Niantic Confirms Mega Rayquaza for Go Fest 2023

Oh boy, here we go....

Pokemon Go Fest 2023 is well on its way, but it has a problem. You see, this Go Fest has to be a follow-up to Pokemon Go Tour: Hoenn, which is an event that gave us access to two of the absolutely strongest things in all of Pokemon Go, the Primal Reversions. That's a tough act to follow.... but it seems that Niantic was prepared, because they just announced that one of the few Pokemon remaining that can possibly rival the Primals is coming.

That's right, it's time for Mega Rayquaza to descent! 

The Soaring Dragon King

Mega Rayquaza is one of the absolute strongest things slated for release in Pokemon Go, and at last it's looming. However, this Mega Evolution will work a bit differently. In the main series, Mega Rayquaza doesn't Mega Evolve via normal means, instead gaining the ability by learning its signature move, Dragon Ascent. It seems that Niantic took notes, as that's going to be the exact means of enabling Mega Evolution for Mega Rayquaza.

• Players will still need to amass Mega Energy like normal, but won't be able to Mega Evolve Rayquaza via this resource alone
• Players will be able to gain access to Meteorites, which will act in a manner similar to Elite TMs, allowing any Rayquaza to learn its signature Flying Type Charged Move, Dragon Ascent
  • As of right now, we know that players will be able to attain Meteorites via tasks at Go Fest 2023, or via a Special Research line that will release globally on August 27
• Once players have gathered enough Mega Energy and taught their Rayquaza the move Dragon Ascent, it will be possible to utilize Mega Rayquaza.

This is a true-to-source Mega Evolution method, but in Pokemon Go terms it brings a bit of an issue: in order to have a Mega Rayquaza with a Dragon Type moveset, players will be required to unlock a second move on their Rayquaza, which can be an expensive venture. Still, this is likely to be the top Dragon and Flying Type Mega Evolution in the game, so that's a small cost for sheer power!

The Primal Factor

While Mega Rayquaza is obviously not a Primal Reversion like Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon, it is seen in a manner similar to them in the main series, being the trio-master and the "master" Mega Evolution, so it's not too far out of the realm of possibility to say that it could get special treatment. In the case of the Primal Reversions, they managed to enjoy a 3% stat-product nerf instead of the customary 9% that most Pokemon that naturally exceed 4000 CP have to suffer with. So if this happens, what exactly can we expect Mega Rayquaza to look like? Well...

....it was already set to rule the Dragon meta, but this would make it dominate the competition. Seriously; this buff would put it on a par with the monster that is Mega Mewtwo Y, and no other Mega Evolution would stand a chance. 

On that note, it's worth bringing to light one crucial difference between Primals and Mega Evolutions in Pokemon Go: the Primal boost boosts a player's Pokemon even when they're not active, but a Mega Evolution only grants a boost while it's actively on the field. And based on Niantic's official announcement page, Mega Rayquaza probably won't enjoy that bonus:

While attacking with Mega Rayquaza 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 Flying-, Psychic-, or Dragon-type.

So what would Mega Rayquaza look like without this boost?

At the very least, Mega Rayquaza stands to take its Dragon throne as an objectively better Mega Salamence, making it one of the must-have Mega Evolutions for any raider.

Ascending Power

And now comes the big question: What's going to happen with Dragon Ascent? Well, we don't currently have any inkling of an idea as to what this move will be, so let's just go to the absolute extreme and see what happens. For this thought experiment, we're going to assume that Dragon Ascent is a clone of Fly:

Let's be honest; Dragon Ascent probably won't be that strong. But regardless, it's exceptionally likely that Dragon Ascent will out-perform Rayquaza's current best Flying Type move, Hurricane, so we can say with confidence that Mega Rayquaza is practically guaranteed to be the best Flying Type Mega Evolution, if not the best Flying Type attacker in the game on its release.

The Dragon Rises

Regardless of the outcome, the grand debut of the one true Dragon kind is legitimately exciting. We're getting closer and closer to having the entire Mega set in Pokemon Go, and this is one of the must-haves. Get your raid group ready, because Mega Rayquaza is coming to Go Fest 2023, and hits global raids on August 27!