With Pokemon Legends: Z-A right around the corner, the game is ramping up its marketing campaign and gradually revealing a number of new features.
July’s Pokemon Presents revealed new mega evolutions will be arriving – a fan-favourite that originated in 2013’s X and Y games.
Everyone knows Pikachu, the face of Pokemon. Its evolution, Raichu, received a mega evolution back in those 2013 titles – and now it’s received two more. However, the discourse around these new forms has proven divisive, as many feel as though it’s just an excuse to lump yet more exposure on Pikachu, the mascot that some fans are feeling overexposed to.
Raichu Controversy
With Pikachu being as popular and recognisable a mascot as they are, some might not see what the problem is – especially if the game is trying to appeal to a wider audience.
In fact, this is the in-universe stance that the game seems to take towards Raichu’s new forms, with Game Freak stating on their website that Mega Raichu Y “bears a distinctive resemblance to Pikachu.”
A popular Reddit thread saw fans argue that the new designs are essentially Mega Pikachu. “Mega Raichu X was designed to be Mega Raichu, but suffers design-wise because Mega Raichu Y was designed to be Mega Pikachu.”
However, lampshading this doesn’t seem to be enough for some fans, who are arguing that this is simply a way to give Pikachu a mega evolution, allowing the mascot to have yet more of a central role.
The Wider Issue
This is, in fact, a long-standing problem that many fans have had with the franchise.
In the aforementioned X and Y games, the player was offered an original starter (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle) alongside the starter Pokemon that were exclusive to that generation.
Many felt as though this didn’t allow the new Pokemon their own time in the limelight.
Similarly, 2019’s Sword and Shield prominently featured the classic Pokemon Charizard over the new arrivals, giving fans the impression that the developers were pandering to nostalgia.
In this particular instance, however, what adds to the controversy is that these forms of Raichu don’t even release with the main game. Instead, they drop with post-release DLC that has already been announced, raising familiar conversations of dubious monetisation practices.
Pokemon Legends Z-A Mega Evolutions
Other than the mega evolutions which already existed prior to the announcement of Pokemon Legends: Z-A, here is the list of all the new forms announced so far:
- Mega Raichu X
- Mega Raichu Y
- Mega Chesnaught
- Mega Delphox
- Mega Greninja
- Mega Malamar
- Mega Hawlucha
- Mega Victreebell
- Mega Dragonite
