Pokémon GO developer Niantic has announced that Mega Gengar will be replacing Mega Venusaur in Mega Raids this week. Niantic introduced the new Mega Evolution feature as well as Mega Raids last August, allowing players to Mega Evolve some of their Pokémon by using the specific Mega Energy corresponding to their particular pocket pals, which can be earned through the aforementioned Mega Raids.
Since the release of Mega Evolutions, Niantic has updated the feature several times after players complained that it was too difficult to make use of Mega Evolutions due to the difficulty in obtaining and storing Mega Energy, in addition to the short duration of Mega-Evolved Pokémon's status. With the recent updates, players are now able to store much more Mega Energy, allowing them to save up enough for when they really need it, and Mega Evolutions now last eight hours instead of the previous four, ostensibly doubling the duration and value of Mega Evolutions.
According to a blog post on the Pokémon GO website, Mega Gengar will become available to battle starting October 23 at 6 PM local time alongside the departure of Mega Venusaur. Before the Mega Venusaur leaves Mega Raids, Niantic said that it will begin appearing more frequently to give players a chance to collect as much of its Mega Energy as they can. Players will also be able to collect Venusaur Mega Energy by completing Field Research tasks and through an upcoming Time Research event in November.
On top of past changes to the mechanic, Niantic says that it will be further updating the game’s Mega Evolutions sometime early next month. Some of the updates the developer mentioned include the ability to earn all-important Mega Energy simply by talking with one's Buddy Pokémon as long as you’ve previously Mega Evolved a Pokémon in that Buddy’s evolutionary line, earning additional Candies when players catch a Pokémon that shares a type with their currently active Mega-Evolved Pokémon, earning more Candies when catching Raid Bosses, and being able to see which of your friends currently have Mega-Evolved Pokémon.
Mega Evolutions and Mega Raids have really added a whole new layer of enjoyment to Pokémon GO and it’s great that Niantic has consistently listened to the community and made the feature more accessible with the recent and upcoming updates. And with Halloween only a few weeks away, the developer is set to introduce a bunch of new Pokémon to the game alongside its Halloween event.
Source: Pokémon GO