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Damage done to the Pokémon Metal Energy is attached to is reduced by 10 (after applying Weakness and Resistance). If the Pokémon Metal Energy is attached to isn’t {M}, whenever it damages a Pokémon, reduce that damage by 10 (before applying Weakness and Resistance).
Metal Energy provides {M} Energy. (Doesn’t count as a basic Energy card.)
illus. Milky Isobe
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Mantidactyle
Rocket’s Zapdos likes this.
Cristian Martinez
I still wonder why WotC thought it would be a good idea not to make basic Darkness and Metal energies
Mantidactyle
It is not WotC.
It’s actually the Pokémon Card Laboratory guys in Japan who didn’t want to print basic Dark and Metal before Diamond and Pearl.
Wizards of the Coast wanted to print their own cards for a long time, but they weren’t allowed to.
jelze
It’s amazing how many people credit wizards for the pokemon tcg. I always hear comments like it was a great game when wizards made it
feyblade
I think a better way to view it would be that some pretty bad things were going down in the TCG around the time that Wizards was kicked out of the process entirely. The E-Reader sets weren’t exactly dynamite, and the Vs. Set has to be the worst set in the TCG’s history…
jelze
Definitely, but you can’t credit the success of the early sets to wizards. They just translated the Japanese cards and often did a pretty bad job of it, for example Slowking NG
MarxForever
Oh, Slowking was just the tip, Wizards was down right awful.
Not only are their hundreds upon hundreds of cards they never translated (that we never got), key cards to keeping certain cards in check that, of course dominated our formats. And instead of giving us these cards they padded our sets with superfluous additions to increase their profits, with all the tricks they learned from Magic.
Holos and non-holos of the same freak’n cards (in Japan at the time rares were one or the other)? Thanks Wizards!
Entire sets that were just reprintings of cards we already have, with no changes besides a set stamp because of their imposed rotation? Thanks Wizards!
Washed out colors, squashed, zoomed out low qaulity versions of the Japanese artwork, often with inferior foil treatments, that easily scratches? Thanks Wizards!
Common-Rares and then Reverse holos so you don’t have to give me actual rare cards in my booster pack? Thanks Wizards!
Yeah…I’m not a fan…
Mantidactyle
They actually planned to translate the vending cards and several Japanese promos around 2002 in Jamboree, but it was obviously too late.
Transforming Japanese Commons and Uncos into Rares here has not stopped after Wizards lost the licence unfortunately.
VS. was a horrible set which saw basically no play in Japan with the exception of Morty’s Murkrow, as all the other cards were awful.
Mantidactyle
They actually planned to translate the vending cards and several Japanese promos around 2002 in Jamboree, but it was obviously too late.
Transforming Japanese Commons and Uncos into Rares here has not stopped after Wizards lost the licence unfortunately.
VS. was a horrible set which saw basically no play in Japan with the exception of Morty’s Murkrow, as all the other cards were awful.
HEZ
The Base format was awful, almost identical to the current format but with smaller numbers >_< It's just nostalgia from the old Poke-hype that make people think "Wizards made a great game".
Card Lab did a good job on the second half of 3rd gen and first half of 4th… wonder what happened to those designers?
Mantidactyle
And Base – Neo was clearly the worst format in the Pokémon TCG history.
“Good Night Song, your turn.”
“Between turns, sleep check. Heads, Sneasel wakes up. I play Bill’s Teleporter. I flip a coin. Heads.”
“All right, Mind Games. I flip 4 coins.Tails Tails Tails Heads. Bill’s Teleporter is nullified.”
“I try to attack your Igglybuff with Beat Up. Baby check. Heads, the attack succeeds. I flip 6 coins. Tails Heads Tails Tails Tails Heads. 60 damage.”
“Focus Band activates. Heads. Igglybuff survives with 10 HP.”
“Your turn.”
jelze
Well they have trademarked Delta Emerald. Pokebeach suggested that could be a TCG set rather than a placeholder for a potential 3rd game like Pokémon Grey, Pokémon Water Blue and so on. So fingers crossed they could bring the holon area back.
feyblade
One has to wonder why they haven’t revived delta species already. In spite of the flaws in its execution, it was an impressive idea on multiple levels..awesome from a flavor perspective, awesome in the sense that it allowed the developers much more freedom,awesome in the sense that it could be used to give fire, lightning, and metal types equal representation
HEZ
I don’t want the current design team sullying the good name of delta species >_<
If they get a new team for ORAS, maybe then… and it'd be Gen 3 all over again :)
(Well done Metal energy, you've sparked quite a conversation here)
MarxForever
The original creators of the TCG was a small gaming and publishing company called Media Factory. They were the makers of the TCG only up until 2001. The last set they ever made was Neo Destiny. When Nintendo realized the game was a hit, and they could feasibly manufacture the cards themselves and still turn a profit they decided they would not be renewing their contract and would be making the the new card sets in house, a division of the Pokemon Company that would eventually become Pokemon Laboratory. This is when the back of the Japanese Cards changed, to let people know it was a new “era”. A new “era” that kicked off with horrible card layouts, sub par artwork, and boring yet overpowered attacks called Vs, I guess because it was assaulting our senses and challenging our concepts of good design. Nintendo, now being the producer with direct control over the game decided; “Hey, let’s see if we can squeeze another year out of this floundering eReader”, ushering the “glorious age” of the e series, and the humble beginnings of the power creep “d’aww”.
At this point Wizard still held the international distribution licenses and would for another year, but Nintendo also wanted them out of the picture, so they had no plans of renewing their license either. Aware they were losing their cash cow, Wizards started to cram as many Japanese cards as they could into ridiculously massive sets only a few months apart (when before they were several), in yet another transparent attempt to try and bleed the hardcore collectors as dry as they could in their final days of Pokemon…happy times for all.
MarxForever
I get why you feel this way. It was a pretty common sentiment, even back the. But try to understand that at the time there were only a handful of Dark and Steel type Pokemon in the games, the types themselves having just been introduced that Gen. Really only four each of when counting those that were fully evolved.
Sneasel, Murkrow, Houndoom and Tyranitar.
Skarmory, Steelix, Magneton and Scizor.
That’s why Neo Genesis only had two of each type in the whole set (four in Japan…). Since there weren’t too many of them, Decks comprised of just Darkness or Metal would’ve have been pretty boring and similar. So They decided to make them splashable like colorless Pokemon, but with twist. They would have special energy to to give them an edge, but also a disadvantage, and make them feel more special when you got them powered up. That’s why their type symbols, on the top of their cards, had a golden sun behind them. It was their way of saying; “these aren’t normal Pokemon”.
Brian Duddy
Can someone please explain why this is not just a rare, but a holo rare?!
jelze
It was the first time it was ever printed, so it was a holo rare as well as its standard version. Same was the case for Rainbow Energy and Darkness Energy
Brian Duddy
Look at the set listing… this was printed only as a holo, and Darkness only as a rare. N1 wasn’t one of the sets with repeated holos as rares.
Blob Takeshi
Because Wizards decided to bump it up to the Holo section, while in Japan it was with the other Special Energy cards.
Ambassador
No, it was the same thing in Japan’s Neo 1. Metal Energy was a holofoil rare, but Darkness Energy was just a rare. I don’t think they ever made up the gap.
Twylis
Notably, both the Darkness types of the set are also non-holo rares (Murkrow and Sneasel), while both the Metal-types are holos (Steelix and Skarmory). Afaik there was no actual difference in rarity between non-holo rares and holo rares in Japan, so it was likely intended as a thematic thing to keep the Darkness cards matte and the Metal cards shiny. They immediately dropped it next set, though.
Ambassador
As I break down in the Expedition print of Metal Energy, WOTC mistranslated this (and the AQ) print of Metal Energy, as well as Darkness Energy. These cards should only be decreasing/increasing damage that results from attacks, and not damage from any Powers, Trainer cards, other Energy cards, etc. Here are some examples of incorrect Q&As/rulings WOTC issued at the time;
Q. If Elekid has a Metal Energy attached,and uses Playful Punch,would he do 10 or 20 damage?
A. It would do 10, Metal energy only says it reduces any damage done by that Pokémon by 10, doesn’t have to be an attack. (Jan 11, 2001 WotC Chat, Q62)
It would do 20. Metal Energy would not reduce the damage of Playful Punch.
Q. When a Pokemon’s Power does damage,does that count as the POKEMON doing damage (for the purpose of metal energy effects,for instance), or are powers considered SEPARATE from the Pokémon they belongto?
A. Yes, it does [count as the Pokémon]. (Feb 1, 2001 WotC Chat, Q8)
Erm… “for the purpose of metal energy effects” means this answer is misleading.
Q. Another Dark Golbat / Crobat Question. If Zubat has a Metal Energy on then you evolve it to Dark Golbat will the Metal Energy reduce the damage. I would think not.
A. Wrong, it would. Metal energy reduces all damage done by non-metal Pokemon, whether from an attack or power. (Jul 25, 2002 WotC Chat, Q212)
It would not.
Q. When you attach a metal to a pokemon with 10 HP left, and your opponent has a Dark Amphy, does Amphy KO the pokemon first, or does metal protect it from the 10 damage?
A. The Metal Energy is on in enough time to save the Pokemon. Remember the Energy must be attached for Conductivity to do damage. (Nov 7, 2002 WotC Chat, Q326)
This is false. Metal Energy would not reduce damage from Conductivity. The Pokémon would be knocked out in this scenario.
~
You get the idea. Anyone playing any EN TCG format limited to anything from Base–Skyridge should look to the English Expedition prints of these cards as the definitive text insofar as how they’re meant to be played¹. Anyone playing anything that includes cards from R&S-on will be unaffected, as all later prints corrected the relevant portion of the text of the cards.
¹ n.b. The fact both cards were translated incorrectly doesn’t mean both were equally impacted. Contrast the ruling on Playful Punch I linked above regarding its interaction with Metal Energy with the following ruling regarding its interaction with Darkness Energy;
Q. If Elekid has a Dark Energy attached and uses Playful Punch, would he deal 20 or 30 damage on heads?
A. 20, Darkness says the ATTACK does 10 more damage. Playful Punch is a Pokémon power NOT an attack. (Jan 11, 2001 WotC Chat, Q58)
What? What made them figure these two cards should work differently?
However, I won’t say Darkness is completely safe, because I don’t know what WOTC was getting at here;
Q. Does the +10 damage from Darkness energy get applied if a Pokemon Power (like Elekid’s Playful Punch or Dark Gyarados’ Final Beam) damages the opponent?
A. The extra damage will only be applied to _attacks_. Some Pokemon Powers say that they attack the active back (like R. Hitmochan), in that case it will. It won’t be applied to Playful Punch damage. (Jun 14, 2001 WotC Chat, Q15b)
Rocket’s Hitmonchan doesn’t have a Power. I can’t think of any Powers that WOTC translated to say they “attack” Pokémon and can’t see any when I try and search for such a thing, but I might be blanking.