Since Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby are set to hit stores in two months, it’s high time we learned more about the powers of Primal Reversion, and the rest of the new Mega Evolution Pokemon that the games will include. Nintendo and the Pokemon Company have finally gotten that memo, and given us the info we’ve been anxious to get.
Primal Reversion
When Kyogre and Groudon go through the Primal Reversion process, their power gets dialed up to 11. More importantly, each Pokemon gains a new ability that has the potential to upset competitive play.
Primal Kyogre gains the ability Primordial Sea, which changes the weather conditions to an oppressive heavy rain. The fringe benefits of this are that opponents cannot change the weather condition during heavy rain, abilities like Drizzle, Drought and Sand Stream won’t activate, and Fire-type attacks become ineffective.
You heard that right – as long as Primordial Sea is in effect, Fire-type attacks simply won’t work. Kyogre also gains the move Origin Pulse, with can slam multiple oppoents with water massed into ballistic orbs. Neat!
Naturally, Primal Groudon gains a similar yet opposite ability, Desolate Land, which changes the weather condition to harsh sunlight.
Like with Primordial Sea, opponents can’t change the weather and now Water-type attacks become ineffective. Groudon also gains the move Precipice Blades, a powerful attack that can hit multiple opponents with an upward surge of sharp rocks.
I’ve always wanted the weather conditions to have more of an effect on the battle (for instance, why don’t electric moves hit harder when it’s raining?) and these Primal Reversion powers seem like a step in the right direction.
Origins of New Mega Pokemon
Earlier in the week, three new Mega Pokemon were leaked via Serebii. As of today, Mega Camerupt, Mega Sharpedo, and Mega Gallade have been officially announced and their powers and origins explained more fully.
Obviously you can’t have a Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire remake without Team Magma and Team Aqua, and the respective leader of each group will battle using Mega-Evolved Pokemon.
Team Magma’s Maxie battles using a Mega Camerupt, which gains the ability Sheer Force with its transformation. Sheer Force raises the power of all attacking moves that has an additional effect, but at the cost that the additional effects are ignored.
The majority of its stats are raised as well, at the expense of his speed. Due to these changes, the creators recommend that you try to think of strategies where Mega Camerupt can be used as the second act of a battle.
Team Aqua’s Archie battles using a Mega Sharpedo, which naturally is the antithesis of Mega Camerupt in almost every way. All of Mega Sharpedo’s stats are boosted, even its already ridiculously high Attack. It also gains the Strong Jaw ability, which raises the power of bite attacks like Bite or Crunch.
If you’re familiar with the storyline of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire then you can probably guess where the Mega Gallade comes from. Have you thought of it yet? I’ll give you just a few seconds more. Got it? If you guessed Wally, then you are correct.
Wally is a timid young trainer you’ll encounter early in the game, who gets stronger with perseverance, much like his prized Pokemon Ralts. As Wally grows, so does Ralts until eventually the pair both Mega Evolve (metaphorically for Wally).
When Mega Evolved, Mega Gallade’s Ability changes to Inner Focus, which prevents it from flinching during battle. I was personally hoping for something…better. Gallade’s Attack and Speed stats also improve, making it great at sucker punching.
Special Demo Version
Players will be able to start their Hoenn adventure early with a special demo version of the Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire games.
The Special Demo Version features unique gameplay that can’t be experienced anywhere else, and the probabilities are high that players will encounter a familiar Pokemon that can now Mega Evolve.
Unfortunately, only one Mega-Evolved Pokemon from the Special Demo Version can be be brough into Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. However, all the rewards items obtained during the Special Demo Version can be brought into the full game. There’s no release date yet for the Special Demo Version, but we’ll keep you updated when any hint of news arrives.
Pokemon Bank and GTL Compatibility
The most important bit of news to all the serious Pokemon collectors, is that Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby will be compatible with Pokemon Bank and Pokemon Global Link.
In addition to being a life-saver for compulsive collectors, Pokemon Bank is an application that allows players to store Pokemon in private Boxes on the internet – and share them between games. The more games that get access to Pokemon Bank the better!
Rayquaza’s Return
I saved the best bit of news for last, because Rayquaza is a pretty cool legendary Pokemon and absolutely necessary to the plot of Pokemon OR and AS since he’s the only one that can stop the rampages of Kyogre and Groudon.
There’s no news yet on whether Rayquaza will also have Primal Reversion powers. If he ends up with a special ability, I can imagine that it will be something that negates both Groudon and Kyogre’s primal powers.
That’s a lot of news to process for now, and we’ll be sure to keep you updated with further Pokemon OR and AS developments in the future.
