#mega-evolution

#mega-evolution

The first thing I thought upon arriving in Lumiose City in Pokémon Legends: Z-A was, 'Yes. This definitely looks like a modern Pokémon game.' Bright colours, basic textures and oddly flat buildings. Seriously - realising that the balconies and window shutters lack any depth, instead being pasted onto the buildings like stickers, made my brain go strange for a bit. Yet despite this, Lumiose City feels far more rich in life compared to Paldea and the desolate Hisui.

The sheer madness of Pokémon card prices not only continues on with the latest Mega Evolution set, but gets even more ludicrous. A year back, when putting together these galleries of the highest-priced cards in a set, the bottom end of the top 10 would generally be around $10, with a peak at around $100. For Mega Evolution, our number 10 card is currently selling for over $50, and your eyes will be watering by the end.

One of the oddest things Game Freak did with Pokémon X and Y a decade ago was introducing the Mega Evolution mechanic and not giving a beefier form to the game's three starters: Greninja, Chesnaught, and Delphox. Greninja went on to have a special "Ash-Greninja" form based on a transformation shown in the anime, but none of the Kalos starters got to take part in their region's battle gimmick. That's finally changing in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.