Animation: Mega Evolution
Section 1.C
Though Mega Evolution is incorporated into Essentials by default, it doesn't contain any built-in animations related to the mechanic. To address this, the Deluxe Battle Kit includes its own set of animations for Mega Evolution. The animation style used for Mega Evolution acts as the basis that all other animations are built on for mechanics introduced by supported plugins such as Z-Moves, Dynamax, and Terastallization.
There's a bit to explain about these animations and how they work, so I'll provide a break down of everything in this section.
Note: If you already have an existing Mega Evolution animation which is stored as a Common animation named "MegaEvolution", that animation will take priority over the animation added by this plugin. This means that there's no risk of your animation being overwritten or ignored, nor do you need to change anything to make this plugin compatible.
Trainer Mega Evolution
Mega Evolution typically requires a trainer with a Mega Ring and a Pokemon with a compatible Mega Stone. If so, the option to Mega Evolve that Pokemon will appear in battle. When triggered, the Mega Evolution animation will play.
There will be slight differences in the animation based on which side of the field the Mega Evolved Pokemon is on. Pokemon on the player's side of the field will face right, and their trainer will slide in from off screen on the left. If the Pokemon is on the opponent's side of the field, they will face left and their trainer will slide in from off screen on the right. This helps distinguish if the Mega Evolved Pokemon is friend or foe during the animation.
Mega Animations will always display the trainer's Mega Ring above the trainer and the Pokemon's held Mega Stone above the Pokemon during the animation. The trainer's item may not always be the same, however. The Mega Ring is the default item used, but it's possible to give trainers unique items that trigger Mega Evolution such as Diantha's Mega Charm in XY, or Maxie's Mega Glasses in Omega Ruby. If you create unique Mega items such as these for a trainer to utilize along with the necessary sprites, then the sprite for that unique item will appear in this animation instead of the default Mega Ring.
If the Pokemon Mega Evolves without a held Mega Stone, such as Rayquaza, then no item will appear above the Pokemon during the animation.
Wild Mega Evolution
Typically, wild Pokemon are incapable of Mega Evolving, even if they are holding the appropriate Mega Stone or have the appropriate Mega move. This is because a trainer with a corresponding Mega Ring is required.
However, this plugin includes a feature that allows wild Pokemon to Mega Evolve on their own without a trainer, by utilizing the "wildMegaEvolution" Battle Rule (more details on this can be found in the "Deluxe Battle Rules" section of this tutorial). This bypasses the Mega Ring requirement, allowing the wild Pokemon to Mega Evolve as long as they are holding the required Mega Stone or have the necessary Mega move. If so, the wild Pokemon will immediately Mega Evolve when encountered.
The animation for wild Mega Evolution is mostly the same. The only obvious difference is that no trainer slides on screen during the animation, since no trainer exists. The text message which indicates the Pokemon is about to Mega Evolve is also changed to remove all mention of a trainer or Mega Ring.
Animation Utilities
Skipping Animations
You may have noticed in the examples above that during the Mega Evolution animation, a button prompt on the bottom left-hand corner of the screen appears. This "skip" button indicates that you can cut the animation short by pressing the ACTION key. Pressing it will immediately end the animation, allowing you to get right back to the battle if you grow tired of sitting through these animations.
Turning Off Animations
If you want to turn these animations off entirely, there are two ways to accomplish this. First, you may do so by turning off battle animations completely in the Options menu.
If so, this animation will also be turned off. Instead, it'll be replaced with a generic "quick-change" animation which happens instantaneously.
The second way to turn off the animation would be to open the Deluxe Battle Kit plugin, and head into the Settings. Here, you'll find the setting SHOW_MEGA_ANIM. If you set this to false, the Mega Evolution animation will be shut off permanently, and will be replaced with the quick-change animation above, even when battle animations are turned on.
Mega Icons
While this isn't strictly animation-related, there's no better place to make note of this, so I'll do so here. You may have noticed in the examples above that the Mega icon that displays on the battler's data boxes is different than the one included by Essentials by default. That's because this plugin includes a new icon for Mega Evolution, which replaces the old one.
These icons are placed on the sides of the battler's data boxes similar to how Primal icons are placed, rather than appearing within the box.
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