Does anyone else think Typhlosion deserves a Mega too?

So with the Mega Dimension DLC having just released, it looks like Legends: Z-A is “done” as in we probably won’t see any more content for the game. And, by extension, any new Megas. Obviously, there are a lot of Pokémon who ultimately missed out on Megas (Flygon’s probably the most surprising). However, the one I’m probably most disappointed about is Typhlosion, who is now the only member of the Johto trio to not have a Mega. In fact, worse still, it will be the ONLY starter from Gens 1-3 (AKA the original Gameboy games) to not have a Mega.

Personally, I find this disappointing as traditionally, when one starter receives a new power-up of some kind, the rest in the trilogy tend to follow suit in a later game or DLC. For example, Blaziken first received a Mega in X/Y, but the other two members of the Hoenn starters ultimately received Megas in OR/AS. Similarly, Charizard first received a Gigantamax form in Sw/Sh, but the other two Kanto starters ultimately also got Gigantamax forms in the Isle of Armor DLC.

However, what makes this even arguably more unfair is that, unlike these situation, where just one starter from a trilogy is selected to get an upgrade of some kind (even if the others from their respective trilogies got their respective upgrades later), BOTH of the other Johto starters got Megas in Z-A, meaning that Typhlosion will be the only one without one. This is the only time that two starters from a trilogy have gotten either upgrades or new forms without the third also getting the same upgrade. Even in Legends: Arceus, only one starter from three separate trios (Johto, Unova, and Alola) were selected to get Regional forms, and even in Legends: Z-A, it was just Emboar who was chosen to represent the Unova trilogy. If maybe for Legends: Z-A’s starter trio, they swapped out Totodile with Poplio, that might have felt more “fair” to all the respective starter trios, but ultimately, as it is right now, it feels weird for Typhlosion to be the only one without a Mega in my opinion.

Speaking of Legends: Arceus, though, some people might argue that, as Typhlosion was a starter in that game, and ultimately received a Hisuian form, it’s already had its day/update and giving it a Mega would be unfair. While I do get this argument, I feel like GameFreak has shown that it is not uncommon for popular Pokémon (especially starters, which I would argue Typhlosion is) to receive multiple gimmicks/updates across several games. In fact, I’ve included a small chart of all the Pokémon who received more than one gimmick/update here:

• Venusaur – received both a Mega Evolution in X/Y and a Gigantamax form in Sw/Sh DLC
• Charizard – received both two Mega Evolutions in X/Y and a Gigantamax form in Sw/Sh
• Blastoise – received both a Mega Evolution in X/Y and a Gigantamax form in Sw/Sh DLC
• Pikachu line – received both a Regional form for Raichu and three exclusive Z-Moves (two for Pikachu and one for Alolan Raichu) in S/M, a Gigantamax form in Sw/Sh, and two Mega Evolutions in PLZA DLC (yes I get that Pikachu is kinda the brand’s mascot so they’re probably an outlier LOL)
• Diglett line – received both Regional forms for both members in the line in S/M and Convergent species for both members in the line in S/V
• Meowth line – received both Regional variants for both members in the line in S/M, a Regional form for Meowth with a new, alternate evolution in Sw/Sh, and a Gigantamax form in the same game
• Slowbro – received both a Mega Evolution in X/Y and a Regional form in Sw/Sh DLC
• Gengar – received both a Mega Evolution in X/Y and a Gigantamax form in Sw/Sh
• Eevee – received both an exclusive Z-Move in S/M and a Gigantamax form in Sw/Sh
• Snorlax – received both an exclusive Z-Move in S/M and a Gigantamax form in Sw/Sh
• Greninja – received both a unique “Ash-Greninja” form in S/M and a Mega Evolution in PLZA (granted, Ash-Greninja seems to have been retired, but I suppose we’ll just have to see if it shows up in Champions or not)
• Decidueye – received both an exclusive Z-Move in S/M and a Regional form in PLA

Now, some of you will notice that nearly every member on this list is from Kanto, which Typhlosion is not. However, I’d argue that the two exceptions to this rule, Greninja and Decidueye, are popular starters, which shows that it’s absolutely not unheard of for popular non-Kantonian starters to receive more than one gimmick/update (including Typhlosion’s fellow Hisuian starter, Decidueye), and therefore Typhlosion having a Hisuian form IMO shouldn’t preclude it from also receiving a Mega along with its Johto starter buddies.

I’d also argue that giving Typhlosion a Mega Evolution alongside its Hisuian form wouldn’t risk retreading any ground, as compared to other gimmicks/updates such as Mega Evolutions and Gigantamaxes (which share a fair bit of design ques, many Gigantamaxes could pass as Mega Evolutions and vice versa), Mega Evolution and Regional forms often have very different design philosophies. From what I can tell, Mega Evolution generally tends to take what is already there and add to it, a Mega Evolution is kinda just MORE of the existing Pokémon. Regional forms, on the other hand, often take the Pokémon and instead do something different with it, and I’d argue this is most apparent with the Hisuian starters. All three tend to take what the original was and, well, do the opposite! Samurott goes from being a noble warrior to a sinister one who plays dirty, and Decidueye goes from being a more supernatural Ghost-type Pokémon to a more physical Fighting-type one. And Typhlosion? It goes from being a highly aggressive “volcano” to a calm, (mostly) docile psychopomp, purifying souls and guiding them to the afterlife. That is to say, I feel that a theoretical Mega Typhlosion wouldn’t necessarily have much overlap in design philosophy with the already existing Hisuian Typhlosion, at least not nearly enough for a Mega to feel redundant or repetitive.

So yeah, those were just my thoughts as a BIG fan of both Typhlosion and Mega Evolution (can ya tell LOL?)! Obviously, though, I know we’re not getting a Mega Typhlosion in Legends: Z-A and its DLC, but, do ya think there’s any chance we might see it pop up in a future game, if one were to include Mega Evolution? The one I was most curious about was the SPOILER leaked MMORPG that apparently includes Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Kitakami. Given that there’s a good chance Megas may show up in that game (considering both that Mega Evolution was included in the last Kanto game GameFreak made, and was HEAVILY featured in their last Hoenn game), IMO if they were to want to complete the Mega Johto-starter set, it would probably be the perfect opportunity. Further, this game (if it happens at all) would likely be a few years away, and at that point, we would have likely had three sets of Legends starters total, leaving a nice gap since we got Hisuian Typhlosion.

So what do ya think? Would you have preferred Typhlosion to have gotten a Mega? Do you think it deserved to get one along with Meganium and Feraligatr, or do you think the Hisuian form is enough for Typhlosion? I’d love to hear your thoughts!