Will Mega Evolutions be returning in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?

Pokemon X/Y revealed the glorious power of Mega Evolution to trainers everywhere. Using this mechanic, players could temporarily evolve certain Pocket Monsters in battle, making them even more fearsome than before.

Since these titles, various Pokemon media have featured Mega Evolutions as well. With the upcoming Scarlet and Violet Switch titles scheduled for release on November 18, 2022, fans are curious as to whether Mega Evolved 'mons will return once again. Various leaks have already emerged, but none have been completely forthright on the subject.

One particular tweet by popular community leaker Riddler Khu featured the Mega Evolution symbol, which led to players practically begging for confirmation of the hyper-powered evolutions arriving in the Paldea region.

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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: What is the likelihood that Mega Evolution returns?

Mega Houndoom as seen in Pokemon Masters EX (Image via The Pokemon Company)

As exciting as Mega Evolution would be to see in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Paldea region, Game Freak has been quiet on whether fans will see it return. There is also an argument to be made that Megas may be fenced out of the Generation IX titles due to other gameplay features. Specifically, a new form of transformation has been implemented known as Terastallization, which is a crystalline transformation used by some species.

It may conceivably be that Terastallization is the new "hip" transformation mechanic that Game Freak wants trainers to use and that Mega Evolution will be absent from the two Switch titles. Legendary Pokemon shown in trailers and through image leaks appear to have Terastallized forms, but so far, we have seen no mention of Mega Evolution besides Riddler Khu's fairly cryptic tweet.

Be that as it may, many fans of the franchise on social media took Khu's tweet to mean that Mega Evolutions may very well return. It's unclear at best, as the leaker is well-known for making his hints as puzzling as possible. It may just be that the Mega Evolution symbol shown in Khu's tweet may have been used as an analog to explain how Terrastallization works for the legendary monsters appearing in Paldea.

One Twitter reply in particular caught plenty of players' eyes, as they pointed out that the "Tera" in "Terastal" may imply that the new evolution mechanic may be the latest "gimmick" in a series of evolution tricks employed by Game Freak.

There's a certain way that this reply seems agreeable, as the "Ultra" Beasts were shown in Pokemon Sun and Moon's series, and the "Gigantamax" species were featured in Sword and Shield. Although Ultra Beasts aren't considered as evolutions, Terastal creatures may be a feature that follows in the previous games' footsteps of evolution. By that logic, Mega Evolutions would be considered obsolete, even though some fans wish that they at least make a return through downloadable content.

For the time being, the community can only guess the status of Mega Evolution in Paldea. Hopefully, they'll be pleasantly surprised and the beloved feature will be included. However, it's important not to get one's hopes up, as it seems quite possible that Game Freak will be eschewing the function altogether. Only time will tell as Scarlet and Violet approach their November 18 release date.