Mega Evolution was one of Pokemon’s most interesting features and one that bled into the anime. The same few Pokemon that can Mega Evolve in the games can also do so in the anime, through the same methods of using a Mega Stone.

Naturally, that means some Pokemon will have access to extra strength when needed, and some trainers have taken advantage of that phenomenon in battle. Some of the anime universe’s strongest trainers have some equally strong Mega Evolutions to flaunt, and these are the best of the best.

Updated October 22, 2021, by Kyle Laurel: The anime has kept the Mega Evolution phenomenon strong; Ash getting a Mega Lucario is finally on the horizon! With that, this list has been updated to add more Pokemon that deserve some attention. Note that only Pokemon with trainers will be considered, so no Mega Rayquaza.

16 Ilima’s Mega Kangaskhan

One of the games’ most overpowered Mega Evolutions translates to the anime for the most part. Ilima, Alola’s Normal-type Trial captain, brought a Mega Kangaskhan to the Manalo Conference, using it as a trump card against Guzma.

While Ilima ultimately lost to the Team Skull Boss, Mega Kangaskhan put up quite a fight against Guzma’s Scizor, showing off its unique Parental Bond ability. Its moveset of Power-Up Punch, Rock Slide, and Low Kick helped put Scizor in the corner. Unfortunately, Guzma found a way to use the mother’s protectiveness over the child against them, and Ilima became the first victim to Guzma’s path to the Manalo League semifinal.

15 Misty’s Mega Gyarados

Misty and Brock’s demonstration to Ash’s Alola friends at the Cerulean Gym came with some showing-off of their new Mega Evolutions. Misty in particular found a Mega Stone for her Gyarados, and everyone in the building witnessed its power in all its glory in a battle against Ash’s Pikachu.

While it ultimately lost to the Electric-type, Gyarados canceled out the type advantage by finding unique ways to deal with Pikachu, such as bringing rain with Rain Dance, Hurricane-ing away a Thunderbolt, and getting Pikachu stuck in a Hurricane and Hydro Pump vortex. It even has Crunch, taking advantage of the Dark-type it gains upon Mega Evolving.

14 Brock’s Mega Steelix

Brock’s Mega Steelix had a slightly better outing than the aforementioned Gyarados during Ash and his Alolan friends’ tour of the Cerulean City Gym. In its first appearance since the Diamond and Pearl anime, the Pewter native’s ace showed all its chops in a battle against Kiawe’s Turtonator.

As the Alolan gang’s introduction to Mega Evolution, Mega Steelix showcased its power on the defensive end despite its weakness to Fire-type moves. It withstood Turtonator’s Inferno Overdrive without fainting, being the first in the anime to not faint from a Z-Move. Its offensive bag was nice too, with old favorites Bind and Dig working in tandem with its newer moves Gyro Ball and Stone Edge.

13 Astrid’s Mega Absol

Kalos League quarterfinalist Astrid is one of the XY anime’s more overlooked characters. She was a proficient Trainer in her own right, in large part thanks to her Absol capable of Mega Evolution.

Astrid’s ace is one of the few Pokemon to put up an OK fight against Alain’s Mega Charizard, and has a 1-1 record against Ash’s Hawlucha, beating it in a prior match before losing to it in the Kalos League. It has a type-versatile set of moves, with Dark Pulse, Psycho Cut, Megahorn, and Shadow Claw all part of its arsenal, as well as the quickness to dodge oncoming attacks with ease.

12 Sawyer’s Mega Sceptile

One of the biggest thorns on Ash’s side during the Kalos leg of his journey was Sawyer, a green-haired, wide-eyed boy from Hoenn who owned a very strong Sceptile. Said Grass-type starter didn’t necessarily start off as a particularly strong Pokemon, but by bonding with its trainer, it got stronger.

While Sceptile was never successful in pushing Sawyer over the edge – particularly against Ash-Greninja - it gave Ash’s squad a tough time in pretty much every battle it’s appeared in. It was a spitting allegory of Sawyer’s progress as a Trainer; both were excellent, but still had some work to do to truly overtake their idols.

11 Wulfric’s Mega Abomasnow

Wulfric was one of Ash’s biggest obstacles in the XY anime, and a big part of that was his Abomasnow, capable of Mega Evolution. While it didn’t Mega Evolve during Ash’s first go against the Ice-type Gym Leader, its Snow Warning ability proved to be a problem. It managed to even beat Ash’s Talonflame, a Pokemon with a massive type disadvantage to it.

That said, Mega Evolution is more of a trump card for Wulfric’s Abomasnow, as it tries to get the job done without Mega Evolving as much as possible. Still, with or without it, Abomasnow carries huge attack power; its Ice Punch is strong stuff.

10 Remo’s Mega Garchomp

Another oft-overlooked character of the XY anime is Remo, Kalos League semifinalist and owner of a Mega Garchomp, nicknamed Garchoo. He’s not the only one of his kind in Kalos, but he makes a solid case for being the best pseudo-Legendary at the Lumiose Conference.

He was another Mega to run into Alain’s Mega Charizard X, doing so at said semifinal match and once before that. While he lost both times, he wasn’t a pushover for Charizard to just plow through. Had it not been for Alain, Garchoo could have led Remo’s team to win the entire tournament, or at least put up a good fight against Ash.

9 Professor Sycamore’s Mega Garchomp

Aside from Professor Kukui, Kalos’s Sycamore deserves recognition as probably the best battler among all the professors, at least in the anime, even if he doesn’t participate in official battles. Case in point, him owning a Mega Garchomp.

Perhaps that’s a perk of being one of the best in his field in a region radiating Mega energy, but Professor Rowan’s former protégé has used this absolute weapon in key situations. Chief of which was helping out in damaging the Giant Rock during the climax of the Team Flare arc, where it proved itself as one of the strongest Pokemon on that side of the conflict.

8 Wikstrom’s Mega Scizor

Two other members of the Elite Four, Malva and Siebold, have exceptionally strong aces that can also Mega Evolve. While it’d be safe to expect Wikstrom’s ace, Mega Scizor, to be on their level, there hasn’t been enough evidence to prove it. It only has one appearance, and in it, it got one-shotted by a Pokemon it has a type advantage against - Diantha’s Mega Gardevoir.

That said, it wouldn’t be a stretch to expect Mega Scizor to be on its game any other time; Diantha is a Champion, after all. Unless Wikstrom is some fraud that doesn’t deserve his Elite Four status, there’s a spot at the top eight here reserved for Mega Scizor.

7 Korrina’s Mega Lucario

A surprisingly constant presence in Pokemon Journeys, Korrina’s Mega Lucario is a different beast. In stark contrast to the game counterpart that is essentially given to the player, it took some time for Lucario to master the art of Mega Evolution, but it’s now one of the best Pokemon out there for it.

In its battles with Ash, Mega Lucario took valiant efforts from Ash’s best Pokemon to defeat it, from Pikachu in their Gym battle to Dragonite in their ranked battle for the World Coronation Series. With Ash soon unleashing his own Mega Lucario, a battle between the two would be very interesting, to say the least.

6 Malva’s Mega Houndoom

With Alain’s Mega Charizard X being one of the strongest Pokemon in all of Kalos, how it performed against certain other Pokemon shaped a lot of this list. For instance, Malva and her Mega Houndoom were one of the Pokemon that put up a pretty good fight against it during his gauntlet challenge by Lysandre.

Granted, that was after fighting nine other trainers with no healing, but still. Malva and Houndoom were picked as the final leg of the gauntlet for a reason, and as mentioned, being the ace of an Elite Four member is no joke. The Mega is kind of a bonus considering Malva’s status, but it at least gives Houndoom access to the Flash Fire ability.

5 Siebold’s Mega Blastoise

While Siebold’s Mega Blastoise doesn’t have the bananas winning streak that Alain’s Charizard has, the former beat the latter in the one time they battled. Granted, that may be due to type advantage, but the eye test shows a Pokemon capable of beating opponents on that level in any given battle.

Either way, Mega Blastoise certainly has the tools to beat someone as powerful as Alain’s Charizard. It, as most Blastoise do, gains the Mega Launcher ability upon Mega Evolution, and has the arsenal to back it up. It’s got Dragon Pulse to put the ability to use, as well as Hydro Pump for excellent STAB damage.

4 Diantha’s Mega Gardevoir

The Kalos Champion hasn’t had an on-screen battle with Alain and his Charizard, but Diantha’s Gardevoir has shown its immense power in other ways. For one, it kind of gets a high spot here by default for being the ace of a Champion.

It has a huge bag of tricks as a battler, but the one skill that stands out is its coordination; it can gracefully dodge attacks and counter with its own. It also just has tons of sheer power; it can beat any Pokemon (aside from Ash-Greninja) very easily. It was also one of the key Pokemon trying to stop the Giant Rock during Team Flare’s siege into Lumiose City.

3 Alain’s Mega Charizard X

Alain was the man to beat throughout his time as a recurring character, and his ace was 90% of the reason why. While the rest of his team is certainly quite good, Mega Charizard X stands head and shoulders above the rest.

As alluded to, this Mega’d up Kanto starter is the barometer for most Mega Evolutions, and both its power and battling record are unparalleled. There’s, of course, the time Mega Charizard X faced a trainer gauntlet consisting of ten other Mega Evolved Pokemon, including Malva’s Houndoom, and beat them all without healing. To call Mega Charizard X strong is an understatement; it’s in a whole different stratosphere when it comes to battling prowess.

2 Steven’s Mega Metagross

Unlike Siebold’s Blastoise who could’ve won against Alain’s Charizard due to type advantage, Steven’s shiny Mega Metagross very well could’ve beaten it if their battle wasn’t interrupted. Despite an obvious type disadvantage, it could withstand even Charizard’s most powerful Blast Burn and hit back just as hard.

Mega Metagross arguably played the biggest role in stopping Team Flare down the stretch, holding off the Giant Rock in its Megalith Zygarde form while it was under Lysandre’s control, before the real Zygarde showed up to stop it. For what it’s worth, it also faced off against Mega Rayquaza and fared a bit better in that ordeal than Alain’s Charizard, though not by much.

1 Lysandre’s Mega Gyarados

It’s hard to imagine why not many fans talk about Lysandre’s Mega Gyarados as an absolute behemoth in the anime. Other than the fact that it’s shiny, it’s just really, really powerful.

It’s had no legitimate battle against Alain’s Charizard and, in fact, had minimal appearances throughout the anime. But it doesn’t really matter; it took Charizard and both Ash’s Pikachu and Greninja for it to finally fall in the climactic Team Flare battle. Prior to that, it wiped out a bunch of Ash’s other Pokemon by itself. What else is there to say? Ash was right to not face this monster one-on-one.

NEXT: Regional Variants That Improved On The Original