Pokemon Sun And Moon Players Receive Surprise Mega Stone Gifts

Pokémon Sun and Moon's latest Mystery Gift is a big one. Players who boot up the game right now and enter the password "INTIMIDATE" in the Mystery Gift unlock screen will receive not one, not two, but four Mega Stones, each of which can be used to unlock a specific Pokémon's Mega Evolutionary form during battle.

And which Pokémon do these Mega Stones affect? Why, Beedrill, Audino, Mawile and Medicham, of course. That's a pretty diverse group of Pokémon, but they all have one thing in common: none of them actually appear in Pokémon Sun and Moon. That means that, if you want to use your new Mega Stones, you'll need to use the Pokémon Bank to transfer the affected Pokémon from previous Pokémon games into Sun and Moon (if you never got them in the older games? Well, now's as good a time as any to dive into some classic Pokémon titles and flesh out your collection).

The Pokémon Company didn't say how long the promotion will last, so if you want those Mega Stones? Get them ASAP. Hold on to that "INTIMIDATE" phrase, too. Reportedly, another batch of Mega Stones—this time, for Steelix and Pidgeot—is coming in May via the same password.

Mega Stones first appeared in Pokémon X and Y. By using a Mega Stone, Pokémon can transform (or "evolve") once per battle, boosting their stats and taking on new, intimidating forms. Only one Pokémon can Mega Evolve in a single fight.

While Mega Stones and Mega Evolutions returned in the latest Pokémon adventure, Pokémon Sun and Moon, they've been deemphasized in favor of ultra-powerful Z-Moves, which require trainers and their Pokémon to hold matching Z-Rings and Z-Crystals, respectively.

Like most things Pokémon, it's all a lot less complicated than it sounds. If you're still struggling to wrap your mind around Sun and Moon, however, we've got some tips that'll help make your transition from noob to world-class trainer a little smoother. Don't worry. You'll be well on your way to catching them all in no time.