For this week’s Interesting Specimen post I’m going to be covering another Pokemon from Generation One and its evolutions. I’m actually surprised that I haven’t done this Pokemon sooner since it’s an old favorite of mine. Presenting mechanical Pokemon, Magnemite, and its evolved forms, Magneton and Magnezone.
As I mentioned last week I usually try and use a picture of the fully evolved form of the Pokemon for these posts. But since Magnezone wasn’t introduced until Generation Four I thought this image would be more appropriate (plus I couldn’t find a good enough picture of Magnezone). Anyway, the most obvious reason for the Magnemite evolution line being in this category is that they’re mechanical life forms. It’s a total mystery how such a life form could occur in nature. In fact I was reading Bulbapidia as sort of a refresher to prepare myself for this post and found that apparently Magnemite, and by extension its evolved forms, existed over 1,500 years in the past, which makes one wonder about their origins. Perhaps they’re some form of alien technology come to life or the product of some lost civilization. We may never know the truth.
Originally, Magnemite and Magneton were simply Electric-type Pokemon in the first generation. But that changed with the introduction of the Steel-type in Generation Two. Magnemite and its evolved forms are able to float using electromagnetic waves generated by the magnets on its body. These waves can be powerful enough to damage electrical equipment. The Beldum evolution line float using a similar magnetic force, only they use a form of psychic power. But the fact that the Beldum family is also a form of mechanical life, combined with their type and similar evolution methods, makes one wonder if there isn’t some relation between Magnemite and Beldum.
In the Games: In Pokemon Red and Blue, Magenmite and Magneton can be found in the old abandoned Power Plant that is the roost of the legendary Zapdos. When you think about it, it’s a little irritating that most of the Electric-type Pokemon can’t be reached until later in the game. I mean sure, you can get to the Power Plant once you get Surf after the fifth gym, but it’s still a little annoying. Of course in Pokemon Yellow, Magemite can also be found in a patch of grass near the entrance of the Rock Tunnel, but then things go back to the way they were in FireRed and LeafGreen. I guess I should note before moving on that Magneton can be found within Cerulean Cave, but by that time the game has pretty much been beaten.
In Generation Two, Magnemite can be found on various routes in Johto and Kanto. In Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, both Magnemite and Magneton can be found within another abandoned power plant known as New Mauville. Unlike the Kanto Power Plant there isn’t as wide a variety of Electric Pokemon in New Mauville, but it is a good place to train your Ground-types. In Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, Magnemite can be found in a place called the Fuego Ironworks. When Generation Five rolled around though, Magemite were exclusive to the White version’s White Forest, but in both Black 2 and White 2 they can be found at a place known as the Virbank Industrial Complex.
Since the third generation Magnemite and its evolved forms have had two Abilities, Sturdy and Magnet Pull. Sturdy is a decent Ability that stops One-Hit-KO moves like Fissure from working. Though I guess I’m a little fonder of Magnet Pull, which can stop other Steel-type Pokemon from leaving the battle. From what I’ve read about Emerald, if a Pokemon with Magnet Pull is put at the front of the party it can cause more Steel-types to appear. It’d be a heck of a lot more useful Ability if there were Roaming Legendary Pokemon that were Steel-types, but oh well.
Evolution: At level thirty, a trio of Magnemite will bond together to form a single Magneton. Of course both the games and the anime have shown that the Magnemite in question simply divides into three and merge together into one unit. The same thing seems to happen with Beldum and Metang. When Generation Four rolled around the concept of Area Based Evolution was introduced, and it was discovered that when leveled up in a certain area Magneton cold evolve further into Magnezone. When this evolution occurs, the three Magnemite bodies that form Magneton fuse together into a sort of flying saucer-type robot. The only two areas where this evolution occurs are Mt. Coronet in Sinnoh, and the Chargestone Cave in Unova. This is due to the intense magnetic field that exists at both locations.
The First of Their Kind: Back when the Pokemon franchise was still young, Magnemite and Magneton were among the most unique Pokemon of their time, as they were among the first known mechanical Pokemon. And due to my love of robots they were instant favorites of mine. Since that time though, there have been a lot of what could be considered mechanical Pokemon. I’ve already mentioned the Beldum evolution line, and of course there’s the legendary Registeel, and I suppose by extension its fellow Golems. Then we have the Klink evolution line and Golett and Golurk. But at the beginning of it all, there was Magnemite.
That pretty much wraps it up for this week. I have a couple of ideas for next week’s post, but I haven’t decided which one I’ll do. So until then stay tuned.
