Ruling Phantom Gate and Secondary Effects of Attacks

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Vaultboy91

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Hey there. I was wondering how M Gengar EX's Phantom Gate interacts with secondary effects of other Pokemon's attacks?

I will use Xerneas EX and Dialga EX as examples

M Gengar EX: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/M_Gengar-EX_%28Phantom_Forces_35%29

Xerneas EX: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Xerneas-EX_%28XY_97%29

Dialga EX: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Dialga-EX_%28Phantom_Forces_62%29

Xerneas' X Blast says you can't use that attack on the next turn. If you use Phantom Gate, can you choose X Blast on the next turn?

Dialga's Full Metal Impact says you have to discard 2 Metal energies as a result of the attack. If you use Phantom Gate, do you ignore that side effect of the attack if you don't have Metal energies attached to M Gengar EX? Other cards don't specify what energy you have to discard, ie they just say discard 2 energies attached to this Pokemon. In that case, do you discard energies from M Gengar EX?
 
It depends on the exact wording of the attack in question, In the case of Xerneas-EX, "This Pokemon" refers to the Pokemon using the attack. X-Blast specifically states that the can't use it during your next turn, so if you used Phantom Gate again and copied X-Blast, it would fail, even if your opponent had two Xernaes-EX on the bench and you chose the other one. Contrast this to Kyurem PLF's Blizzard Burn, which prevents that Pokemon using the attack from attacking at all on your next turn, which would also apply if you used Phantom Gate on that. Keep in mind that if your M-Gengar-EX where to go to the bench and then switch back out, the effect would go away in both scenarios.

In the case of Dialga-EX, the attack specifically calls for two [M] energy to be discarded, but there is no other text. Here, there is no effect causing the attack to fail even if you don't have two [M] energy attached, so the attack works and you don't have to discard anything. However, if you did have [M] energy on your Gengar when you used Phantom Gate (Rainbow Energy counts here), you would have to discard two, or one of there was only one. Regardless, the attack is successful. If you are able to discard the appropriate energy, then it is not optional, but if you have none of that to discard, there is no penalty unless stated otherwise with the current rules. Contrast this to Lugia-EX's Plasma Gale, which requires you to discard a Plasma energy, and if you can't, the attack does nothing. So, if your M-Gengar-EX used Phantom Gate to copy Plasma Gale, you would need to discard a Plasma Energy or the attack would fail. The same applies when the discard is optional, such as with Pyroar FLF's Scorching fang, where you may discard a [F] energy to deal an extra 30 damage. If you used Phantom Gate here, you could still do the 60 damage regardless, but if you wanted the boost, you would need to discard a [F] energy attached to your Gengar.

I hope you found this information helpful!
 
Oh okay, thanks for clearing that up! Sorry, for the late reply, I was at work. So for the first example, if I switched to a second M-Gengar-EX, would it be able to use Phantom Gate to copy X-Blast as well?
I also have two more questions. Does an attached Muscle Band increase the damage of an attack chosen by Phantom Gate? If I were to copy X-Blast, would it do 160 instead of 140?
Secondly, is there any penalty for using either a Tool Retriever or Xerosic on a Spirit Link after you Mega Evolve your Pokemon? Are you allowed to get rid of the Spirit Link and add another Tool card?
 
Any effects on one Pokemon apply only to that Pokemon unless stated otherwise. Regardless, all effects on a Pokemon other than damage go away when that Pokemon is moved to the bench, again unless the card specifically says differently. If you had a second M-Gengar-EX on your bench and switched into it, nothing from the first one would apply in most situations, so you would be able to use X-Blast. Your Pokemon is the one using the attack, not your opponents. In effect, Phantom Gate "transforms" into the attack you're copying, but M-Gengar-EX is the only Pokemon that's using the attack. That said, any effects on your Pokemon, including Muscle Band apply, but not anything from the Pokemon that you're copiying. So, if your Pokemon had a Muscle Band, it would get the damage boost from any attack (by the way, it's still considered a Psychic attack, not Fairy, since Gengar's type is always Psychic), but if the Xerneas-EX you're copying has a Muscle Band but Gengar does not, there would be no boost.

There is no penalty for removing a Spirit Link after the Pokemon has Mega Evolved. If you played a Xerosic or Tool Retriever (or if your oppnent plays Starling Megaphone), the Spirit Link would simply go away. You would never retroactivelly have your turn automatically ended. The Mega Evolution rule only takes effect at the instant you Mega Evolve a Pokemon, unless it has a Spirit Link attached. If it does, your turn continues as normal. Removal of the tool will have no effect on this.
 
Update: According to this ruling, M-Gengar-EX would be copy X-Blast via Phantom Gate consecutively without needing to go to the bench. The reason for this is that X-Blast (and any other attacks of this nature) are not the attact that Gengar is using; Gengar is using Phantom Gate, which is merely copying the effect. An effect preventing a Pokemon from using "X-Blast" will not prevent that Pokemon from using "Phantom Gate." While PokePop's ruling is in regards to Zoroark BLW's Foul Play, Phantom Gate is worded the same, other than allowing you to choose any of your opponent's Pokemon's attacks to copy.

However, as PokePop said, Mew-EX does not have this benefit as it's actually using the attacks it copies, rather than a different attack that "transforms" into what you're doing.
 
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