{"id":1267379,"date":"2026-03-08T00:51:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T00:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=617123"},"modified":"2026-03-08T00:51:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T00:51:28","slug":"mega-dragonites-silly-design-has-pokemon-fans-reviving-decade-old-arguments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/mega-dragonites-silly-design-has-pokemon-fans-reviving-decade-old-arguments\/","title":{"rendered":"Mega Dragonite’s silly design has Pok\u00e9mon fans reviving decade-old arguments"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is a universally understood fact that dragons are supposed to be cool, at least in theory. Perhaps this is why the recent reveal of Mega Dragonite in Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Z-A<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>hasn\u2019t sat well with at least some of the fandom: the souped-up version of the tangerine wyvern is as cute as it is goofy.<\/p>\n

Some aspects of these criticisms are easy to understand: Mega Dragonite now has two <\/em>sets of wings, and the bigger ones are fixed atop its head for some reason. Wouldn\u2019t it have been better for the existing wings to change, especially when they already seemed too small for Dragonite\u2019s massive figure to begin with?<\/p>\n

\u201cJust slapping some wings on and calling it a day is so lazy and a huge missed opportunity for a cool callback to Dragonair,\u201d reads one comment on the Pok\u00e9mon Presents stream<\/a> that originally announced the evolution. \u201cThe giant head wings was the wrong trait to pick,\u201d it continues.<\/p>\n

The format undoubtedly impacted some of the reactions here \u2014 the livestream lasted just over 24 minutes, and some fans walked away feeling like it wasn\u2019t very exciting overall. The top comment on the video, which has more than 25,000 upvotes, says, \u201cThis could have been an email.\u201d To sit through that entire thing just to get one dorky mega reveal likely didn\u2019t help the way people received Mega Dragonite.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of people who love the new Dragonite design; you can scroll through social media sites like X find tons of awesome artwork and excited fans. But there\u2019s also a contingent of fans who are disappointed by the vibe of mega Dragonite. It appears that granting Dragonite angelic wings, a giant pearl, and emphasizing its kindness in the \u2018dex has moved the wyrm more into kawaii territory. <\/p>\n

Before the evolution, people thought of Dragonite as a fierce monster. In the original Pok\u00e9mon Red<\/em> and Blue<\/em> games, Lance, the strongest member of the elite four, emphasizes the Dragonite family heavily. He\u2019s got two Dragonairs \u2014 the evolution that comes before Dragonite in its evolution chain \u2014 and one Dragonite. Every single one knows the move Hyper Beam, which, while not terribly useful in the competitive scene, is definitely considered a powerful move both within the fiction and for average players.<\/p>\n

A memorable introduction like that does not set the stage for a creature design that looks like it would be right at home alongside Hello Kitty, based on some of the reactions Dragonite has been receiving. \u201cDragonair is so majestic, it\u2019d be cool if Mega Dragonite was a bit closer to that,\u201d another comment on the stream reads. <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n