Can you ride a Metang?
Of course you can!
Especially after it learns Magnet Rise, Metang becomes fully capable of carrying Haruki through the air.
Though... it's a bit stiff.
But thinking about the original story, Steven standing so stylishly atop a Shiny Metagross… Haruki had long been secretly looking forward to trying it himself.
Even if it was just Metang for now, there was no reason not to try it early.
"Metang, whether we make it to Floaroma Town, whether Skiploom and Marowak have fresh Honey… everything depends on you!"
To make it seem like he wasn't that eager to ride it, Haruki pulled the other two Pokémon into the mix.
Metang blinked its red eyes, sensing that Haruki's idea was actually very straightforward.
'He wanted to ride me. Ride ME, a proud pseudo-legendary!'
"…Metang, Magnet Rise!"
After a two-second silence, Metang still quietly activated Magnet Rise, adjusting its levitation into a smoother and more stable flying stance.
"Lower, just a little… this is my first time."
Metang said nothing, and lowered itself slightly.
Then, Haruki pulled out a perfectly sized round cushion and placed it on top.
"..."
'You really do want to ride me. I haven't even evolved and you're already prepared with a cushion!'Metang complained furiously in its mind, its big red eyes spinning non-stop.
After evolving, it had clearly become much smarter thanks to its new Psychic typing.
With the cushion firmly set, Haruki sat down with great excitement.
'Hmm… surprisingly comfy…'
"Metang, let's take it slow. Just fly forward a litt- AHHHHH!!!"
…Thump.
Haruki fell backward to the ground in a hilariously awkward position.
Metang circled back, looking thoroughly apologetic.
Haruki stood up holding his back. Seeing the look on Metang's face, he couldn't bring himself to scold it.
"It's your first time. We'll go slow, really slow, okay?"
"Meta!" Metang nodded obediently.
After retrieving the cushion and placing it back on, Haruki mounted again.
Metang began to inch forward, moving along just fine.
"No rush, let's try a gentle tu-"
Thump!
Haruki crashed to the ground again and lay motionless.
Metang silently floated back over, its expression still full of "regret".
Haruki turned his head away, too disappointed to even look at it.
Metang blinked. Something about how this was going didn't feel quite right.
Then, Metang floated in front of Haruki again.
Haruki glanced at it… and turned his head the other way.
Metang panicked, thinking Haruki was really hurt. It fidgeted anxiously, wanting to help him up but afraid its claws might hurt him more.
Seeing that the moment was just right, Haruki slowly "struggled" to sit up.
"Sigh… it's not your fault, Metang. I forced you into it."
Metang instinctively shook its head, a hint of guilt rising in its heart.
It really shouldn't have let its Trainer take a fall like that.
…But Haruki wasn't done with his guilt-trip speech yet.
He sighed again and said, "It's okay if we don't go to Floaroma Town. Skiploom can still live off Synthesis even without Honey…
Marowak and I will just eat less. We definitely won't starve before reaching the next place…
You won't go hungry either, there's still plenty of Indium-tungsten Ore left. You can eat that if you get hungry…"
Hearing this, Metang thought, 'how come I'm the only one getting off easy, and the other three are all suffering?'
A flicker of hesitation formed in its heart.
For Boss Marowak, for Sis Skiploom, for the Trainer… maybe letting him ride me isn't such a big deal after all.
"It's just… if you eat too much Ore, you'll grow too fast. Then you'll end up like that Steelix: flashy but useless..."
"META?!"
Metang was shocked.
'Indium-tungsten Ore has side effects like that?! How could a proud Shiny pseudo-legendary like me end up being flashy but useless?
Even though… I already am quite flashy.
So what if someone rides me? I'm tough enough, not like a piece of metal's gonna fall off…
NO!
You must ride me now.
Immediately. Right now!'
"Me-Me~Meta!"
Metang explained excitedly, saying it just didn't control itself well before. Next time, it would definitely carry Haruki properly.
"But… wouldn't that be pushing you too hard? The Indium-tungsten Ore-"
"Me-Metang~"
Metang shook its head wildly. It didn't even want to hear the words "Indium-tungsten Ore" anymore.
For a Shiny Metang like itself, one that had never lost to anyone in its life, how could it become something flashy but useless?!
In the next second, Metang's eyes glowed with a pinkish-purple light. It used Psychic to lift the cushion onto its head, then gently levitated Haruki onto it with perfect stability.
Forward, backward, turning left, drifting right… every movement was flawlessly smooth.
More importantly, Metang had figured out on its own how to use Confusion to secure Haruki's body in place; there was absolutely no chance of falling off.
Feeling the wind in his face and the car-like momentum pushing at his back, Haruki was deeply satisfied.
'Let's see you challenge me again after you evolve into Metagross…'
But out loud, Haruki kept up the guilt-trip tone.
"Then… if you really don't mind, let's head in this direction. Take off!"
"Meta!"
Metang's arms turned into thrusters and -whoosh- they flew straight toward the flower field.
As soon as the pair drifted into the floral sea, the honey-collecting Bug-type Pokémon stirred in alarm.
But they merely watched. When they saw that Haruki made no moves to harm the flowers, they each flew off in peace.
"No issues detected. Let's go, Metang."
"Meta!"
Metang responded happily. If things kept going like this, they'd reach Floaroma Town for sure.
…And it definitely wouldn't become some flashy but useless thing.
'Yes, in the end, you can always count on me!' Metang thought with satisfaction.
And Haruki, too, was happily perched on his silver, shiny pseudo-legendary mount.
---
Two hours later, Haruki spotted a small pool nestled within the flower field, with a few open patches nearby untouched by blooms.
"Let's rest there tonight, Metang~"
Exhausted, Metang immediately changed course and accelerated toward the pond. Only after flying for a while did it realize how difficult this actually was.
Magnet Rise was easy. What was hard was constantly using Confusion to hold Haruki steady.
…But a pseudo-legendary like itself couldn't be just for show, so it endured to the end.
The moment Haruki dismounted, Metang dropped straight to the ground, breathing heavily and too tired to speak.
"Skiploom, Marowak."
Releasing the other two Pokémon, Haruki whispered something to Skiploom before walking off with Marowak to set up camp.
Skiploom floated quietly to Metang's side and snuggled up to it, then cast a tiny-area Grassy Terrain followed by Aromatherapy to help restore Metang's energy.
Metang glanced at the cheerful Skiploom beside it, then at the busy Haruki and Marowak in the distance. It finally closed its eyes and settled down to rest.
Half an hour later, one human and three Pokémon sat in a circle inside the tent, each with their own serving of special food.
"All right then, let's dig in!"
"Ma-Met-Ski!"
The Pokémon all cheered and began to chow down.
Only Metang, with visible pain, carefully picked out the Indium-tungsten Ore and didn't dare eat it.
"Metang, no picky eating!"
"Meta?"
"Don't worry, just a moderate amount of Indium-tungsten Ore will make you even cooler and stronger!"
"METAA?!"
"It's true! When have I ever lied to you?"