Everyone loves Mega Malamar, but why?

Pokémon Legends: Z-A is set to introduce multiple new Mega Evolutions to the Pokémon franchise, including Mega Dragonite and Mega Victreebel. In the past week however, official Pokémon social media accounts have become strangely obsessed with Malamar, a Dark/Psychic Pokémon from Pokémon X and Y. 

As it turns out, all of these shenanigans were due to another brand-new Mega Evolution: Mega Malamar, a Pokémon that has managed to hypnotise the entire world into Malamar-lovers.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A shows off Mega Malamar

Pokémon Legends: Z-A has revealed the latest addition to its roster of brand-new Mega Evolutions. For those unfamiliar, Mega Evolutions are a unique form of Evolution that allow only certain Pokémon to change form and power for a limited time during battles.

After spending the last two weeks teasing Malamar-related shenanigans on social media, two trailers were published today showcasing Malamar’s Mega Evolution. The Dark/Psychic Pokémon’s Mega Evolution features an oversized brain, two extended tentacles, and large shoulderpads resembling a cape. Its torso is rainbow-coloured.

Mega Malamar appears to be a rather mischievous Pokémon. According to the new trailers, it has been using its hypnotic abilities to manipulate random citizens into loving Malamar, turning itself into a global psychic influencer of sorts. Official Pokémon social media accounts have been counting down to today, the day Malamar's Mega Evolution was revealed, with rapturous celebration. These accounts were singing the praises of Malamar, whom we now know has been hypnotising the entire world into its unwilling adoration. 

Malamar evolves from Inkay in Pokémon X and Y, but players had to use a very specific technique to evolve the Pokémon at the time. Once Inkay reached Level 30, players had to turn their Nintendo 3DS upside down to achieve its evolution requirements. It's likely that they'll have to resort to similar techniques to evolve Inkay on Nintendo Switch consoles. 

Pokémon Legends: Z-A launches on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 on 16 October, 2025.