Niantic has announced that Mega Evolution has made its way to the world of Pokémon GO as of August 27th, 2020.

Mega Evolution is here! Battle in raids against Mega Venusaur, Mega Charizard, Mega Blastoise, and more!

Trainers, It appears Mega Evolution has made its way to the world of Pokémon GO! It was observed in some regions, including the Kalos region, that certain Pokémon could reach an additional Evolutionary stage and gain incredible power for a limited time in battle. This became known as Mega Evolution. After some research, Professor Willow has documented some notable differences in how Mega Evolution works in the world of Pokémon GO.

What we know so far about Mega Evolution in Pokémon GO
Select Pokémon can Mega Evolve using a newly discovered resource called Mega Energy. You can collect this mysterious substance by completing Mega Raids, which are Raid Battles that feature Mega-Evolved Pokémon. It seems the faster you defeat a Raid Boss, the more Mega Energy you’ll receive for that Pokémon. You can Mega Evolve any of your Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, and Beedrill once you have enough of their corresponding Mega Energy! Some of these Pokémon are appearing in Mega Raids too. After you’ve Mega Evolved a Pokémon, the Mega Energy required to Mega Evolve that specific Pokémon will decrease from then onward. Please note that Shadow and Clone Pokémon cannot be Mega Evolved.

Keep in mind that you can have only one Mega-Evolved Pokémon at a time. If you Mega Evolve another Pokémon, it appears that the first Mega-Evolved Pokémon will revert back to its original form. To help you keep track of all of the Pokémon that can Mega Evolve and the ones that you’ve successfully Mega Evolved, you can check out the all-new Mega Pokédex. Check it out in your Pokédex!

Explore with your Mega-Evolved Pokémon
Mega-Evolved Pokémon in the world of Pokémon GO stay in their Mega-Evolved forms for a limited time—even outside of battle! While your Pokémon is Mega-Evolved, try doing the following with it.

• Battle in raids. All other Trainers’ Pokémon in the raid will receive an attack boost, and Pokémon whose attack types are the same type as any of the Mega-Evolved Pokémon’s types will receive an additional attack boost for those attacks. Please note that Pokémon can benefit from attack boosts from only one Mega-Evolved Pokémon at a time.
• Battle in Gyms. Note that Mega-Evolved Pokémon can’t defend Gyms.
• Battle Team GO Rocket.
• Battle your friends—Mega-Evolved Pokémon are extremely strong! Note that Mega-Evolved Pokémon currently cannot battle in the GO Battle League, but that might change in the future as we discover more about Mega Evolution!
• Make it your buddy to see it on the map, play with it, and feed it!
• Take a snapshot! Be sure to share snapshots of your Mega-Evolved Pokémon on social media using #GOsnapshot!

Mega Bracelet avatar items available now!
Avatar items inspired by Mega Bracelets are now available in the shop! Trainers in some regions wear Mega Bracelets to help their Pokémon Mega Evolve, but in the world of Pokémon GO, only Mega Energy is required. Feel free to wear one, but you don’t need to for your Pokémon to be able to Mega Evolve.

Mega Evolution–themed Special Research is available
What else can we discover about Mega Evolution? Be sure to open the app to access the new Mega Evolution–themed Special Research, A Mega Discovery. Join Professor Willow as he learns about Mega Evolution. Plus, if you complete the Special Research, you’ll be able to help Beedrill Mega Evolve by receiving Beedrill Mega Energy!

Mega Evolution–themed event coming in September
You can look forward to a Mega September event, Trainers! There will be three weeks of Mega Evolution–themed events and features for you to enjoy. Keep a lookout for more details soon, but here’s a look at what each week will be about.

• From Tuesday, September 1, 2020, to Monday, September 7, 2020, your goal will be to complete as many Mega Raids as you can! Gather Mega Energy to Mega Evolve your Pokémon and feel like a hero in your Raid Battles!
• From Friday, September 11, 2020, to Thursday, September 17, 2020, hone your battle skills with your Mega-Evolved Pokémon. Take part in Gym battles, Team GO Rocket battles, and Trainer Battles (excluding GO Battle League battles).
• From Tuesday, September 22, 2020, to Monday, September 28, 2020, become buddies with your Mega-Evolved Pokémon and spend time with it! Be sure to take snapshots and share them with us on social media using #GOsnapshot.

Now, let’s GO and discover Mega Evolution together, Trainers!

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/en/post/megaevolution-launch/

With Mega Raids come mega changes to Raid Battles!

Trainers, With the introduction of Mega Raids, we have made the following updates to raids.

Changes to raid tiers Raid tiers have been updated to only include only one-star raids, three-star raids, five-star raids, and Mega Raids. One-star raids and three-star raids now include a greater variety of Pokémon. The difficulty for one-star and three-star raids will remain the same as before, but the rewards have been increased to what two-star and four-star raids awarded, respectively.

Changes to raid bonuses
In addition to the raid-tier changes, a speed bonus is replacing the team-contribution bonus for all raids moving forward. The faster you defeat the Raid Boss, the more rewards everyone participating in the raid will receive! The Gym defender bonus is staying, so teams will still have something to compete for before the raid begins.

• In one-star, three-star, and five-star raids, the speed bonus will reward you additional Premier Balls.
• In Mega Raids, the speed bonus will reward you additional Mega Energy.

Grab a Remote Raid Pass or two from the shop, kick off a Raid Battle, and try out these changes for yourselves. Let’s GO!

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/en/post/raid-changes-2020/

YouTube Clip - Pokémon GO: Mega Evolution has arrived!

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXxSlpfvqs0