Monster Megas I: Gen 1 & 2 Megas' performance in Ubers

Introduction

Mega Pokémon: they're big, they're strong, and they're powerful. Their power is so great, that in the trenches of the Ubers metagame, they make names for themselves along with beasts like Xerneas. From #003 Mega Venusaur to #460 Mega Abomasnow, these Pokémon can put the "mon" in "monster" if used well.

In this article, I'll be looking at the Mega Pokémon by their Pokedex number, specifically the Mega Pokémon from Generations 1-2. Because each of them are so unique, each of these Mega Pokémon can actually be utilized in different ways to improve your team. From new abilities such as Parental Bond to simple stat boosts across the board, each Mega Pokémon brings something new to the table. Let's go!

Mega Pokémon

Mega Charizard X

A fan favorite, Charizard proved to be so popular that Game Freak decided to give it two Mega formes. Firstly, Mega Charizard X not only looks badass, but its typing, raw power, and coverage makes for one heck of a physical monster that can certainly find a spot on your Ubers team. With Tough Claws, Mega Charizard X gets a 33% power boost to all contact moves such as Flare Blitz, Outrage, and Dragon Claw. When using this Pokémon, you have to be smart with Defog support, as even after Mega Evolving, Mega Charizard X still takes quite a bit of damage from Stealth Rock.

Mega Charizard X's typing is just too great to not take advantage of, not to mention its access to loads of coverage. You'll want to give Mega Charizard X enough Speed to outspeed Xerneas and Speed tie with Palkia. You have to be smart when using this Pokémon, and choose the right moments to try to set up and come in as a late-game sweeper. There is no point setting up when you see checks on the opponent's team. You'll want to run Earthquake to avoid getting walled by Heatran and risk cutting your Attack from Aegislash's mind games with King's Shield. Mega Charizard X can either run Dragon Dance or Swords Dance, although you'll be have to be using Sticky Web support to use Swords Dance effectively.

With the support from Sticky Web, Mega Charizard X's potential in the Ubers tier is revealed. Defog is rarely seen on Sticky Web teams, so you'll want to include a Rapid Spin user that still has offensive momentum, such as Focus Sash Cloyster. Swords Dance Mega Charizard X is used as a wallbreaker that can OHKO Pokémon such as bulky Arceus after one boost, while Dragon Dance is a reliable substitute if your opponent clears the field of Sticky Web.

Mega Gengar

This Pokémon was so good that it had to get a suspect test for Ubers?! It's hard to believe this Pokémon used to be OU, isn't it? With the ability to trap opposing Pokémon, a wide movepool, and its base 170 Special Attack and base 130 Speed, there is honestly no reason why Mega Gengar shouldn't be used. Gengar was already good in OU, but with its Mega Evolution, it has built a reputation for itself in Ubers, being S Rank in the Ubers viability ranking thread. The thing with Mega Gengar is that you can never be 100% certain what set it is running until you see one of its moves. This allows you to easily throw your opponent off guard just by switching between trapping Pokémon or just using Taunt and hitting them with a powerful special attack.

Different sets include the annoying Perish Trap set, which consists of Mega Gengar abusing Perish Song and trapping its opponent to eventually stall it out with Protect. To use this set successfully, you'll have to give Gengar bulk rather than Special Attack. Mega Gengar has access to Sludge Wave, Sludge Bomb, and Taunt and can easily outspeed Xerneas even before it has Mega Evolved, making handling Xerneas much easier, as it is either KOed with a Poison-type STAB move or crippled by Taunt, rendering it unable to use Substitute or Geomancy. Hidden Power Fire is also an option as it allows you to hit Mega Scizor and Ferrothorn.

Shadow Tag alone makes Mega Gengar a top-tier Pokémon. A well-played Gengar can easily trap and remove almost anything in the tier. Kyogre and Xerneas are powerful Pokémon, and Mega Gengar is a perfect check to them, being able to either use Destiny Bond or hit Pokémon such as Palkia and Poison Arceus hard to remove them from the game.

Mega Kangaskhan

It always warms my heart to see a good relationship between family members, and that is precisely what Mega Kangaskhan and its child has. Without its Mega Evolution, Kangaskhan is in NeverUsed; however, Mega Kangaskhan, with its ability, Parental Bond, can not only get past the entire OverUsed tier with ease, but also be strong enough to the point that it has to be banned to Ubers. With its decent bulk, base 125 Attack, and base 100 Speed combined with the ability to use moves twice on the same turn, albeit with the second being weaker than the first, this is not a Pokémon you want to mess around with.

Mega Kangaskhan has made it into the B Rank of the Ubers viability ranking thread. It is good for hitting hard and quickly in Ubers, due to its access to Fake Out and Sucker Punch, which allows it to easily take out frail Pokémon and act as an excellent revenge killer. Fake Out can be used to finish off a weakened Geomancy Xerneas or Extreme Killer Arceus. Mega Kangaskhan also has access to Low Kick, Power-Up Punch, and Earthquake, so you always have to be aware of what move is coming next.

Facade can also be used as an option, as getting burned by Arceus can always be a pain, and with Facade, Mega Kangaskhan can easily avoid that. However, Body Slam, which has 51% chance of paralysing, is an alternative STAB option. Kangaskhan pairs well with other physical sweepers, such as Swords Dance Ground Arceus, as it can lower the opposing physical walls' HP before its teammate comes in for the sweep.

Mega Gyarados

Even though it does not have a decent Flying-type STAB move before Mega Evolving and does not have a strong Dark-type STAB move after Mega Evolving, Mega Gyarados still definitely is a Pokémon that can be used in Ubers with its decent base 109 Defense and base 130 Special Defense, not to mention access to Intimidate before Mega Evolving. In Ubers, Gyarados can run both offensive and bulky sets, and they both are eventually successful in taking out your opponent's Pokémon; however, a bulky set is preferred. When using Gyarados, you always want to make sure to have some EVs in Defense and not have maximum EVs in HP in order to come in on Stealth Rocks 5 times instead of 4 before Mega Evolving. This allows you to take full advantage of both abilities. Regular Gyarados can check Pokémon such as Blaziken, while Mega Gyarados does a good job of checking Mega Mewtwo Y and Yveltal.

Bulky Mega Gyarados is ridiculously effective when using Roar + Taunt, as this stops Pokémon from setting up/recovering against you and forces them to switch, making the opponent's switch-ins take more entry hazard damage if you have Stealth Rock or a layer of Spikes up. Mega Gyarados can easily take advantage of its base 155 Attack by running an offensive set consisting of Waterfall, Dragon Dance, as most Ubers lack a decent amount of Speed, Taunt to ensure that people don't try setting up entry hazards or inflicting status while Gyarados is out, and Earthquake to take out Aegislash and Gengar before it has Mega Evolved due to its ability, Mold Breaker.

Much like Mega Charizard X, Mega Gyarados appreciates support from Sticky Web when using the Dragon Dance set. In Ubers, coverage isn't really an issue for Mega Gyarados. It only really needs Waterfall and Earthquake as attacking moves so it can afford to run Taunt and avoid moves such as Defog, Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, Whirlwind, and Roar, which are constantly seen on Ubers teams.

Mega Mewtwo X

Mega Mewtwo X is one of the Mega Evolutions of Mewtwo, a Pokémon that was already Ubers quality and got not one, but two Mega Evolutions, that has gotten only stronger. Having two Mega Evolutions makes it nearly impossible for opponents to predict what is coming. Mewtwo gets a massive variety of moves, making the set that it is running also unpredictable. Gaining the Fighting-type means that Mewtwo is neutral to Bug-type and Dark-type moves. This Pokémon can run both special and physical attacks while still having access to moves such as Taunt and Recover.

It has access to Ice Punch (for Gliscor and Landorus-T), Low Kick (for heavy Pokémon which are common in Ubers), Rock Slide (for Ho-Oh), Iron Tail, Earthquake, Zen Headbutt, and many more moves, clearly making this Pokémon one of the best to use in Ubers. All three Mewtwo formes hold a place in the S Rank of the Ubers viability rankings, and there is no reason why they shouldn't be. This Pokémon has a ton of potential. Unfortunately, Mewtwo X's ability, Steadfast, isn't too useful in Ubers but allows it to gather +2 Speed after taking Fake Out from Mega Kangaskhan. Mewtwo X has base 190 Attack, does not lose any Special Attack from its base forme, and has access to Recover.

When using Bulk Up, make sure that Mega Mewtwo X is setting up on a Pokémon that it forces out. You could outplay the opponent by faking Mega Mewtwo X's set. Mega Mewtwo X use Drain Punch to recover health that was previously lost in the match or while setting up, although Low Kick is still a viable option over Drain Punch. Rock Slide is used for Flying-types, such as Ho-Oh and Lugia, which pose a threat to Mega Mewtwo X. Taunt is used to avoid status while setting up, while Zen Headbutt can be used as a secondary STAB move. Both can be used in different situations. The hard part is choosing which one.

Not many Pokémon in Ubers want to take a STAB Low Kick from Mega Mewtwo X due to them being so heavy, as a move that has a 120 Base Power combined with Mega Mewtwo X's Attack stat and STAB is ridiculously strong. This can cause problems to most Pokémon that don't resist the move.

Mega Mewtwo Y

Mewtwo's other Mega Evolution, Mega Mewtwo Y. Honestly, the only drawback of this Pokémon is that after Mega Evolution, the Defense stat is lowered by 20. Mewtwo gains 40 Special Attack, 40 Attack, 10 Speed and 30 Special Defense! On top of all of that, it also gains the ability, Insomnia, which prevents it from falling asleep, making Darkrai less of a problem, although you have to be careful when bringing Mewtwo in, as the opponent can easily predict that and fire off a super effective Dark Pulse.

Despite getting the boost in Attack, there is really no reason to run physical moves on Mega Mewtwo Y aside from Low Kick for hitting specially defensive Heatran, Dialga, and Steel Arceus without the risk of missing Focus Blast. Mewtwo has an impressive special movepool that includes moves such as Focus Blast, Fire Blast, Ice Beam, and Grass Knot; Calm Mind can also be used to boost Mewtwo's Special Attack and Special Defense. Psystrike alone allows you to hit specially defensive Pokémon, with Taunt preventing Pokémon from setting up against you. As Mega Mewtwo Y outspeeds most threats in the tier after Mega Evolving and has such a wide movepool, it can be sure to put in work if you use it on your team.

Even with its low Defense stat, this Pokémon works as an excellent stallbreaker with Will-O-Wisp, Taunt, Recover, and Psystrike. The only thing it misses out on when Mega Evolving is Unnerve, but the boost in Special Defense and stronger Psystrike makes up for that nicely.

Mega Scizor

Mega Scizor is similar to Mega Gengar in that it had some recognition in OU already. With the introduction of Fairies and Mega Evolutions, Scizor has gotten even better. It is ranked comfortably in the low A rank of the Ubers viability rankings and can easily get you out of multiple sticky situations due to its access to Defog, Roost, Swords Dance, Bullet Punch, Pursuit, and many more moves, not to mention access to the ability, Technician. Scizor can easily be a pivot for your team, giving you momentum with its STAB U-turn. Scizor can easily switch into an Xerneas setting up and 2HKO it with Bullet Punch and while taking a Moonblast. You'll have to be cautious of Hidden Power Fire, however, when switching in.

Scizor can easily take advantage of its access to Knock Off, removing essential items from the opponent. In Ubers, people always want to try to set up entry hazards; however, Scizor can get rid of hazards with Defog. It can be a great support Pokémon utilizing Defog to help the team, while still staying at a reasonable amount of health with Roosts. Pursuit traps the common Gengar. However, you have to watch out for mind-games, as Mega Gengar can easily Disable Pursuit and proceed to stall out Mega Scizor from there, but this is an extremely rare scenario.

The main thing to worry about is Hidden Power Fire and Shadow Ball. Toxic is also another option to cripple Ho-Oh or any other Pokémon that thinks it can switch in freely and recover off the damage or take a hit well. Superpower can be used to check Extreme Killer Arceus.

Honorable Mentions

Mega Venusaur

The Mega forme of the first fully evolved starter, Mega Venusaur is one powerful plant. It is the first Grass-type to have been given the ability Thick Fat. Most Grass-types have a lot of weaknesses, with the Grass type being weak to Fire, Bug, Flying, Poison, and Ice. Thick Fat causes Fire-type and Ice-type attacks to do 50% less damage, meaning Mega Venusaur loses two of its former weakness. With Mega Venusaur's 80/123/120 bulk and Poison typing, which gives it resistances to Bug, Fighting, Grass, and the new Fairy type, you have one heck of a defensive pivot for your Ubers team.

Mega Venusaur is very versatile in the utility department, having access to Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, Substitute, Synthesis (rain and sand make it slightly unreliable), perfectly accurate Toxic, Stun Spore, and more. Unfortunately, Mega Venusaur doesn't have an offensive set when used in Ubers, as you'll only be wanting to take hits, stall out Pokémon, and spread status, rather than dish out hits. Mega Venusaur is bulky; use it as a defensive pivot, and provide proper support to see Mega Venusaur at its best.

Mega Aerodactyl

Despite its amazing design of, Mega Aerodactyl unfortunately didn't get the chance to shine in Ubers. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be used, however. Mega Aerodactyl gains a nice boost in Attack, Speed, Defense, and Special Defense! Mega Aerodactyl has access to both Taunt and Stealth Rock, making it a decent Stealth Rock setter for hyper offense teams.

It can set up Stealth Rock early-game and prevent the use of Defog with Taunt. With its amazing Speed stat, it can revenge kill Choice Scarf Pokémon mid to late-game; however, you'll have to take into account that Mega Aerodactyl can only outrun neutral base 90 Choice Scarf users, such as Modest Kyogre and Naughty Zekrom. It provides a one-time switch in to Ho-Oh, something which most offensive teams appreciate. Spikes Deoxys-Attack is a required teammate as Stealth Rock Deoxys would almost entirely outclass Aerodactyl, but the duo can set up hazards easily due to their Speed and offensive pressure. Shoutout to Sweep here for helping and because Aerodactyl is a fossil Pokémon :)

Mega Charizard Y

Unfortunately, Mega Charizard Y doesn't get too much recognition unlike Mega Charizard X. Overheat + Drought hits hard; you'll have to keep an eye out for Kyogre which can take away the weather and easily take an Overheat, however. Tailwind can be used to support the rest of the team, and Roost is pretty much needed if Mega Charizard Y going to keep switching in and out with hazards on your side. Hazards are constantly being set up in Ubers, and without a Defog user, Mega Charizard Y will find itself quickly fainting from Stealth Rock damage. Roar can also be used to prevent Pokémon from coming in and setting up after you've fired off a Overheat and taken the Special Attack drop; however, if you find yourself getting annoyed by Taunt users, Dragon Tail can be used as an alternative to Roar. This means that Xerneas will be able to easily switch in, however, so you decide if it is worth the risk.

Mega Charizard Y is a good secondary Drought user. Focus Blast is really needed, as it allows Charizard to hit Pokémon like Tyranitar and Heatran, which otherwise wall Mega Charizard Y. When using Mega Charizard Y, you're going to want to have something that can switch in on Heatran as a partner.

Mega Blastoise

When looking at a Pokémon with three cannons coming out of its shell, you'd expect it to have some serious firepower. Luckily with Mega Blastoise, what you see is what you get! Mega Blastoise is both bulky and powerful, packing base 79 HP, base 120 Defense, and base 115 Special Defense, as well as base 135 Special Attack that's boosted by Mega Blastoise's ability, Mega Launcher. Mega Launcher adds a 50% power buff to Aura and Pulse moves, namely Water Pulse, Aura Sphere, Dark Pulse, and Dragon Pulse. With the 50% boost, each of these moves gets about 120 Base Power, making them respectably powerful and good for coverage.

However, the only reason you'll ever want to run Mega Blastoise in Ubers is because it's a Rapid Spinner and it can deter spin blockers such as Giratina and Ghost Arceus from coming in due to Mega Blastoise packing Dark Pulse to hit them hard.

Mega Tyranitar

This thing faints Pokémon for the fun of it. Be honest, would you ever want to meet a Mega Tyranitar in real life? It's always nice to see other weathers in Ubers aside from rain from Kyogre and sun from Groudon and that is exactly what Mega Tyranitar does with its Sand Stream ability. Although it has Dragon Dance like Mega Gyarados, Mega Tyranitar is used with a bulky set to trap Pokémon with Pursuit and set up Stealth Rock.

Like Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Tyranitar is a B-ranked Pokémon in the viability rankings thread. Although Mega Tyranitar is a decent Pokémon, Most people prefer to run Chople Berry to trap Gengar, as Mega Tyranitar takes up the Mega slot, which could be used for another Mega Pokémon. The combination of Mega Tyranitar's base 100 HP, base 150 Defense, and base 120 Special Defense must be taken advantage of. When given Special Defense EVs and a Careful nature, Mega Tyranitar can easily take physical and special hits, and can hit back hard with Payback. This Pokémon can easily be a menace and can take advantage of status that may been spread on the other team.

« Previous Article

Home