Used to Mega Pokémon in GBL yet? Yeah, me either. 😅 But they seem to be here to stay! We’ve got our first Limited meta with Mega Pokémon featured, with a return to Color Cup. It’s a format that features all the original “elements”, Grass, Fire, Water, and Electric types, so lots of familiar names will be popping up. But what may not yet be familiar is what Mega Pokémon to use. So let’s focus on that with a brief analysis on what Mega Pokémon look best in Color Cup!

MEGA RAICHU X

Mega X Raichu Electric

Thunder Shock | Brick Break & Surf & Volt Tackle+

Setting the table for what is a surprisingly good format for Electric types, particularly flexible ones. And none are more flexible than Raichu Mega X, which in addition to getting Volt Tackle+ as a free third move, gets a mix of potential Fighting, Grass, and Water damage mixed among its wide array of charge moves. Wait… Water? Yeah, a lot of folks have forgotten that Surf is part of Raichu’s moveset, but you know what? In this meta, I think Surf does more for Raichu than Trailblaze. Just think about it… what is Trailblaze supposed to be targeting? Other than the occasional Mud Boy, there’s really not much you need it for. Conversely. Surf directly answers all the Fire types out there, and deals 10 more damage than Trailblaze against neutral targets (like most opposing Electric types), and is just a better fit for Color Cup. And Raichu Mega X is a good fit as your Mega here too.

MEGA CHESNAUGHT

Mega Chesnaught GrassFighting

Low Kick | Thunder Punch & Gyro Ball/Frenzy Plantᴸ & Seed Bomb+

And here’s another one: did YOU remember that Chesnaught can learn Gyro Ball? Unlike the rather obvious advantage of Surf on Raichu in Color Cup (anti-Fire tech), you may have trouble thinking of a use case where you’d want Steel damage here. Fighting is just as good versus opposing Rock and Ice types, after all. But what about opposing Grass types? Thunder Punch and Seed Bomb+ are both resisted, but Gyro Ball isn’t! And against opposing Grass/Poison types in particular, Fighting damage (such as Superpower) is resisted as well, but again, not Gyro Ball! That may not mean much, but it does mean the difference between beating Victreebel or not. Of course, Superpower is still just fine (and has some use cases in its favor, such as Dewgong, but this is super rare case where you can utilize damage the opponent will never see coming. And either way, Mega Chesnaught compares favorably to the non-Mega.

MEGA VICTREEBEL

Mega Victreebel GrassPoison

Sucker Punch/Acid | Leaf Blade & Solar Beam/Sludge Bomb & Acid Spray+

Since we just mentioned it, yes, Victreebel is good here too, and is another case where the Mega shows well as compared to the non-Mega. The latter can outlast extras like Rillaboom, Toxapex, Alolan Marowak, and Emolga, but the Mega instead can overpower Mega Ampharos, Charizard Mega X, Charjabug, and Morpeko… and tends to beat non-Mega Victreebel too. That’s with Sucker Punch, which I think is my recommendation, but don’t discount good old Acid either, which drops stuff like Jellicent, Golisopod, Tentacruel, and Cramorant to instead dissolve Rillaboom, Shadow Kingdra, Mantine, and Emolga. (Or as compared to the non-Mega, MegaVic can beat Charizard Mega X, Charjabug, Dewgong, Empoleon, Magnezone, Mantine, and Morpeko, losing only Cramorant, Golisopod, Jellicent, Jumpluff, and Toxapex in the process.) Mega Vic is the new Shadow Vic? Not so crazy to say.

MEGA DELPHOX

Mega Delphox FirePsychic

Scratch | Blast Burnᴸ & Psyshock & Mystical Fire+

Charizard Mega X is ranked highest among Mega Fires (and actually, highest among Megas period), but it is Mega Delphox that puts up the numbers. While Charizard X, as a Dragon rather than Flying type, actually has a great resistance package that gives it standout wins like Morpeko, Stunfisk, Victreebel (Mega and non-Mega), and Turtonator, it cannot match things Mega Delphox can beat instead like Mega Houndoom, Cramorant, Lapras, Magnezone, Seaking, Tentacruel, Toedscruel, Toxapex, and Walrein. Oh, and Mega Delphox wins the head-to-head between them as well. A lot of it is thanks to suddenly-great-this-season Scratch (3.0 DPT/4.0 EPT), which combined with Psyshock, smacks around a ton of the meta with big neutral damage, and generates plenty of energy for its big Fire charge moves when needed too.

Yes, CHARIZARD MEGA X is better than non-Mega, with a generally more advantageous subtyping (and getting STAB on Dragon Breath doesn’t hurt either), but honestly, neither are all that fantastic. (It doesn’t look too shabby in longer battles, though!) MEGA BLAZIKEN is viable too, but Shadow Blaziken still gets a bit more done. And MEGA HOUNDOOM is also viable, but really not appreciably better than the non-Mega.

MEGA AMPHAROS

Mega Ampharos ElectricDragon

Volt Switch | Brutal Swing & Trailblaze

Can’t wait for this one to get its Mega move. (Hopefully a STAB Dragon move? 🙏) But Mega Amphy does plenty even without it for a lot of the same reason Charizard Mega X is ranked so highly: a Dragon subtyping, which naturally resists all four of the main typings in Color Cup. This translates to wins that non-Mega can’t match like Charjabug, Magnezone, Typhlosion, and Victreebel, though its drop in bulk (and vulnerability to Dragon damage) does mean a loss to Kingdra that non-Mega can outlast. But I’ll take that tradeoff!

MEGA SLOWBRO

Mega Slowbro WaterPsychic

Confusion | Drain Punch & Ice Beam/Water Pulse

I have a feeling Mega Starmie is going to be popular because it’s just a fan favorite, but really, if you want a good Water/Psychic type, just go with MegaBro. That said, I would be remiss to NOT point out that the non-Mega is actually notably better, as is the case for most of the other Megas not in this article. This was really a sneaky way to just point out that Slowbro is an underrated gem in this meta. 😉

But yeah, while there are other Mega Water types, they either are no better than their non-Mega counterparts (example: Mega Gyarados vs non-Mega Gary, and Mega Swampert vs regular Swampert) or noticeably worse (Mega Greninja, which trails non-Mega despite having an extra coverage move).

IN CONCLUSION

So there we go! Just some Mega Pokémon to get your juices flowing… and to know which ones you most need to worry about countering. Hope it’s a help!

Until next time, you can usually find me on Twitter for regular Pokémon GO analysis nuggets, or Patreon. And please, feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I’ll try to get back to you!

Thank you for reading! Good luck in this first Mega-stuffed Cup, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!