Pokemon GO: How Does Mega Charizard Work?

The world of Pokemon GO is all about the Mega Evolution hype right now. The first four Mega Evolutions have been released, along with all the mechanisms with which you need to evolve your Pokemon with this temporary power-up. The four options currently are Beedrill, which you can get for free by completing the new Special Research, and the three Kanto starters. And while Blastoise and Venusaur are both straightforward, Charizard is one of the rare Pokemon with two different Mega Evolution forms. So if both forms are available, how does it work in Pokemon GO?

How to Mega Evolve Charizard in Pokemon GO

Mega Evolution was first introduced to Pokemon in the Nintendo 3DS series debut games, Pokemon X and Y. The pool of Mega Evolve-capable Pokemon was relatively small, but one of the cool twists was that a few Pokemon had version-exclusive Mega forms. This includes Charizard, which evolved into either Mega Charizard X or Mega Charizard Y depending on the version you were playing. That changed both the look and typing of the Pokemon, and the same is true in Pokemon GO.

Related: How to Mega Evolve in Pokemon GO

When you fight Mega Raid battles, which you need in order to secure some Mega Energy, you can encounter both Charizard X and Charizard Y. You don’t have to change your attack plan much for Charizard Y, as it retains the original’s Fire/Flying typing. But for Charizard X, the transformation actually gives Charizard the Dragon typing instead of Flying. But either way, when you defeat one in a Mega Raid, you’ll receive Mega Charizard Energy, just like when you defeat a Mega Venusaur or Mega Blastoise. Luckily, Pokemon GO opted for the easy approach for Mega Evolving your Charizard.

When you go to the Pokedex menu to Mega Evolve Charizard, you simply get an extra menu option that lets you choose which form you want. When you Mega Evolve for the first time, you get to choose the form, and that form will be added to your Pokedex. The evolution lasts for four hours, same as the other Mega Evolutions. There are no special conditions or other hoops to jump through; it’s just an extra button.

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Are you more excited about one form of Mega Charizard over the other? Or are you just relieved to know that Niantic didn’t make getting both forms overly complicated? Which Mega Pokemon options do you want to see next? Let us know over at the Prima Games Facebook and Twitter channels!