Putting the Mix back in Mix and Mega: An Overview of Concept Changes
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Art by Pissog.
Introduction
Mix and Mega is an Other Metagame where Pokémon can hold any forme-changing item such as Mega Stones and Primal Orbs to gain the stat boosts, ability, and type change if there is one, with no limit on how many Pokémon can Mega Evolve. However, the metagame was not always all encompassing and has gone through multiple revisions to its concept since its creation in Generation 6. This article will go through the changes to Mix and Mega's concept, why they happened, and how we got to where we are now.
Original Concept
Mix and Mega was originally conceived in Generation 6 by Ghoul King and FlameUser64 and took the idea of using Mega Stones to gain stats, abilities and type changes, with a limit of one Mega Stone per team. Mega Stones that were banned could still be used on their native users, such as allowing Gengar with Gengarite and Blaziken with Blazikenite, as well as vice versa, with Mewtwo still being able to hold Mewtwonite X and Y despite being restricted from holding Mega Stones. It was originally rejected due to the abundance of Mega-based OMs being seen as a fad at the time, which is quite funny to think about in hindsight with the massive success of the metagame down the road. It was shortly after that the concept was first adjusted to include Primal Orbs and Dragon Ascent, and with that, the metagame was approved given a public thread for discussion to take place. Early editions of Mix and Mega had very complex tiering that was commonplace in Generation 6 OMs due to poor standards, such as allowing Huge Power Pokémon to hold Medichamite and Mawilite, but for the most part the concept stayed fairly steady throughout the rest of Generation 6 and 7. One minor 'concept change' that came in the middle of Generation 7 Mix and Mega was the introduction of Ultranecrozium Z, which was never allowed due to coding difficulties and uncertainty with how the boosts it gives would be decided and had to be marked as banned due to technically falling under the metagame concept. The metagame maintained a strong stability throughout this time period and, despite Generation 7 introducing nothing new for it, remained one of the most popular OMs. This stability was threatened as the upcoming Sword and Shield games announced Dexit, the decision by Game Freak to no longer include every Pokémon in future games, and subsequently the removal of Mega Evolution.
Changes Made in Generation 8 and Why
With Generation 8 approaching and Mega Evolution seemingly gone, there was little confidence in Mix and Mega returning as a metagame at all due to how heavily it relied on the existence of Mega Evolution. However, after some pleading and compromise with OM Leadership at the time, the metagame was able to return due to its popularity, on the condition that some inconsistencies with the concept were tied up. The ultimatum given at the time could essentially be boiled down to "make the metagame based solely on Mega Stones and the corresponding boosts and remove any other additional interactions".
This meant that Blue Orb, Red Orb, and Dragon Ascent would no longer fall under the metagame concept due to not explicitly being Mega Stones. Additionally, due to Mega Evolution no longer existing and in turn Mega Evolution no longer existing in the game code, 'native' Mega Evolution was axed completely. For example, Mawile could no longer hold Mawilite, and Mewtwo could no longer hold either of its Mega Stones. Another change that was implemented simply to tie up loose ends was adjusting how Aggronite worked—originally it added a Steel typing due to Mega Aggron being seen as a Steel / Steel type Pokémon, but ultimately this was changed to remove secondary typing as the concept focuses on the conceivable changes during Mega Evolution rather than a direct 1:1 to how typing works with Mega Evolution.
It's important to note that, while these changes were sparked by the removal of Mega Stones and Primal Reversion, the concept would have gone under review to some extent regardless to remove some of the more complex intricacies (such as "native" Mega Stone holders for banned Stones), as 2019 was the first year Other Metagames had its official circuit and leadership was looking to put the featured metagames at a higher standard than they had been held at in the past. While these changes may be considered "unfun," at the time it was very important to make compromises to save the metagame from being removed as an OM, and as a result it was necessary to condense the metagame into something that could be summarized in one line.
Impact and Reassessment
The impact of the previously mentioned changes was felt throughout the different phases of the generation 8 metagame, as Primal Orbs not only would've been a great tool for new additions like Dragapult, Toxtricity and Barraskewda in the early meta but also would have been a great asset against the rampant Fire-types and Solgaleo in the later part of the generation. Loss of Aggronite's Steel typing was also big, as the Stone lost its relevancy for a good while, only becoming viable with the introduction of Galarian Slowking. Overall, the changes, specifically the loss of Orbs, were largely unpopular and prompted plenty of the members of the playerbase to not continue with the metagame—a feeling that was carried to generation 9, as Mix and Mega hit its lowest ladder activity in early SV MnM.
Due to the growing dissatisfaction with the lack of Primal Orbs and the ladder's continued fall in popularity while its Generation 7 counterpart was sucking up more activity, the OM mod team decided it was worth opening up a discussion with the council and community about adjusting the concept to re-encompass all item-based forme changes. The proposed change would allow Red Orb and Blue Orb to return and would include some items that had never before been seen in Mix and Mega, including items that predated Mix and Mega such as Griseous Core and new additions like Rusted Sword, Rusted Shield, Lustrous Globe, and Adamant Crystal. Unfortunately, the same issues that plagued Ultranecrozium Z still exist, so it was not included in this change. This proposed change was extremely well received by the council and community, and as of March 2023 Mix and Mega now allows any forme changing item to be used.
Landscape of the New Metagame
The reintroduction of Orbs alongside the newly added item-based form changes rejuvenated the existing metagame. Here are some of the well-known sets that exemplify the impressive capabilities of the new changes, selected from the vast array of options available.
Rusted Sword
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Roaring Moon @ Rusted SwordThe Rusted items, which provided an additional Steel typing and allow the transformation of Iron Head into the signature moves of the legendary dogs while retaining the ability to Terrastalize, quickly made a significant impact. Rusted Sword in particularly saw widespread usage. Roaring Moon was especially adept at utilizing this, as it now had Intrepid Sword in its arsenal, which made it a proficient setup sweeper with Dragon Dance. The inability to revenge kill Roaring Moon thanks to it running Steel as its Tera type further proved to be extremely problematic, and Roaring Moon ended up being banned.
Chien-Pao was another Pokémon that proved to be a notorious user of Rusted Sword. With access to Swords Dance and ability to run Tera Fire or Steel, it made a strong replacement for Roaring Moon. Its STAB options allowed Chien-Pao to take advantage of common defensive walls like Skeledirge and Slowbro, and with Sucker Punch, it was able to get rid of faster threats like Dragapult and Diancite Gholdengo.
In addition, Rusted Sword was also popular on Baxcalibur, Cinderace, and Salamence. Most of these users proved to be too strong for the meta, and Rusted Sword eventually ended up getting banned from SV MnM.
Rusted Shield
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Garganacl @ Rusted ShieldGarganacl, having gained a reputation as an extremely annoying threat to get rid of in the previous meta, got a further boost in its viability with the introduction of Rusted Shield and the ability to Terastallize. While it retained its original set, the initial Steel typing allowed it to be immune to Toxic from Toxapex, a fact that it greatly appreciated, while the option of Terastallizing into Fairy allowed it to answer threats like Great Tusk, Palafin-H, and Lopunnite Iron Valiant—all of which were able to threaten its other sets. Garganacl, unlike other Rusted Shield users, also did not greatly get affected by switching out and losing the Intrepid Shield boost, as Iron Defense was often enough for it to win 1v1 vs most physical attackers of the metagame.
Rusted Shield also found plenty of offensive users, out of which Baxcalibur was the most notorious. Thanks to its outstanding bulk and an amazing typing in Dragon / Steel, Baxcalibur often found it easy to set up a Swords Dance and wreak havoc against opposing teams, and with access to strong moves in Glaive Rush and Behemoth Bash, not even premier metagame walls like Slowbro and Toxapex were safe. Tera Water allowed it to win vs Fighting-types as well as Ground-types like Pinsirite Great Tusk and Hippowdon.
Terastallization was eventually banned in Mix and Mega via a suspect test, as there was a strong feeling in the community that Tera pushed plenty of Pokémon to the edge of being broken. This resulted in a heavy decline in usage of Rusted Shield as an item, and it lost all of its offensive users.
Red Orb
Iron Jugulis @ Red Orb- Ability: Quark Drive
- Tera Type: Dark
- EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Timid Nature
- - U-turn
- - Fire Blast
- - Dark Pulse
- - Earth Power
With the previous metagame having been run by strong offensive Water-types like Palafin, Iron Bundle and Barraskewda, Red Orb came into the meta with high expectations. Although it's not as easily to fit on any Pokémon as the previous two items, it's still an extremely efficient tool, and Iron Jugulis utilizes it to its fullest potential—boosting its Special Attack by a tremendous amount and negating the super effective damage of Pixilate Extreme Speed on it, thanks to the additional Fire typing. The typing also allows Iron Jugulis to check Gholdengo, one of the cornerstones of SV Mix and Mega. Access to U-turn further enhances the wallbreaking capabilities of this set, with Earth Power on the final slot threatening Garganacl and Gyaradosite Clodsire.
Blue Orb
Corviknight @ Blue Orb- Ability: Pressure
- Tera Type: Flying
- EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
- Relaxed Nature
- IVs: 0 Spe
- - Brave Bird
- - U-turn
- - Roost
- - Defog
With no bulky Water-type available in the current meta, offensive users of Blue Orb are negligible. Defensively, Blue Orb Corviknight does fill the niche of checking Red Orb Pokémon, Iron Moth and Lopunnite Great Tusk while still being the slow pivot and Defogger of the team. However, this set has extreme difficulty fitting on teams and requires good team support. Overall, Blue Orb, unlike all other items, failed to impress in the current meta and generally should be avoided.
Final Thoughts
Mix and Mega has gone through quite a few changes in its time as an OM, and throughout all of it has been resilient and maintained a fantastic community behind it. We hope that everyone has enjoyed the new changes to the metagame in the short time since its latest update, and if you haven't had time to try it out yet, we highly encourage you check out the Mix and Mega thread, play some games on the ladder, or just chat in the OM Room about how fun it is to play Mix and Mega!
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