The magnet of doom is back and better than ever. A new evolution gave it a massive base 130 Special Attack and decent defenses, while maintaining the same ability that makes sure any Steel-type within its reach won't be leaving anytime soon (albeit with more powerful Steel-types roaming around, that ability is now more useful than ever).
Capture/Training
The best place to find Magnemite is Route 38, to the left of Ecruteak. In addition to the usual ways of selectively finding Pokemon with a certain ability, one method here is to switch to a Steel-type somewhere along the line and try to escape. Just make sure your Steel-type can defeat Magnemite once it finds out it can't escape...
Magnemite evolves into Magneton at Level 30. There are notable moves worth delaying the evolution for, due to the lack of a large level difference at which the two learn moves.
Magneton must be traded to Diamond/Pearl/Platinum and taken to Mt. Coronet, where if it levels up, it will evolve to Magnezone. If you want to, use a Heart Scale on Magneton to teach it Tri Attack before trading it over.
Stats
70 HP, 70 Atk, 115 Def, 130 SpA, 90 SpD, 60 Spe
Base 130 Special Attack is killer, for sure. It also has decent defensive stats, which work well with its large set of resistances. Interestingly enough, its low Speed is actually lower than Magneton's by 10 points...
Abilities
Magnet Pull is the main attraction *cough* here. The ability to keep a Steel-type from escaping is really handy in competitive battling, and even though its in-battle use in-game isn't much, the ability to draw out Steel-types in the wild (particularly Skarmory) makes it worthwhile in the end.
Sturdy isn't much at the moment; it protects Magnezone from one-hit KO attacks like Sheer Cold, which are rare. However, in Black and White, Sturdy will have a Focus Sash effect, leaving Magnezone at 1 HP if hit at full health with a Ground-type attack (or any other move that would KO it in one hit). This makes the ability worth considering, as it means a stray Earthquake won't finish it off too quickly.
Moves
Starting things off, of course, is the classic Thunderbolt. As always, this move can be replaced with Discharge for paralysis or Thunder if used in rain (or Ubers, where rain is common even if it's not your own). The physical/special split allowed Magnezone to play with special Steel-type moves, namely Flash Cannon. The coverage between the two moves is actually not that bad; only Electric-types and certain Steel-resistant Ground-types will give Magnezone trouble.
Magnezone does not have much else in the way of secondary attacks. The best you're going to be able to do is using a Hidden Power to take out certain Steel-types you might trap; Fire in particular is effective for this purpose. Past that, you might look into Signal Beam to lay a smack-down on those weak to the move (namely, a certain Celebi). Tri Attack isn't going to be worth much in competitive battling, but it is a special attack now, and still has a fun secondary effect, making it fine for in-game havoc.
Charge Beam is an attack meant for powering up Magnezone to deadly levels. Magnezone's subpar base 70 attack means normal physical attacks are out of the question, but there's still the option of a nice, powerful Explosion.
Aside from these attack options, Magnezone has a decent set of support options meant to make its job easier. Magnet Rise is actually quite effective on Magnezone; it temporarily removes its crippling 4x Ground-weakness, which means after trapping a Steel-type, it can Rise and stop any of their plans to quake it down.
Metal Sound is situational but can work, either at forcing switches or just crippling an enemy.
For status-crippling, you can use Toxic or Thunder Wave.
Mirror Coat can flip moves back to the opponent, most notably Fire moves. Magic Coat does the same for status moves.
Rain Dance is an option for rain support on Rain teams. Gravity provides a support of an entirely different sort, and opens up the option of Zap Cannon, a move normally with way too low accuracy to be of use but now becomes a decently-accurate move with a paralysis effect if it hits.
Magnezone can also pursue a dual-screen strategy involving Reflect and Light Screen.
Of course, Substitute is always an option.
Effective Movesets
1. Standard Magnet
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Substitute
- Magnet Rise/Explosion
Ability: Magnet Rise
Notes: The concept of this set is a Steel-trapper: switch into Steel-types it can defeat and blast them away while they can't pull out. (Not that in-game opponents typically pull out anyways, and if you're going into the metagame, you'll want a Hidden Power, which is beyond my scope here.) Substitute allows you to scope attacks, and if your opposing Steel is one with Ground-type attacks, Magnet Rise can protect you further. All things considered, though, this set functions perfectly fine as a perfectly normal Magnezone.
2. Attack Magnet
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Tri Attack/Signal Beam/Hidden Power
- Explosion
Item: Choice Scarf/Choice Specs/Life Orb
Note: If your Hidden Power is a good one, use it; otherwise, go for one of the other two. Very effective whether you use Scarf or Specs, although the first works better if you want to go the Magnet Pull route and use this as a Steel-trapper. Life Orb is available for more flexibility at the cost of health.
3. SubCharge the Supermagnet
- Substitute
- Charge Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon/Hidden Power
Item: Leftovers/Salac Berry
Note: Salac Berry can be a fun choice if you have some to spare.
4. Screeching Magnet
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power/Tri Attack/Magnet Rise
- Metal Sound
Item: Life Orb
Note: Metal Sound allows for an alternate way to weaken foes.
5. Dual Screen Magnet
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Thunderbolt/Discharge
- Explosion/Flash Cannon
Item: Light Clay
Closing Notes
Magneton's latest evolution is more powerful than ever, and solid defenses and a great defensive typing only helps it out. Magnezone is one killer magnet, and Steel-types in particular will do well to stay far away from it.
