So, the news is out. The Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire remakes are on their way. Everyone’s favorite giant whale and fat dinosaur are making a comeback with a new design. Or are they? Among my playgroup, the topic of the box art has been a hot point of conversation, as I assume it is among many other fans. After all, it's all that we have to go on right now. All we can really do is speculate at this point due to lack of information. However I feel that, given a couple different facts, we can make a logical guess as to what’s up with our newly equipped LITE-BRITE legendary friends.
If you remember a couple months back, following the release of X/Y, you might recall those Pokémon that were found in the code, namely the three event legendaries (Diancie, Hoopa, and Volcanion), the first of which is coming out in Japan with the release of a new movie. Along with those three little guys were everyone’s favorite twins, Latios and Latias, with a drastic makeover. We were wondering when the nasty duo would make an appearance, and now it’s safe to assume that they will be getting their Mega Evolutions in the games they originally appeared in. What can we infer from this information? The first is that these new games will have a trade feature with X/Y, not a migration feature. Why? Because the original information for the mega twins came out in X/Y, and if they do make their appearance in the new remakes, how do they make it into X/Y if there is a migration system? They don’t that’s how. I think we all can let out a sigh of relief about that one, migration is one of those annoying features that we kind of just put up with because it’s better than nothing.
Now, to the meat of our Mega-filled discussion. Are these new designs for Kyogre and Groudon just stylized box art, or nice new Mega-Evolved goodness? In my opinion, we are looking at either Mega Evolutions or forme changes (similar to Giratina-O, or Kyurem-B/W), and I have a couple of different reasons why. First we have the artwork itself. If you look closely at their designs, their physical body makeup is the same, but the new neon attachments are what stand out. Some who don’t think they are Mega or Forme changes are quick to point out that these lights are just their markings glowing. Pessimists will say that the insignias glowing are simply stylistic choices. Now, I will take a stab at how wrong they are:
- Each legendary has its respective Alpha and Omega symbol lit up. These designs are not a part of their original markings.
- From the short clips we have seen of the games, they use the same sprites as X/Y. In X/Y, Groudon and Kyogre don’t look like that.
- These legendary Pokémon are supposed to be mortal enemies that fight to a standstill. One critique that has always stood against them is how ill-equipped Groudon is in actual game play to fight Kyogre. This Mega Evolution/Forme change could even the odds.
People like to use Mega as the argument, “Kyogre would be too broken with a Mega” is a phrase I have been hearing a lot lately. Competitively, it wouldn’t. The beauty of Mega Evolutions is that you are limited to one. It’s this reason Mega Mewtwo-X/Y, who is by far the most powerful Pokémon in the game at this point, has not broken Smogon's Ubers tier to little, teeny, tiny pieces. The same will happen if Kyogre and Groudon get Mega Evolutions. At the end of the day, they are still in Ubers where they belong, and you can still only have one.
My last piece of evidence is my strongest. The Pokémon channel on YouTube released a sneak peek of what is to come in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. In the video, we see Kyogre and Groudon emerge and get ready for their showdown. This is an iconic scene from the original games. If you watch this video which is from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the two legendary behemoths are not glowing, nor do they have the Alpha or Omega signs on them that would match their box covers. This proves that they will not normally look the way they do on the box art, and that form, whether a Forme change or a Mega Evolution, will be what gives them that neon-bright design.
Signing off for now,
- Jayden Silver
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