How To Unlock All Mega Evolutions In Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Are you ready to fight the Mega Evolutions in Pokemon Legends: Z-A? While regular Pokemon already have attacks that make them effective in battle, these boosted variants offer boosted capabilities that showcase their true potential. That said, there are various ways to unlock these enhancements. We’re going to discuss all the details in this guide, but take note that there are major spoilers ahead.

All Mega Evolutions in Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Mega Evolutions become available several hours into the campaign. Specifically, this occurs during Main Mission 9: Chase that Mysterious Pokemon. From that point onward, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with additional mechanics:

• You can buy or obtain Mega Evolution stones through various means. These can be equipped by specific Pokemon to unlock their Mega Evolution variant.
• Z-A Royale trainers from Rank E onward will bring out Mega Evolved creatures as the last Pokemon in their squad.
• These rival trainers also reward you with Technical Machines/TMs when you win the bout.
• The gameplay loop slightly changes, since you’ll need to contend with Rogue Mega Evolutions in batches. Most segments have three boss fights that you have to clear. Upon defeating the rogue boss, you’ll receive that species’ Mega Evolution stone, too.

How to activate Mega Evolutions

Mega Evolutions in Pokemon Legends: Z-A are only available to a select few creatures. Here’s a quick summary on what you can expect from this mechanic:

• As a general rule, a Pokemon must have reached the final form of its evolutionary path (in most cases barring storyline shenanigans).
• You also need to have the Mega Evolution stone of that particular species.
• Here’s an example:
  • If you have a Tynamo, it must reach level 39 to evolve into an Eelektrik. Then, you have to use a Thunder Stone to turn it into an Eelektross.
  • With an Eelektross in your active party, you need to buy an Eelektrossite.
  • Have the Eelektross equip this item via the Satchel menu.
• In combat, attack your foes with any Pokemon. Alternatively, when facing Rogue Mega Evolutions, collect the glowing orbs that they drop. These build up the transformation meter.
• Once the meter is full, switch to a Pokemon that has a stone equipped. Then, press the right thumbstick to trigger the Mega Evolution.
• Mega Evolutions are only temporary, though you can increase the duration by collecting the aforementioned glowing orbs.
• Mega Evolved Pokemon have “+” (plus) moves, which are harder-hitting versions of their abilities.

Mega Evolution items from the Stone Emporium

You can buy the following items from the Stone Emporium in the southern part of Lumiose City. These cost prize money/gold:

• Gengarite – 50,000 gold.
• Medichamite – 50,000 gold.
• Abomasite – 50,000 gold.
• Scizorite – 50,000 gold.
• Garchompite – 70,000 gold.
• Steelixite – 70,000 gold.
• Kangaskhanite – 70,000 gold.
• Charizardite X – 100,000 gold; Fire/Dragon version.
• Charizardite Y – 100,000 gold; Fire/Flying version.
• Blastoisinite – 100,000 gold.

Mega Evolution items from Quasartico Inc.

You can unlock more Pokemon Legends: Z-A Mega Evolutions by purchasing keystones from the Quasartico Inc. building in the northern part of Lumiose City. These cost Mega Shards, so make sure you keep destroying the clusters of pink crystals that you see while exploring the game world:

• Pidgeotite – 180 shards.
• Manecitite – 180 shards.
• Houndoominite – 180 shards.
• Audinite – 180 shards.
• Lopunnite – 180 shards.
• Sablenite – 180 shards.
• Sharpedonite – 180 shards.
• Gyaradosite – 240 shards.
• Lucarionite – 240 shards.
• Heraconite – 240 shards.
• Aerodactylite – 240 shards.
• Eelektrossite – 240 shards.
• Glalitite – 240 shards.
• Pinsirite – 240 shards.
• Falinksite – 240 shards.
• Scolipte – 240 shards.
• Gardevoirite – 240 shards.
• Galladite – 240 shards.
• Skarmorite – 240 shards.
• Clefablite – 240 shards.
• Dragalgite – 240 shards.
• Scraftinite – 240 shards.
• Alakazite – 360 shards.
• Drampanite – 360 shards.
• Excadrite – 360 shards.
• Chandelurite – 360 shards.
• Aggronite – 360 shards.
• Salamencite – 360 shards.
• Metagrossite – 360 shards.

Rogue Mega Evolution bosses: Part 1 – Absol

In this section of our Pokemon Legends: Z-A Mega Evolutions guide, we discuss all the rogue bosses that you face in the campaign. As mentioned earlier, these creatures drop the keystone that you need for that particular species.

The first opponent, the Mega Absol, appears at the end of Mission 9: Chase that Mysterious Pokemon. This foe shouldn’t pose too much of a problem since you’ve got a Mega Lucario helping you out. Sadly, the Lucario doesn’t stay in your squad permanently, though you still receive the keystone for any Absol that you acquire down the line.

Note 1: When a Mega Evolution boss is about to cast their ultimate ability, we suggest dismissing your Pokemon to avoid any area-of-effect blast.

Note 2: Your character can only take a few hits before passing out–i.e. denoted by the dimming and reddish background at the edges of your screen. If you lose the battle, there’s an option to continue from where you left off. The boss’ health will remain the same prior to your character’s defeat, though the health of your Pokemon team will be completely restored.

Starter Pokemon Mega Evolution keystone

You receive the keystone for your starter Pokemon during the aptly named Mission 10: The Secrets of Mega Evolution. After beating the Mega Absol earlier, you need to defeat Vinnie to reach Rank F in the Z-A Royale.

Az will then hand over the keystone, which is dependent on the buddy that you chose at the start of the campaign. In our playthrough, we picked the Totodile, so we obtained the Feraligite item at this stage of the campaign.

Rogue Mega Evolution bosses: Part 2 – Slowbro, Camerupt, and Victreebell

The next segments of the campaign have you fighting three Rogue Mega Evolutions in different areas of the city. Your allies–i.e. Urbain, Lida, and Naveen–offer assistance since they also field their own Pokemon. That said, the bosses will often target your character incessantly, so try to survive if you can.

• Mega Slowbro – Spawns half a dozen water cyclones that spin outward.
• Mega Camerupt – Causes large boulders to fall around the arena.
• Mega Victreebell – Spews forth several poison globules that also stay on the ground for several seconds.

Rogue Mega Evolution bosses: Part 3 – Beedrill, Hawlucha, and Banette

• Mega Beedrill – Fires multiple stinger projectiles that home in on targets.
• Mega Hawlucha – Flies high up into the air before dive-bombing a large area.
• Mega Banette – The fight against the Banette might be the most frustrating at this stage in the game. Your foe actually creates multiple duplicates of themselves, and you have to strike the correct target. Taking out a clone causes it to explode. The others, meanwhile, swiftly dash and slice your character.

Rogue Mega Evolution bosses: Part 4 – Mawile, Barbaracle, and Ampharos

• Mega Mawile – Spawns multiple orbs that fall slowly toward the ground before exploding.
• Mega Barbaracle – Charges up an attack, before quickly ramming your character to deal tremendous damage.
• Mega Ampharos – Calls down several bolts of lighting that strike the arena, causing lingering electrical fields.

Rogue Mega Evolution bosses: Part 5 – Froslass, Altaria, and Venusaur

• Mega Froslass – This Pokemon Legends: Z-A Mega Evolution bout has a fairly unique mechanic. Basically, the Froslass causes large pillars of ice to fall toward the ground, dealing high damage on impact. A few seconds later, the boss will create a swirling blizzard that covers the entire area. You must hide behind the pillars to avoid taking damage. Be sure to dismiss your Pokemon as well, since they’re unlikely to hide right next to you.
• Mega Altaria – Creates several swirling tornadoes that move slowly around the area. Since Mega Altaria is a Dragon/Fairy type, your best bet is to field Poison-type Pokemon.
• Mega Venusaur – Makes thorny vines erupt from the ground. Your foe also has a beam that tracks your location even while you’re moving.

Rogue Mega Evolution bosses: Part 6 – Dragonite, Tyranitar, and Starmie

• Mega Dragonite – Dragonite calls forth whirlwinds and lightning strikes. Once the boss charges up for their ultimate ability, they’ll fly off into the distance before unleashing Hyper Beam. This is followed by an arena-wide explosion, which your character can survive. That said, dismissing your Pokemon is imperative so they can avoid the damage from the explosion.
• Mega Tyranitar – Creates spiked ground eruptions that have a three-pronged arc. Quicksand pools also appear, causing damage and slowing down movement.
• Mega Starmie – The Mega Starmie encounter is fairly straightforward. For the most part, you just need to stay mobile while your opponent is charging up the Bubble Beam.

That does it for our guide on how to unlock all Mega Evolutions in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. We’ll keep you posted once we discover others, so stay tuned. For now, though, we recommend learning about the Z-A Royale trainers that you’ll face so you reach the top of the rankings.