Pokémon Go Mega Evolution Levels, bonuses, cooldown, and costs explained

With the introduction of Pokémon Go’s updated Mega Evolution mechanic, Niantic has essentially added a separate experience system that will allow players to Mega Evolve their Pokémon more frequently as they use it. 

These Mega Levels tie into the other bonuses and changes made to the system, including a new cooldown system and reduced Mega Energy costs each time you want to Mega Evolve your Pokémon. There are also a few new bonuses included too. 

All of these updates have turned what the community viewed as a potential pay-to-win or poorly implemented mechanic into something much more friendly to trainers of all playstyles. And, as it is fully implemented into Pokémon Go around the world with more improvements potentially coming in the future, here is everything you need to know about Mega Levels, the new bonuses, and the new Mega Evolution cooldown and energy costs. 

Pokémon Go Mega Levels, bonuses, cooldown, and costs explained

Mega Levels and Cooldown

The most basic explanation of Mega Levels is that the more you Mega Evolve a single Pokémon, the higher its Mega Level will rise. This will in turn give you a reduction to the Mega Energy required to Mega Evolve that Pokémon, the cooldown period before you can get a free Mega Evolution, and the bonuses when Mega Evolved get more lucrative. 

In total, there are three distinct Mega Levels that your Pokémon can reach after a certain number of Mega Evolutions. It is important to note that this Mega Level applies to individual Pokémon and not an entire species, so if you have a Mega Kangaskhan that reaches Mega Level three, those bonuses will not apply to other Mega Kangaskhan you might be training. 

Here are the current changes based on data pulled from the game, compiled by Serebii.

The new cooldown mechanic is also easy to explain. Once you Mega Evolve a Pokémon, that Pokémon no longer requires Mega Energy to Mega Evolve as long as you abide by the cooldown timer. If you want to Mega Evolve before the cooldown period ends, you can spend a Mega Energy to cover the difference in the time remaining, with the max needed to reset the cooldown depending on your Mega Level and the classification of the Pokémon. 

You can view your Pokémon’s Mega Level and other corresponding information by clicking the Mega Evolution icon located on the Pokémon’s details page. 

Mega Bonuses

Depending on the Mega Level of a player’s Mega Evolved Pokémon, the bonuses they get can scale up with them. Here is a breakdown of the new and existing bonuses players have access to, along with the details for what scales at each different Mega Level. 

• New bonuses
  • Increased chance of earning Candy XL when you catch Pokémon that are the same type as your Mega-Evolved Pokémon.
  • Increased XP for catching Pokémon that are the same type as your Mega-Evolved Pokémon.
  • A Pokémon’s rest period decreases as its Mega Level increases.
• Existing bonuses
  • Increased Candy when you catch Pokémon that are the same type as your Mega-Evolved Pokémon.
  • While attacking with a Mega-Evolved Pokémon in a Raid Battle or a Gym battle, the attacks of other Trainers’ Pokémon challenging that same raid or Gym will deal more damage. Their Pokémon’s attacks will deal even more damage if the attack is the same type as your Mega-Evolved Pokémon.

These bonuses will only be active when a specific Pokémon is Mega Evolved, and you can review these bonuses in-game on a Pokémon’s Mega Evolution details page. 

Quality of life updates

A handful of changes were made to improve other areas of Mega Evolution too. Here is that breakdown:

• Mega Raids have been made easier, now requiring fewer players to finish. 
• Players can Mega Evolve their Pokémon from within raid and battle preparation menus. 
• Pokémon players that had Mega Evolved before will now have an additional visual effect added to their information page.