Mega Corner

Overview

There comes a time in every child’s life when they must leave the comfort and safety of home to venture out on their own. So, when Generation 6 came, and bestowed the Kangaskhanite onto Kangaskhan and its child, the young child was ready to leave its mother’s pouch, and lay down the hurt! The young Kangaskhan may not venture far from its mother still, but this child-parent duo is absolutely something to be feared. Mega Evolution gave Kangaskhan a new and unique ability, Parental Bond, which allows each attack to hit twice, with the second attack having 50% damage, giving it not only more power but also more utility as well. This turned Kangaskhan into an overlooked and outclassed Pokemon to one of the deadliest threats in the sixth generation. The duo may have competition from other equally impressive Mega Evolutions such as Salamence and Gengar, but Mega Kangaskhan’s raw power cannot be denied. Whether it’s singles, doubles, or anything else, Mega Kangaskhan is a dominating force pretty much everywhere that it can be used. If you’re not prepared for Mega Kangaskhan, they can and will beat you down as a fun family activity for mother and child to participate in together!
Positives
+Parental Bond is an amazing ability, no question about it. It grants a 50% boost in power, which is the same damage increase that a Choice Band grants, while also turning attacks into dual-hit attacks. No more Sturdy or Focus Sash being able to save your hapless victims!
+Its formerly average attack stat got a decent boost to a solid base 125, which in conjunction with Parental Bond has no shortage of damage to output.
+Its speed may have only gotten a little better, but bumping it up to base 100 is certainly a welcome improvement nonetheless.
+Its bulk is very solid. 105/100/100 defenses are certainly respectable, especially on something with so much power.
+It’s still got that amazing movepool that it had in its standard form. Fake Out, Return, Double Edge, Power-Up Punch, Earthquake, Drain Punch, Crunch, the elemental punches… the list goes on and on!
+It’s pretty good in just about every format you can use it in. Whether it’s Singles, Doubles, Battle Spot, or anything in between, Mega Kangashan can handle it.

Negatives
-Parental Bond has a single flaw; due to your attacks occurring twice, effects that activate upon making contact, such as Rocky Helmet and Iron Barbs, will activate once for each attack.
-Its reliance on Sucker Punch to deal with faster threats can often leave it trolled by status and other non-attacking moves. It wishes it had even a little more speed to get around this.
-Despite getting a random +20 boost to its special attack, base 60 special attack is still pretty bad.
-Normal typing continues to leave a lot to be desired defensively. While only having one weakness isn’t bad, the fact that it only has one immunity and no resistances to fall back on can cause damage to add up since everything in the game can hit it neutrally.
-In tiered play, it was so good that it ended up getting banned, so it’s not usable in standard play.

Abilities

Parental Bond: Every move used by the Pokémon will hit twice. The damage inflicted by the second hit is reduced by 50%. If the move used is a damaging move, each hit is capable of afflicting Secondary Effects and Critical Hits. - This ability is amazing, no questions asked. It gives a fantastic 50% boost in power on all of your attacks, which makes the normal flaw of not being able to hold an item a non-factor as you effectively get the damage increase of a Choice Band. In addition, with every attack hitting twice, you don’t have to worry about Focus Sashes or Sturdy saving your foe from a would-be KO. The only would-be downside is the fact that items and abilities that activate upon contact, such as Rocky Helmet, Iron Barbs, Rough Skin, or even things like Flame Body or Static, can each activate on both attacks from Parental Bond. That said, the fact that some Pokemon have carried Rocky Helmet specifically for Mega Kangaskhan shows how powerful this ability truly is! Just be aware that in Doubles, Spread moves such as Earthquake don’t hit twice, while multi-hit moves such as Comet Punch don’t hit twice either.

Movesets

Bonding Time

-Power-Up Punch
-Return
-Earthquake
-Sucker Punch / Crunch
Item Attached: Kangaskhanite
Ability: Parental Bond (Scrappy on Kangaskhan)
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

Here we have it, the set that led to Mega Kangaskhan being so infamous. You’ll still see this set pretty often if you frequent the Battle Spot as well, so it always helps to be prepared for it. Power-Up Punch seems like it was pretty much designed to take advantage of Parental Bond. Although the damage from Power-Up Punch is low, each hit of it with Parental Bond grants the attack boost. To put this in perspective, that means that every time you use Power-Up Punch, you get a +2 Attack boost. Even a single Power-Up Punch makes it very hard to wall Mega Kangskhan, so the strategy basically follows to use Power-Up Punch and then proceed to steamroll. Return is Mega Kangaskhan’s most reliable STAB attack, with high power, perfect accuracy, and no recoil or any other drawbacks. However, normal STAB does have to deal with the fact that Rock and Steel types will wall it. That’s where Earthquake comes in. Most rock and steel types barring Skarmory and a handful of unimportant others are hit at least for neutral damage by Earthquake, and several are obliterated by it. However, you’ll find one more obvious gap in your coverage; by sacrificing Scrappy, Ghost types once again become able to wall your STAB, and several are immune to Earthquake as well! That’s where the final slot comes in. Sucker Punch is the usual option, as it serves a second, arguably more important purpose as well; with its priority, it can allow Kangaskhan to fight back and some faster threats that may try to check it, especially if it’s already at +2. However, it can be trolled by status and the like, so on occasion you can use Crunch to deal with things like Gengar who can freely switch in and troll you if you rely on Sucker Punch. That said, you will sorely miss the priority and be more prone to being revenge killed.

The max speed EVs and Jolly nature maximize Kangaskhan’s speed, while the remaining EVs are put into attack to get as much damage as possible. In all honesty, since you’ll pretty much always want to Mega Evolve ASAP, most of the time it doesn’t make a huge difference which pre-Mega ability you pick. That said, Scrappy is kept at the pre-Mega Evolution ability because there might be a hypothetical situation where it could potentially be used to revenge kill a slow Ghost or something… but either way, more often than not you’ll be Mega Evolving ASAP. .

Wrath of Kangaskhan

-Fake Out -Return / Double Edge -Earthquake -Sucker Punch / Crunch
Item Attached: Kangaskhanite
Ability: Parental Bond (Scrappy on Kangaskhan)
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

Although fairly similar in premise to the previous set, this set sacrifices the boosting power that Power-Up Punch brings to the party, for the utility that Fake Out brings. Mega Kangaskhan packs one of the strongest Fake Outs in the game, and with it, it can make an effective anti-lead. But that’s not all, because it can also use it as a semi-reliable means of revenge killing as well, and that chip damage adds up every time it switches in. The rest of it remains fairly standard. Return is still the most reliable STAB with high power and no real drawbacks, but without Power-Up Punch’s boosts, you can opt for Double Edge to push your damage a little further at the cost of recoil damage. Earthquake remains the option of choice to deal with the steel and rock types who otherwise resist Mega Kangaskhan’s STAB. Finally, Sucker Punch takes up the rear by providing powerful priority that can prevent outspeeding Kangaskhan from being an easy means of checking it, and also hitting the ever-annoying Ghost types for super effective damage. Of course, it can be trolled by status and other non-attacking moves, so Crunch is always an option to take down Ghost types as well, but you will notice the lack of priority so be aware.

As always, Jolly nature and 252 Speed EVs are intended to maximize Kangaskhan’s speed, while the rest is dumped into attack to get the most damage possible. Scrappy remains the pre-Mega ability of choice since it can in theory catch a Ghost off guard, especially if they’re already weakened. But still, you’ll usually want to Mega Evolve ASAP.

Other Options

-Body Slam is an interesting choice in that Parental Bond gives it a 51% chance to paralyze your foe. That said, the damage output is noticeably lower than both Return and Double Edge.
-Seismic Toss may seem like an odd choice given the amount of power Kangaskhan wields, but unlike every other attack, Seismic Toss’s fixed damage means that the second hit from Parental Bond does NOT hit with half damage. As a result, Seismic Toss does a flat 200 damage total at Level 100 battles, with each hit of Parental Bond dealing 100 damage. While it may not pack the raw power of Kangaskhan’s other attacks, it can allow for a bulkier set utilizing Wish and Protect for recovery that can still 2HKO many defensive Pokemon. It also doesn’t really care about burns as much. It shouldn’t be your first choice, but… it’s definitely different.
-Facade can be considered because the most common answer to Mega Kangaskhan is to burn it. If Will-o-Wisp is your only answer to Mega Kangaskhan, Facade can be a wake-up call. That said, if you’re not afflicted by status, the damage output is unimpressive.
-Fire Punch, Thunderpunch, and Ice Punch continue to have some niche value to deal with specific threats, but if those specific threats are absent, then you may find the coverage lacking.
-Drain Punch can be used to give Kangaskhan a bit of recovery, but it tends to pale in comparison to other coverage moves due to low base power and less utility.
-Circle Throw remains an interesting option to allow you to phase out threats, but its power is somewhat lacking and the negative priority can make it easier for things to wear you down.

Double & Triple Battle Options

Kangaskhan used to be a rare sight. Seldom seen in the Safari Zone, and seldom captured, and even more seldom used in battle. Then Gen 6 arrived. By Mega Evolving, it tore VGC 2014 to shreds. Sure the Masters Division didn't have many in Worlds, but they were heavily over prepared for it. Even in VGC 2015, one needs to consider how to handle Mega Kangaskhan before getting too serious in team building. But what does it do? Not much before it Mega Evolves. Perhaps the only thing Kangaskhan can do before going Mega is flinch Ghosts with Scrappy Fake Out, which is incredible, but even more incredible than that is having each attack hit twice. For that the only thing worth considering on Kangaskhan is it's ability before going Mega. Most cases will be Scrappy.

What pushed Mega Kangaskhan over the edge is that in the same Generation that introduced Mega Evolution, Power Up Punch was introduced too. Hitting twice and getting 2 boosts in attack in a decent speed tier on top of respectable bulk? What a horrifying mess to try and deal with. It's bad when you know your Intimidator may be knocked out on the switch in from a physical attack.

The Metagame, a 2014 Love Story

- Fake Out / Protect
- Power Up Punch
- Return
- Sucker Punch
Item Attached: Kangaskhanite
Ability: Parental Bond (Scrappy on Kangaskhan)
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Attack / 252 Speed / 4 Def
Adamant or Jolly Nature

The standard and still wildly popular Power Up Punch based set. Fairly simple in execution too. Fake Out, then Power Up Punch, then if you're faster than the opponent use Return or if slower, use Sucker Punch. Usually it won't be that simple because Aegislash and Rocky Helmet are popular Anti Kang tactics. The most odd and effective Anti Kang tactic I've seen was an Imprison Sableye that knew Return, Power Up Punch and Sucker Punch paired with Shadow Tag Gothitelle. That's how much hate Mega Kangaskhan is liable to take. Protect is used every now and again as some players favor getting more use out of that move slot than just the first turn alongside mind games too. As not every Kang will opt to Fake Out on their first turn out.

Momma Said Knock You Out

- Fake Out
- Double Edge
- Low Kick
- Sucker Punch
Item Attached: Kangaskhanite
Ability: Parental Bond (Scrappy on Kangaskhan)
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 Attack, 252 Speed, 4 Def
Adamant Nature

When ORAS was released, Kang got a new toy in Low Kick. Combined with Double Edge, Kang is putting out silly amounts of damage without needed to set up with Power Up Punch. Low Kick scares away opposing Kang and Double Edge KOs things that were EVed to survive an Adamant Return. Getting the jump on offense comes at a price. Double Edge's recoil is nasty, and Intimidates are more likely to stop any clean sweeps from happening on this set, but the surprising power makes up for it. Short, Sweet and packs quite the punch.

Likely partners for Kangaskhans include Pokemon who clear the way for Kang to sweep without hinderances. Bisharp and Milotic don't mind taking an intimidate, and Amoonguss and Togekiss can redirect those Fighting type attacks with ease. Sometimes Kangaskhan won't need a partner, sometimes the team will have 5 Pokemon, but no Mega, and since Kang is a bit of a wildcard it's a natural fit.

Kangaskhan falls short no fault of its own. 2014 was traumatizing, and not many players are likely to forget the scars Mega Kangaskhan left, so a grand majority of teams built will have Kangaskhan in mind. Veteran Pokemon like Terrakion and Heatran put Kang in a wierd spot, and Aegislash is wildly popular as well. VGC 15 introduced many Pokemon who can hold their own or at least threaten Kangaskhan.

Kangaskhan is fantastic, but one simply can't just win aimlessly with it. Landorus Therian intimidates are everywhere, so are Will-O-Wisps, Thunder Waves, and some Rocky Helmets too. Kang is powerful, but is far far away from it's Free Reign 14 format.

Countering Mega Kangaskhan

Depending on the format in which you’re playing, countering Mega Kangaskhan can be a truly daunting prospect. The raw power it wields makes it hard to switch into, That said, there are a few answers that are more reliable than others. If you’re playing in the Battle Spot, Skarmory’s ever-reliable physical bulk can put a stop to Mega Kangaskhan, and it can roost off the damage all day long. Rocky Helmet variants can also troll Mega Kangaskhan by racking up the passive damage, and it can whirlwind away any Mega Kangaskhans that think they can try to accumulate Power-Up Punch boosts. Ferrothorn has to be careful as the combination of Power-Up Punch and Earthquake can 2HKO it, and an unboosted Earthquake can 3HKO it, but any contact moves will wrack up Iron Barb damage, and the Leech Seed and Protect combo can keep Ferrothorn healthy while stalling out Kangaskhan. Defensive Garchomp carrying Rocky Helmet is another troll to Mega Kangaskhan, although it has to be wary of the combination of Power-Up Punch and Return can 2HKO it, although an unboosted Return typically only 3HKO’s it. Meanwhile Garchomp does have a moderately powerful Earthquake to shave off almost half of Mega Kangaskhan’s HP, or utilize Dragon Tail to phase out Kangaskhan if it tries to set up with Power-Up Punch. Mega Slowbro’s great physical bulk allow it to only be 4HKO’ed by any unboosted attack, while even at +2 it’s only 2HKO’ed. Meanwhile, it can fish for a Scald burn to cripple Mega Kangaskhan. Sableye can switch into Return or Power-Up Punch with impunity and threaten Mega Kangaskhan with a burn, although it has to be wary of Earthquake, which can 2HKO a little under half the tie. If Kangaskhan lacks Crunch, Gengar can check it by switching into literally anything in its movepool, and then threatening it with Will-o-Wisp if it thinks Sucker Punch will protect it. Thundurus doesn’t really stop Kangaskhan on its own, but it can be an emergency “Panic Button” of sorts with its Prankster Thunder Wave to strip Kangaskhan of its speed. Talonflame can pick off a weakened Kangaskhan in a pinch, as it can deal up to 78% with a Choice Banded Brave Bird, and Gale WIngs’ priority will help to revenge kill it. Defensive Suicune is 3HKO’ed by an unboosted Return but can be 2HKO’ed by the Power-Up Punch combo, but the combination of Scald and Rocky Helmet (which is seen on about half of Suicune in the Battle Spot) can wear down Mega Kangaskhan. Landorus-T can offensively check Mega Kangaskhan with Earthquake or Superpower thanks to Intimidate making any attack a 2HKO at best, while defensive Landorus tends to be 4HKO’ed and can try to wear Mega Kangaskhan down. Mega Scizor can be 2HKO’ed by the combination of Power-Up Punch and Earthquake, but Superpower can 1HKO Mega Kangaskhan about half the time, and it can use Bullet Punch to pick off a weakened Mega Kangaskhan. Many fighting types can check Mega Kangaskhan reliably due to outspeed it and resisting Sucker Punch, but these same fighting types don’t want to switch into Return or Earthquake. Such examples include Infernape, Mienshao, Mega Lopunny, and Terrakion; all of them can soundly 1HKO Mega Kangaskhan with Close Combat or High Jump Kick, but can’t switch in.

If you’re doing tiered play though, then Mega Kangaskhan has to contend with the best of the legendary Pokemon. Giratina-A and Arceus-Ghost both have the typing that allows them to switch into Mega Kangaskhan’s STAB, the bulk to protect them even from Crunch (Giratina is typically only 4HKO’ed while Arceus-Ghost is only 3HKO’ed most of the time by Crunch), and Will-o-Wisp to burn and cripple Mega Kangaskhan. Defensive Yveltal can manage to only be 3HKO’ed by Mega Kangaskhan’s STAB, and can utilize Roost to stay healthy, and the combination of Foul Play and Sucker Punch to 2HKO Mega Kangaskhan. Lugia and its nigh impenetrable defenses can stall out Mega Kangaskhan with the combination of Toxic and Roost. Primal Groudon may is 2HKO’ed by Earthquake, but it can check Mega Kangaskhan in a pinch if it’s got some prior damage as Precipice Blades can do upwards of 92% of Mega Kangaskhan’s HP. Thanks to Intimidate in its base form, Mega Salamence can usually beat Mega Kangaskhan 1-on-1, as Aerilate Return 2HKOs while the combination of Parental Bond Return and Sucker Punch does not. Arceus is only 2HKO'ed by Return or Double Edge, while being able to 2HKO Mega Kangaskhan about half the time with Extreme Speed, so it usually beats Mega Kangaskhan 1-on-1. Blaziken and its Mega Evolution can both check Mega Kangaskhan after a speed boost, and can use Protect to get that Speed Boost as well and then 1HKO Mega Kangaskhan with their fighting STAB. Mega Mewtwo X can check Mega Kangaskhan by outspeeding it and promptly destroying it with its STAB. Darkrai can be a situational check in a pinch as well, as it outspeeds Mega Kangaskhan and can put it to sleep with Dark Void, which also severely punishes most switch-ins if Mega Kangaskhan tries to switch out. If all else fails, you can try Scarf users with enough bulk to survive Sucker Punch, such as Kyurem-W. At the end of the day though, although Kangaskhan has an impressive amount of power, its lackluster defensive typing means it is prone to being worn down, as everything can hit it at least neutrally so it’s not too hard to 2HKO.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Trade from FireRed/LeafGreen/XD

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Safari Zone Areas 1 & 3

Colosseum/XD:
Snagged from Cipher Peon Litnar in Citadark Isle (XD)

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Great Marsh

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Rock Tunnel, Safari Zone

Black/White:
Route 15

Black 2/White 2:
Transfer from Black/White

X/Y:
Glittering Cave

Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Trade from X/Y