Necrozma #800: the light thief with four faces

A being of light robbed of its own light. Necrozma is Alola's Prism Pokémon: a body of black crystal from another world that steals the radiance of places and living things to soothe its pain. And when it gets hold of Solgaleo or Lunala, it takes over their bodies and gains three extra forms.

Contents

• Who is Necrozma?
• Dusk Mane and Dawn Wings: two fusions, not evolutions
• Ultra Necrozma: an Ultra Burst, definitely not a Mega
• Signature Abilities, Prismatic Laser and Photon Geyser
• The plunderer of light from Ultra Space
• Necrozma at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Necrozma?

Listed as #800 in the National Pokédex, Necrozma is the "Prism Pokémon" of the seventh generation, the generation of Pokémon Sun and Moon. In its base form, the only one that is pure Psychic type, it stands 2.4 meters tall and weighs 230 kilograms.

Its body looks as if it were carved from black crystal. The large growth attached to its head is actually its tail — its face is a prism dotted with floating colored spots, which turns white when it absorbs light.

It's a Legendary Pokémon, not a Mythical one: it completes a legendary trio, bound to both sun and moon, that runs from Solgaleo to Lunala. Genderless, it can be caught at level 75 on Ten Carat Hill in Sun and Moon, and at level 65 on Mount Lanakila in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

Dusk Mane and Dawn Wings: two fusions, not evolutions

Its first two alternate forms aren't evolutions but fusions, carried out outside of battle with a device, exactly like Kyurem's DNA Splicers. Necrozma takes control of its host's body and partly encases it like crystal armor.

The N-Solarizer fuses it with Solgaleo to create Dusk Mane Necrozma, a Psychic and Steel type: 3.8 meters, 460 kilograms, and an Attack stat that climbs from 107 to 157. It's the mascot of Pokémon Ultra Sun.

The N-Lunarizer fuses it with Lunala to create Dawn Wings Necrozma, a Psychic and Ghost type: 4.2 meters, 350 kilograms, and Special Attack raised to 157. The mascot of Ultra Moon, this form is the exact mirror of the previous one.

Both fusions raise the base stat total from 600 to 680 points and are undone with the same device that created them. They keep Necrozma's Ability and also learn their host's signature move: Sunsteel Strike for Solgaleo, Moongeist Beam for Lunala.

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Ultra Necrozma: an Ultra Burst, definitely not a Mega

The third form requires one more condition: Necrozma must already be fused — as Dusk Mane or Dawn Wings — and hold one very specific Z-Crystal, the Ultranecrozium Z, which you pick up after catching it on Mount Lanakila.

The transformation has a name, Ultra Burst, and it is triggered mid-battle from the move selection screen, right where the Mega Evolution and Z-Move buttons usually appear. It works only once per battle: if it faints, Ultra Necrozma reverts to its previous form.

The result is called Ultra Necrozma, a colossal 7.5-meter dragon made of pure light, Psychic and Dragon type, whose body can exceed 5,540 degrees. Its stats total 754 points, with 167 in both Attack and Special Attack and 129 in Speed.

Mind the terminology: this is not a Mega Evolution. The only Megas of the seventh generation belong to Crabominable, Golisopod, Drampa, Magearna and Zeraora; Necrozma, for its part, has no Mega, no regional form and no Gigantamax form.

Signature Abilities, Prismatic Laser and Photon Geyser

Necrozma, Dusk Mane Necrozma and Dawn Wings Necrozma share a unique Ability, Prism Armor, which cuts the damage from super-effective attacks by a quarter: a hit that would normally be doubled is only multiplied by 1.5, and a double weakness drops from 4× to 3×.

Ultra Necrozma trades this shield for its exact opposite, Neuroforce, which boosts the power of its own super-effective attacks by 25%. None of the four forms has a hidden ability, and no other Pokémon has either of these two Abilities.

Necrozma is also the only Pokémon that can learn Prismatic Laser — 160 power, the highest of any Psychic-type move outside Z-Moves, at the cost of a recharge turn — and Photon Geyser, which uses the higher of its two offensive stats and ignores the target's Ability.

With the Ultranecrozium Z, Photon Geyser becomes Light That Burns the Sky, a 200-power Z-Move exclusive to Ultra Necrozma. The trade-off is clear: as a Psychic and Dragon type, this form loses every immunity and has six weaknesses — Bug, Ghost, Ice, Dragon, Dark and Fairy.

The plunderer of light from Ultra Space

The Pokédex never presents it as a mindless monster. Pokémon Sun speaks of "a creature sleeping underground," thought to have come from another world; Ultra Sun adds that "it seems to be in pain as it desperately searches for light, its source of energy."

The lore is darker still: having come from Ultra Space, Necrozma was once able to create light, until it was wounded by the ancestors of the Ultra Recon Squad. In Ultra Megalopolis, it is known as the Blinding One, the master of light.

Left incomplete, it is in constant pain, which explains its hostility: the people of Alola have nicknamed it the plunderer of light — a tragic antagonist with a silhouette like no other, sure to win over fans of Pokémon figures as well as Pokémon plushies.

Necrozma at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• What are Necrozma's forms?
  Four in all. Necrozma, the base form, a Psychic type, 2.4 meters and 230 kilograms. Dusk Mane Necrozma, a Psychic and Steel type, 3.8 meters and 460 kilograms. Dawn Wings Necrozma, a Psychic and Ghost type, 4.2 meters and 350 kilograms. And Ultra Necrozma, a Psychic and Dragon type, 7.5 meters and 230 kilograms. All of them keep the "Prism Pokémon" category and the Psychic type; only the second type changes.
• How do you get Dusk Mane Necrozma and Dawn Wings Necrozma?
  By fusing Necrozma with another Legendary Pokémon, outside of battle. The N-Solarizer fuses it with Solgaleo to create Dusk Mane Necrozma; the N-Lunarizer fuses it with Lunala to create Dawn Wings Necrozma. Colress gives you both devices after you catch Necrozma on Mount Lanakila in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and the same device is used to undo the fusion. It works just like Kyurem's DNA Splicers.
• How do you get Ultra Necrozma?
  It takes one extra condition: Necrozma must already be fused, in its Dusk Mane or Dawn Wings form, and hold the Ultranecrozium Z, its own exclusive Z-Crystal. You then trigger Ultra Burst mid-battle from the move selection screen, where the Mega Evolution and Z-Move buttons appear. Ultra Burst can only be activated once per battle, and Ultra Necrozma reverts to its previous form if it faints. If it knows Photon Geyser, it can then unleash its signature Z-Move, Light That Burns the Sky.
• Does Necrozma have a Mega Evolution?
  No. No Mega Evolution, no regional form, no Gigantamax form. Its Dusk Mane, Dawn Wings and Ultra Necrozma forms are two fusions and an Ultra Burst respectively, not Mega Evolutions. Of the 88 species of the seventh generation, the only ones with a Mega are Crabominable, Golisopod, Drampa, Magearna and Zeraora.
• Does Necrozma evolve?
  No. Necrozma has no evolution and isn't the evolution of any Pokémon. Two things need to be kept apart: an evolution is permanent and changes the species, whereas its fusions and its Ultra Burst are reversible form changes within one and the same species, listed as #800 in the Pokédex.
• What are Necrozma's weaknesses?
  It depends on the form. As a pure Psychic type, Necrozma is weak to Bug, Ghost and Dark, which deal double damage, and it takes Fighting and Psychic hits better, at half damage. Dusk Mane Necrozma, a Psychic and Steel type, is immune to Poison, resists eight types and even takes only a quarter of the damage from Psychic moves, but is weak to Ground, Ghost, Fire and Dark. Dawn Wings Necrozma, a Psychic and Ghost type, is completely immune to Normal and Fighting, but takes four times the damage from Ghost and Dark. Ultra Necrozma, a Psychic and Dragon type, no longer has any immunity, resists Fighting, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric and Psychic, and has six weaknesses: Bug, Ghost, Ice, Dragon, Dark and Fairy. For the first three forms, the Prism Armor Ability softens these super-effective hits by a quarter.

In short

Four looks, four type combinations, two fusions and a Z-Move all its own: Necrozma packs in nearly every Alola mechanic. And yet it does not evolve.