
This article will look at every Mega Evolution that has seen decent success in the VGC 2018 format and look at its chances of doing well at the 2018 World Championships. Each Mega Evolution will have how it plays looked at, including notable things about each Pokémon. Sample teams will also be shown for each Mega Evolution that has succeeded in tournament play or on the ladder. Hope you enjoy!
Mega Venusaur

SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Patrick Donegan – Top 8 Prague Special Event (team report)






Meghan Hyman – Top 8 in Zelda's Sao Paulo Challenge






Wilson Foong - Top 4 Malaysian Regional






Mega Charizard X

Mega Charizard X is a very offensive Mega Evolution. Most successful Mega Charizard X are either Dragon Dance variants, which are much more popular, or bulkier support variants with Will-O-Wisp that was popularized by Wolfe Glick during his Top 16 2015 World Championships run and again at his 1st place Charlotte Regionals run. The main goal of the Dragon Dance variants is to set up to become an offensive powerhouse. It uses moves like Flare Blitz and either Dragon Claw or Thunder Punch due to the presence of Tapu Fini in the format. Bulkier variants are great at still doing damage, but being able to be annoying by burning their target and stalling them out.
Mega Charizard X absolutely hates Intimidate. Pokémon like Incineroar and Landorus-Therian are the most popular as they can lower their attack stat. Landorus doesn't enjoy taking Flare Blitz, even at -1, which can do a decent amount of damage. Incineroar can do decent damage with Knock Off. Thunder Punch and Dragon Claw will do decent damage, but if Charizard doesn't have Roost, Incineroar can win the 1v1 against it.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Jamie Boyt – 1st Place Malmo Regional (team report)






Wolfe Glick – 1st Place Charlotte Regional (team report)






Eric Rios – Top 4 Latin America International






Alex Gomez – Top 8 Latin American International
Mega Charizard X absolutely hates Intimidate. Pokémon like Incineroar and Landorus-Therian are the most popular as they can lower their attack stat. Landorus doesn't enjoy taking Flare Blitz, even at -1, which can do a decent amount of damage. Incineroar can do decent damage with Knock Off. Thunder Punch and Dragon Claw will do decent damage, but if Charizard doesn't have Roost, Incineroar can win the 1v1 against it.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Jamie Boyt – 1st Place Malmo Regional (team report)






Wolfe Glick – 1st Place Charlotte Regional (team report)






Eric Rios – Top 4 Latin America International






Alex Gomez – Top 8 Latin American International






Mega Charizard Y

Mega Charizard Y has always been a very strong Mega Evolution, in part, thanks to its Drought ability. Being able to set up the Sun to power up its fire moves, and combined with its base 159 Sp. Attack stat makes it a very strong Pokémon to use. The Fire-type moves you can expect from it are generally 1 or 2 of Heat Wave, Flamethrower, and Overheat with Solar Beam and Hidden Power [Ground] being the most common coverage moves. Some have even run support moves like Tailwind, which, since it isn't the most common, can prove to be a really strong choice if used.
If there's one Pokémon Mega Charizard Y absolutely hates fighting, is Heatran. If Charizard doesn't have Hidden Power [Ground], Heatran can be painful to fight thanks to its Flash Fire ability, and Solar Beam is 4x resisted thanks to its Fire/Steel typing. Due to not being bulky, common super-effective moves such as Tapu Koko's Thunderbolt and Landorus' Rock Slide can do significant damage to Charizard and even threaten KOs in some situations. Powerful attacks such as Tapu Lele's terrain boosted Psychic and Snorlax's Return can also do big damage since most Charizard will decide to go for a more offensive route instead of a defensive route, which can leave it vulnerable against some very powerful moves.
If there's one Pokémon Mega Charizard Y absolutely hates fighting, is Heatran. If Charizard doesn't have Hidden Power [Ground], Heatran can be painful to fight thanks to its Flash Fire ability, and Solar Beam is 4x resisted thanks to its Fire/Steel typing. Due to not being bulky, common super-effective moves such as Tapu Koko's Thunderbolt and Landorus' Rock Slide can do significant damage to Charizard and even threaten KOs in some situations. Powerful attacks such as Tapu Lele's terrain boosted Psychic and Snorlax's Return can also do big damage since most Charizard will decide to go for a more offensive route instead of a defensive route, which can leave it vulnerable against some very powerful moves.
Mega Blastoise

Mega Blastoise has established itself as a very niche Mega Evolution in that it's only really succeeded on 1 style of team: Tailwind offense. Most will be very fast, so under Tailwind, they can fire off a very powerful Water Spout to tear through teams. Other common moves take advantage of its Mega Launcher ability, such as Water Pulse in case Water Spout is a bad call, Aura Sphere for Steel types, and Dark Pulse for Psychic types. Moves like Ice Beam and Fake Out are also sometimes seen, though they aren't as common, though Fake Out is used on the more common Mega Blastoise teams.
One of the biggest pitfalls Mega Blastoise and its teams may find themselves in is if its opponent knows what to expect. Most will lead their Tailwind setter plus Mega Blastoise to go for Tailwind turn 1. The most common team often has a Z-Tailwind Kartana, which means if Kartana succeeds, you can threaten a powerful Water Spout and guarantee Critical hits from your Kartana, which can tear through teams.
Mega Gengar

Mega Gengar saw a rise in popularity in part due to the popularity of Metagross, the most popular Mega Evolution in 2018. Its base 130 speed stat and base 170 Sp. Attack can allow Gengar to reliably outspeed Metagross to KO it with Shadow Ball. One of the biggest tools Mega Gengar has is its Shadow Tag ability. Simply being able to limit your opponent from switching to be able to force your opponent is a very strong tool. Its Poison typing is also very strong due to how popular the Fairy typing is. Pokémon like the Tapus and Gardevoir, for example, is huge because Mega Gengar teams are commonly built with the idea in mind of Gengar being able to KO threats for its partners.
This can be shown based on the Kommo-o teams. Gengar can KO the Fairy types Kommo-o hates to fight to allow it to use its Z-move to clean through teams. Mega Gengar teams are either built more offensively to clean through teams much faster or bulkier like Daniel teams, which is more defensive to allow it to win games slowly, although the offensive teams have seen more success in the format.
This can be shown based on the Kommo-o teams. Gengar can KO the Fairy types Kommo-o hates to fight to allow it to use its Z-move to clean through teams. Mega Gengar teams are either built more offensively to clean through teams much faster or bulkier like Daniel teams, which is more defensive to allow it to win games slowly, although the offensive teams have seen more success in the format.
Daniel Thorpe – Top 32 North America International






Mega Kangaskhan

Mega Kangaskhan was the most popular Mega Evolution in every VGC format in the 6th generation due to how reliably it could 2HKO most of the format that isn't a Steel or Ghost type. The nerf to its Parental Bond ability and the loss of Power-Up Punch really shot Kangaskhan and for the first few months in the format. That all changed when Kangaskhan started winning various Special Events and many players really started to take note of Kangaskhan.
Mega Kangaskhan in the 7th Generation has traded power for bulk, as common Kangaskhan are slower and able to take hits. Common Mega Kangaskhan teams in VGC 2018 are very reminiscent of CHALK teams from 2015. Heatran, Landorus-T, and Cresselia are still on the team as they play a very solid roll on the team. Tapu Fini and Kartana are new additions to the team thanks to Tapu Fini's Misty Terrain and Kartana's strong physical output.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Paul Chua - 1st Place Madison Regional + Top 4 North American International






Brian Youm - Top 4 Roanoke and Madison Regional






Jirawiwat Thitasiri - Top 8 Costa Mesa Regionals






Jamie Dixon - Top 4 Sheffield Regionals






Juan Naar - 3x Special Event Champion






Mega Gyarados

Mega Gyarados is another Mega Evolution that sees usage simply because it has a positive matchup versus Metagross. Its Water/Dark typing means it can wall Gyarados since it resists its Iron Head and Ice Punch, doesn't take much damage from Stomping Tantrum, and is immune to Zen Headbutt. For the most part, Mega Gyarados will try to set up Dragon Dance to increase the power of Crunch and Waterfall. Its Mold Breaker ability can allow it to bypass abilities such as Storm Drain to use Water-type moves and Lightning Rod to use Electric-type moves, which is very helpful.
After Isaac used Mega Gyarados at Oceania Internationals, it hasn't really seen any success since. A few Gyarados have seen decent success at Regionals, but no one was really able to make Top Cut with it. I can only assume it's due to how the niche of having a very strong match-up against Metagross isn't strong enough, as non-Mega Pokemon like Incineroar and Suicune can do that job better than Gyarados.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Chelsea Tan - 1st Place Singapore Open






Isaac Lam - Top 4 Oceania International






Ziyue Xiong - Top 8 Melbourne Regionals












Mega Scizor

Mega Scizor is a Mega Evolution that has only seen a very small amount of success, mainly from Carson Confer when he won the Latin American Internationals. The strength of Scizor lies in how it has a positive matchup against the Tapus and a decent matchup against Metagross. Thanks to its Technician ability, Scizor can use Bug Bite which takes advantage of the large amount of berries in the format, and being able to steal those berries is very helpful.
Mega Scizor has only really succeeded on Rain teams. This is probably due to how being able to neutralize its crippling weakness to Fire type moves is very helpful. If there's one thing Mega Scizor needs, it's terrain support. Tapu Lele's Psychic Terrain means it can't use Bullet Punch, so Pokémon like Tapu Fini and Tapu Koko can become great partners for Scizor to help fix this issue.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Carson Confer - 1st Place Latin America International + Top 8 Madison Regional






Malcolm Mackellar - Top 8 Melbourne Regional

Mega Tyranitar is a Pokémon that received early success when Alessio Yuri used it to win Oceania Internationals. The strength of Mega Tyranitar is that it essentially plays as a normal Dragon Dance Tyranitar, but the extra bulk and the ability to choose when to Mega Evolve to keep the sand up. You can read more on Tyranitar in this article on the site that was published very recently and linked here.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Alessio Yuri Boschetto - 1st Place Oceania International






Andrea di Tivoli - Top 8 Stuttgart Regional






Guntur Prabowo - 1st Place Melbourne Regional






Aditya Subramanian - Top 8 Madison Regional






Eric Rios - 1st Place Valencia Special Event (Link to team report)






Mega Blaziken

Mega Blaziken is a very hyper offensive Mega Evolution, and the teams it's built around showcase this. The common moves you'll see on Mega Blaziken are Flare Blitz and Superpower for your main attacks, with Rock Slide as your common coverage moves to hit Pokémon like Charizard for super-effective damage.
Trevor's team is very offensive. We've seen Blaziken + Bisharp used a little bit, but it hasn't really seen success until Trevor used it. The core can be very difficult to switch into. The Scarf Tapu Bulu can combo with Blaziken to have a sizable chance to flinch your opponent over and over again. Nicholas' team has multiple modes to use in his games. Blaziken + Torkoal to fire off Sun boosted Fire-type moves, Torkoal + Oranguru for a Trick Room mode, Tapu Lele + Kartana for an offensive mode. The main success of Blaziken teams is its meant to overpower your opponent to win games.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Trevor Rosberg - 18th Place North American Internationals






Nicholas Bingham - Top 4 Melbourne Regional + Top 8 Perth Regional






Mega Swampert

Mega Swampert is a Pokémon that largely benefited from how, in the 7th Generation, a Mega Evolution's speed is automatically received once it Mega Evolves. This meant once Swampert Mega Evolves in the Rain, its Swift Swim ability automatically activates so it can become insanely fast in the Rain. Mega Swampert hasn't really seen any success in the 2018 season, despite the hype it got very early on. You'll often see Swampert paired with Pelipper as it can use Earthquake alongside it without damaging its partner.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Alister Sandover - Top 16 North American International + Top 4 Auckland Open + 2nd Place Malaysian Special Event and Singapore Open






Mega Gardevoir

Mega Gardevoir suffered from the nerf to its Pixilate ability. This didn't change Gardevoir's success much at all, as these players were able to use Gardevoir successfully. Conan used it very early on in VGC 2018 and put Gardevoir on the map. Conan Wild's Gardevoir team set the stage for the framework of how Gardevoir teams mainly look by adding an extra Fairy type in the form of a Tapu, a bulky Fake Out user as well as Intimidate, a bulky Pokemon that can do decent damage, and a Pokemon to round out what the team struggles with.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Conan Wild - Peaked with a 1796 rating on the Season 1 Championship Ladder






Nathan Wright - Top 8 Charlotte Regional






Stephen Mea - Top 16 Latin American International + Top 8 Toronto and Madison Regionals






Benjamin Tan - 1st Place Malaysia Special Event






Jake Muller - Top 16 North American International






Mega Mawile

Mawile is another Mega Evolution that found its home on Rain teams, even though it's not exactly designed for the Rain. The common build for Mawile teams is pairing with Gothitelle, as Gothitelle provides Shadow Tag and support moves like Helping Hand, Trick Room, and Heal Pulse to help support Mawile. Pokémon like Politoed can support Mawile mainly because of its Drizzle ability which can help Mawile take Fire-type moves from Pokémon like Charizard and Incineroar much better. Incineroar can help very much in the mirror, and a Tapu in either Tapu Koko or Tapu Bulu can help in other matchups like Kommo-o, for example.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Yanqing Sun - 2nd Place Roanoke Regional






Benjamin Tan - 1st Place Malaysian Regional and Singapore Special Event






Mega Manectric

Manectric picked up popularity around February with 3 Top Cut appearances at Regionals and a couple of small appearances in the next few months. Manectric teams have received an article in the past, which you can read about here.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Alvin Hidayat - 1st Place Collinsville Regional + Top 16 Dallas Regional






Davide Cauteruccio - Top 4 Malmo Regional






Jeremy Shacket - Top 4 Portland Regional






Joseph Selmer - Top 4 Salt Lake City Regional






Brian Youm - Top 8 Charlotte Regional






Louis Milich - Top 8 Collinsville Regional






Mega Salamence

Salamence teams are mainly seen in 2 different forms: Either bulky set-up teams or more offensive teams. Hirofumi, Ashton, and Gary were the first 3 users of the bulkier variants, whose main goal is for Salamence to set up with Dragon Dance while its teammates help support its efforts to do so. Len went for a more offensive direction with a mixed-attacking Salamence paired with a Sand mode, which is reminiscent of 2015's Japan Sand mode that was very popular around May 2015. Due to the popularity of Pokémon like Tyranitar, which can give Salamence issues, that we will most likely see going into the World Championships, Salamence teams will need to prepare for this.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Hirofumi Kimura - 1st Place Japan National






Gary Qian - Top 4 Portland Regional






Len Deuel - Top 8 North American Internationals






Jake Powell - Top 16 North American Internationals






Mega Metagross

Metagross has proven to be the most popular Mega Evolution in the 2018 format. Due to the gaining Stomping Tantrum, which means Metagross can hit Pokémon it otherwise couldn't. Metagross is commonly paired with Pokémon like Tapu Lele to power up its Psychic-type moves, Intimidate users like Incineroar and Landorus-T, and generally a slower mode like either Porygon2 + Araquanid or Amoonguss.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
David Koutesh - 1st Place Prague Special Event






Alessio Yuri Boschetto - Top 4 Toronto Regional + Top 4 North America International






David Koutesh - 1st Place Prague Special Event






Alessio Yuri Boschetto - Top 4 Toronto Regional + Top 4 North America International






Jens Arne Mækinen - 2nd Place Oceania International + Top 8 Sheffield Regional and Valencia Special Event






Javier Valdes - Top 8 Oceania International






Mega Latias

Latias is a Mega Evolution whose main goal is to set up with Calm Mind. It can then use moves like Ice Beam and Psyshock to try and deal with teams. Latias teams tend to be very bulky as they can cycle Intimidate with Landorus-T and Incineroar to help. Latias commonly pairs with Tapu Fini to help against other Dragon types like Salamence or opposing Latias. Latias hasn't really seen too much success, which is probably due to the popularity of Incineroar, which Latias can't touch at all. The popularity of Tyranitar going into the World Championships will also hurt Latias.
SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Heinz Heckmann - Top 8 Prague Special Event






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