Ruling Shield Energy Bronzong Klinklang

[kei122292]

I was wondering, can I use Bronzong's ability Metal Links to attach a Shield Energy from the discard pile to my benched Pokemon as long as they are a steel type? I'm assuming no because it is only a metal energy when it's attached to a metal Pokemon.

That brings another question, if it is considered to be a metal energy as long as it is attached to a metal Pokemon, can Klinklang with the ability Shift Gear move the Shield Energy to another steel type Pokemon? Once that Shield Energy is removed, it is no longer a metal energy, thus Klinklang can't move it, does it result in discarding the Shield Energy?

 

[My Little Keldeo]

Shield Energy counts as a [M] Energy only while attached to a [M] Pokemon. When it's anywhere other than attached to a Metal Pokemon, it provides no energy at all. Therefore, since it's not [M] Energy while in the discard, Bronzong can't attach it via Metal Links.

As far as Klinklang BW goes, the Shield Energy is not discarded when you move it via Shift Gear... unless you move it to a Pokemon whose type isn't [M}. in the case of powers like these, the energy is moved immediately from one Pokemon to another. There isn't an "in transit" moment when the energy isn't attached in terms of the game state; all parts of an action must be resolved before the game state checks for any effects, such as a need to discard, a KO, etc. So in this case, if you moved the Shield Energy to a Metal Pokemon via Shift Gear, it would remain in play. If for whatever reason you wanted to move it to a non-Metal Pokemon, that would also be a legal move, though the Shield Energy would be discarded immediately. Note that in this case the discard is not due to anything related to Shift Gear, but rather because the Shield Energy is now attached to a Pokemon whose type isn't Metal.