Mega Great League is already well underway, though returning a couple times later this season. Meanwhile, Mega Ultra League continues for another week (and will also return several times this season). So sorry for the tardiness, but I’m finally ready to discuss some of my personal recommendations for what Mega Pokémon to run in Mega Great League and Mega Ultra League.
Personally, I think I can still count on one hand (certainly on two) the number of actual Mega Pokémon I have encountered so far in this new Season 28… at least in Mega Great League, it’s basically just Open League play with the occasional Mega here or there (and almost always one of the first two Megas below). But they’re out there, and will likely only increase their presence and impact as the season grinds on and players adjust, so hopefully this guide helps you figure out which ones to prepare to face… or prepare to use yourself!
MEGA SABLEYE
Mega Sableye
DarkGhost
Bulk: Excellent (Higher than non-Mega)
Changes Type? No
Mega Great League Rank: #3
Mega Ultra League Rank: #371
Third Move: Not Currently
This is really just one Mega Pokémon for the Mega Great League. Even as a Mega, it doesn’t reach even 2200 CP for Ultra League. Mega Sableye is easily the highest ranked Mega in either League, and arguably the most impactful PvP Mega Pokémon in this entire article. The first thing that stands out is that Mega Sableye is the only Mega that has better PvP stats than its non-Mega counterpart. So right off the bat, without any further analysis needed, it’s fair to say that it’s better to use Mega Sableye in Great League than regular Sableye. Same typing, same moves, better bulk. And yes, the sims bear that out, with Mega Sableye simply outperforming both non-Shadow and Shadow Sableye. Now it is NOT a straight upgrade, with non-Mega carving out some unique wins like Cradily and Dewgong, and beating the Mega head-to-head (thanks to having higher Attack and thus winning CMP). However, the Mega is better overall with its own unique wins that include Cramorant, Morpeko, Hisuian Electrode, Charjabug, Dunsparce, Kingdra and others. Just imagine how much better it could be if it ever gets to use a third, Super Mega charged move!
For now, Foul Play is a must, and then you can go with Power Gem (mostly gets things you would expect a Rock move to beat like Dewgong, Araquanid, Cramorant, Fearow, Talonflame, and Ninetales) or even the popular-right-now Drain Punch (also gains Dewgong, as well as Fighting-weak Cradily, Diggersby, and Melmetal, and is slightly best in 2shield due to stacking buffs, but easily the worst option in 0shield). But my recommendation is Dazzling Gleam to win the mirror and also have the best way to slam the door on the next Mega on our list….
MEGA MALAMAR
Mega Malamar
DarkPsychic
Bulk: Great (Roughly equivalent to non-Mega)
Changes Type? No
Mega Great League Rank: #27
Mega Ultra League Rank: #46
Third Move: Yes (Psybeam+)
The highest ranked Mega in Ultra and second only to Mega Sable in Great League, but… why? Well, this is basically non-Mega Malamar with a third move, as the Attack (118 on average for Mega, 117 on average for non-Mega) and combined bulk 132 Defense/120 HP for Mega, 116 Defense/139 HP for non-Mega) are nearly identical, resulting in a total stat product for Mega Malamar that is only about 16 less (1883) than non-Mega (1899).
So slap an additional coverage move (Psybeam+, with a solid 45 energy/70 damage as opposed to the practically unusable 60 energy/70 damage normal Psybeam) on all that, and yeah, the ranking makes sense. In Mega Great League, Mega Malamar can overcome extra stuff that non-Mega Malamar cannot like Carbink, Mega Altaria, and Malamar itself (higher Attack = winning CMP, so not a big surprise there), though it also means losses to things non-Mega Malamar can sometimes top like Galarian Corsola, Shadow Annihilape, and Kingdra.
As for Mega Ultra League, Mega Malamar is slightly better than non-Mega overall, with standout wins like Charizard Mega X, Shadow Feraligatr, Togekiss, and again, Malamar itself (giving up Mega Dragonite, Cresselia, Swampert, and Shadow Ninetales). Shadow Malamar is situationally better (specifically in 1v1 shielding) or worse {-4 wins as compared to Mega in 0shield, and -2 in 2shield).
It’s not super amazing compared to the non-Mega, I will admit. But as a solid, viable Mega? It’s hard to argue with Mega Malamar as a splash in to a different flavor of Great and Ultra League, and a nice simple way to highlight the third charge move mechanic.
MEGA MAWILE
Mega Mawile
SteelFairy
Bulk: Decent (Nearly identical to non-Mega)
Changes Type? No
Mega Great League Rank: #181
Mega Ultra League Rank: #115
Third Move: Not Currently
Ranked as the Top 3 Mega in Great League and Top 4 in Ultra, kind of similar to Mega Malamar, there is nothing remarkable about Mega Mawile as compared to the non-Mega, but it’s still just a solid pick in both formats. In the latter case, it brings Mawile into competitive Ultra League for the first time (regular Mawile stays south of 1900 CP, and uh… yeah, not good), and makes a rather fantastic first impression. It dunks not only on most (non-Steel) Dragons, Darks, Grasses, Bugs, Fighters, and Fairies and such as you’d expect, but also most of the top Megas (Malamar, Altaria, Dragonite, Audino and more). Meanwhile, it’s a viable alternative to non-Mega Mawile down in Mega Great League as well, overpowering things like Morpeko, Cramorant, Altaria, and Fearow as opposed to + Mega X Charizard, Rillaboom, Vigoroth, and sometimes Mega Sableye that the non-Mega can outlast instead.
MEGA ALTARIA
Mega Altaria
DragonFairy
Bulk: Decent (Less than non-Mega in GL)
Changes Type? Yes (Dragon/Flying -> Dragon/Fairy)
Mega Great League Rank: #262
Mega Ultra League Rank: #99
Third Move: Not Currently
Mega Altaria is more impressive in Mega Ultra League than it is in Mega Great League. In Great League it falls noticeably behind non-Mega Altaria in terms of bulk (400 less stat product, over 20 less Defense, and about 30 less HP) and record (trailing by half a dozen wins, dropping important things like Mega Sableye, Mega Malamar, Araquanid, Corviknight, Diggersby, Fearow, Jumpluff, Marowak, Melmetal, Morpeko, Talonflame, Rillaboom, and Vigoroth to gain only Mega Dragonite, Charizard Mega X, Cramorant, Jellicent, Shadow Snorlax, Medicham, and Thievul. Nice pickups, but not nearly enough to make up for what is lost.
However, in Ultra League, Mega Altaria brings Altaria up to 2500 CP for the first time, so it leaves regular Altaria far behind with a slew of new wins that include Mega Malamar, Mega Dragonite, Mega Raichu X, Ampharos, Annihilape, Blastoise, Dusknoir, Forretress, Giratina, Kyurem, G-Moltres, Regidrago, and Shadow Typhlosion. It’s still only the 10th ranked Dragon in the format, but it’s a fine option as your Mega at that level.
MEGA DRAGONITE
Mega Dragonite
Dragon
Bulk: Poor (Nearly identical to non-Mega)
Changes Type? No
Mega Great League Rank: #205
Mega Ultra League Rank: #135
Third Move: Yes (Outrage+)
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Mega Dragonite is that its Attack and bulk are nearly the same as the non-Mega in both Great and Ultra Leagues. Seriously, the Attack stat is usually a difference of literally just 1 between the two, and while the Mega has noticeably less HP, it compensates with quite a bit more Defense. Mega Dragonite comes with a third move in Outrage+, which deals the same 110 damage as regular Outrage, but for only 50 energy instead of the standard 60. In general, this means that Mega Dragonite will just be better than regular Dragonite, and technically that’s true in both Great League (Mega vs non-Mega), and especially Ultra League (Mega vs non-Mega, with Mega getting new wins versus Mega Malamar, Ampharos, Blastoise, Dusknoir, Feraligatr, Giratina, Talonflame, and Zygarde).
However, to be fair, I need to point out that Shadow Dragonite is probably still a bit more impactful in Great League, despite it falling behind Mega Dragonite in 0shield and 1shield scenarios, it’s overpowering in 2shield, leaving even Mega Dragonite behind. But Dragonite is a nice, well-rounded option as your Mega if you don’t have a particular one in mind and just want to splash a generalist into your team. Its Mega move actually works really, really well alongside cheaper coverage movws Superpower and Thunder Punch.
MEGA GRENINJA
Mega Greninja
WaterDark
Bulk: Awful (Less than ALL ranked non-Megas in GL)
Changes Type? No
Mega Great League Rank: #216
Mega Ultra League Rank: #183
Third Move: Yes (Surf+)
Kind of a similar story here, actually, though unlike Mega Dragonite, Mega Greninja IS notably less bulky (and with higher Attack) than its non-Mega counterpart. But it’s a slight upgrade to the non-Mega anyway, particularly in Great League, where I actually recommend (for the first I think ever on any variant of Greninja) Aerial Ace rather than Hydro Cannon (along with the new hotness of Brutal Swing rather than traditional Night Slash). But why? Because Mega Greninja comes with Surf+, dealing 75 damage (just 5 less than Hydro Cannon) for only 35 energy, giving it the exact same pacing as Brutal Swing/Night Slash. There’s just really no reason for Mega Greninja to run Cannon, so the coverage of Aerial Ace is nice and brings in new win potential like Shadow Annihilape, Tinkaton, Mega Sableye, and even Cradily and Mega Chesnaught! But again, as with Mega Dragonite, Shadow Greninja is just better.
As for Ultra Megas, MegaNinja is fine enough (though it does NOT really benefit from Aerial Ace at this level), comparable to non-Mega, but falling a bit behind it in 0shield and 2shield matchups, and consistently behind Shadow Greninja again. So there’s nothing at all wrong with going this direction for your Mega, but other than the intrigue of running Water, Dark, and Flying charge moves all at once in Great League, there’s not much reason to pursue Mega Greninja if you have any better options.
And I would include the next candidate on that “better options” list, personally….
MEGA RAICHU X
Mega X Raichu
Electric
Bulk: Awful (Higher than Mega Greninja, but not by much)
Changes Type? No
Mega Great League Rank: #219
Mega Ultra League Rank: #89
Third Move: Yes (Volt Tackle+)
I’ve said it before, but Raichu is an old favorite of mine, the perfect blend of budget Pokémon, exciting spice, and especially these days, a flexible assortment of moves to make it a truly underrated gem even on the right Open format team. (My first GBL-centric article was a spotlight on Raichu, actually!) So I’m always tickled when I can elevate it as a legit potential star in any given format, and believe it or not, Mega Ultra League looks like one such format! With Volt Tackle+ as a third move unlock for Raichu Mega X (the same 90 damage and -1 Defense debuff as regular Volt Tackle, but for only 35 energy! 😱), similar to Mega Dragonite, you can unleash its full suite of coverage with Brick Break and Trailblaze (or even mix Surf in there if you feel like it), allowing you to hit back at nearly everything that resists Electric for at least neutral damage. And in the case of any particularly nasty Ground types that show up, a super effective response (Trailblaze, or Surf if you prefer). It’s enough to pick off Mega Malamar and Mega Dragonite, as well as the normal suite of Flyers and (most) Waters you’d expect, along with most Steels, Darks, and Normals in the meta with Brick Break. It’s super flimsy, but MAN does Raichu X put in some work before it goes down. This one looks like a LOT of fun, and I hope to use it myself at some point.
Oh, and yes, it’s fine in Mega Great League too, it’s just that its extreme lack of bulk keeps it a bit below non-Mega in overall performance. It’s appropriately ranked higher in Mega UL than it is in Mega GL, methinks.
MEGA AUDINO
Mega Audino
NormalFairy
Bulk: Amazing (Highest among Megas, #13 Overall in GL, #5 Overall in UL)
Changes Type? Yes (Normal -> Normal/Fairy)
Mega Great League Rank: #241
Mega Ultra League Rank: #139
Third Move: Not Currently
So I’ve spent a writing “career” telling people not to run Chansey, the fun killer pin cushion that just refuses to die. Mega Audino isn’t quite that bad — its bulk is more or less equivalent to Registeel, so super tanky but not Chansey tanky — but it’s the closest thing we’ve got in these Mega formats, particularly Mega Ultra League where it looks like it could actually be legit. 200+ Defense and HP is kind of wild. While humble Body Slam and Dazzling Gleam are not very flashy, they get the job done, and are moves that Chansey itself would kill for… as is new-this-season fast move Charge Beam, which is not a great move, but FAR better than anything you’ll find on Chansey either.
DO NOT RUN CHANSEY, and we’ll see if I’ll soon be adding Audino into that mantra too!
MEGA CHESNAUGHT
Mega Chesnaught
GrassFighting
Bulk: Decent (Roughly equivalent to non-Mega)
Changes Type? No
Mega Great League Rank: #313
Mega Ultra League Rank: #279
Third Move: Yes (Seed Bomb+)
As with some others we’ve covered, what makes Mega Chesnaught nice is threefold:
- Good bulk (for a Mega) that is barely different than the non-Mega
- Very good coverage moves that directly address some of its biggest blind spots (Steels with Superpower and Flyers with Thunder Punch)
- And finally, a Mega charged move in its primary typing, in this case the Grass-type Seed Bomb+.
While its special move is no Frenzy Plant, it’s certainly good enough to allow you to forgo the Community Day move in favor of maxmized coverage, and a performance that is mostly right on par with the non-Mega (gains Clodsire, loses Feraligatr and loses the H2H to MegaNaught), and even the Shadow variant (gains Mega Malamar and Rillaboom, loses Azumarill and the H2H again).
In Ultra League, MegaNaught is slightly better than both Shadow and non-Shadow, dropping Zygarde and either Lapras (Shadow) or Empoleon (non-Shadow), but gaining Corviknight, Feraligatr, Rillaboom, and either Typhlosion (as compared to Shadow) or Kingdra and Regidrago (as compared to non-Shadow). It is FAR better than its modest ranking would imply.
MEGA VICTREEBEL
Mega Victreebel
GrassPoison
Bulk: Poor (A bit less than non-Mega)
Changes Type? No
Great League Rank: #469
Mega Ultra League Rank: #368
Third Move: Yes (Acid Spray+)
I’ll keep this one simple: Mega Victreebel is slightly worse than Shadow Vic up in Mega Ultra League, and appropriately ranked significantly lower (non-Mega and Shadow are in the Top 200, Mega is down past #350) as a result. However, it is in Great League that Victreebel made a name for itself since Day 1 of GBL, and even moreso since ShadowVic came around. these days usually running with Acid or the new Sucker Punch (as opposed to the since-nerfed Razor Leaf that made it famous). Victreebel has always been about dealing as much damage as possible as quickly as possible to simply outrace opponents before Vic’s poor buk does it in, which the Shadow only helps with. So when you think about it, it makes perfect sense that Mega Victreebel with even more Attack does even better than that, dropping Cramorant, Marowak, and Dunsparce in favor of now beating Charizard Mega X, Charjabug, Furret, Morpeko, Shadow Sableye, Shadow Snorlax, and Vigoroth instead.
This all despite having a very subpar Mega third move in Acid Spray+, which still deals only 20 damage (and its famous debuff) for 5 less damage than normal Acid Spray, which is nice until you remember that AS+’s 40 energy is still probably better spent on just spamming 35 energy/70 damage Leaf Blade instead.
MEGA HERACROSS
Mega Heracross
BugFighting
Bulk: Awful (Barely higher than Mega Greninja)
Changes Type? No
Mega Great League Rank: #557 (but that doesn’t matter)
Mega Ultra League Rank: #802
Third Move: Not Currently
It’s not ranked particularly well, and has only a so-so overall record, but the reason to run Mega Heracross in Mega Master League is not about those sort of numbers. It’s about countering the top meta… specifically, the top Megas, as Mega Heracross can overcome every Mega in this article except Mega Greninja (though Heracross gets {oh so close] https://pvpoke.com/battle/1500/heracross_mega/greninja_mega/11/1-0-0/2-3-2-1)), Flying Mega Dragonite (Heracross can beat Mega Altaria, though!), big bulky Mega Audino, and of course, Mega Mawile. But with resistances to Dark and Fighting damage, it can shred Mega Sableye and Mega Malamar (the latter with only Fury Cutter if it wants to) and a slew of other Grass, Fighting, Dark, Normal, and Ground types across the meta.
Technically you can run Mega Scizor as your Mega Bug instead, which conveniently resists Psychic damage (Mega Malamar’s Psywave and Psybeam+ that give Mega Heracross trouble come immediately to mind), but it also takes neutral rather than resisted damage from Fighting moves (Malamar’s Superpower and Sableye’s Drain Punch), as well as Dark damage (Foul Play).
IN CONCLUSION
So there we go! There are certainly other Mega Pokémon that will pop up here and there — and Mega Master League is sure to be more Mega-dominated, which will require its own analysis at some point — but these are the ones I think have the best chances of truly shaking up what is otherwise just Open Great and Ultra Leagues.
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! I sincerely hope this helps you as we wade fully into this Mega PvP battlefield. Catch you next time, Pokéfriends!
