowing you to make strong Pokémon and make them even stronger. In this Pokémon Go guide, we’ll show you how to get Mega Energy and use it to power up your Pokémon with Mega Evolution, explaining candy, candy bonus, raids and more along the way.

There’s also Primal Reversion, which works very similarly to Mega Evolution (to a point where it might as well be the same thing). Primal Reversion is only for Kyogre and Groudon and is technically a different thing.

Update (Feb. 20): We've updated this guide with context about the changes that came with Super Mega Raids.

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Perks of Mega Evolution in Pokémon Go

Mega Evolution makes your Pokémon stronger, yes, but there are also a few other perks you get when you have and use a Mega-Evolved Pokémon.

One perk includes bonus candy for that type of Pokémon. You’ll also have a higher chance of getting XL Candy for Pokémon of the same type, if you’re at least level 40. If you have a Mega Pidgeot (normal-type) active, you’ll get bonus Buneary Candy when you catch Buneary or Lopunny (also normal-type). (This amount isn’t multiplied by Pinap Berries.)

You’ll also get increased catch XP from Pokémon the same type as your Mega-Evolved Pokémon.

When you raid with Mega-Evolved Pokémon, they boost stats of your allies’ Pokémon, as well as give an additional type boost to Pokémon of the same type. For example, if you use a Mega Lopunny, normal- and fighting-type moves will get boosted.

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How to increase Mega Levels in Pokémon Go

After the Mega Evolution revamp, your Mega-Evolved Pokémon now have Mega Levels, which increase the more you Mega Evolve them. As the Pokémon increases its Mega Levels, the bonuses listed above will increase.

After the Super Mega Raid update, you can now level your Mega-Evolved Pokémon to "Super Max Level." To reach this level, you'll need to use a lot of the respective Pokémon's Mega Energy to level it up. According to the blog post announcing these changes, Mega Victreebell uses 5,000 Victreebell Mega Energy to max out to Super Max Level.

Additionally, players will be able to use Mega Energy to level up Mega Levels instead of repeatedly Mega Evolving them, but this is not available yet. The blog post linked above just says to "stay tuned."

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How to get Mega Energy in Pokémon Go

To Mega Evolve your Pokémon, you’ll have to collect Mega Energy for that specific Pokémon. Find Mega Pokémon in Mega Raids, take them on, and earn Mega Energy for that specific Pokémon. The faster you beat them, the more Mega Energy you’ll be rewarded.

It will often take multiple raids of the same Pokémon before you’ll have enough energy to Mega Evolve, and most Mega Evolutions rotate in and out of raids. Not all Mega Evolutions will be available year-round, so make sure to stock up on any Mega Energy you want before the Pokémon leaves Mega Raids.

Super Mega Raids do drop more Mega Energy than regular Mega Raids.

You can also get Mega Energy from some Field Research and Timed Research Tasks as rewards.

If you previously Mega Evolved the Pokémon, you can set it as your buddy and walk with them to amass Mega Energy as well.

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How to Mega Evolve your Pokémon in Pokémon Go

You can only have one Mega Pokémon at a time. If you Mega Evolve a different one, your first Pokémon will revert back to normal.

Using a Mega Pokémon in a raid gives other Pokémon an attack boost, with an additional attack boost given to Pokémon of the same type. These boosts do not stack.

Your Pokémon will only be Mega Evolved for a time period, which you can check on the information screen for that Pokémon. Once it returns to normal, you can Mega Evolve it again for no energy cost after a cooldown. You can use Mega Energy to decrease the cooldown time.

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Available Mega Pokémon in Pokémon Go

Most of the original Mega Pokémon from the Gen 7 games have been added to Pokémon Go, with the exception of Mega Mewtwo X and Mega Mewtwo Y. As of Go Tour: Kalos, we're starting to see the Mega Evolutions from Gen 9, starting with Malamar, Victreebell, and Dragonite. There were over 40 new Mega Evolutions added in total to Pokémon Legends: Z-A and its Mega Dimension DLC, so there's still a lot more to come in Pokémon Go.