What it does
Pixilate works the same way as Refrigerate: Normal-type moves become Fairy-type and get a 1.2× power multiplier in the same instant.
The main target is Hyper Voice: base 90 power, after Pixilate it's 108 Fairy-type spread. In doubles, spread moves take a 0.75× penalty, landing at roughly 81 per target against neutral. Against Dragon, Dark, or Fighting — which all take 2× from Fairy — that number doubles. And it hits both opponents at once.
One mechanical note worth keeping in mind: Hyper Voice is a sound-based move and passes through Substitute. If your opponent sets up a Substitute to hide behind, your spread Pixilate Hyper Voice ignores it and hits the Pokémon directly.
Three types resist Fairy: Steel (0.5×), Poison (0.5×), and Fire (0.5×). When Steel or Poison is across from you, Hyper Voice loses a lot of value. Read the lead before committing.
Who runs it
Sylveon runs Pixilate in 100% of its Champions sets. Pure Fairy type, 110 base Special Attack — built for special offense. The default build is Choice Specs + Hyper Voice: the Specs multiply Special Attack by 1.5, and Pixilate handles the type conversion and damage boost. You get a spread Fairy move that threatens most of the format and hits both opponents every turn. Clean, no setup required.
How to use it
Choice Specs Hyper Voice is the play in most situations. Get Sylveon in, press Hyper Voice, spread the damage. The only time you change course is when Steel or Poison is on the field — then you either pivot out or accept the resisted hit while targeting the other opponent.
The main trade-off with Choice Specs is that you're locked into one move per switch-in. If you lead Sylveon into a bad matchup, you're either wasting a turn or eating a switch. Read the opponent's lead at team preview and decide whether it's safe to bring Sylveon early or save it for later.
There's a Calm Mind variant that skips Specs for bulk investment, stacking Special Attack and Special Defense before firing. The end damage is higher, but you spend at least one turn setting up — in doubles, one turn is one turn your opponent gets to act freely.
Tips & strategy
The Substitute interaction comes up more than you'd think. Some teams open with a Substitute setter to buy setup turns; your Pixilate Hyper Voice goes straight through and denies that plan before it starts.
Sylveon has decent bulk on the special side but its physical Defense is average. Fighting-type physical moves are the practical concern, even though Fairy resists Fighting — opponents won't usually attack Sylveon with a Fighting move directly. They'll use coverage or support to force it out. Anticipate that and position accordingly.
Speed is 65 base — not slow enough to need Trick Room, not fast enough to outspeed most offensive threats naturally. Most builds max Special Attack and adjust Speed to hit a specific tier the team needs, or run Tailwind support from a partner to paper over the Speed problem.