"It's decided. Let's capture Metagross first, and then go to the Gracidea Fields to capture Shaymin."
After making his decision, Gary went to the Pokémon Department Store in Sandgem Town. Once he had replenished his supplies, he took Magnezone to Windvale Town.
Windvale Town was located in the northern part of the Sinnoh region. It took a long time to reach by heading north. The town was quite far away, almost halfway across Sinnoh.
Magnezone wasn't particularly fast in flight. Starting from Sandgem Town, and with Gary also having to train Gabite regularly along the way, it took him quite a while to reach Windvale Town.
Windvale Town was named after the strong winds that often blew through the area. Because of its unique geographical environment, the town held Pokémon air-ring competitions every month, and only Flying-type Pokémon could participate.
Ash had taken part in a Pokémon air-ring competition when he passed through Windvale Town. His Staravia evolved into Staraptor during the competition.
Gary wasn't interested in the Pokémon air-ring competition because he didn't have any Flying-type Pokémon. Without one, he couldn't participate anyway.
After arriving in Windvale Town, Gary went to the Pokémon Center and asked Nurse Joy about Metagross.
When Nurse Joy heard Gary asking about Metagross's whereabouts, she immediately warned him, "That Metagross is very strong. Many Trainers have tried to capture it before, but they all failed. Some even lost their lives in the attempt. I advise you to give up."
Gary felt that Nurse Joy was making too much of a fuss and might even be making up lies to scare him. Although it wasn't uncommon for Trainers to die in the wild, if people knew there was a wild Pokémon in the area that ate humans, the Pokémon League wouldn't simply sit by and do nothing.
For example, when the Gyarados at the Lake of Rage near Mahogany Town in the Johto region went on a rampage, it attracted Lance's attention, and he went there to deal with it.
If this shiny Metagross really ate people, it would be a major incident, and the Sinnoh League would definitely send someone to get rid of it.
"What should I do if I accidentally encounter it on the road?" Gary asked.
"Don't worry about that. The Metagross only moves within its own territory. There's a warning sign along the road. As long as you don't enter Metagross's territory, you'll be fine," Nurse Joy said.
"Oh, I see."
Gary nodded, thinking to himself, Nurse Joy really isn't very good at lying. If it's as terrifying as she says, how could it stay only within its own territory?
After getting the information he wanted, Gary left the Pokémon Center and rode Magnezone to the area where Metagross was active. It was a gray, rocky valley. The road was covered with rough, uneven stones, making it extremely bumpy to ride over. It was basically only possible to travel on foot.
"Found it."
As Gary walked along the road through the rocky valley, he spotted a sign at a three-way intersection. A picture of a shiny Metagross was painted on it, with a red X drawn across the image to warn people not to take that road.
"Let's go down this road and take a look," Gary said.
"Magne!"
Magnezone nodded and flew toward the area beyond the warning sign. There were almost no wild Pokémon along the way because the Pokémon living nearby knew there was a Metagross here and didn't dare approach.
"Hey, where is Metagross?"
Gary looked around carefully but couldn't find any sign of it. Logically speaking, the Metagross should still be in this area, since no one had captured it yet.
After finding an open space, Gary had Magnezone set him down and ordered, "Magnezone, release your magnetic field."
Magnet Pull was particularly effective against Steel-type Pokémon. It could affect the movements of Steel-type Pokémon within a certain range. As long as the magnetic force was strong enough, any nearby Steel-type Pokémon would be affected.
That shiny Metagross was the ruler of this area. Once it sensed the change in magnetism, it would surely think that another Pokémon was provoking it and come over on its own.
"Magne."
Magnezone began releasing its magnetic force. Electricity crackled around the magnets on its body as the magnetic field spread through the valley.
After a while, Gary noticed that some of the stones in the valley were moving under the influence of the magnetism. However, they were too heavy to float into the air. Otherwise, they would certainly have been pulled toward Magnezone.
"Magne!"
Magnezone suddenly cried out in alarm and turned to face the area behind Gary.
Gary immediately turned around as well and saw a white Metagross flying toward him with its four iron limbs folded against its body.
[Lv. 60 Metagross / Champion]
Elite level!!
Gary was shocked. He had thought this shiny Metagross was only at the quasi-Elite level, but he hadn't expected it to possess Elite-level strength. Its potential wasn't low either.
"Metaa!!"
Realizing that it had been discovered, Metagross landed in front of Gary and Magnezone. It let out a warning growl, probably trying to drive them away.
"Metagross, I want to capture you. Let's have a one-on-one battle. If I win, you'll become my Pokémon," Gary said.
"Metaa!"
Seeing that its warning had failed to drive Gary and Magnezone away, Metagross wasted no more words. Psychic power from Confusion surged from its body and rushed toward Magnezone.
"Use Light Screen to block it," Gary ordered.
Magnezone used Light Screen to block Metagross's Confusion.
"Metaa!!"
Metagross was also surprised. It had thought it could defeat Magnezone with one move, but it hadn't expected Magnezone to block Confusion.
"You really have no manners. I never said I would use Magnezone to fight you," Gary said as he threw a Poké Ball.
"Bang!"
"Roar!"
A tiger-striped Electivire appeared.
"Metaa!"
Upon seeing Electivire, Metagross showed no sportsmanship and immediately opened its mouth, firing a silver Flash Cannon.
"Thunderbolt!"
Electivire instantly fired a golden bolt of lightning. It collided with the silver beam and exploded with a loud bang, producing a cloud of black smoke.
Before Gary could take any further action, a Gyro Ball surrounded by a silver glow rushed out of the haze and attacked Electivire.
"Thunder!" Gary ordered.
Electivire raised one hand, releasing a bolt of lightning from its body into the sky. The lightning then came crashing down at great speed, striking Metagross before its Gyro Ball could hit Electivire.
"Metaa…"
Metagross had believed that its Gyro Ball could sweep aside anything, but it couldn't withstand the Thunder coming from above. Its body was engulfed in golden lightning. Although the surface of its body was made of steel, the lightning instantly injured the flesh underneath, causing its body to go numb and fall to the ground.
"Dynamic Punch!"
Gary seized the opportunity to launch a finishing move. As long as Metagross was confused, he could easily take it down.