"There has to be some other way to solve this. Edgar, can't your country send over some money or some artifacts as an apology?"
Edgar clenched his fists and grit his teeth. His balding head turned a shade of red, and he spat out his reply. "No, Red. Not to these cretins." He then got to his feet and began shouting, pointing at a tan, wrinkly old man sitting across the table. "He is representative of his whole region, and a region of savages and uncivilized idiots at that! He's been insulting me and Unova this whole time, and now you want me to give him gifts as a reward?"
The accused man got to his feet as well, and under his droopy eyelids his green eyes flashed dangerously. "You're going to shout at us for insulting you? Your damn country sent over spies to steal our Orbs, for Arceus' sake!"
Red sighed. The conference was not going well at all, and the Unovan and Hoennese representatives had been at each other's throats the whole time. The two clearly disliked each other, and everything Red said only seemed to make the mood worse.
As the two old men continued to shout at each other, Red glanced over at the fourth representative in the room. She was a short blonde girl from Kalos, and Red guessed that she was no more than twenty years old. She fidgeted nervously in her seat, unwilling to get involved in the heated argument that was only getting worse by the second. That left the mediation of the conference squarely in Red's hands, and was doing a terrible job of ensuring that things stayed calm.
"Will you two stop? If we don't come to an agreement, we'll have another war on our hands." Though not very loud, Red's voice had a certain quality to it that gave it a sort of strength. When he spoke, the two arguing representatives ceased their yelling and looked at him.
Jeb, the representative from Hoenn, spoke first. "We never wanted war, but when Unova sends over spies to attack us, what are we to do? They have left us no other option."
Edgar seethed at that. "It was retaliation for everything Hoenn has done to us over the years. You've set high and unfair tariffs on Unovan goods, you've refused to let our military cross through your waters even in peacetime, you've voted against us on every major issue in the United Nations... I could go on, but then we'd be here forever!"
Red interrupted before Jeb could form a reply. "That's true, but Hoenn has never actually done anything blatantly illegal against Unova. No matter what Hoenn may have done over the years, Unova is at fault here."
Jeb smirked. "See? Everyone with common sense knows who is at fault here. Just admit you're wrong, Edgar, and save you and your region some embarrassment."
"You cannot be serious. Red, Hoenn has conducted many harmful covert operations on Unovan soil in the past."
Probably, Red thought, but they've never been caught. You get caught, you pay the price. Just as Red was about to put his thoughts into more gentler words, Jeb spoke again.
"Maybe so, but we've never been caught before, and you can't prove anything." He smirked again. "We're not stupid enough to leave behind evidence. Unovans, on the other hand..."
That was the last straw, and everyone in the room knew it. Edgar tossed a pokeball into the air and a large krookodile appeared. It snapped its jaws with a loud crack and growled, and soon enough everyone was releasing pokemon.
Jeb had sent out a sceptile and Red sent out his poliwrath and his espeon. He didn't see the girl from Kalos anywhere.
The krookodile charged the sceptile, who dodged the attack nimbly. Edgar and Jeb both had more pokeballs in their hands, and Red knew he had to act quickly.
"Vee, deal with the sceptile! Poli, take out that krookodile!"
The poliwrath leapt at the krookodile and sent it to the ground with a powerful punch. As the lizard struggled to get up, Poli blasted it in the face with a stream of compact bubbles. As Poli moved away from his now-unconscious opponent, he was hit with a hyper beam attack that sent him crashing through the wall. Red turned and saw that Edgar had sent out a chandelure and a scrafty.
Vee had more or less incapacitated the sceptile, crippling its speed with his psychic abilities and then peppering it with long-range attacks. However, Jeb had also released more pokemon, and Vee struggled to avoid the banette and mightyena that chased after him.
Red released Pika, his pikachu, and ordered him to try and paralyze the representative's pokemon. Even as Red's pokemon attempted to stop the fighting, the battle only continued to get more intense. More pokemon were released, and Red found it hard to concentrate amidst the chaos.
Suddenly, Red heard a loud bang and took cover behind a chair as he simultaneously reached for a pokeball. Red peeked out from behind the chair and saw the representative from Kalos holding a smoking gun in her hand, a burly pangoro standing next to her menacingly. He turned and saw the Unovan representative fall to the ground, a bullet hole in his back. As he looked back at the girl in shock, he noticed that the barrel of the gun was now pointed directly at him.
Before the girl could fire, Pika leapt at her, a yellow, electric blur which knocked her to the ground.
"Poli! Get that pangoro!" Red decided that the girl was the main threat at the moment, now that Edgar's pokemon were leaderless. The poliwrath engaged the pangoro, both of them circling around each other and looking for an opening. Pika seemed to be doing just fine with the Kalosian representative, and the girl was subjected to a fury of electrical shocks. Red had resolved to try and keep it as bloodless as possible when the conflict started, but now that someone was dead, he didn't care anymore.
"Make sure she can't release another pokemon, Pika!"
Meanwhile, Poli continued to battle the pangoro. The poliwrath had the upper hand, and though he was smaller, he was landing a lot more punches than the pangoro was. Suddenly, Edgar's scrafty joined the fight and blindsided the pangoro, jumping on top of it and bashing its skull with its fists. The pangoro went down, but the scrafty continued to pound the bear's head, its fists coated in red from the pangoro's blood.
Red looked around and saw that Jeb and his pokemon were gone, leaving Edgar's trainer-less pokemon in the conference room. A few seconds later, a group of Hoennese soldiers came running into the room with their guns and their pokemon. Before Red could say anything, Edgar's pokemon began attacking the soldiers.
Red returned his own pokemon so that they would not be caught in the crossfire and hid under the table. He glanced out and saw a braviary tear apart a soldier, his entrails spilling out of his body as the bird punctured him with its deadly talons. He also saw a pack of three mightyena swarm the chandelure, easily tearing the ghost apart despite their singed pelts.
Red was shocked by the unnecessary violence, but there was nothing he could do. The soldiers were more likely to shoot him and his pokemon than listen to him, and Edgar's pokemon were confused and angry and definitely would not calm down. Red flinched as he saw a scyther decapitate the scrafty, and the gunfire grew more intense as a liepard pounced at the group of soldiers.
After a few more minutes of gunfire, growling, and screaming, everything went quiet. The remainder of the Unovan representative's pokemon had been neutralized, and three soldiers lay dead. As the soldiers began moving about the room, Red emerged from his hiding spot.
"Don't shoot! I'm coming out." Red slowly slid out from under the table and stood up. The room was covered in blood and gore, and the smell of gunpowder hung heavily in the air.
The soldiers fixed their rifles at him and the mightyena growled. "Hands up!"
Red put his hands up, and the soldiers surrounded him and escorted him out of the room. As he was walking, all he could think about was how badly he had failed. There was no going back, and he knew what lay ahead now.
"I do not understand why you are causing such an uproar. I have made no threatening movements towards you, and I have been nothing but cordial, yet you still seem intent on attacking me."
"Metagross are territorial creatures," Gary spat back, one hand still tightly clenched around a pokeball. "They are known to kill anyone who encroaches upon their territory."
"Yet I have not attacked you, nor do I have any intention of doing so."
"Yeah, because you know you can't beat us. You're waiting for us to drop our guard and then you'll strike."
Alfgar sighed. "Gary, I don't think it's going to attack us. Can we at least listen to what it has to say?"
The metagross' red eyes turned to look at Alfgar. "Thank you. Now, if I may, I have a proposal I would like to set out before you gentlemen. I know what your objective is, and I would like to help you accomplish it."
"How do you know what we're here to do?" Spencer asked.
"All high-level trainers come to Sky Pillar for the same reason: to catch Rayquaza. Even though I can tell you are all capable trainers, I still believe you could benefit from my assistance."
"And what do you want in return?" Alfgar inquired.
"Nothing. I would just like to see that Rayquaza is beaten and that he learns his place. I have a long-standing grudge against him, for reasons that I would prefer not to discuss at the moment."
Alfgar considered the offer. One on hand, it seemed too good to be true. Why would a metagross randomly offer its help? On the other hand, the metagross did seem to be powerful and it could be useful against Rayquaza. Even though Gary had assured him numerous times that they could defeat Rayquaza, Alfgar still had his doubts.
"Ha! You want nothing in return? You expect me to believe that?" Gary turned to Alfgar. "This metagross is definitely up to something."
"Up to what, if I may ask? I do not want you dead, or else I would have attacked while your backs were turned and I was still hidden in the darkness. All I want is to help you defeat Rayquaza. The last group that came through here refused my offer, and they ended up dead."
"Right. You probably killed them," Gary accused.
"I say we let it come," Alfgar said. The metagross' speech capabilities were far too advanced if it had just sat in Sky Pillar and killed travelers all its life, and Alfgar had a feeling that Rayquaza would be extremely difficult to defeat. He figured that the group could definitely use the metagross' help.
The metagross looked at Alfgar, but it was hard to read its expression. "You will not regret this decision. I am sure that I will be of use."
Gary scowled, but conceded. "Fine. But if he kills any of us, the blood is on your hands."
Alfgar didn't mind that much; his hands were practically stained red because of all the killing he had done. "Do you have a name?" He asked.
"Yes, but not one you humans would understand. It is a series of telepathic signals and cues that - "
"I think 'Steelshanks' would be a good name for you," Gary interrupted.
Spencer grinned. "'Steelshanks.' I like it."
"Fine. Now, if we are done here, we should keep moving. There are many creatures lurking in the shadows that I would prefer to avoid." With that, Steelshanks lifted his legs to his head and started levitating he slowly moved through the air to keep pace with the rest of the group.
The group continued upwards for a few more hours, and the journey was dreary and tiring. Alfgar had asked Steelshanks about his past, but the metagross gave vague answers and did not reveal much. However, Alfgar did learn that Steelshanks used to have a trainer, but he would not say what had happened to his trainer or why he left him.
Eventually the group reached the final floor, and light seeped in from above the staircase across the room.
"How do we even know Rayquaza's up there?" Spencer asked. "I doubt he just sits there and waits for trainers to come by."
"On the contrary. That is exactly what he does. Rayquaza always knows when a trainer has entered the Sky Pillar, and each time he waits for them to ascend the tower. Unless they have been killed on the way up, these travelers reach the top and find Rayquaza waiting for them. Rayquaza enjoys toying with and killing trainers and their pokemon, and he views them as a form of amusement. I am confident that we will find him waiting there."
The group had finally reached the staircase, and they looked at each other nervously before Gary began climbing upwards. The rest of the group followed, and soon enough everyone had reached the top of Sky Pillar.
Alfgar was amazed at how high up they were. The wind was strong here, and the blue sea stretched on in all directions. The shoreline of Lilycove was faintly visible in the distance. The roof itself was large and spacious, though a few blocks of stone and rubble jutted out from the ground. The roof of Sky Pillar was home to the ruins of an ancient temple, and the remains littered the ground.
Rayquaza hovered over the semi-destroyed altar of the temple towards the back of the roof. The Sky God was huge, and even when partially coiled up Alfgar could tell that Rayquaza was enormous. The legendary leered at the group with his disturbing yellow-black eyes, and his red mouth showcased his sharp and dangerous teeth.
"I knew you would come. I have been waiting." Rayquaza spoke through telepathy as well, though where Steelshanks' voice was masculine and sophisticated Rayquaza's was harsh and grating. The dragon legendary let out a screech that seemed to be some form of laughter.
"Release your pokemon, all of them. We're going to need them," Gary said.
Along with his umbreon, Gary sent out a golduck, a scizor, a porygon-z, a machamp, and a ninetales. Ogden released his two beartic, and Spencer sent out his gyarados who roared upon being released. Alfgar already had his luxray out, but he quickly released his kecleon, charizard, glaceon, arbok, and tyrantrum to take their places beside Luce and Steelshanks.
Rayquaza laughed again. "I count twenty: sixteen pokemon and four humans. Now this does not seem very fair now, does it?"
Gary smirked. "We brought extra, just in case. You're supposed to be a god, and you're already feeling nervous?"
"Oh, you mistake me, fool. I meant it was unfair for you. Twenty is not nearly enough." With that, Rayquaza took to the air and began circling around the group.
"Remember the plan!" Alfgar shouted. "Get into position!"
Apollo and Spencer's gyarados, Khnum, launched themselves into the air. The two flying types had the task of making sure that Rayquaza would not have air superiority. Though Rayquaza was revered as the Sky God, a charizard and a Gyarados are fearsome opponents for any pokemon, and Alfgar hoped that they would be enough to ensure that Rayquaza did not have free reign over the skies.
Ogdun's beartic split up, one standing on the right side of the battlefield and the other on the left. If Rayquaza ever decided to swoop low to attack, the beartic would have a good chance of hitting the dragon with an ice-type move.
Gary's porygon-z and ninetales and Alfgar's glaceon would stay near the trainers and would attack Rayquaza through long-range attacks. Gary's ninetales would annoy Rayquaza with fire attacks while his porygon-z launched high-powered hyper beams at the green dragon. Alfgar's glaceon, Evenfall, would be the heaviest hitter, as her ice beams would be vital in weakening Rayquaza.
The rest of Gary's and Alfgar's pokemon would be commanded by their respective trainers, and they would assault Rayquaza through a mix of long-range and close-range attacks.
Apollo and Khnum seemed to be doing their job well. Rayquaza was being constantly blasted with dragon-type attacks from the gyarados and the charizard, and he screeched in annoyance. Suddenly, the Sky God flipped his massive tail and hit both Apollo and Khnum in one swing. The two pokemon were stunned for a bit but maintained their balance in the air, yet the pause had given the green dragon time to break free.
Rayquaza barreled toward the trainers and pokemon on the ground, screeching all the while. An orange light began to emanate from Rayquaza's mouth, and Alfgar ducked behind a large rocky outcrop as he realized it was a hyper beam. The beam sailed past him and hit Gary's machamp. The muscular pokemon was sent flying, but Gary's quick reactions allowed him to return the fighting-type before it fell to its certain death. If the hyper beam didn't already kill it, Alfgar thought grimly.
The intensity of the attack forced Rayquaza to take a moment of recharge, and that was when the trainers struck. The green dragon was first struck by an intense blast of electricity, and Alfgar glanced over and saw Steelshanks with one of his legs raised, smoke drifting from the steel appendage. He had almost forgot that the metagross was even there.
"Randy, ancient power! Wick, prepare your strongest acid attack! Luce, thunderbolt!" Alfgar called out orders and watched as Rayquaza was bombarded with a series of attacks. One of Ogdun's beartic even bounded over and began slashing and punching the dragon with fists coated in ice, and Gary's pokemon were also on the offensive.
Alfgar had not bothered to give orders to Odin, his tyrantrum, as he knew the dinosaur wouldn't listen anyway. Nevertheless, the rock dragon still rushed Rayquaza and delivered a devastating headbutt followed by a crushing crunch attack. Though Rayquaza was covered in tough scales, Odin's jaws could bite through almost anything.
Rayquaza let out a wail of agony after being hit by so many attacks, but after a few seconds the dragon was ready to fly again. He swept his tail across the ground, sending Odin flying backwards and knocking down a few other pokemon.
One of them was a beartic, and Rayquaza took the opportunity to tear the bear's head off with his massive talons. Then, in a burst of speed that rendered him nothing more than a green blur, Rayquaza bulleted towards Ogdun and sent him flying off Sky Pillar with a sickening crunch.
The remaining beartic, enraged by the sudden loss of his trainer and teammate, rushed towards Rayquaza with fists coated in ice. Rayquaza, however, was much faster, and the dragon let loose an intense stream of fire that charred the beartic and rendered it either dead or knocked out.
Gary's porygon-z took this moment to launch a hyper beam that directly impacted Rayquaza's head, and as the Sky God was reeling from the attack, Evenfall shot an ice beam at Rayquaza and caused the green dragon to shriek in pain. Another burst of electricity hit Rayquaza as well, and the dragon pokemon took flight again and sped away from the scene.
Rayquaza fared no better in the air. Khnum and Apollo were relentless in their pursuit of the legendary, and Rayquaza seemed to be having a hard time avoiding the attacks from the two flyers while simultaneously dodging attacks fired from the pokemon on the ground.
"Looks like we're winning this fight, right?" Alfgar commented to Steelshanks. It seemed as if the sheer numbers of the group were overcoming Rayquaza quite easily.
"No. He has not even begun to use his full strength. While we are doing damage to him, he is holding back right now." The metagross readied on of his iron legs again and aimed it towards Rayquaza.
Alfgar was confused at what the metagross had said. Rayquaza wasn't even using his full power?
He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Rayquaza roar, a harsh, high-pitched, metallic noise. Alfgar watched as Rayquaza shot a beam of purple-green fire at Khnum and then slammed into Apollo with an amazing amount of speed. As the charizard began falling, Rayquaza slammed into him again, and again, and again, all from different angles.
Alfgar ran out from behind his rock and reached for the sky, pokeball in hand. He recalled Apollo and sprinted back behind cover. Now only the gyarados remained in the sky to harass Rayquaza.
Before anyone could react, Rayquaza sped across the roof and knocked Gary's scizor off the tower. Gary managed to recall his scizor, and Alfgar saw Odin rush at Rayquaza and attempt to block the Sky God's path.
"Don't do it, Odin! His momentum is too strong!" The tyrantrum did not listen, and, as Alfgar expected, the dinosaur was bowled over by Rayquaza as the green dragon swept across the roof. Luckily, Odin got to his feet again and roared defiantly.
"How the hell is it moving so fast?" Spencer asked.
"Extreme speed," answered Gary. "None of our pokemon can even touch it when it's moving so quickly."
Alfgar didn't need Gary to tell him that. He looked on with dismay as the ice beams, flamethrowers, thunderbolts, and hyper beams all went wide and completely missed the speedy dragon. Khnum desperately tried to keep up with Rayquaza in the air, but he could never get close enough to do any damage.
Rayquaza was suddenly hit with a surge of electricity, causing the dragon to stop momentarily in shock. Alfgar looked over and saw Steelshanks with his metal leg raised, electricity dancing around his white claws that protruded from the end of his appendage.
"How did you do that? He's moving too quickly for anyone to hit him," Alfgar said to the metagross.
"It is a combination of lock on and zap cannon. The first move ensures that the second will hit. My zap cannon attack will stop him for a few seconds. Take that time to unleash your attacks."
Alfgar relayed the message to the pokemon. "Attack Rayquaza after Steelshanks hits him with zap cannon! Distract Rayquaza while Steelshanks locks on! "
"Do you fools really think that I cannot hear you?" Rayquaza screeched. "I know your strategy now. I will destroy that metagross before it can attack again!"
"Alfgar! Get your pokemon to protect Steelshanks! My team will attack Rayquaza," Gary shouted.
Alfgar nodded and gave his pokemon instructions. "Randy and Luce, thunderbolt Rayquaza when it gets close. Wick, spray your acid while he's shocked. Aim for the eyes."
Sure enough, Rayquaza came speeding towards Alfgar and his pokemon. As the dragon neared the group, it opened its mouth and launched a dark blue beam at them even as electricity crackled all around it.
Just as Alfgar felt he would be obliterated by Rayquaza's dragon pulse, Gary's golduck leapt in front of the group and raised its arms, creating a green sphere of protective energy around them. The dragon pulse was absorbed by the protect, but Rayquaza did not lose any momentum and continued to barrel towards the group.
Gary's golduck hit the dragon with a blast of water, but Rayquaza shook it off and slashed the golduck across the torso. Blood flew from the pokemon and painted the ground red, and Gary immediately recalled the blue duck.
Rayquaza pulled up and positioned himself above Alfgar and his pokemon. The dragon built up blue energy within its maw again, but he was blindsided by Spencer's gyarados and was sent reeling. As the two serpentine pokemon tangled together in the air, Gary ran over to Alfgar with his umbreon following closely behind.
Gary arrived at the scene and surveyed Alfgar and his pokemon. "We have ten pokemon left, and three trainers," Gary panted. "And Rayquaza has taken some serious damage. I say we can still win this."
Alfgar nodded. "We need to focus, though. Steelshanks, are you locked on yet?" Rayquaza had blasted Khnum with a hyper beam, and Alfgar saw Spencer recall his gyarados as the water dragon began hurdling towards the ground.
In response, Steelshanks launched another blast of electricity towards Rayquaza. The dragon legendary was hit by the attack and screeched, and his wails only intensified as an ice beam and a hyper beam also crashed into him.
Soon enough, Rayquaza was fully recharged and used a burst of extreme speed to rush the group on the ground. This time, though, Rayquaza avoided Steelshanks and went straight for Alfgar and Gary and their pokemon.
Randy screeched and dove to the side to avoid the oncoming dragon, and Luce leapt away nimbly. Odin attempted to chase Rayquaza, but he was far too slow and he roared in annoyance. Gary's umbreon stood her ground and launched a night shade at the dragon, but Rayquaza sped through it and slammed into Wick, Alfgar's arbok.
The green dragon clutched the purple snake in his claws and flew into the air. He then ripped the arbok in half and threw the cleaved snake into the ocean.
"Damn it," Alfgar cursed. "Rayquaza is picking us off one by one. If he can kill all of Steelshanks' defenders, destroying the metagross himself will be easy."
Steelshanks shot another zap cannon at Rayquaza, but the dragon legendary simply shrieked and took the attack. He then dove in low and rushed the trainers again, but this time, Odin was ready. As Rayquaza sped past him, the tyrantrum clamped his jaws around a segment of Rayquaza's serpentine body and stopped the green dragon in his tracks.
"Now! Attack!" Gary shouted.
Rayquaza was then subject to a whole host of attacks, and the legendary pokemon screeched as it attempted to break free from the tyrantrum's jaws. As the Rayquaza was being bombarded with attacks, it coiled its head around and launched a point-blank hyper beam at Odin. Tyrantrum are heavy pokemon, but Odin nevertheless was launched backwards as he took the Rayquaza's attack from close range.
Alfgar quickly recalled Odin, hoping that the hyper beam hadn't killed him. He had already lost one pokemon, and that was more than enough for one day. Now, however, Rayquaza was free, and the Sky God resumed his onslaught.
This time, Rayquaza sped right past the trainers and their pokemon and headed for Steelshanks. Alfgar and Gary had left the metagross unguarded, as they had assumed that Rayquaza had changed his strategy and was now only going for the humans and their pokemon. Just as Rayquaza was about to smash into the metagross, he was suddenly stopped.
Steelshanks' eyes were glowing an intense shade of pink, and Alfgar figured that the metagross had used a psychic attack to stop Rayquaza.
"Finish him now! Put all your force into it! The metagross communicated, his telepathic voice strained.
Alfgar and Gary shouted commands, and they could hear Spencer yelling as well from a few yards back where he stood with the three long-range attackers. Ice beam, hyper beam, flamethrower, thunderbolt, and shadow ball were among the attacks that slammed into Rayquaza as Steelshanks restrained him with his psychic skills.
Rayquaza cried out in pain, a long, grating wail which pierced Alfgar's eardrums. The metagross let go of his psychic hold on Rayquaza, and the green dragon collapsed to the ground. However, Rayquaza still had the strength to lift his head up and Alfgar saw fire emerge from the legendary's mouth.
As the flamethrower hit Steelshanks, Alfgar saw that the metagross had also loosed an attack of his own. Steelshanks had fired one last zap cannon, and from such close range he did not need to lock on beforehand.
The blast of electricity was so powerful that the metagross was launched backwards, and the metagross was sent flying off the edge of Sky Pillar. Alfgar reached for a pokeball to recall Steelshanks, but he then remembered that the metagross was not his pokemon. Alfgar could only watch as Steelshanks disappeared off the edge and plunged into the sea below.
"Now's our chance! Do it, Alfgar," came Gary's voice. Alfgar looked over and saw that Rayquaza was slumped on the ground, his eyes closed and his body still. Alfgar pulled out the ultra ball they had purchased beforehand and tossed it at Rayquaza.
The ball shook lightly a few times as it sucked Rayquaza in, but it eventually stopped as the dragon legendary had taken quite the beating. Alfgar knelt to pick up the ball and looked at Spencer, Gary, and the pokemon that weren't knocked out or dead. He saw a all sorts of emotions on their faces, ranging from relief to exhaustion to jubilation.
Gary walked over to Alfgar and patted him on the back. "Told you we could do it."
Dex entry #376: metagross
"It's just amazing how smart they are. I can't figure out why a species of pokemon so intelligent chooses to live in caves and mountains, away from people and all their inventions. Ha ha, maybe they just think they're too smart to be around us idiots." - Interview with Steven Stone, Gold Champion of the Hoenn region
Metagross are rare, solitary pokemon found in caves and mountains throughout Hoenn. These pokemon are said to be as smart as supercomputers, and they are known as some of the most intelligent pokemon in the world. Despite this, metagross can be violent and brutish when other people or pokemon invade their territory. Metagross can cripple their opponents with their intense psychic abilities, but they also possess an extreme amount of strength in their metallic bodies and powerful iron legs. Even though metagross can be territorial and harsh towards humans, they can also be helpful as well. The Mossdeep Space Station is known to employ a few metagross to help them with their calculations, a testament to the intelligence of these pokemon. Metagross are considered a level four threat on the Pokemon Threat Scale.