Pokemon GO – Mega Evolution arrives this week, details revealed

After being teased previously, Mega Evolutions are finally coming to Pokemon GO this week. Details about how the feature works have also been revealed, and as expected, it’ll be different from what we’ve seen in previous titles.

Here’s the full rundown, courtesy of GameSpot:

– Need to gather a new resource called Mega Energy to Mega Evolve your Pokemon
– Receive Mega Energy by participating in Mega Raid Battles, which feature a Mega-Evolved Pokemon as the Raid boss
– The faster your team is able to defeat the Mega Raid, the more Mega Energy you’ll receive as a reward
– Once you’ve amassed enough Mega Energy, you’ll be able to Mega Evolve the corresponding Pokemon
– Pokemon will remain Mega Evolved for a limited time, even outside of battle
– Can see your Mega-Evolved Pokemon following you around on the map if you set it as a Buddy
– Take Snapshots with it and use it in battle against Team Go Rocket, other players, and Raid bosses
– After you Mega Evolve a Pokemon for the first time, its Mega Energy requirement will decrease
– Mega-Evolved Pokemon cannot be left to defend a Gym
– Only one Pokemon can Mega Evolve at a time
– If you Mega Evolve a second one, the first will revert back to its original state
– Clone Pokemon and Shadow Pokemon that have not yet been purified will not be able to Mega Evolve
– Pokemon that Mega Evolve receive a significant stat boost
– If you bring a Mega-Evolved Pokemon into a Raid, every other player’s Pokemon will receive a stat boost as well
– Pokemon attacks that are the same type as the Mega-Evolved Pokemon will get an additional boost
– Initially, the only bosses you’ll encounter in Mega Raids are the Mega-Evolved forms of Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise
– If you manage to defeat the boss, you’ll get that Pokemon’s corresponding Mega Energy
– Defeat Mega Blastoise, for instance, and you’ll collect Blastoise Mega Energy, which you can then use to Mega Evolve your own Blastoise when you’ve accumulated enough
– Mega Raids are roughly comparable to five-star Legendary Raids in terms of difficulty
– Can join Mega Raids remotely if you have a Remote Raid Pass
– The faster you defeat the Mega Raid boss, the more Mega Energy everyone will earn, and you’ll have a chance to catch the boss in its standard, non-Mega-Evolved form after the battle
– New Special Research questline called “A Mega Discovery”
– Complete the questline and you’ll earn various rewards including Beedrill Mega Energy, which you’ll be able to use to Mega Evolve your Beedrill
– Only four Pokemon will be able to Mega Evolve initially: Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, and Beedrill
– Niantic says it will introduce additional Mega-Evolved forms to the game gradually to give each one a moment in the spotlight
– Three Mega Evolution-themed events in September
– The first runs from September 1-7 and challenges players to complete as many Mega Raids as they can
– From September 11-17, players will be tasked with using Mega-Evolved Pokemon in battles against Team Go Rocket members and Raid bosses
– The final event runs from September 22-28 and has players building up their friendship level with their Mega-Evolved Pokemon

Check out a few screenshots of Mega Evolution in Pokemon GO below.