#mega excadrill

I think the design for mega excadrill could've been so much better than what we got. Karina hospitalized.

Mega Meganium - Simple but pleasant design. Pretty much what most people do when thinking of a Meganium Mega @ the multiple neck flowers. I like the curly antennae and that they made it a Fairy type.

Mega Emboar - Building off its Chinese warlord-inspired design and giving it a flame spear is super cool and it looks great. Deserved after so many years of being underliked by fans. Its new silhouette is super cool.

Mega Feraligatr- This one is going to be divisive, and even I was unsure I would like it as a Totodile line fan (who is picking it as my starter again) but even though the idea is very weird, giving it an outer jaw that goes over its head and arm extenders, I really like it in execution after seeing it move and use that jaw. I do agree they could have changed the main body more, though. It also now has a Dragon subtype.

Mega Clefable - I really like how it utilizes its wings, which have been a design element since Gen I and turning it into a partial Flying type to go with that is very nice. I do think the head bump is a bit too high, but that's a personal preference.

Mega Froslass - The height boost along with its super thin body combined with the new ice horns really accentuates its image as a terrifying, ethereal youkai. I'm very happy this one got a Mega to go along its counterpart.

Mega Excadrill - Continuing the trend of taking design elements the base Pokémon already had and pushing them to eleven, I really dig the huge drills it got and how its model tucks its head into them so it just becomes this massive, dangerous-looking drill to attack.

Mega Eelektross - Eelektross already had this kind of unnerving design before, but giving it two faux-eelektriks alongside its main body (which are made of MUCUS) really pushes its concept further. It looks slimy and bloodthirsty, which is great.

Mega Chandelure - This is a very simple one, they took Chandelure and made it a fancier, much bigger and more bauble'd chandelier, which is cool by me as I already loved its base design. I'm unsure if I like the concept of one of its eyes not being lit, as its not immediately evident it was a choice made on purpose and some have felt it looks like a model glitch (but it's not, since it's mentioned in the pokédex).

Mega Dragalge - Amazing design. The flowy fins attached to its head really give it an extra elegant air, which coupled with its deadly new toxins that regenerate it and hurt all others make it look that much more powerful.

The update is live, but maintenance is still ongoing!

(Edit: and pretty much as soon as I posted that, it was announced it ended 😵‍💫)

New art and stickers from the ZA HOME datamine!

We also have a couple new abilities: Piercing Drill and Spicy Spray. When Mega Exadrill uses contact moves, it can hit targets that are protecting themselves, dealing 25% of the damage that the move would otherwise deal. Everything aside from the target's protective effects is still triggered. When Mega Scovillain is hit by an attack, it burns the attacker!

Pierce the Heavens

Mega Excadrill is fine; not the best mega out there, but it works. I've heard some say that it's too goofy, and while I get where people are coming from, I feel like Excadrill is already kind of goofy by default, so this doesn't seem that silly in comparison despite how over-the-top it is.

The claws are now fused into 1/3 of a drill each, which now has spiral ridges on the outside to make it all the better at digging. It's about what you would expect from a Mega Excadrill and makes for a logical progression of the original theme. One neat thing about the design is that the claws can come together to form a complete drill, like this:

While regular Excadrill has always been shown with this ability in media like the anime, it never really made sense with its actual design, so I appreciate that the mega makes sense from a functional standpoint. Beyond that, the body also has a few visual changes; it seems to be bulkier than regular Excadrill, the markings are different, and it has some extra plating on the back.

However, I do think the design's a bit awkward in places that aren't the drill. For example, that weird triangle on the chest. It looks super unnatural and it's not clear why it's there at all—I guess it's just because it has three parts to its drill? If it were just the middle markings, no triangle, it would've worked a lot better.

Likewise, there are two weird triangles on the back and an equally weird "horn" on the top. I believe these are to help form the drill when it closes up, but once again, they just look so tacked-on and unnatural that I can't really take them seriously.

I also wish the face was more elongated (I swear it's shorter than regular Excadrill's) and didn't have brown going around it completely, as the trapezoid shape of the face then doesn't match with the triangular motif that the rest of the design has.

It's another type mirror match! This time, Steel types are on display!

One of a few Generation 5 fan favourites to get a Mega in Legends Z-A, Mega Excadrill doesn't disappoint in being a powerful new form for the mole! With mega evolution energy flowing through its body, Mega Excadrill becomes essentially a giant drill, with the giant spears of metal on its head and arms coming together when it attacks. The Pokédex says that when it does this, it can destroy literally anything! is that exaggeration? I can't say, but I'm not willing to wait around and find out! One piece of evidence in its favour is its ability, Piercing Drill. Even when a Pokémon uses Protect, blocking all moves, Mega Excadrill can still push through and do damage anyway! It's one of the only Pokémon able to do this, along with Mega Golurk and Urshifu, so it's no slouch in battle. With a lot of power at its disposal, it's a worthy Mega for a classic Pokémon, and will that earn it your vote?