New info, and for those wondering where's my previous analysis on the Kanto Starters... I'll admit I got lazy. However, a few days ago there was an announcement on Pokemon Smash that they had big news about Mega Evolutions and showed Mewtwo Mega Evolving though cut away before seeing the result. The new CoroCoro leaks are in and reveals why: Mewtwo is getting version specific Mega Evolutions (and it looks like their both based on a specific offense stat). Of, but that's not all CoroCoro is showing as we have info on the Kalos Starter's 1st stage evolutions (don't get too excited, they're still mono-type), Garchomp's Mega Evolution (cause that needed more power...), two fossil Pokemon (one FINALLY being a T-Rex!), info on the white Pokemon we quickly saw in the Kanto Starter's Mega Evolution trailer (it's a poodle, how very French), another new Pokemon which is a psychic cat with basis on gender (and a bit or role reversal going on), some more info on customization (basically how you customize), info on Team Flare (as it turns out, their goal isn't money, but of beauty), and finally the new type chart which include Fairy-type (Sableye and Spiritomb aren't going to be very happy... and Steel-types might be getting a bit of a shake-up)! I'll wait for the English website to update, though right now you can either go to Serebii or check out Bulbapedia's news page for more info.

Not looking good for the starters (except Froakie) Chespin looks like Ludicolo, although Fennekin's evolved form looks like a traveller so it could go either way fire/psychic or fire/fighting

I like Feneken and Chepsen and don't really like Fraokie. But, for the 1st sateg evos I like Froakie's and I hate Feneken and Chespen's. hmmm guess I'll have to wait for the final stage to be revealed to make my final decision.

I feel like there's going to be a second eeveeloution only with Sylveon that is also a new type. Just a thought.....

Also for some reason ever since they've revealed team flare I've been waiting for them to reveal a second team (kind of like 3rd gen)

Pyroar, evolved form of Litleo

The official website has updated so I promise I'll make a new post with my opinions, also making sure to include the Kanto Starter's Mega Evolutions and Pokemon Bank & Poke Transporter.

Hey, how about I stop being lazy and making false promises and do what I actually say I'll do? We have a new batch of info which of course I have a new batch of opinions which I'm sure none of you care about or want to hear BUT I'm going to tell you anyway (I mean what are you going to do? Not read this post?... forget I said that). Let's start off with something different and talk about the new Pokemon first, that way it'll buy me time to organize my other posts we don't have to worry about me forgetting to post the most important thing:

POKEMON:

Pokemon: Quilladin
Type: Grass
Ability: Overgrow (If this Pokemon's HP is below 1/3, the power of its Grass-type moves is increased by 1.5x)
Species: Spiny Armor Pokemon
Height: .7 m/2'04"
Weight: 29 kg/63.9 lbs
Known Moves: Tackle, Growl, Vine Whip, Rollout, Wood Hammer, Solarbeam, Leech Seed, Aerial Ace, Pin Missile, Mud Shot
Flavor Text: When Chespin evolves into Quilladin, the hard spikes on its body grow even sturdier. Despite its prickly appearance, Quilladin is considered a gentle Pokemon that avoids battle. It uses its sturdy shell to repel attacks and strike back with its pointed spines.
Based On: A hedgehog & someone wearing armor
Name Origin: "Quill" & "Paladin" (a righteous knight)
Trivia:
N/A
Thoughts/Opinions:
The 1st stage of the starters have been revealed which is exciting as we may get hints toward what their final evolutions might be. First up is Chespin's evolution, Quilladin, and already it's revealing some interesting hints. Many were predicting that Chespin's evolutions would probably become more armored as its shell covering is a very prominent part of its design (it's pretty much the only thing which tells you that Chespin is a Grass-type). However what people probably had in mind was something along the lines of Sandslash, not the armor literally becoming armor. Yes, as it turns out, it looks like Chespin evolves into a knightly Pokemon with it's shell covering becoming armor mail. With it's new found valorous path, it only fuels the speculation that Chespin's final evolution will be a Grass/Fighting to go along with the other starter's presumed secondary types (more on that with Froakie's 1st stage).
With all that said and done, I have mixed feelings about this design. It looks better in 3D though it reminds me too much of Pignite and how sort of awkward it looked. Though unlike Pignite, you can claim that the "roundness" is just the armor shell and inside Chespin's actual shape probably still matches its pre-evolutions (except not bigger). Of course this is just the 1st stage, the middle form, so it's not like you'll be seeing this form for long and if its the final evolution looks good then it's well worth the wait through the odd middle stage.
Stats wise, Quilladin's sturdier armor enforces the idea of it being a defensive Pokemon while its "quills" (don't ask me where they are, its flavor text says it has them so I'll just go with it) provides an example of physical offense. In other words, I'm thinking a physical Pokemon who has high Attack and Defense with its Special Defense possibly also good. Of course such bulky armor isn't convenient for maneuverability so I'm expecting it's lowest stat to be in Speed.

Pokemon: Braixen
Type: Fire
Ability: Blaze (If this Pokemon's HP is below 1/3, the power of its Fire-type moves is increased by 1.5x)
Species: Fox Pokemon
Height: 1.0 m/3'03"
Weight: 14.5 kg/32 lbs
Known Moves: Scratch, Tail Whip, Ember, Howl, Fire Spin, Flamethrower, Psychic, Glow Punch, Psybeam, Flame Charge, Lucky Chant, Psyshock
Flavor Text: Once Fennekin evolves into Braixen, it no longer eats branches. But it still keeps a tree branch in its tail, which seems to calm the Pokemon. It will occasionally wield the branch in battle and use friction to light it on fire.
Based On: A Fennec Fox & a witch
Name Origin: "Braise" (French for "live coal") & "Vixen" (a female fox)
Trivia:
N/A
Thoughts/Opinions:
Did I ever mention that Fennekin eats twigs? A bit of an off fact, though I guess it sets up for its evolution where it realizes its magical abilities and instead uses them to start firing off attacks. While many are unhappy to see that upon evolving Braixen walks bipedal, alerts of a secondary Fighting-type possibly following, panics probably eased when everyone saw Braixen using that odd twig sticking out of its tail as a wand you'd see in a Harry Potter movie. Not only does Braixen use a stick to "cast" attacks, when said stick is in its tail the stick & tail sort of looks like a broom, a witch's favorite mode of transportation. Infact, the only thing that Braixen is missing is a witches has as appearance-wise it looks feminine as its fur forms a sort of dress which gives it hartman hips. And do I even need to mention how much this fuels it evolving to be part Psychic-type (just look at all the Psychic-type moves it can learn, Glow Punch also sounds like a Psychic-type move)?

Expecto BURN!

Braixen is probably the more jarring change out of the Kalos Starter's 1st stage. While it looks odd, you can see the logical transition from Chespin to Quilladin once you understand it has a sort of knight thing going on. Froakie to Frogadier just gains a taller, thinner body and a mask, not much change there. But Fennekin goes from a quadruped to a witch-like bipedal who's lower body introduces a new color to its scheme (black) and has an out of place stick coming out of its tail which you later find out it uses as a wand. It sort of comes right out of left field and makes you do a double check that you didn't skip anything inbetween Fennekin and Braixen. Braixen is a clear example of a middle 1st stage being a transitional period between a basic stage to its final 2nd stage, it takes the blow of being a sudden change to assure that the final 2nd stage looks alright and not out of place.
I don't think there's any doubts that Fennekin's final 2nd stage will have high Special Attack with its evolution path evolving to a magical being. Honestly the question now is whether it'll go for a Special right having high Special Attack and Special Defense or is that broom-like tail a hint that it's high Special Attack also leads to a high Speed stat (eitherway it its Physical stats will probably be low)? Also I guess I should mention that being witches are magical beings and not psychic that there's a possibility that if Fennekin does get a secondary type for its final 2nd stage it could be part Fairy-type, BUT with all the Psychic-type moves it's learning I'm thinking that Game Freak probably doesn't really care about technicalities like that.

Pokemon: Frogadier
Type: Water
Ability: Torrent (If this Pokemon's HP is below 1/3, the power of its Water-type moves is increased by 1.5x)
Species: Bubble Frog Pokemon
Height: 0.6 m/2'00"
Weight: 10.9 kg/24 lbs
Known Moves: Pound, Growl, Bubble, Quick Attack, Hydro Pump, Bounce, Water Pulse, Lick, Round
Flavor Text: Frogadier evolves from Froakie, and when it does, its jumping skill improves. During battle, Frogadier confounds its opponents by leaping about the ceiling or into trees. It attacks by launching small stones wrapped in bubbles at its opponents.
Based On: A frog & a thief/ninja
Name Origin: "Frog" & "Brigadier" (a rank in the military)
Trivia:
N/A
Thoughts/Opinions:
*Looks at what its based on* ... a thief/ninja... *looks at its name origin* ... "Brigadier" (a rank in the military)... WHAT?! This could be a translation issue. Frogadier's Japanese name is "Gekogashira" which comes from "geko" (Japanese for "croak") and... this is where things get confusing. Where "Brigadier" comes from is probably from "kogashira" which is a head of an organizational section in Japan. However, the "gashira" part of could also come from "wakagashira" which is the title of a young Yakuza subordinate leader. Ah, so now it makes sense... BUT WAIT! Wouldn't the translators be told that the intention of Gekogashira would be "kogashira" so that way they can give it an accurate name, afterall a the French name also refers to a military rank so they can't possibly to referring to the criminal syndicate title. True, but if that was the case it'll go against the fighter, mage, and thief theme we got going on.
Fighter, mage, and thief? For those who aren't aware of RPG lingo, "warrior, mage, and thief" is sort of a classic trio of adventurers. Fighters are physically strong, mages are intelligent and use magical spells, and thieves are cunning and agile. To simplify it even more: fighters beat things up, mages light things on fire, and thieves backstab. Now of course that's very basic stuff, things get complicated as their are different types of fighters, mages, and theives. A fighter can be a knight who fights for their people and kingdom and is strategic, or they can be barbarian who fights for themselves and goes berserk on their opponents. A mage can be a wizard who is wise & intelligent and uses their spells to control the elements to reign pain on their foes, or they can be a cleric who believes in religion and god and uses their spells to heal allies and give them stat boosts. Finally a thief can be a rogue, a fighter who doesn't play by the rules and uses every dirty trick in the book to win, or they can be an assassin who has honed their skills to be a killing machine and is very precise in their actions. Eitherway, I think by now its easy to understand what I mean when I said the Kalos Starters are based on a fighter, mage, and thief theme. The Chespin family are paladins, fighters devoted to a cause they think is morally good; The Fennekin family are witches, mages who expertize in curses; and finally we have the Froakie family who seem to be a combination of thief and ninja, making it agile yet deadly. Surely if Froakie's final 2nd stage were to get a secondary type it'll be Dark-type, and with that it'll complete a second type triangle which many have been wanting to see... though not exactly the way they wanted it (people wanted a reverse type triangle so that the starters would all be able to hit each other for some form of super effective damage. However now we have Grass/Fighting, Fire/Psychic, and Water/Dark, two type triangles which only enforces the advantage one starter ALREADY had over another and not helping against the starter its weak against).
Moving on (finally), Frogadier is probably the best middle 1st stage out of the three Kalos starters. Unlike Quilladin who looks like it just put on a green chest plate (and decided to have sclera around its beady eyes) and Braixen who looked to have skipped a few evolutionary step, Frogadier looks like an older Froakie who is taller, thinner, and gained darker coloration at some points that makes it look like it wearing a mask and gloves (further enforcing the thief image). Of course, because it looks so appropriate, it also sort of makes it look dull and easily overlooked (something which a thief would also want). Thief this, thief that, where does the ninja part come in? Well the ninja is more context then anything else. Frogadier jumping all around while fighting and launching projectiles is a very (fantasy) ninja-like thing to do. Honestly I predict it'll gain more ninja-like qualities upon evolving, but as of right now, it's just practicing its thieving skills.
And what would a thief/ninja be if they weren't fast? I imagine it being a speedy mix attacker, having a very high Speed stat with decent Attack and Special Attack, letting its defensive stats be lower so that it can strike fast and efficient.

This post is getting long so I'll cut it right here. Next time we go over the new com mons including this Gen's fossil Pokemon!

Continuing with the newly revealed Pokemon, this new batch of com mons gives us a special treat as it contains the Fossil Pokemon for this gen! As for the com mons themselves, we got a poodle you can customize, a pair of Psychic cats with gender difference (and I don't mean only in looks), and the evolution to Litleo we've all been waiting for. So let's get to it:

Pokemon: Furfrou
Type: Normal
Ability: Fur Coat (NEW! Physical damage done to this Pokemon is halved)
Species: Poodle Pokemon
Height: 1.2 m/3'11"
Weight: 28 kg/61.7 lbs
Known Moves: Baby-Doll Eyes (NEW! Fairy-type Status Move. Increased priority and decreases the opponent's Attack stat)
Flavor Text: The stylish Pokemon Furfrou can have its appearance changed by grooming. There are number of different appearances it can take, and the more you groom it, the more styles may become available! If you leave its style untended for a few days, its fur will grow long and shaggy again, returning to its original look. Keep a regular grooming schedule to maintain it's style! Furfrou isn't just stylish, it's also considered very intelligent and loyal to its Trainer. It's said that in ancient times, Furfrou guarded the king of Kalos.
Based On: A poodle (specifically a Standard Poodle)
Name Origin: "Fur" & "frou-frou" (French for "showy ornamental")
Trivia:
1. Furfrou was actually revealed prior in two ways, the Genesect Movie Trailer & Kanto Starters Mega Evolution Trailer, however they were only shown in a few frames (not even a second long) so were easily missed.
2. The process to customise Furfrou is called "Trimming".
Thoughts/Opinions:
Though I didn't say it, the first time I saw Furfrou via the screenshot from the Kanto Starter Mega Evolution Trailer I thought it was a llama or alpaca (and from what I hear, so did many others). And it's easy to understand why, for when we hear "poodle", or minds immediately goes to the dog show poodles who have been given the famous poodle cuts. So naturally you'd think a poodle Pokemon would also look like that, however Game Freak decided to actually initially base their poodle Pokemon on what a non-trimmed poodle looks like which I got to give them kudos for. Of course that's not to say they don't have the hair cut poodles, infact, since Furfrou is a Normal-type, it's entire gimmick is based on that! So we not only get a poodle Pokemon which looks like what a non-dog show poodle looks like but also get to choose to have our poodle Pokemon look like a dog show poodle!
Now from what it looks like, "Trimming" (as its called) only changes Furfrou's appearance and doesn't do anything stat-wise. This isn't the first Kalos Pokemon revealed to have this gimmick, Flabebe can have different colored flowers, and I don't think Furfrou will be the last. With XY jumping to 3D thus now using models instead of sprites, the artists really want to show off all the things they can now that they're no longer limited by sprites. Now while I don't exactly reject this, it's nice to see the creative team being able to be imaginative and make certain Pokemon more interesting than they normally would be, at the same time I do feel like if I'm going to go through extra effort to do something I would also like it to maybe have some effect when battling. And Furfrou sounds like it'll need a bit more effort as if you don't keep it groomed it'll eventually revert back to its "wild" form (which is a rather nice touch, though being the trims obviously use dyes to color certain parts of Furfrou, how did it wash off the dye?) AND as you trim it more styles are opened up.
Speaking of which, we so far are only shown 3 styles: Orange Diamond, Blue Star, and Pink Heart. Now if Furfrou just had different styles I probably would have combined this with the above paragraph, however the addition of dyes bring up a few questions which makes this deserve its own paragraph. Are the styles and dyes connected or can you choose which style and color combo you want (like a Blue Diamond)? Can I choose not to use a dye and have my Furfrou remain white (like a White Heart)? Exactly how many styles are there and are they considered different forms? If we're staying with main colors then we still have yet to see red, green, yellow, purple, brown, grey, & black (though I'm doubtful on the last 3. Also you can add white on that list if you want), and there's a whole slew of shapes they can use (circle, triangle, club (card suit, you can also call it a clover), spade (card suit), X-shape, flame, water droplet, leaf, etc.). Actually, if you can choose your own combo, it could be possible there can be dozens of styles. Really depends on how far they want to to go with it.
Finally let's talk quickly about how it'll battle. It's Ability Fur Coat could potentially make is a very good Physical wall if its stats are leaned toward defensive. Not to mention it's revealed move Baby-Doll Eyes could further help this point that it might be a defensive Pokemon. I actually plan on doing a section where I go over all the new Moves and Abilities later so sorry if I'm skimming over them. Overall I think Furfrou is an interesting Pokemon and I'll be trimming one to at the very least try to unlock all the styles (I'm a completionist like that, who knows, maybe they'll bring back Medals and that'll be one of them ).

Pokemon: Meowstic
Type: Psychic
Ability:
1. Keen Eye (In-Battle: Prevents any decrease of Accuracy done to this Pokemon. Outside of Battle: If this Pokemon is leading the party, wild encounters are decreased by 50%)
2. Infiltrator (This Pokemon ignores the effects of Reflect, Light Screen, Safeguard, and Mist when attacking)
Species: Constraint Pokemon
Height: 0.6 m/2'00"
Weight: 8.5 kg/18.7 lbs
Known Moves:
Male: Miracle Eye
Female: Extrasensory
Flavor Text: Meowstic is a Pokemon that has different forms depending on its gender. Not only do male and female Meowstic look different, but they also have different moves they can learn! Males are supporters, females are attackers. The organs within its ears possess a formidable psychic power, so it usually keeps them clamped shut. But when it's threatened, it will lift its ears and release this power. This Pokemon tends not to show its emotions to others and remain expressionless, but it seems that some Trainers love the unsociable air it puts on.
Based On: A cat & possibly a Nekomata (a cat yokai, there are two different kinds of Nekomata: a beast that lives in the mountains & ones that were domestic cats which grew old and transformed (these also have two tails))
Name Origin: "Meow" & "Mystic"
Trivia:
1. Meowstic was rumored long before it was revealed.
2. Meowstic is the first Pokemon to have gender differences that has different movesets (and are part of the same species).
Thoughts/Opinions:
Oh look, they turned the stereotypical French people into cats. The females are even "wearing" a beret and scarf (though the beret is more of a French male stereotype, but whatever). Oddly this isn't the first Nekomata Pokemon, Espeon too is based on a Nekomata though it's more animalistic while Meowstic is more humanoid. Of course that's not the most interesting thing about Meowstic, what's most interesting about it is that it's moveset is based on gender. In addition to that, they go against the typical "males are attackers & females are supporters" by switching those roles (not sure why Game Freak made this decision other than to go against stereotype. From what I read on Wikipedia (the most trusted of sources), though feral cats do act emotionless (preferring to use their tail and ears to show how they are feeling) and females are the head of colonies, it's the male cats who are more likely to fight (mostly with other males for mating reasons)). Anyway the point is that males are supporters and females are attackers, though how much a difference this will make remains to be seen (and by that I mean would it put them in different tiers). A lot of sources show them in Double Battles so it could be possible these Pokemon are meant to fight in a pair, sort of like how Plusle and Minun were meant to. Also no words on whether their Abilities are also gender-specific (though both Abilities would have their uses no matter which one has them). These cats aren't really catching my interest unlike the other revealed Psychic-types, Inkay & Malamar, though I'm sure they'll have their fans as the Pokedex describes.

Pokemon: Tyrunt
Type: Rock/Dragon
Ability: Strong Jaw (NEW! Power of "biting" attacks done by this Pokemon is increased)
Species: Royal Heir Pokemon
Height: 0.8 m/2'07"
Weight: 26 kg/57.3 lbs
Known Moves: Crunch, Dragon Tail
Flavor Text: Tyrunt is an ancient Pokemon from another age, and to add it to your team, you'll have to restore it from a Fossil. You can choose between two Fossils during your adventure in Pokemon X and Pok?mon Y, Tyrunt can be obtained by restoring the Jaw Fossil. It's believed that Tyrunt is over one hundred million years old. It's known to be a bit selfish, and will throw a fit when it doesn't like something.
Based On: A Tyrannosaurus
Name Origin: "Tyrannosaurus", "Tyrant" & "Runt"
Trivia:
1. A tyrannosaurus fossil Pokemon was rumored long before Tyrunt was revealed, however the rumor also said in order to revive it you need to complete the fossil by collecting its four parts.
2. Tyrunt is the first Rock/Dragon type.
3. To get a Tyrunt you need to revive a Jaw Fossil at the Fossil Lab.
4. Tyrunt's species "Royal Heir Pokemon" is a reference to Tyrannosaurus's other name, "Tyrannosaurus Rex", as "Rex" is Latin for "King".
5. Tyrannosaurus didn't live 100 million years ago (which would be during the Late Cretaceous: Cenomanian age), they lived around 67 - 65.5 million years ago (during the Late Cretaceous: Maastrichtian age).
Thoughts/Opinions:
Five generations, 4 which released Fossil Pokemon, and it's just now in Gen VI that we FINALLY get a Tyrannosaurus! Well better late than never, and the wait has given us a T-Rex worth looking at. Being dinosaurs are dragons (unless you are Aerodactyl, part of the Cranidos family, or part of the Shieldon family), we have our first Rock/Dragon which humorously makes Tyrunt weak to Draco Meteor and Meteor Mash . But despite this, Game Freak did go a bit realistic by having Tyrunt not be your typical image of a T-Rex but rather have it act like a spoiled brat. While the spoiled brat part doesn't fit into the realistic bit, T-Rex wasn't really as mighty as we see it in popular culture but rather it was more of a scavenger and was likely to lose in a fight unless it was able to get its jaws around whatever it was fighting. Speaking of which, its Ability Strong Jaw certainly makes you consider giving it at least one or two decent biting moves after giving it a strong Dragon- and Rock-type move (sadly there is no Dragon- or Rock-type biting moves unless they introduce, which might not be a bad idea). I imagine it being a very Physical Pokemon. Overall I know I'm picking the Jaw Fossil when this part of the game comes up (I'll just get an Amaura off the Global Link), though it does seem kind of small for a T-Rex, do I foresee an evolution for it in the future?

Pokemon: Amaura
Type: Rock/Ice
Ability: Refrigerate (NEW! This Pokemon's Normal-type moves turn into Ice-type moves)
Species: Tundra Pokemon
Height: 1.3 m/4'03"
Weight: 25.2 kg/55.6 lbs
Known Moves: Aurora Beam
Flavor Text: To obtain Amaura, you'll need to restore the Sail Fossil. Choose wisely whether you want Tyrunt or Amaura when you pick between the Jaw and Sail Fossil! Like Tyrunt, Amaura is believed to be one hundred million years old.
Based On: An Amargasaurus
Name Origin: "Amargasaurus" & "Aura"
Trivia:
1. Amaura is the first Rock/Ice type.
2. To get an Amaura you need to revive a Sail Fossil at the Fossil Lab.
3. Amargasaurus didn't live 100 million years ago (which would be during the Late Cretaceous: Cenomanian age), they lived around 130 - 125 million years ago (during the Early Cretaceous: Hauterivian & Barremian age).
Thoughts/Opinions:
And in addition to a T-Rex we also get a long neck, another dinosaur Pokemon we've been waiting for! However, instead of being based on the ever popular Brontosaurus (which is actually now called the Apatosaurus because the species thought to be "Brontosaurus" was extremely identical to an already discovered species known as the Apatosaurus that it was agreed they were actually the same species thus combined together, retiring the name "Brontosaurus"), they instead based it on another sauropod (the clade which all long necked dinosaurs belong too) called a Amargasaurus due to it having a unique feature: a theorized "skin sail" going across its back (similar to how bat's wing is actually a thin veil of skin). Obviously Game Freak saw more creative opportunities with it then any other sauropod, infact even more so since instead of making it a Water-type because it has a sail they instead turned the sail into an aurora thus giving it the Ice-type (even though a dinosaur will never be found dead (or rather, WOULD be found dead) in a cold region). Fortunately for Amaura it's resistant to Ice-type moves so no need to worry about freezing to death, unfortunately it's typing makes it quadruple weak to Fighting- and Steel-types. Yeah, fate didn't throw Amaura a lucky bone typing wise, however it does get a unique Ability called Refrigerate which turns Normal-type moves into Ice-type moves. If Amaura is a Special attacker this won't mean much as it'll still prefer Ice Beam or Blizzard, but if it's a Physical attacker then more opportunities open up. In the end, Amaura is pretty unique though its typing could mean its downfall. Of course, like Tyrunt, it's kind of small so I think it has an evolution in the future which could help it. However, it doesn't look like a fast Pokemon and with weaknesses like it has, Speed is the only thing that could save it.

Pokemon: Pyroar
Type: Fire/Normal
Ability:
1. Rivalry (If this Pokemon and the target are the same gender, this Pokemon's attack Power is increased by 25%. However if this Pokemon and the target are the opposite gender, this Pokemon's attack Power is decreased by 25%)
2. Unnerve (Causes this Pokemon's opponent to be unable to eat their held Berry)
Species: Royal Pokemon
Height: 1.5 m/4'11"
Weight: 81.5 kg/179.7 lbs
Known Moves: Noble Roar, Flamethrower, Take Down, Work Up, Headbutt, Echoed Voice
Flavor Text: When Litleo evolves into Pyroar, it gains a great mane of burning flame! Male and female Pyroar have different forms. The male Pyroar with the largest mane becomes the leader of its pride. The female Pyroar of the pride protect the group's young.
Based On: A lion
Name Origin: "Pyro" & "Roar"
Trivia:
N/A
Thoughts/Opinions:
Litleo is fully grown up (from what it sounds like, Litleo immediately evolves into Pyroar with no middle stage) and has diverged in appearance according to gender. I've already gloated talked about the males having a fiery-looking mane (though there seems to be some confusion. The flavor text says it's actual fire but the image makes it look like fur) while females having hair that looks like Pidgeot's crest so I won't mention it again (wait...). Though aside from appearance, nothing really has changed. We do know more of its moves but Game Freak is wise enough to know to give it all sorts of moves to show off to keep us guessing what exactly is its role in battle (I would say its best bet is mixed so that it could use a Special Fire-type move and Physical Normal-type move, but doing both would mean it having to have all the other stats be lower). Its Abilities aren't that great either, Rivalry is a hit or miss since no one really pays attention to a Pokemon's gender unless that Pokemon's gimmick revolves around it. Unnerve isn't that great either, though at worst it just doesn't factor into the battle and at best it stops the opponent using a Berry for curing, healing, or a quick power-up so I see it as the better option. Anycase, Pyroar still looks cool and it finally gives Flint a Pokemon to pair with Volkner's Luxray.

We're not done with Pokemon yet as 5 more Mega Evolutions have been revealed! One for a land shark pseudo-Legendary, three for a nostalgic group of starters, and one for Mewtwo (or rather, ANOTHER one for Mewtwo)! We'll take a look at them next post.

More and more Mega Evolutions are being revealed (as well as hoax images "revealing" all the Pokemon who are getting Mega Evolutions). However this next batch shows up exactly how exclusive Mega Evolutions are and maybe tell us something about how many could there will be:

Pokemon: Venusaur -- Mega Venusaur
Type: Grass/Poison -- Grass/Poison
Ability: Overgrow//Chlorophyll -- Thick Fat
Venusaur's Stats: 80/82/83/100/100/80//525
Noted Stat Changes: Defense & Special Defense increases
Height: 2 m/6'07" -- 2.4 m/7'10"
Weight: 100 kg/220.5 lbs -- 155.5 kg/342.8 lbs
Mega Stone: Venusaurite(?)
Description: When Venusaur becomes Mega Venusaur, the flower on the Pokemon's back blooms even more fantastically than before. Its legs and frame become more sturdy to support the weight of the huge flower.
Thoughts/Opinion:
For those who know me, you're probably surprised I'm starting off with Venusaur first. To be fair, it's the first Final Stage Starter so I'm going to analyze it first.
Taking a note from Torterra, Mega Venusaur grew from just the single flower on its back to 3, two having only palm tree-like leaves, and vines so that it now looks like a walking jungle. It also looks like the extra weight on its back flatten out its body causing its legs to stretch further apart from each other. This has caused a slight height change between the top of its head to where the flower on its back starts causing it to lose its leaf hat, so it replaced it with a solid pink flower. I like the walking jungle idea, though once you see the flattened body it sort of makes Venusaur look awkward. As for its head flower, I'm going to guess it didn't look right being "bald" so it covered it up with something the normal Venusaur didn't have, and bonus points for the dark green markings which harken back to Bulbasaur's and Ivysaur's designs.
It's interesting they're making Mega Venusaur the "mega defender" of the Kanto Starters instead of Blastoise who's Defense and Specail Defense are at 100 while Venusaur is more of a Special Pokemon having 100 in Special Attack and Special Defense. In addition, Venusaur's weaknesses and resistance don't really equal that of a defending Pokemon, though Game Freak must have realized that and gave it a little help. With Thick Fat, it loses its Fire- and Ice-type weaknesses leaving it only weak to Psychic- and Flying-type attacks. It still being weak to Psychic-types hurt, however many people probably forget Venusaur is part Poison-type so it's more likely to be hit with a Fire- and Ice-type move, meaning at least for the turn it switches in it could take a non-super effective attack.
All is not well though, while a Overgrow Venusaur will see this as an improvement, a Chlorophyll Venusaur may not. While not the slowest Kanto Starter, in sunlight Chlorophyll Venusaur became the fastest by doubling its Speed from 80 to 160 possibly giving it one or two turns to either set up with a Sleep Powder/Growth/Substitute or attacking with SolarBeam/Giga Drain/Sludge Bomb. It was handy niche to have and made it a staple in Sunny Day/Drought teams. Even if you were to Mega Evolve Venusaur later in the battle, it'll lose that speed boost possibly meaning it'll get attacked first (probably with either a strong move, something super effective, or both) and get knocked out. Eitherway, Mega Venusaur could be the first Mega Evolution which is a downgrade depending on which Venusaur it's being used with.

Pokemon: Charizard -- Mega Charizard
Type: Fire/Flying -- Fire/Flying
Ability: Blaze//Solar Power -- Drought
Charizard's Stats: 78/84/78/109/85/100//534
Noted Stat Changes: Special Attack increases
Height: 1.7 m/5'07" -- 1.7 m/5'07"
Weight: 90.5 kg/199.5 lbs -- 100.5 kg/221.6 lbs
Mega Stone: Charizardite(?)
Description: When Charizard becomes Mega Charizard, its pointed horns and long tail give the Pokemon a look of sleek sharpness. Mega Charizard is in a league of its own when it comes to flying prowess, able to reach incredible heights. When Charizard Mega Evolves, its wings become larger than ever.
Thoughts/Opinion:

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!

*cough* Okay, I'm done. Do I really need to go over how awesome Mega Charizard is? First off, it's now more draconic looking then ever before (I know what you're thinking, we'll discuss that soon), with a slender body, bigger wings, a pair of hand wings, spikes on its tail, and a more rigid face with its pair of dull horn sharpened and an additional "spoiler" horn that tells you Mega Charizard means business! Design-wise I can't say anything bad about Mega Charizard, it tells you he's a mean dragon ready to bring on the HURT!
Well, mean Fire/Flying ready to bring on the HURT. In one of Game Freak's oddest moves, they didn't change Charizard, a Pokemon is clearly a FIRE BREATHING DRAGON, to a Fire/Dragon but instead left it as Fire/Flying. Meanwhile, I would also like to remind everyone that Mega Ampharos got a secondary Dragon-type. I repeat:

DRAGONS:


NOT DRAGONS:


It's important to remember this, it could save your life.

However, I think I do know why Game Freak didn't make Mega Charizard Fire/Dragon even though it DEMANDS it: they're afraid. Yes, for you see, being Fire/Flying is sort of a power limiter they put on Charizard so that it gains a quadruple weakness to Rock-types thus Stealth Rock takes away half of its HP. For you see, Game Freak probably tested a Fire/Dragon Charizard... and the sheer power that monster had made many employees to witness it not be able to sleep from fear of seeing it in their nightmares. Be afraid people, for if Charizard ever became Fire/Dragon, it'd be Judgement Day upon the entire Pokemon world:

Dun dun dun dun dun, Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun, DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN!

ANYWAY! To not have Charizard go after them and turn them into piles of soot, they gave Mega Charizard two gifts: An increase Special Attack because there's no kill like overkill, and the Ability Drought. Yes, Drought, also known as the Ability which shot Ninetales from Underused to Overused over night. For those who don't know what Drought does, it brings out Sunny Weather. Teams have been built around all the weather conditions and Sunny Weather is no exception (though Rain Teams are a bit more popular). Now there are two "problem" with Mega Charizard having Drought: one is that it won't be able to change weather upon being sent out, it'll have to wait until the end of its turn meaning for t least its first move it won't have the benefits for the first turn. And if it's facing a Rain Team, that may mean it goes up against a Pokemon with Drizzle and is going to be hit with a power Water-type attack. However Charizard can learn Protect like most other Pokemon, so it can simply defend on its first turn and then have Drought kick in to change the weather to its advantage. Second "problem" is that Charizard won't have Solar Power, an Ability which powers-up its attacks by 50% in Sunny Weather but in return loses 1/8th of its HP every turn (not to mention it won't be able to hold any items). Now while Charizard does get a Special Attack increase, it probably won't equal to a 50% increase (and Solar Power works for both Attack and Special Attack). However I argue that the Special Attack increase and the 50% increase provided by Sunny Weather will still make Charizard a force to be reckoned with, and it's highly probable that Mega Charizard will also get a Speed boost (they mention how it has improved flying capabilities which I think would lend to speed) which will help it further outpace any competition. So overall it may lose power however I still see it having MUCH more to gain.

Pokemon: Blastoise -- Mega Blastoise
Type: Water -- Water
Ability: Torrent//Rain Dish -- Mega Launcher (NEW!)
Blastoise's Stats: 79/83/100/85/100/78//530
Noted Stat Changes: N/A
Height: 1.6 m/5'03" -- 1.6 m/5'03"
Weight: 85.5 kg/188.5 lbs -- 101.1 kg/222.9 lbs
Mega Stone: Blastoisenite (?)
Description: The two rocket launchers on Blastoise's shoulders turn into a single huge cannon when it Mega Evolves into Mega Blastoise. This cannon boasts a blast range so great that it can strike targets more than six miles away!
Thoughts/Opinion:
Blastoise decided that it needed more dakka. So it moved its shoulder cannons onto its wrist and installed a HUGE cannon on its back ala Genesect. Though Blastoise may have overdone it as it's now walking crouched over and though it looks like its legs have tried to sturdy it, it still has a lot of weight going forward. But hey, if its Kanto Starter brethren Charizard taught it anything, it's that there's no kill like overkill. Besides it looking like it's going to fall forward at any moment, there's not much to complain about Blastoise now packing a BFG on its back and two wrist cannons for added dakka.
I'm going to assume that large cannon means it's getting a Special Attack increase, though what was looked at being more important to mention about Mega Blastoise is that it has a new Ability: Mega Launcher. Wow, sounds like Mega Blastoise is going to give out some serious fire power, right? Well, Mega Launcher's name is a little deceiving as it's a Iron Fist for "Pulse" moves like Water Pulse and Dark Pulse (probably should have been called Wave Motion Gun for reasons when I go over new Moves and Abilities). Problem here, as of right now, Blastoise can only learn one pulse move: Water Pulse. Problem here is that, unless they increase its power, Water Pulse is only 60 Power and if Mega Launcher works just like Iron Fist, it only increases a move's power by 20% giving Water Pulse a power of 72. Like many Special Water-types, Blastoise would prefer the 95 Power Surf even if Water Pulse has a chance of causing Confusion (it would need to be increased to 80 Power to be 1 point above Surf), and that's not if Blastoise sacrifices accuracy for the more powerful Hydro Pump.
Interesting note, when talking about Mega Launcher they used Dark Pulse as an example even though Blastoise can't learn Dark Pulse, a possible hint that Blastoise may be getting more "Pulse" moves to take advantage of this Ability (wouldn't hurt for it to get Dragon Pulse). So out of all the Kanto Staters, Charizard is the one getting a definite improvement (even though it lacks one we want) while Venusaur and Blastoise are struggling a bit.

Anyway, let's talk about this. All the Kanto Starters are getting Mega Evolutions (as well as being given to you by Professor Sycamore at some point in XY, but more about that later), something which I don't think we all saw coming. This has many thinking (well, at least me) about the number of Mega Evolutions we may be getting. At first I though we were only going to get maybe 10 or 15, however with them giving a group of Pokemon all Mega Evolutions now I'm wondering if the number isn't bigger by quite a bit/lot. Are they trying to milk the nostalgia of older fans by giving only all the Kanto Starters Mega Evolutions or could it be possible that all Starters are getting Mega Evolutions. If it's the latter, than why did they put so much focus on Mega Blaziken? Yeah in the metagame it's the only Uber Starter, but is that really enough justification for singling it out among all the Starters (especially considering the metagame is something created by the fans and not Game Freak)? This won't be the last time I bring this topic up, as we still have 2 newly revealed Mega Evolutions to go!