Magnezone (Magnemite, Magneton)

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Overview

Wild magnezone are responsible for billions of dollars in property damage every year. Their strongest attacks can fry electronics within a six-mile radius. The electricity in human settlements draws them to the places where they are the most dangerous. They rarely directly kill anyone, but they’re still a major economic threat.

Captive magnezone are perfectly fine companions so long as personal electronics are heavily shielded. Magnemite are solid battlers. By the time they evolve twice, they can easily help carry a team through the end of the island challenge. Personalities are variable but usually not particularly extreme.

Why, then, is there such a difference? The answer comes down to restraint and values. Wild magnezone care little for humans and do not know how much they should care back. Even if they did, they probably wouldn’t. Captive magnezone, especially those that have lived with humans since they were a magnemite, know their limits and how to avoid frying nearby electronics. They still might when excited or startled, but no more frequently than other electric-types.

Physiology

All stages of the evolutionary line are classified as dual steel- and electric-types.

Magnemite’s main body is made up of concentric metal shells. The exact alloy varies by the region of birth. All but the outermost shell are constantly spinning in different directions and at different rates. The pattern allows the magnemite to fly and attack. Magnemite change the rotation of their layers by using the three screws protruding from their body, one that they keep oriented upwards and two beneath their eye.

Magnemite have a single eye protruding from their shell. Curiously, this eye is only a feature of the outermost layer; it does not extend any deeper than the shell. The eye does not appear to function like human eyes, but does absorb and process light. It is believed that a small chip at the base of this eye contains all of magnemite’s nervous system. Magnemite can react to sound, but it is unknown how they hear.

Magnemite channel attacks through two horseshoe magnets, one on each side of their body. Right before they attack the magnets begin to spin very quickly with a small orb of energy appearing in the center. The magnets will abruptly stop spinning and an attack is unleashed from the orb.

Magneton are formed by three magnemite in an equilateral triangle. One is dominant and remains positioned at the top of the triangle. This magnemite retains all of its screws. The other two sacrifice one of their external screws to fuse them to the dominant magnemite. The resulting magneton retains the personality and behaviors of the dominant with only very small additions from the two others. All three processing chips remain active.

Magnezone look rather different from their pre-evolutions. Their body is split into three connected but distinct chambers. The largest is a spheroid in the center of the pokémon. This chamber holds three separate rotating shell structures. The upper portion of the spheroid has a barrier separating it from the bottom. This segment contains a large network of chips, circuitry and rotating spheres. There has not been a chance to study this network in detail as magnezone explode shortly after their deaths. As such, all observations have been conducted with very specialized equipment capable of scanning electric-types. Magnezone are not easily sedated and do not like being confined in tight spaces, making it difficult to observe them for long. There is a long antenna on top of the spheroid. This is used for receiving and transmitting signals (see Behavior).

The two other chambers of a magnezone are shaped like magnemite fused into the spheroid. Each have a single shell structure inside of them. Magnezone have three eyes, one on each chamber. The central eye is far larger than the other two. In fact, the other two eyes only seem to become active when the magnezone is preparing an attack, suggesting that they are only used for aiming. Magnezone have two very large screws on them, both attached to the back half of the magnemite portions. They have three large horseshoe magnets, one in front of each magnemite and one behind the spheroid. The back magnet is not used for attacking and appears to be entirely devoted to navigation, and perhaps to moving the three spheres inside the spheroid.

All three stages move in part by repelling themselves from the earth. They are also capable of creating a poorly understood force tentatively named “anti-gravity” that helps them levitate.

Magnezone typically grow to be about six feet across and weigh around one ton. Magnezone live for about thirty years in the wild and fifty years in captivity.

Behavior

Magnemite feed upon electricity. In the past this restricted them to predation or parasitism on electric-types. Sometimes electric-types would congregate in such numbers that the environment itself became charged; magnemite were most abundant in these places and they are, to this day, their primary breeding grounds.

Modernity has led to an explosion in the number of magnemite in the world and the areas in which they can live. From the earliest days of modern electricity, guards have been required at power plants and along wires. Magnemite learned and began to prey upon the places where the lines connected to the homes themselves, as well as upon the generators of rural homes.

Magnemite and magneton are not particularly intelligent. They behave like automatons concerned only with feeding and survival. Some, mostly under trainer care, develop a sense of curiosity; their hardware is not well equipped for this feeling. In time they inevitably become paranoid and obsessed with triangles. In the very rare circumstances that these magnemite become dominant upon evolution and evolve again (see Evolution), the resulting magnezone are known to almost immediately attack centers of media, government, and commerce. They also have a well-documented hatred of mushroom farms.

Despite their lack of creativity and intelligence, magnemite are known to congregate in large swarms. The individuals do not seem to interact with or acknowledge each other and they do not coordinate collective strategies. Rather, it seems like they all have roughly the same ability to sense unsecured power sources and they all have the same analytical process for choosing which one to swarm.

Magneton behaviors are nearly identical to magnemite.

Magnezone behave rather differently than magnemite and magneton. To start with, they very seldom descend to the ground. Magnezone are most often found among the clouds absorbing static electricity. Clouds with a magnezone in them produce far less lightning. Magnezone are not social, although they are constantly emitting and receiving signals. This discovery and magnezone’s bizarre anatomy and appearance led to widespread speculation that they are extraterrestrial. There is no solid evidence one way or another. Their signals are used to communicate with conspecifics on Earth. When a magnezone does descend to breed, another inevitably comes to the same location even if they started out hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Curiously, magnezone have a strong sense of justice. Magnezone on the surface are known to badly wound any carnivores they witness hunting. Human criminals caught stealing or engaged in violent crime will also catch a powerful thunderbolt, although it will seldom be lethal. Magnezone have a strong aversion to killing and can apparently calculate how to badly wound their target without dealing a fatal blow.

Husbandry

Magnemite are quite easy to care for so long as their trainer is very mindful of any electronics around. Most Pokémon Centers have well insulated rooms and equipment. If this is the case, then magnemite can be safely allowed to explore their trainer’s room. Introducing a magnemite to a common area is still usually a faux pas due to the damage they can do to other trainers’ personal electronics. Most pokédex models are well insulated, but most cell phones are not. Magnemite won’t kill a device just by being in the same room as it. Using an attack nearby or getting within a meter is likely to fry anything sophisticated and unprotected.

The entire line feeds upon electricity. They prefer direct current but will happily lap up alternating current as well. Many Pokémon Centers have specially designated power feeding rooms for electric-types. Those that do not will have batteries for sale that are designed for feeding electric-types. Magnemite will know what to do in either case. In an emergency, magnemite can feed directly from a generator. The trainer should ask permission before doing this. When a magnemite begins to droop closer to the ground or move slower, they should be fed. If a magnemite has a far higher energy level than usual, their intake should be reduced and they should be used in battle immediately to prevent random EMPs.

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As mentioned above, magnemite are neither social nor curious. They will sometimes orbit their trainer, but this is about as far as they go in terms of play. Because they do not get bored, magnemite and magneton are quite comfortable spending almost all of their time inside of a pokéball. If a trainer really wants to interact with their pokémon, polishing the shell appears to make a magnemite happier.

Magneton and magnezone are far more prone to firing out random EMPs than magnemite. Magneton care is much the same as magnemite. Trainers should take time to learn the pokémon’s new personality quirks and ease them into their new power away from human civilization and its unshielded electronics.

Magnezone are a slightly different story. Unlike magnemite, which bond to anything that regularly feeds them, magnezone can always just drift off into the clouds if they want food. It is very difficult to bond with a magnezone unless they already have some faith in their trainer. Even then, newly evolved magnezone are still prone to just drifting off and never coming back. They will usually only stay with trainers who battle with them often and well. Magnezone like to spend at least a few hours at night out of their pokéballs. This should be allowed, if only because charge taken from the clouds is charge that does not have to be paid for. Magnezone are always emitting waves, but most of these are harmless to human health. They can be absolutely devastating to personal electronics. Magnezone that grew up in human care typically know how to avoid damaging electronics, but any unshielded device that gets too close to their body may still end up fried. It is best to keep them in their pokéball whenever possible in the city.

As with their prior stages, magnezone do not require socialization. It is believed that they are always communicating with other magnezone and don’t see a point in bonding with humans or other species. Training and polishing are all they want from a trainer.

Illness

Most magnemite “illnesses” are simply a result of low charge. If they are behaving unusually and have not been charged since their last battle or within the last week, let the magnemite charge for a while and then see if the problem is resolved.

Physical damage is rare. Most battles with a magnemite end when they lose charge, not when they’re shell is broken. If the shell is ever broken, they were probably in a battle where they were dramatically outclassed. There is also very little that can be done to repair a wounded magnemite. If a magnezone is on hand, the repairs can be made. However, the force required to twist a magnemite back into shape is likely to generate powerful EMPs and alter the magnemite’s personality upon reboot.

If a magnezone gets seriously wounded they will float as high as it can and explode. Should a magnezone be killed in a way that does not even allow them to do that, they will probably explode within fifteen minutes of death.

Evolution

Magnemite evolve when a group of three combat-tested magnemite encounter each other. They will engage in a three-way melee until only one still has charge. The winner will charge themselves and then bond with the other two. This involves removing one screw from each, releasing the caps of their own screws and then linking their screws through the holes left in the other magnemite. The new magneton will position themselves in the air so that the dominant magnemite is on top.

Magneton only evolve in places where a very large amount of electricity has been readily available for some time. The magneton will spend even more time than usual charging. Sometimes they will leave to pick up the pieces of dead magnemite and integrate them into their own body. When there are no dead magnemite around, the magneton will simply kill one for parts. During the period where the dominant magnemite’s body is being expanded and restructured, most of the magneton’s cognition occurs in the auxiliary magnemite’s processing chips.

Once a magnezone body is fully completed, the newly evolved pokémon will fly up into the clouds. They will only descend again to breed.

Battle

Magnezone has a limited number of strategies and a limited movepool. But it is very effective at using what options it does have.

Their main role in combat is to levitate high enough over the field that grounded melee attacks cannot reach them. From there they fire off devastating thunderbolts, flash cannons and hyper beams until their target faints. They can also take a moment to lock onto a fast-moving target and all but guarantee that their next attack fries them. This makes them a particularly good counter to glass cannons and arena controllers.

Magnezone are also one of the best counters to steel-types in the metagame. Their unique abilities prevent steel-types from being withdrawn from the field while magnezone is in play. Magnezone can hover above a steel-type and then use their magnetism to pull their target up into the air. Once the target is almost to magnezone, they can be repulsed down towards the ground. This can be repeated until the target has fainted or magnezone runs out of charge.

Magnezone essentially only faint when they lose power. This means that every action, offensive and defensive, takes a toll on their staying power. As such using protect to avoid injury is actually counter-productive, because the shield costs more power than just taking the impact would. This means that stalling them out with a pokémon who can take all of the hits a magnezone can dish out and keep going is usually the best counter-strategy. Blissey, gastrodon, swampert, hippowdon and snorlax can’t do much to hurt magnezone, but magnezone can do very little to hurt them, either. Because magnezone have a clear tell in their attacks (an orb forming in their horseshoe magnets), it’s easy enough to outplay them with mixed protects, recovery moves and occasional attacks. Magnezone will inevitably switch out, but this at least gives the opponent some time to set up hazards or stat boosts.

The best offensive checks to magnezone are generally dragons that can take them on in the air and dish out powerful fire attacks. Hydreigon is their most reliable counter in the metagame, although they are quite rare. Flygon are a tricky matchup: magnezone is likely to take them down with two or three locked-on hyper beams, but flygon’s ground-type attacks can dampen and drain electrical charge, wearing magnezone down quickly. Who goes down first is essentially random.

Due to their limited movepool, magnezone battle similarly on the island challenge as in the competitive circuits. Any trainer with a magnezone is likely to breeze through all but the toughest of late challenge fights.

Magnemite are a common enough choice on the island challenge. They are surprisingly bulky, especially if their trainer can afford an eviolite. Their defensive typing and limited ability to hover away from attacks enhances this. They aren’t particularly weak, either, and unlike most walls they won’t have to rely on poisons or chip damage. However, anything they can’t hurt with thunderbolt probably won’t be hurt at all. Fighting- and fire-types can also usually overpower magnemite.

Magneton are stronger than magnemite offensively but have similar speed and most of the same defensive weaknesses. They can still pull their weight through the end of the island challenge.

Acquisition

The DNR runs a campaign to capture any magnemite they find near human settlements. There are very few wild magneton in Alola. Occasionally a magnezone will show up and undo all of the DNR’s hard work, but this is a once-in-a-decade event.

There are only two permanent magnemite colonies in Alola. The first is usually around Hau’oli City. They move between homes and infrastructure with unsecured electricity, finding a new home when they are shooed away. Locating the colony after a move carries a $500 reward. The other colony is on the outlying islands. Most magneton that do manage to evolve are relocated here, which in turn makes it the place that magnezone usually descend to breed (see Breeding). The government operates a poorly secured offshore windfarm here to drive magnemite away from the populated areas. The property itself is run by a private corporation that charges trainers for each magnemite captured.

Magnemite require a Class II license to adopt, purchase or capture.

Magneton and magnezone may not be captured due to the risks involved in bringing a wild specimen into an urban area. They may be purchased or adopted so long as their original trainer captured them as a magnemite. Magneton and magnezone require a Class III license to possess.

Breeding

Some mineral pokémon reproduce in a way that, in spite of their strange biology, actually bears a good deal of resemblance to conventional organic reproduction. Magnezone is not one of these pokémon.

Sometimes two magnezone will depart from their trainer or orbit and meet up at the place where one member of the pair evolved at. The pair will first conduct repairs on all magnemite and magneton present. When this is finished, the native magnezone will scrounge up enough material to create eight new magnemite. They prefer to do this by recycling the bodies of magnemite that were beyond repair, but they can use their magnetism to mine and purify the necessary materials if need be. Then the non-native magnezone will shape the materials into their final form. The resulting babies have (roughly) the material composition of the native magnezone and the structure of the non-native magnezone.

Anecdotal reports from trainers suggest that magnezone reproduce exactly twice in their lives. They typically do so during periods of unusual solar radiation, such as during sunspots. Sometimes meteorite strikes or passing comets will also trigger reproduction.

It is impossible to breed magnezone in captivity. Captive magnezone will simply float away to reproduce whenever and wherever they feel like it. Some will return after roughly three weeks. Most will not. If your magnezone departs, stay in roughly the same area and make frequent phone calls. If the magnezone has not returned after six weeks then they are not coming back.

Relatives

It is difficult to determine the closest relatives to mineral pokémon as they lack DNA. Some have theorized that magnezone are related to metagross as they are both potential or confirmed extraterrestrials that assemble their offspring and live off the ground. There are good reasons to doubt this connection. Magnezone need to absorb electricity from the environment. Metagross contain a series of reactors that power themselves, although they do occasionally eat meat for fun or intimidation. Radioactive material need to be consumed from time to time to power their reactors. Metagross reproduction also only involves one parent and begins a steady countdown to their demise. Magnezone appear to need two parents but the process does not actively harm either.

Probopass have similar connections to magnezone and assemble their offspring. The composition of probopass is rather different from magnezone as they contain more non-metallic materials. They also cannot fly very high into the air. Instead of scavenging on electricity they feed upon metal and ambient magnetic fields.

For the time being, magnezone are classified in the order Magne with probopass. The classification is controversial within the scientific community.