Ruling Counter Gain and Muk & Alolan Muk TTGX GX Attack

[Rahlton]

Counter Gain makes the attack of the attached energy cost 1 Colorless less.
So, if it was attached to say Marshadow & Machamp-TTGX, they can use the additional effect of their GX attack with just 3 Fighting Energy since the initial cost of the GX attack is now 1 Coloress less.

What happens with attacks like Muk & Alolan Muk TTGX GX Attack though?
The attack has no cost to begin with, but the additional effect is with any 4 extra energy.
Would the Counter Gain count as 1 one of the additional energy, or would it have no effect since the cost of the move is zero energy to begin with?

 

[AlphaVoxel]

Hello Rahlton!

Here is a relevant Ruling from PokeGym and the TCPi Rules Team:

Q. If Thunder Mountain {} is in play, does Pikachu & Zekrom GX's "Tag Bolt GX" attack need 5 {L} attached or 6 {L} attached in order to get its bonus effect?
A. The base energy requirement of the attack is one {L} less for Thunder Mountain {}, but it does not apply to the additional energy required for its bonus effect. You need 5 {L} attached in order to get the bonus when Thunder Mountain {*} is in play. (Aug 1, 2019 TPCi Rules Team)

Effects that say that the attack cost are reduced by Colorless/Lightning/etc. only apply to the actual cost of the attack, not any additional and/or optional effects. Where the original attack cost of Muk/Alolan Muk's GX attack is zero, the cost cannot be reduced any further, and, as per the ruling, the additional energy requirements for the GX attack cannot be reduced. Therefore, even with Counter Gain attached, it would still require the 4 additional Energy attached for the secondary effect to apply.

I hope this clarifies things for you. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!

Thanks,
-Alpha, PB Rulings Team

 

[Rahlton]

Yep, that's what I thought. Thanks!