Pokémon Go is getting a major overhaul to its Mega Evolution system, making it easier and more rewarding to evolve your Pokémon into ultimate versions of themselves.
Announced by developer Niantic in a blog post, the update will tweak the Mega Evolution feature, which allows you to temporarily increase the strength of your fully evolved Pokemon. The update, which was first unveiled in a recent Pokemon Go datamine, is now available to players in Australia and New Zealand and is expected to roll out "soon" to the rest of the world.
It seems to resolve a lot of the frustrations players have had with the mechanic since it was added in 2020. Instead of having to collect and spend Mega Energy every time you want to Mega Evolve your Pokémon, Mega Evolutions are now unique. Cost. After you Mega Evolve a Pokémon for the first time, you can do so again, for free, after a short rest period.
If you're desperate to evolve them again and can't wait for the cooldown to end, you can reduce the cooldown by spending more Mega Energy.
How Pokemon Go Fixed Mega Evolutions
This change will address one of the community's biggest criticisms of Mega Evolutions: that their benefits don't match the investment of time or resources required. Niantic says that the new one-time purchase system will make evolving your Pokémon much more affordable, which will encourage more players to use the boost.
Also, a new Mega Evolution upgrade system has been introduced. Every time you mega evolve a pokemon, it gains experience to a new mega level. When it reaches a new level, the Pokémon will receive additional rewards, such as a reduction in its rest period. You'll also have a better chance of earning Candy XL and getting higher XP rewards when you use the Mega-Evolved Pokémon to catch other pocket monsters of the same type.
These changes will go a long way to making Mega Evolutions more interesting. With the perks of Mega Evolution now lingering, there's a lot more incentive to use the feature.
Most of the Mega Raids, the multiplayer battles you need to complete to get your hands on Mega Energy, have also been streamlined. You should be able to tackle a lot of them on your own, so you don't have to spend time looking for other players to team up with. This will make acquiring Mega Energy less of a hassle.
Niantic says that the Pokemon you Mega Evolved prior to this update will also have additional visual effects to commemorate your achievement. It has not yet specified when these changes will be implemented outside of Australia and New Zealand.