Magnezone, The Magnet Area Pokémon. Sometimes the magnetism emitted by Magnezone is too strong, making them attract each other so they cannot move. It evolved from exposure to a special magnetic field. Three units generate magnetism. A group tried to use scientific means to make Magnezone evolve, but their efforts ended in failure.
Overview
Good ol’ Magnezone. As one of the many many new evolutions granted to previously fully evolved Pokemon back in Gen 4, Magnezone has been laughing it up with its buddies Mamoswine and Gliscor as the evolutions who managed to stay relevant threats for generations, while others like Dusknoir and the originally overhyped Electivire couldn’t quite make the cut and fell into obscurity. This is due in no small part to the niche bestowed upon Magnezone by its semi-unique ability, Magnet Pull, which allows it to trap steel types and prevent them from switching out. This niche has kept it relevant for generations, and in Gen 6, it’s still every bit as valuable. With the new Fairy types introduced, many Pokemon find it difficult to switch into Fairy types attacks such as powerful Pixilate Hyper Voices from things like Mega Gardevoir and Sylveon… except for Steel types, of course. As a result, Fairy types, in addition to the Dragon types of yesteryear, love Magnezone as a teammate for its ability to trap and dispose of the steel types that threaten them. Not only that, but it can also threaten opposing Fairy types with its own steel typing as well. It may have lost its resistances to Ghost and Dark in the generation shift, but Magnezone is still very much a threat. Underestimate this hunk of metal at your own peril, or weep as your steel types get trapped and obliterated.
Positives
+A fantastic base 130 special attack lets it hit pretty hard.
+70/115/90 defenses are pretty solid, meaning it can take a hit or two.
+Steel typing is always great defensively, given it resists the popular Fairy, Dragon, Rock, and Flying attacks, among other types.
+Its ability, Magnet Pull, is fantastic with its potential to prevent steel types from switching out, letting them be trapped and obliterated.
+Its typing makes it immune to both Poison and Paralysis, and it’s not terribly bothered by Burn, so most status effects are not a concern to Magnezone.
+Both of its pre-evolutions are viable in certain formats, so it is one of the rare Pokemon whose entire evolutionary line is useful to some extent.
Negatives
-Base 60 speed is very slow; to put it in perspective, it’s actually slower than its pre-evolution!.
-A 4x weakness to Ground and 2x weaknesses to Fire and Fighting are detrimental, given all three types are very common offensively and found on virtually every team..
-Its movepool is extremely shallow, and consists almost entirely of STAB moves, forcing it to rely on Hidden Power for coverage. .
-Several of the steel types it tries to trap can turn the tables on it with Fighting and Ground attacks if it’s not careful. .
-Magnezone thrives upon use of Choice items, so you absolutely must predict well..
-It’s clearly floating in the air. Why exactly doesn’t it get Levitate?
Abilities
Magnet Pull: Steel types cannot run nor switch while this Pokémon is in battle. Because the opponent’s switching is blocked, the opponent cannot switch on the turn this Pokémon switches out of battle. The opponent may still switch with Baton Pass. - This ability is Magnezone’s niche, and the reason you should be using Magnezone at all. Many teams rely on steel types like Scizor, Ferrothorn, and Skarmory to counter or check specific threats, so the ability to trap them and dispose of them can break down your opponent’s cores to give you an edge. Such a great ability, and the very reason to use Magnezone.
Sturdy: The Pokémon will remain with 1 HP if it was going to be knocked out by a move when at full Hit Points, and it is immune to One Kit KO moves. - Sturdy’s not actually a bad ability. Preventing what would be a 1HKO definitely has its merit, but the issue is that without Magnet Pull, Magnezone loses its niche, so it has no place for Sturdy in singles.
Hidden Ability (Available):
Analytic: Attack power increases by 30% if the Pokémon is the last Pokémon to attack this turn. - Like Sturdy, Analytic is not actually a bad ability. In fact, Magnezone can take advantage of it pretty well with its low speed, to afford it a boost in power equivalent to holding a Life Orb. But unfortunately, once again, Magnezone thrives on its ability to trap steel types. Analaytic can be situationally good, but it’s not having the profound effect that Magnet Pull is in single batles.
Movesets
Trapped in the Magnezone
-Volt Switch
-Thunderbolt
-Flash Cannon
-Hidden Power (Fire)
Item Attached: Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
This is Magnezone’s most used set right now in single battles, and one that allowed him to rise to from middling usage at the start of Gen 6. The movepool is pretty standard, if for no other reason than the fact that Magnezone really doesn’t have many other options. Magnezone typically carries both Volt Switch and Thunderbolt for their different usages; Thunderbolt hits a bit harder on those things that you really need to secure the KO upon and it can be spammed, but Volt Switch’s switching mechanisms can allow you to grab the momentum while dealing damage at the same time to keep your opponent guessing. Flash Cannon follows up with Magnezone’s secondary STAB which can manage to hit a few things that resist its Electric STAB hard, and also gives it a reliable way to 2HKO most Fairy types, including ones like Mega Gardevoir and certain variants of Sylveon. Hidden Power Fire is the crux of Magnezone’s set; although weak at 60 base power, the coverage that it affords cannot be denied. It is thanks to Hidden Power Fire that Magnezone is able to deal with things like Scizor and Ferrothorn, and once the steel types are out of the way, your Fairies can usually spam Pixilate Hyper Voice or Play Rough to their hearts’ content.
The Nature, EV Spread, and item may seem a bit peculiar on a Pokemon as slow as Magnezone; however, max speed and a Choice Scarf flips the speed tiers upside down by making it surprisingly fast, letting it outspeed up to Speed natured base 114’s. As a result, it becomes able to check things it otherwise wouldn’t be able to, such as Mega Pinsir and Adamant Talonflame; due to its 4x resistance to Flying, it can switch into their “Birdspam”, and then either 1HKO them or force them out due to outspeeding them before their coverage moves can dispose of Magnezone. Dumping the rest of the EVs into Special Attack goes without saying, to maximize the damage you do. The final 4 EVs go into defense, in order to minimize Stealth Rock damage.
Other Options
Choice Specs, Signal Beam, Tri-Attack, Hidden Power Ice/Grass, Magnet Rise, Thunder Wave
-Choice Specs can be an option instead of Choice Scarf, in order to give Magnezone a ridiculous amount of power, enough to 1HKO some variants of Sylveon with Stealth Rock in play. However, due to the significantly lower speed, Magnezone becomes unable to check things that it otherwise would, such as the aforementioned examples of Mega Pinsir and Talonflame. If you prefer raw power though, then Specs is the way to go.
-Signal Beam is one of the few special attack options that Magnezone has. Its coverage isn’t especially good, but if you really want, it is an option. Unfortunately you usually have to drop one of the two electric attacks, at the cost of losing a little utility, since you have to forfeit either Volt Switch’s switching mechanism or Thunderbolt’s ability to be spammed.
-Tri-Attack is another special attack that Magnezone has at its disposal, and its sole niche is hitting things such as Water/Ground types who would otherwise resist your entire movepool. That said, its coverage is limited, and you again have to forfeit utility by giving up another move to fit it into your movepool. Plus, being able to hit Water/Ground types neutrally isn’t even that big of a concern.
-Hidden Power Ice or Grass may seem appealing to try and lure in things like Garchomp, Landorus, or Swampert and prey on their 4x weaknesses, but without Hidden Power Fire, Magnezone struggles a little bit more with Scizor and becomes walled by Ferrothorn. Other Hidden Power types just don’t quite make the cut in terms of coverage, especially since a Magnezone that struggles to KO the steel types it traps is just counterproductive.
-Magnet Rise may be tempting, given it gives Magnezone an immunity to its 4x weakness. However, it has difficulty fitting it into its movepool, since it only works with non-choiced sets, which mean you’ll lack the power and speed necessary to be a more prominent threat. Plus, it only lasts for five turns, and wears off immediately if you switch out, so it’s not all that worthwhile.
-Thunder Wave is always handy, given most things that aren’t Ground or Electric types absolutely hate switching into it and being paralyzed. That said, Magnezone thrives with choice items, and being locked into Thunder Wave kinda sucks. Plus, Magnezone needs to do as much damage as possible as quickly as possible on the things it traps, so it tends to be better to leave your status needs to another Pokemon.
Double & Triple Battle Options
Magnezone was the go to Skarmory slayer in previous generations, so much that some Skarmory held a Shed Shell in favor of Leftovers as a way to switch out if they found themselves face to face with Magnezone. Despite this not being relevant to Doubles/Triples it is an indicator of the impact Magnezone had at one point in time, the question now is... in the face of Mega Evolutions and new Pokemon, will Magnezone shine again? The answer is dependent on how relevant opposing Steel types are for the format. Despite that, Magnezone can hold its own.
Unidentified Grounded Object
- Discharge / Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power Fire / Metal Sound
- Protect
Item Attached: Air Balloon / Focus Sash / Safety Goggles
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 236 HP / 252 SAtk / 20 Speed
Modest Natutre
The EVs here are meant to maximize damage output. Despite the very steep power creep introduced by Mega Evolutions, base 130 Special Attack still hits hard.. for now. the 20 Speed is for speed creeping the uninvested neutral base 60 tier, and things trying to outspeed them too. Going first means a lot in these fast paced games. But not enough to warrant 252 speed on Magnezone here. The rest of the EVs go to HP to keep Magnezone alive a little longer.
Unfortunately there isn't an item that begs to be on this Magnezone set. The ones suggested provide a bonus while not limiting Magnezone's already limited options.
The set is about as straightforward as it can get, the Electric STAB of choice is up to preference, Discharge hits EVERYTHING surrounding Magnezone with the very disruptive 30% Paralysis rate. Easily worked around by the Discharge user, not so much for the opponent. While Thunderbolt will outright hit harder, being single target and no team member accommodations are needed. Flash Cannon is the secondary STAB, but it also keeps the Fairies away. Hidden Power Fire is one way of working through opposing Steel types not named Heatran, while Metal Sound is a riskier way of working through just about anything on the special side, not just opposing Steels.
When one sees a Magneton/Magnezone on the opposing team, one can reasonably assume that steel types give them a little trouble. Knowing that the opponent will consider all of their options before switching in or leaving in a steel type for Magnezone to take advantage of, Gardevoir seems an excellent partner, only truly fearing Scizor and Metagross for Bullet Punch but in return terrorizing opposing Dragons, Fighting types and Fire Blast Tyranitar that would normally end Magnezone. Gardevoir also can utilize Trick Room for Magnezone's Base 60 speed!
Magnezone's biggest flaw is that it doesn't have Levitate to rely on for dodging Earthquakes alongside Magnet Pull. With that one immunity it would be able to switch in on so much more, and not be a risky pick for the team. It has never been portrayed in any fashion as a Pokemon that rolls helplessly on the ground. It never needed the aid of helium balloons to levitate where it desires. Should Pokemon move towards giving Pokemon two Abilities to work with, we may one day see a Levitate + Magnet Pull Magnezone. Could you imagine that future where Magnezones can switch in on Garchomps?
Countering Magnezone
Magnezone is a special attacker, so predictably, the special sponges such as Chansey, Blissey, and Assault Vest Goodra stop it cold. Try as it might, it fails to do any kind of respectable damage to them, so the best it can hope for is to Volt Switch out. Specially defensive Gliscor is only 4HKO’ed by Flash Cannon and 1HKOs in return with Earthquake, but Spec Variants of Magnezone can manage to sneak in a 2HKO if Gliscor isn’t careful. Specially defensive Heatran is only 4HKO’ed half the time by Thunderbolt, and even with Specs it’s only a consistent 3HKO. Meanwhile, Heatran can 2HKO with Lava Plume or 1HKO with Earth Power. Every single Water/Ground Pokemon can counter Magnezone, such as (Mega) Swampert, Gastrodon, Quagsire, and even lesser used ones such as Seismitoad and Whisash. All of these options resist Flash Cannon and Hidden Power Fire, while being immune to its electric STAB altogether, and can soundly 1HKO it with Earthquake. Although not a great Pokemon in general, incidentally Camerupt makes a surprisingly good counter to Magnezone, as it’s only 4HKO’ed at best by Flash Cannon, and is immune to the Electric STAB attacks. Even with Specs and Stealth Rock, Magnezone can only 2HKO Camerupt about 30% of the time. Meanwhile, Earth Power and Fire Blast both 1HKO Magnezone with ease, and sets that utilize Lava Plume can also 2HKO. When it is released, Mega Camerupt will only make this an easier counter with better bulk and more power. Adding on to the list of surprising counters would be none other than Stunfisk; even Choice Specs Magnezone cannot consistently 4HKO physically defensive Stunfisk, while the more common Scarf Magnezone is looking at an 8HKO. And of course, Stunfisk’s Earth Power then proceeds to 1HKO Magnezone with ease. Finally, the Ground type that everyone forgot, Claydol, can deal with Magnezone without much duress. Scarf Magnezone only 5HKO’s Claydol, while Specs Magnezone can barely 3HKO. Meanwhile, Claydol’s Earth Power reliably 1HKO’s Magnezone, even if it invests in a bit of bulk.
Checking Magnezone is significantly easier due to its common weaknesses, including a 4x weakness to ground, and the fact that its reliance on Choice items locks it into whatever attack it uses. Mega Charizard X does not mind any of Magnezone’s attacks once it’s mega evolved and ruins it with Flare Blitz or Earthquake, but switching in as standard Charizard can be disastrous. Ground types such as Landorus, Landorus-T, and Garchomp can all 1HKO Magnezone without difficulty, and the latter two often carry Choice Scarves themselves, allowing them outspeed Scarf Magnezone. Excadrill can outspeed Specs Magnezone, and Scarf or Sand Rush variants still manage to outspeed Scarf Magnezone, while it promptly destroys Magnezone by 1HKOing with Earthquake. However, Hidden Power Fire can do some serious damage to Excadrill, with a low chance to 1HKO, and Excadrill won’t be able to switch out due to its steel typing. Assault Vest Conkeldurr can 2HKO with the combination of Drain Punch and Mach Punch, while the former will heal back damage taken, and generally doesn’t fear much from Scarf Magnezone. However, Specs Magnezone can manage to 2HKO Conkeldurr with Thunderbolt, so it has to be wary of that. Dugtrio may hate to switch into Magnezone’s Flash Cannon, but it outspeeds even Scarf Magnezone, and soundly 1HKOs it with Earthquake. Plus, as a delightfully ironic twist, Dugtrio actually traps Magnezone so it can’t switch out. Flygon, while not as good as the aforementioned Garchomp, can soundly 1HKO Magnezone with Earthquake and often carries a Scarf itself to outspeed Scarf Magnezone. It certainly doesn’t like switching into Flash Cannon, though, which can always 2HKO, and Specs Magnezone has a low chance to 1HKO. Other common scarfers who will always outspeed Magnezone and 1HKO it include things such as Infernape, Mienshao, Krookodile, Darmanitan, Chandelure, and even Diggersby. Any strong STAB Fire, Fighting, or Ground attack will usually 1HKO Magnezone, and as long as the user can either take an attack or outspeed Mangezone, they can check it fairly reliably.
Pre-Evolution Corner - Magneton
Hit like a Magneton of Bricks
-Volt Switch
-Thunderbolt
-Flash Cannon
-Hidden Power (Grass)
Item Attached: Eviolite
Ability: Analytic
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
Back in Gen 3, Magneton was living the dream, being the one to get the honor of trapping Skarmory and Forretress (as Scizor as not quite as relevant at the time and Ferrothorn didn’t even exist) so they could be removed. Unfortunately, Magnezone usurped that throne due to better bulk and power, so Magneton only had an extra 10 base speed to differentiate itself. Gen 5 gave it Eviolite to make it even bulkier than Magnezone, but at the same time, it needed something more to differentiate itself from Magnezone, who could carry Choice items to bolster its speed or power. And here we have the result; Analytic Magneton. It’s important to remember that you can run the same sets as Magnezone on Magneton (such as Choice Scarf), but in general, Magnezone’s higher power and bulk makes it a better choice for a Choice set. However, you can still run a Choice set if Magnezone is not able to be used, such as tiered play.
Magneton's movepool tends to be very similar to that of Magnezone; it packs Thunderbolt, Volt Switch, and Flash Cannon as its main STAB attacks. Having both Thunderbolt and Volt Switch lets you choose between the different utility that each attack brings (being able to spam vs. switching), while Flash Cannon can hit a lot of Ground types pretty hard if they think they're safe to switch into an Electric STAB. This Magneton tends to be used in formats where Magnezone cannot be used, and in said formats, trapping steel types is far less valuable (not to mention a fair number of steel types don’t mind being trapped by Magneton since they can dispatch it or escape). As a result, two major changes occur to this moveset; Hidden Power Fire is replaced with Hidden Power Grass, and Magnet Pull is replaced with Analytic. Given the lack of things in lower level play that have a 4x weakness to Fire, a neutral STAB Thunderbolt actually outdamages a 2x SE Hidden Power Fire. As a result, Hidden Power Grass takes its place to deal with Seismitoad and Gastrodon who otherwise wall you. You can still opt for Hidden Power Fire if you’re terrified of Escavalier, though. Analytic is the crux of this set, and what helps set it apart from your standard trapping set; by acting second, Magneton gets a 30% boost in power. Keep in mind that this does include switching, which, thanks to its +6 Priority, means that any switch-in will be hit hard with a 30% power increase.
Modest nature maximizes Magneton’s power, while the rest of the EVs go into speed. You might be thinking, “If I’m using Analytic, shouldn’t I be opting for minimum speed?”, and that’s certainly a valid observation. However, being outsped by something like Exploud, Omastar, or Clawitzer can cause them to turn around and 1HKO you instead. It’s important to remember that although Analytic can afford you a boost in power on switches and fast threats, not every hit needs to gain the Analytic boost, much the same way that not every attack in Scizor’s movepool would need to gain a Technician boost. As a result, you want to still be able to outspeed certain threats, rather than trying to be as slow as possible. Magneton can force switches anyway, so you'll be seeing that Analytic boost fairly often regardless.
Pre-Evolution Corner - Magnemite
Magnemite Makes Right
-Flash Cannon
-Volt Switch
-Hidden Power (Ground)
-Recycle
Item Attached: Berry Juice
Ability: Sturdy
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 240 SAtk / 236 Spe
Modest Nature
Here we have the other end of the evolutionary chain, with little Magnemite. And as it so happens, Magnemite happens to be a rather potent Pokemon in the Little Cup. Unlike its evolutions, Magnemite actually benefits immensely from Sturdy, due to the nature of LC. With such low HP due to being at level 5, Berry Juice can be a full heal, and thanks to Sturdy letting it survive a lethal hit, it can go from 1 HP back to a full 19 HP on what would be a 1HKO; not only that, but by virtue of being returned to full HP, Sturdy can activate once again.
By now, you’re probably used to hearing it, but Flash Cannon and Volt Switch are Magnezone’s two STAB attacks. Volt Switch is an easy way to gain momentum, given you can switch to an appropriate counter when facing a slower threat, and against faster threats, you can get a free switch for whatever you bring in. Flash Cannon is valuable for its ability to 2HKO most ground types who might try to switch-in, which is made easier by the Sturdy + Berry Juice combo. Hidden Power Ground lets Magnemite deal with a few things that would otherwise wall it, such as Chinchou and opposing Magnemite. Recycle is an interesting addition to Magnemite’s movepool, and one that has amazing trolling potential. That same Sturdy + Berry Juice combo that has been mentioned before can be abused multiple times with Recycle returning Berry Juice over and over.
The nature and EVs maximize Magnemite’s special attack, while simultaneously bolstering its speed. A Timid nature can be chosen to allow Magnemite to outspeed a few more offensive threats, but you will notice a decrease in power.
Magne-Mighty
--Recycle/Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Flash Cannon
-Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Fire
Item Attached: Berry Juice
Ability: Sturdy
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 240 SpAtk / 236 Spe
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk) / Modest Nature (+SpAtk, -Atk)
Magnemite proves itself as a very solid pokemon in Little Cup due to it’s insanely high Special Attack, pivoting, decent coverage and strong STABs. Usually Magnemite tend to run a “Steel-trapper” set due to it’s ability Magnet Pull. It is very useful, but with Berry Juice and access to Sturdy, it becomes double the trouble. Magnemite also has access to the move Recycle, letting it get another one of it’s item if used. This makes Sturdy + Berry Juice (which will heal all your HP at level 5) infinite as long as Recycle is used. Volt Switch is an amazing STAB and great for pivoting and putting your team in a better situation.Thunderbolt is stronger than Volt Switch, but lacks the switching. Flash Cannon is also a very strong STAB that nails Fairies and Rock-Types. The last move is Hidden Power; the type can vary depending on your team’s coverage. Ground hits Steel, Electric and Fire types, while hitting Larvesta for good neutral damage. Grass is aimed at tanky Water Types aka Chinchou and Ground Types. Fire is solely aimed at Steels that resist Ground like Ferroseed, but this is less popular. Sturdy and Berry Juice work wonderfully together and help tank hits and let you possibly kill things with Magnemite’s high Special Attack. EVs max out Special Attack and Speed. Timid nature makes you go slightly faster, outpacing certain threats such as Shellder, Adamant Scraggy, and Porygon. Modest lets you hit even harder. Hazards are a pain for Magnemite, as it breaks Sturdy and lets it be possibly KO’ed from one HP off of full health. Magnemite brings excellent tempo and damage to a team packed with strong STABs, coverage and much staying power.
Wouldn’t want to Brag-nemite, but...
-Thunderbolt
-Volt Switch
-Flash Cannon
-Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Grass / Hidden Power Fire
Item Attached: Choice Scarf
Ability: Sturdy
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 240 SpAtk / 236 Spe
Modest Nature (+SpAtk, -Atk)
Magnemite can also run an effective Choice Scarf set, as with it, it can outspeed the entire unboosted meta. It also helps that it has access to a switching move like U-turn and very strong STABs. Thunderbolt is a very strong STAB that doesnčt switch if you need a bit more damage for a revenge kill. Volt Switch lets Magnemite come in, outspeed, damage and switch out without fear of being stuck in a move due to Choice Scarf. Flash Cannon is the other very strong STAB that crushes the aforementioned Fairies and Rock-Types. Hidden Power type is still up to preference and your team’s coverage. Sturdy is prefered due to it making Magnemite able to tank a OHKO, but Magnet Pull isn’t unusable. Magnet Pull would be better in a situation where there are many Steel-Types like Ferroseed. Sturdy just is generally more useful due to not many Steel-Types in Little Cup. Modest is the nature of choice for Choice Scarf, since you are already fast enough to outspeed things. The extra damage is very useful. This set is more countered by well predictions like most Choice sets. If you can make Magnemite waste it’s Electric STAB by switching into a Ground-Type or Chinchou, you force a switch, so you can set up something for later or kill their next Pokemon. You can also switch into something that resists if you think it’s going to use one of it’s weaker coverage moves. This tends to yield the same results. Magnemite still brings pain to the table very fast.
Locations in Games
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game
Colosseum/XD:
Not in game
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Magneton
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Magneton
Black/White:
Evolve Magneton(White)
Trade from White, Black 2, White 2 (Black)
Black 2/White 2:
Evolve Magneton
X/Y:
Evolve Magneton
Animé Appearences
