So, Mega Evolution, huh? Of all the spangly new additions that Pokémon X and Y brought to the formula, this was probably the most controversial.

As we know, the Pokémon franchise gets a lot of stick for resting on its laurels. It may mark each new game by generations instead of sequels, but sequelitis is definitely a thing here.

Evolution, not revolution. That’s the key. The second generation of games, for instance, added breeding and baby Pokémon. It also threw in the Dark type, just to stop those rampaging Psychics from trampling everyone else into cubes of sad, defeated spam.

Until Pokémon Sun and Moon, the general series gameplay remained the same: travel between the gyms, nab all the badges, become the very best like no-one ever was. Along the way, a bumbling Evil Team™ and a rival will appear to mildly inconvenience you.

Mega Evolution seemed like a fantastic idea from the outset. A way to make previously unloved and forgotten Pokémon relevant again! What’s not to like? Sadly, the mechanic proved to have mixed results. Only a select group of Pokémon are able to Mega Evolve. Some have no business doing so, and some definitely aren’t that great when they do. You never know what you’re going to get.

Buckle up for a rundown of the worst (and the best) Mega Evolutions in the franchise.

30 WORST: Mega Glalie- The Angry One

Now, don’t get me wrong here. In my eyes, Glalie is the perfect target for a Mega Evolution. A Pokémon that’s totally underappreciated, always passed over in favor of its alternate evolution, Froslass (which is a dang rare sight in itself).

Statistically, though, Mega Glalie is still totally lackluster. Its signature party trick, a Refrigerate-boosted Ice-type Explosion, is darn powerful, but is that really where you want your precious Megas slot to go? Furious floating snow-beard heads just don’t really cut it around here.

29 BEST: Mega Rayquaza- The Broken One

Now, I need to have words with somebody here. Who was the person at Game Freak who said, “Hey, remember Rayquaza? That super-strong OP mixed sweeper that makes even the staunchest Poké-battler lose control? Let’s make it even more broken. You know, just for the meme’s sake.”

As Liam Neeson did not say in Taken, I have no idea who you are, and I can’t find you, but… I don’t really like you and I’m going to tell my mom on you. Mega Rayquaza has absurd stats and doesn’t need to hold a Mega Stone, which isn’t even funny.

28 WORST: Mega Aerodactyl- The Speedy One

Again, I’m not just talking needless smack here. From a design point of view, I must admit that Aerodactyl is probably one of my favorite Megas. I mean, you’ve got to have a special kind of chutzpah to be able to pull off a goatee made of rock. That’s admirable, right there.

It’s just… this thing’s the very definition of middle of the road. It’s not bad, per se, but it just can’t do anything that others can’t do better. It’s very fast (base 150) and moderately powerful, but there are many others that can perform the sweeping role better.

27 BEST: Mega Mawile- The Bitey One

As we saw with Glalie, it’s always neat when a forgotten Pokémon is given a chance to shine in Mega form. Glalie didn’t really have the tools to do so, but do you know who did? Freaking Mawile, that’s who.

In the early days of X and Y, this obscure Steel-type’s time finally came. Bolstered by its excellent Steel/Fairy typing, coverage and ability (Pure Power, which gives it the highest attack stat in the game), Mega Mawile remains a meta menace. In Trick Room, this little thing is a whole bucket full of hurt and sadness.

26 WORST: Mega Banette- The Tricky One

Once again, I find myself a little conflicted here. I wanted to like Mega Banette. Its whole design is about the biggest trope there is, and Mega Banette is pulling it off in style.

Looks aside, though, it doesn’t bring all that much to the table. Its high attack power is tough to implement with its awkward speed, and its party trick (priority Destiny Bond) has become a little predictable.

25 BEST: Mega Gengar- The Trapping One

If you really want to see how Ghost-type Pokémon do Mega Evolution where I come from, look no further than Mega Gengar. With this guy, Game Freak really did create a monster.

Firstly, just what in heckola is going on with those tiny stumpy legs? Secondly, why Shadow Tag? Thirdly, why Shadow Tag and Perish Song? Mega Gengar sports some dang high Special Attack, but it’s most often seen on devious Perish Trap teams. As such, it’s not a good time in any kind of way.

24 WORST: Mega Houndoom- The Also-Ran One

I can respect Mega Houndoom. I totally, totally can. The whole concept is great. It’s a Pokémon that sorely deserved a Mega form, and said form is actually different and interesting. All in all, I give this thing seven thumbs up.

There’s a slight snag, though. Its ability is Solar Power, which drains a little health each turn (in sun) in exchange for a boost to its Special Attack. It’s made for sun teams, in short, which tend to be presided over by a different Mega evolution (you know the one). You can’t run both, making poor Houndoom quite redundant.

23 BEST: Mega Lopunny- The Scrappy One

Now, let’s pretend that the internet hasn’t given poor Lopunny a bad name with questionable fan art. Let’s put all of that to one side and appreciate the fact that its Mega form is all kinds of good.

It may not be right at the top tier of Megas, but it’s not to be underestimated either. A fast and powerful attacker, it can sweep through weakened teams with ease with its good STAB. Thanks to Scrappy, it isn’t shut down by Ghost-types, and is the only Pokémon that can land a super effective Fighting move on Aegislash.

22 WORST: Mega Audino- The White Mage One

Maybe it’s my status as a lifelong Final Fantasy fan, but I was instantly drawn to Mega Audino’s design. That’s an angelic/White Mage-ish looking thing, right there, and that’s a life I’m certain about.

Sadly, Mega Audino soon sank straight down to the bad tiers over on competitive community Smogon, which makes perfect sense. With its bulky defensive stats, it’s best suited to be a sort of cleric or pivot. These are great qualities for lots of teams, but that’s not really where you want your mega slot to be going.

21 BEST: Mega Beedrill- The Super-Upgraded One

As far as I’m concerned, this is the very essence of how Mega Evolution should have been done. Beedrill, one of the most hilariously awful Pokémon of all time, is a powerhouse. It’s not OP, with some real flaws (read: its defenses are so bad it’ll faint if a newborn kitten sneezes in its general direction from 500 yards away), but it’s very usable.

As feeble as it is, Mega Beedrill is a very powerful and speedy sweeper.

If you support it well and play carefully, it can win games in an instant.

20 WORST: Mega Sceptile- The Silly-Tail One

Now, I feel some kind of way writing this. Mega Sceptile is my favorite Mega of all, and I’ve certainly had some success using it. It’s just… totally sub-par.

It’s not a bad Pokémon at all. That Grass/Dragon was exclusive until Alolan Exeggutor, and it has some neat coverage to support it. Speed, decent power, a hilarious Christmas tree of a tail, what’s not to like?

The sad fact is, it just doesn’t excel like other Megas do. It cannot break a special wall, and it just doesn’t have the power to go physical. I’m still a huge fan, though.

19 BEST: Mega Swampert- The Lifting One

Let’s just settle that debate forever, right here and now. Yes, this guy most certainly does lift.

For Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, new Mega Evolutions were added. These included the Sinnoh starter trio, as we’ve seen, and Sceptile didn’t fare all that well. Swampert is another interesting one, and it’s just fantastic to use.

Traditionally, this guy’s been very defensive, but with Swift Swim, Mega Swampert can take on a much more offensive role. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen this huge, absurd creature on a rain team, barrelling through the opposition at doubled speed.

18 WORST: Mega Garchomp- The Backwards One

Now, I don’t quite understand what went wrong here. We’re talking about Garchomp, one of the most commonly-used a formidable Pokémon in standard play. Surely its Mega form was going to be something to dang well behold?

Well, it was, but not for the right reasons. Thanks to some shonky stats, it’s not as usable as Garchomp’s vanilla form. Awkward speed really goes against what Garchomp is all about. Still, those twin scythe-arms are totally intimidating, and nobody can take that away from Mega Garchomp.

17 BEST: Mega Charizard Y- The Sunny One

Earlier, we saw the sad fate of Mega Houndoom. It’s perfectly good, in and of itself, but it’s pretty well completely invalidated by one unfortunate fact: Mega Charizard exists. It’s here, it’s now, and we just have to dang well get used to it.

In earlier generations, you didn’t see too much of Charizard. It was tough to use, with Stealth Rock mangling it if it dared so much as step a toe onto the battlefield. X and Y revitalized Charizard, giving it two Mega Evolutions to choose from. Charizard Y is a fearsome sun sweeper with the Drought ability.

16 WORST: Mega Absol- The Edgy One

Few Mega Pokémon designs have divided opinion like Absol does. After all, as we all told our parents back in the nineties, there’s a fine line between being cool and trying too hard to be cool.

Is Mega Absol the edgiest edgelord who ever lived, or is it simply trying to give that impression?

The jury’s still out on that one.

Controversial design decisions aside, Mega Absol is a tough one to use. The thing about Mega forms is that they can’t hold a damage-boosting item, and their increased stats don’t always make up for that. It’s super frail, too.

15 BEST: Mega Lucario- The Adaptable One

Lucario has always been a super versatile sort of Pokémon. There aren’t many true mixed attackers to choose from around here, but Lucario is certainly equipped for the job. This Steel- and Fighting-type hits from both sides of the spectrum and is equally adept at both. You never quite know what kind of set you’re going to be dealing with.

Mega Lucario takes this trait a step further, with its boosted offenses and Adaptability. Those Close Combats are probably enough to level a whole planet. Frightening stuff.

14 WORST: Mega Abomasnow- The Worst Weather One

So, we’ve seen the menace that is Charizard Y. This thing was almost singlehandedly responsible for making sun a threat again, with its weather-boosted Overheats being the stuff of nightmares a few years back.

The sad fact is, weather effects are not created equal. Usually, it’s rain that is deemed the most effective, while hail is the least. Which Mega Pokémon is the poster child of hail? That’s right, it’s poor old Mega Abomasnow. This thing can be effective, but its shortcomings (reliance on Trick Room, weaknesses to freaking everything ever) are tough to overcome.

13 BEST: Mega Metagross: The Steely One

Now, granted, the Steel-type took a bit of a hit in the transition to generation six. It had so many dang resistances that it had to lose a couple, and so it became neutral to Dark and Ghost. This move, naturally, weakened Steel/Psychic types, who were previously neutral to these types.

Metagross is one of them. Did it let this get it down, though? You’d better believe it didn’t. Steel’s strength against the ever-present Fairies made it more potent than ever. It’s a physical force to reckon with and isn’t lacking defensively either.

12 WORST: Mega Sharpedo- The Sharky One

Here we go again, friends. I’ve already touched on the fact that it’s darn difficult for a speedy, frail Mega in today’s tough world, and Mega Sharpedo knows this as well as anyone.

Now, Sharpedo has never been known for being able to take a hit. It’s one of the frailest Pokémon around. The Mega alleviates a little of this, and it does have the Strong Jaw ability to help with its damage, but still. How often do you see this thing around? Almost never, that’s how often.

11 BEST: Mega Venusaur: The Tanky One

Naturally, with Charizard getting a Mega evolution, there was no question that Venusaur and Blastoise would too. Charizard may have gotten two, but we’re not going to get persnickety about that.

What’s important here is that Mega Venusaur is super darn good.

As you may have seen so far, Mega Pokémon tend to focus on attack, not defense. Venusaur is one of the defensively-inclined Megas and its tailor fit for the role. Its ability, Thick Fat, negates its two biggest weaknesses, Fire and Ice, making it a real tank coupled with its great stats. It can deal some damage too.