Mega Evolution reworks, including new cooldown, seemingly coming to Pokémon Go

It looks like Niantic may finally be reworking the heavily-criticized Mega Evolution system that was introduced to Pokémon Go in August 2020. 

In data pulled from several new APK backend updates for Pokémon Go via datamining group PokéMiners, text for several new mechanical changes for Mega Evolution is fully detailed, including the addition of Mega Levels and Free Mega Evolution. 

Mega Levels will work as a tracker of sorts for Pokémon that have Mega Evolved at least once. The more you Mega Evolve a specific Pokémon, the higher its level will go among the three classifications, Base, High, and Max Level. These levels will be viewable just like normal XP progress for each Pokémon and there will be a daily cap for how many Mega Levels you can obtain in a day. 

Free Mega Evolution is likely the more prominent change to the mechanic that will keep players’ attention, as it will partially fix the high cost of Mega Energy required to consistently Mega Evolve a Pokémon. 

Once this feature goes live, Mega Evolving a Pokémon using Mega Energy will trigger something called a ‘Rest Period’ that, once over, will allow you to Mega Evolve the Pokémon for free. This will act as a cooldown tied to the Mega Levels, meaning as you increase a Pokémon’s Mega Level, the Rest Period will be reduced. 

You can also still Mega Evolve a Pokémon during the Rest Period, with the Mega Energy required being reduced depending on the remaining time left on the cooldown. More Mega Evolution perks are also coming, which include increased Mega Energy rewards. Players might also be able to Mega Evolve in raid lobbies when this update goes live. 

This will be the first sizable change to Mega Evolution since October 2020 whenever any of these detailed updates are pushed to the app. Fans should be aware, though, that this is all incomplete data and certain things could be changed at any point.

Outside of Mega content, Team Skull clothing and a new pose were added, a new home screen widget is coming to track Buddy stats, and some additional changes too. You can view the full breakdown on the PokéMiners website.