What if Pokemon Fusions became a proper mechanic? Evo-Fusion!

[Lord_Brand]

So, we've had a few examples of Pokemon fusing together in the series thus far: Kyurem can fuse with Reshiram or Zekrom to form White Kyurem or Black Kyurem respectively, Necrozma can fuse with Solgaleo or Lunala, and Calyrex can technically combine with Glastrier or Spectrier (though that isn't really fusion so much as Cleyrex simply riding them). I was just thinking: If Game Freak is looking for a mechanic that can compete with Mega Evolutions in terms of raw excitement, how about Evo-Fusion? Evo-Fusion temporarily combines two Pokemon of the same egg group into one creature with the combined types and (to an extent) powers of the constituent Pokemon. There would be some guidelines of course:

Spoiler

• To fuse two Pokemon, the player must give each one a Fusion Stone. Like Mega Stones, Fusion Stones could be unique to each species.
• The two fusing Pokemon must share an egg group. This indicates the Pokemon are biologically capable of fusing. The No Eggs Discovered group is unable to use regular Evo-Fusion, however specific pairs of Pokemon in that group may have their own fusions and methods (like Reshiram or Zekrom with Kyurem).
• Fusions are based on fully-evolved Pokemon, however prevolutions in some cases can be used as substitutes. If the prevolution evolves into the fully-evolved form naturally by level up, it can be be used as a substitute, though the resulting stats of the Fusion will be lower. Pokemon that evolve through other methods, such as the use of items or by trading, cannot be used as substitutes.
• The fusing Pokemon must be different species from different families, unless they are regional variants. For example, two Zoroark cannot fuse, and a Zorua and a Zoroark cannot fuse as they are part of the same family. A Zorua or Zoroark can fuse with a Hisuian Zorua or Zoroark, however.
• Fused Pokemon names are distinct from the constituent species, and most likely descriptors or titles in a manner similar to the names of Paradox Pokemon.
• If both Pokemon are the same gender, the Fusion will be that gender. If the fused Pokemon are different genders or either is genderless, the fusion will be genderless.
• Fusion Pokemon have all the combined types of the fused Pokemon. This means a Fusion Pokemon can have up to four types at once.
• If the fusing Pokemon have the same nature, the Fusion Pokemon has that nature. If the fusing Pokemon have different natures, the Fusion Pokemon has an Enigmatic nature.
• Fusion Pokemon have the top two moves in the fused Pokemon's active move lists.
• Fusion Pokemon have their own abilities, called Fusion Abilities. These may work like a combination of the fused Pokemons' abilities, but they can also be completely different.
• Fusion Pokemon have base stats distinct from their constituent forms. Generally these will be higher than either base form, but the exact differences vary, much as they do with Mega Evolutions.
• In the event Evo-Fusion appears alongside other enhancement mechanics such as Mega Evolution, Dynamaxing, or Terastilizing, Pokemon already affected by one of those enhancements cannot fuse.

I think a lot of exciting possibilities could arise from a mechanic like this.

Edited February 15 by Lord_Brand

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

Hm... I do like the idea of fusing! There are a few questions I still have, however:

- Would Fusion happen inside battle, or outside of it? Like, the canon fusions (i.e. Kyurem Black, Dawn Wings Necrozma) occur outside of battle, and each takes up one slot. Would your proposed fusions function this way, or would it be activated mid-battle, like Mega Evolutions?

- Similarly, would there be any limit to Fusing? Like "only one Fusion on a team at a time", or "each Fusion requires two party slots"? Or is it a free-for-all?

- Is "Venusaur fused with Blastoise" identical to "Blastoise fused with Venusaur"? Or does the order of operations make any difference?

- Split evolution lines could present a problem. Like, if I tried fusing Gloom with Chansey, would I get "Blissey-Vileplume"? Or "Bellosom-Blissey"? Or, in such a case, would Fusion simply not be allowed?

- Is there a specific, bespoke list of "Fusions" that are possible to do, like with Mega Evolutions? Or would two Pokemon be fusable regardless, so long as they share an Egg Group?

I definitely think Fusion is a super-interesting concept. But with how many Pokemon there already are, things could really get out of hand in short order!

Edited February 16 by Shanty Pete's 1st Mate
Mistake.

[Lord_Brand]

On 2/15/2024 at 7:30 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Would Fusion happen inside battle, or outside of it? Like, the canon fusions (i.e. Kyurem Black, Dawn Wings Necrozma) occur outside of battle, and each takes up one slot. Would your proposed fusions function this way, or would it be activated mid-battle, like Mega Evolutions?

Ideally, they would be midbattle like Megas. But, you raise a good point that most of the fusions we have so far are outside of battle and last as long as you wish. I'm thinking Evo-Fusion could have two Pokemon linked outside of battle, and when one of them is sent out in battle the other is sent out as well and they fuse on the spot, until they are recalled. A compromise between the two, distinct from "hard fusion" like what Kyurem does but still with more "permanence" than Mega Evolution.

On 2/15/2024 at 7:30 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Similarly, would there be any limit to Fusing? Like "only one Fusion on a team at a time", or "each Fusion requires two party slots"? Or is it a free-for-all?

If Evo-Fusion involves linking Pokemon, then you could easily have three pairs of linked Pokemon in your party at once.

On 2/15/2024 at 7:30 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Is "Venusaur fused with Blastoise" identical to "Blastoise fused with Venusaur"? Or does the order of operations make any difference?

For resource reasons they'd probably stick with just one fusion between two species or families. An augmentation system could be an interesting separate mechanic, though...

On 2/15/2024 at 7:30 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Split evolution lines could present a problem. Like, if I tried fusing Gloom with Chansey, would I get "Blissey-Vileplume"? Or "Bellosom-Blissey"? Or, in such a case, would Fusion simply not be allowed?

Gloom wouldn't work at all because it doesn't evolve naturally, it requires a Leaf Stone or Sun Stone to evolve. Prevolutions only work as substitutes if they naturally evolve by level up into the final stage. Thus, a Ralts or Kirlia can substitute for a Gardevoir, but not a Gallade. Though I guess one could make an argument that midstages with no natural evolutions like Gloom could have their own fusions, but that would bloat the selection considerably, which seems unwise to me.

On 2/15/2024 at 7:30 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Is there a specific, bespoke list of "Fusions" that are possible to do, like with Mega Evolutions? Or would two Pokemon be fusable regardless, so long as they share an Egg Group?

The idea would be that every Pokemon within a regional dex would be capable of fusing with every other Pokemon in its egg group in that dex. Getting every possible fusion among all 1000+ Pokemon in a single game would be a tall order, but something closer to 200-400 Pokemon might be feasible, bearing in mind that not every species is capable of fusion and that not every Pokemon is capable of fusing with every other Pokemon.

For example, there are 59 families of Field-Group Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet, not counting DLC. Using just the final evolutions, that yields...1711 possible combinations. ^^; So yeah, Evo-Fusion would probably need to be either restricted to specific pairs of Pokemon (as has been the case thus far), or they would have to feature the mechanic with a smaller-than-average Pokedex with maybe 10-20 families per Egg Group, taking into account that some Fusions would overlap more than one Egg Group, like the common pair of Field and Human-Like.