Pokemon Legends Z-A Mega Evolution Guide

To Mega Evolve in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, your Pokemon has to hold its Mega Stone and your Mega Power ring has to be full; then you press the right stick during battle. The Mega form is temporary and ends when the Mega Power runs out, but you can Mega Evolve again as often as you refill it. Most Mega Stones come from beating Rogue Mega Pokemon, buying them, or trading in Mega Shards.

What you need

Two pieces have to come together. Your Key Stone, which you eventually wear in a Mega Ring, resonates with a Mega Stone that your Pokemon is holding. Without the held stone, nothing happens.

Mega Evolution boosts a Pokemon's power for a while and changes how it looks, and some Pokemon change type too.

How it works in battle

Battles in Legends: Z-A are real time, so Mega Evolution works on a gauge rather than a once-per-battle button.

• Fill the ring. Your Mega Power ring charges during the fight. Against Rogue Megas, hitting them makes them drop Mega Orbs that you collect to charge it.
• Press the right stick. Once the ring is full, your Pokemon Mega Evolves.
• Watch the timer. The form lasts until the Mega Power runs out. PowerPyx reported this takes about a minute and that swapping to another Pokemon pauses the timer.
• Go again. Game8 says there is no limit on Mega Evolutions per battle.
• Mind your Plus Moves. Plus Moves draw from the same gauge, so using them can delay your next Mega Evolution.

Rogue Mega Evolutions

Rogue Mega-evolved Pokemon roam Lumiose City and are the main source of Mega Stones in the story. They are tougher than normal wild Pokemon, with a boss HP bar at the top of the screen, and they can knock you out as the Trainer if you take too many hits, which means retrying the battle, so keep pressing Y to dodge.

Game8 lists 16 Rogue Mega battles in the main story, starting with Rogue Mega Absol in Main Mission 9 and running to Rogue Mega Starmie in Main Mission 34, before the final fight with Zygarde in Main Mission 42. Beating Absol earns the Absolite, and in Main Mission 10 you hand it to Absol for your first Mega Evolution.

Every way to get Mega Stones

Your own starter's stone is free: AZ gives it to you at Hotel Z in Main Mission 10. Our best starter guide compares the three starter Megas.

Game8 notes that you can hold only one of each Mega Stone per save file and cannot trade them away, so there is no reason to farm duplicates.

How many Mega Evolutions there are

Nintendo Life counts 72 Mega Evolutions in the base game, 29 of them new, though not all are available right away. Serebii's list of new Megas across the base game and the Mega Dimension DLC has 48 entries, counting forms such as Mega Raichu X and Y. Many DLC stones come from Rogue Megas inside Hyperspace portals or the Hyperspace Lumiose Survey quests.

For more on the game, head back to the Legends: Z-A hub, or see the shiny hunting guide if you want a shiny partner to Mega Evolve.