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Article:  The Metronome Issue

By Edo (hrzic@hawaii.edu)


Okay now.  Onto yet ANOTHER subject that is the cause for some
controversy on the PokeGym forum.  It concerns the use of the
attack of Metronome on both of the English cards of Clefairy and
Clefable.  Here's what's going on.  Let's say you copy
Blastoise's Hydro Pump attack:

  "Does 40 damage plus 10 more damage for each W Energy attached
  to Blastoise but not used to play for this attack's Energy
  cost.  Extra W Energy after the second doesn't count."

Or, let's say you copy Exeggutor's Big Eggsplosion attack:

  "Flip a number of coins equal to the number of Energy attached
  to Exeggutor.  This attack does 20 damage times the number of
  heads."

Now that we have set up the situation, there has been some
confusion on what Pokemon the Energy of those two attack should
be based upon.  There are two schools of thought on the issue.

  School of Though One:  It is based upon the Energy of the
  Defending Pokemon (the Pokemon from which you are copying
  from).

  School of Though Two:  It is based upon the Energy of the
  Attacking Pokemon (the Pokemon that is using Metronome).

Wizards of the Coast, and other people have ruled, that it is
based upon the first (the Energy on the Defending Pokemon).  But,
from a translating standpoint, I am going to tell you something.

                       Wizards is wrong.

How so?  Well, it seems that Wizards has made some errors within
their translations.  Generally, whenever you see the attacking
Pokemon's name within the text of an attack it is using, it
should read "this Pokemon" or "itself".  At least, this is how
the ORIGINAL, JAPANESE cards have it written.
  Are you confused yet?
  Let's take a few examples now, if we were to use Wizard of the
Coast's ruling on this.  And just like Wizards, we are going to
look at the proper noun in the attack, rather than what the
attack implies:

  -  Copying "Double Edge" from Chansey would do 160 damage to
     Chansey.
  -  Copying "Thunder Punch" from Electabuzz, and throwing tails
     would result in doing 10 more damage to Electabuzz (so,
     either way, the attack is doing 40 damage it it).
  -  Copying "Recover" would remove all damage counter from the
     Defending Pokemon.
  -  Copying "Foul Odor" from Gloom would have only Gloom being
     Confused (since Gloom is both Gloom AND the Defending
     Pokemon).
  -  Copying "Rampage" from Tauros, and throwing tails would
     result in Tauros being Confused.

Speaking of Tauros, I'm going to give you two translation of the
"Rampage" attack, the first being the Wizards of the Coast
translation:

  "Does 20 damage plus 10 more damage for each damage counter on
  Tauros.  Flip a coin.  If heads, Tauros is now Confused (after
  doing damage)."

Now, here's a translation from the Japanese version of the card:

  "Does 10 more damage for each damage counter attached to
  itself.  After that, flip a coin.  If tails, itself is now
  Confused."

See how it is?  People who have ruled on the Hydro Pump/Big
Eggsplosion issue stay with the first school of thought on those
two attacks, but use the SECOND school of though when dealing
with the examples that I just gave you above.
  They're the same bloody things!  Even the "Pokemon Card GB"
(the Gameboy version of the card game) uses the second school.
  I have even written Wizards about the matter, giving evidence
and examples to the contrary of their ruling, and they haven't
even written me back yet.  Either: they're really busy, and
haven't gotten to it yet; they've read it, and checking the
ruling of the Japanese affiliate (Media Factory); or, my
assessment is correct, and they can't stand to be wrong and have
refused to answer.
  Which one do YOU think it is?

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Fin.