Way, way back in the first year of this blog, I wrote about the fate of Mega Evolution in a general manner, though with some focus on the main series games as the place of origin and ideally survival as well. Five years later, many developments in Pokémon games have occurred, and Mega Evolution has survived in a way, but not how one expects it would be and in a place one doesn't expect, at least initially. After five years, it seems necessary to bring back the topic for another discussion on it.
After the seventh-generation games, nary a peep about Mega Evolution has been heard of since. It is not included in the eighth-generation Sword and Shield games nor the fourth-generation remakes of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. For the latter case, rumors briefly surfaced that new forms could appear for them, but the rumors only remained as such. If they were true, they should have made a splash in my main series games communities, but that didn't happen either. Based on this, the fate of Mega Evolution in the main series games is pretty much sealed, unless something is to happen for Scarlet and Violet (the ninth-generation games) later this year, which is highly unlikely.
Meanwhile, over in Pokémon Go, Mega Evolution thrives after its introduction one and a half years ago, and its addition is slow but gradual, though surely eventually encompassing all existing forms for the Pokémon of concern. It has been beset by the initially stricter conditions for their usage, but some have been relaxed since then. Even so, the procurement is still far too opportune (primarily from raids - provided Trainers are willing) and the Mega Energy method for evolution is still far too consumable, in contrast to the main series games where it is implemented with unconsumed items. Still, the concept will stick regardless, and thus Mega Evolution survives and persists in this manner.
With the current way that things are developing, Mega Evolution is becoming an abandoned concept in the main series games, with newer games preferring not to touch the concept. Those who play them may be likely to forget with time that the concept exists. As for Pokémon Go, it has become the "repository" for the concept, keeping it alive for those who are engrossed in it or who seek its nostalgia, even as other games move away from it. Due to this dualism, it may be said that the concept is in "suspended animation" due to its preservation in Pokémon Go and yet decay in other games. It may just be awaiting for a good response from Trainers before something new becomes in order.
Even so, now as it was like then, the clarity of the fate of the concept is still somewhat vague. It's either active and pulsing for some Trainers, or hushed and inert for yet others. How many more years of developments in Pokémon games it will take for the concept to become viable again (if ever) is not known, but at least some persistence in the games that it has already been included seemingly assures that the concept is and always will be part of Pokémon - and the Trainers who choose to embrace it.
One year ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 4/11/2021
Two years ago: Three Simple Rules for a Great Adventure
Three years ago: The Songs of the Detective Pikachu Trailers
Four years ago: O Charizard
Five years ago: Romanticism of Tall Grasses
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