Skip to main content
Join The Community
- Join our community
11
Premium Benefits
24/7
Access Available
21K+
Active Members
Commenting
Join the discussion
Exclusive Articles Coming Soon
Member-only articles
Weekly Newsletters
Weekly gaming & entertainment news
Member Badges
Earn badges as you go
Exclusive Competitions
Members-only prize draws
Curated Deals Coming Soon
Tech and gaming deals worth grabbing
GET COMMUNITY ACCESS QUICK
For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to find out more information.
Find out more
GET Community ACCESS QUICK

Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information, you confirm you are aged 16 or over, have read our Privacy Policy and agree to the Terms & Conditions. Geographical rules apply.

Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Buying Guides
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
  • Home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Buying Guides
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Video
    • View Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
Trending
  • GTA 6 cover art revealed
  • Summer Preview
  • Prime Day deals
  • Best gaming tech
  • New Games 2026
  • Submit your clips. Win prizes
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
  1. Games
  2. Adventure Games
  3. Pokemon
  4. Pokemon Legends: Z-A

New Pokemon Legends Z-A Mega Evolution Malamar will call you dumb and hypnotize you "if it disagrees with an order," as if having the weirdest evolution method wasn't enough

News
By Kaan Serin published 11 September 2025

Mega Malamar is kinda messed up

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Screenshot of Mega Malamar from Pokemon Legends Z-A, showing a glowy octopus monster looking dumbstruck at the camera.
(Image credit: The Pokemon Company)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
0
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Subscribe to our newsletter

Malamar's always been a strange pocket monster, but its new Mega Evolution form in Pokemon Legends Z-A takes things up a notch. By that I mean Mega Malamar will hypnotise you if it thinks you gave a dumb order - at least in the game's lore.

The mass Malamar hysteria hit hard earlier this month when The Pokemon Company started releasing videos depicting people celebrating the Dark/Psychic type in various ways, playing on the whole shtick of Malamar being able to use hypnosis to manipulate people into doing whatever it wants. A Malamar cult, if you will, but cute.

All of the hype finally led to Mega Malamar's reveal, alongside an official blurb that reveals just how twisted the already-weird Pokemon can become in Mega form. "If it disagrees with an order given to it by a Trainer, it will sometimes respond by hypnotising them, making this an incredibly difficult Pokemon to interact with," the official website threatens.

Latest Videos From
Watch full video here:

Of course, this might be one of those in-universe tidbits that doesn't translate into interesting in-game stuff. We never actually see Spoink die from heart failure if it stops bouncing despite its Black and White 2 Pokedex entry, for example. In that same vein, your own Mega Malamar may not ever actually turn on you via mind control in Pokemon Legends Z-A (but maybe the implication that it could is enough.)

Still, Malamar is one of the Pokemon with the strangest evolution methods. In Pokemon XY, you need to hold your 3DS upside. On the Switch games, you need to make sure your console-handheld-hybrid is out of the dock and, also, upside down. I like that Legends Z-A is making him a little odder, even if it's just in a Pokedex entry.

You may like
  • A female, pink-haired Pokemon trainer stands victorious after a battle in Pokemon Champions. I spent 12 hours making a Pokemon Champions team that's caused so many forfeits I almost feel bad
  • Tomodachi Life living the dream screenshot showing a giant woman looking at a smaller woman Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream players turn the life sim into a Pokemon game with pixel art pets
  • A robot crackles with yellow lightning in No Man's Sky: Xeno Arena No Man's Sky's Xeno Arena update has given me something I never knew I needed: Pokemon battling in VR

Pokemon Legends: Z-A buffs up one of X and Y's best 'mons as it introduces Mega Hawlucha, which might have the RPG's coolest new form yet.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
CATEGORIES
Nintendo Switch 2 Nintendo Switch Platforms Nintendo
Kaan Serin
Kaan Serin
Social Links Navigation
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
A female, pink-haired Pokemon trainer stands victorious after a battle in Pokemon Champions.
Pokemon I spent 12 hours making a Pokemon Champions team that's caused so many forfeits I almost feel bad
 
 
Tomodachi Life living the dream screenshot showing a giant woman looking at a smaller woman
Simulation Games Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream players turn the life sim into a Pokemon game with pixel art pets
 
 
A robot crackles with yellow lightning in No Man's Sky: Xeno Arena
Open World Games No Man's Sky's Xeno Arena update has given me something I never knew I needed: Pokemon battling in VR
 
 
A screenshot of Kitt in Pokemon Champions, standing in front of two Tauros.
Pokemon Pokemon Champions patches out strategies players have been using for years, but at least Freeze has finally been nerfed
 
 
Mega Darkrai ex in a green and purple swirl
Tabletop Gaming Pokemon TCG kicks off a dark new chapter with Pitch Black expansion
 
 
Pokemon TCG Pocket best decks
Pokemon Best Mega Altaria ex deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket
 
 
Latest in Pokemon
Pokemon Chaos Rising card and booster pack laid out on a dark background
Tabletop Gaming Pokemon card fans seem to agree that card grading culture sucks and makes the hobby "a lot less enjoyable"
 
 
Pokemon TCG Pocket
Pokemon Best Pokemon TCG Pocket Mega Manectric deck
 
 
Pokemon TCG Pocket best decks
Pokemon Best Pokemon TCG Pocket Giratina ex deck
 
 
Best decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Pokemon Best Pokemon TCG Pocket Mega Scizor ex deck
 
 
Pokemon TCG Pocket
Pokemon Best Pokemon TCG Pocket Meowscarada ex deck
 
 
Pokemon Pokopia
Pokemon Pokemon Pokopia makes splash with free underwater update and paid DLC, coming later this summer
 
 
Latest in News
Elden Ring: Nightreign
Action RPGs With no major updates in sight, Elden Ring Nightreign fan creates surprisingly fun endless runner
 
 
Stellar Blade
Action Games Stellar Blade diehard begins multi-year quest to kill the final boss every day until Blood Rain and Evie finally arrive
 
 
Protagonist Nico Bellic in GTA 4 wearing a suit and shades with his arms outstretched in a kind of "what gives" gesture
Grand Theft Auto We've been waiting so long for GTA 6 that someone just found another GTA 4 swingset glitch after 18 years
 
 
Yukiko and her Persona from Persona 4 Revival
Persona Persona 6 boss wants his games to be like "poison," something "that shakes people's values or gives them something to think about"
 
 
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear After almost 25 years, Metal Gear Solid 2 players are still finding secrets
 
 
Ghost of Tsushima sequel Ghost of Yotei reveal trailer screenshot
Open World Games Fallout: New Vegas lead Josh Sawyer says Ghost of Tsushima and Yotei have "some of the best armor"
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Elden Ring: Nightreign
    1
    With no major updates in sight, Elden Ring Nightreign fan creates surprisingly fun endless runner
  2. 2
    Stellar Blade diehard begins multi-year quest to kill the final boss every day until Blood Rain and Evie finally arrive
  3. 3
    After almost 25 years, Metal Gear Solid 2 players are still finding secrets
  4. 4
    We've been waiting so long for GTA 6 that someone just found another GTA 4 swingset glitch after 18 years
  5. 5
    Persona 6 boss wants his games to be like "poison," something "that shakes people's values or gives them something to think about"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...