Reckless - Ability ID 120

In-Game Description

"Moves causing recoil damage deal 1.2x more damage."

Extended In-Game Description

For use in Elite Redux extended ability UI (IMPORTANT: exactly 280-300 chars counted WITH spaces)

Reckless increases the damage of moves that cause recoil by 20%, making them deal 1.2x damage. This applies to moves like Double-Edge, Brave Bird, Flare Blitz, Wood Hammer, Volt Tackle, and other recoil-inducing attacks. The recoil damage itself remains unchanged by this ability.

Character count: 291

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

For Discord/reference use

Core Mechanics:

• Damage Boost: 1.2x multiplier (20% increase) applied to moves with recoil damage
• Activation: Only affects moves that have the FLAG_RECKLESS_BOOST flag
• Recoil Unchanged: The ability boosts the damage dealt but does not increase or decrease the recoil damage taken

Technical Implementation:

constexpr Ability Reckless = {
    .onOffensiveMultiplier =
        +[](ON_OFFENSIVE_MULTIPLIER) {
            if (gBattleMoves[move].flags & FLAG_RECKLESS_BOOST) MUL(1.2);
        },
};

Affected Moves: Reckless affects all moves that cause recoil damage to the user, including but not limited to:

• Double-Edge: 33% recoil damage
• Brave Bird: 33% recoil damage
• Flare Blitz: 33% recoil damage, 10% burn chance
• Wood Hammer: 33% recoil damage
• Volt Tackle: 25% recoil damage, 10% paralyze chance
• Dragon Rush: 33% recoil damage, 20% flinch chance
• Submission: 33% recoil damage
• Head Smash: Rock-type recoil move
• Wild Charge: Electric-type recoil move
• Take Down: Normal-type recoil move

Damage Calculation Example:

• Base Brave Bird power: 120
• With Reckless: 120 × 1.2 = 144 effective power
• Recoil damage: Still 33% of damage dealt (not increased)

Strategic Applications:

1. Offensive Powerhouse: Turns already powerful recoil moves into devastating attacks
2. Risk-Reward: Balances increased damage output with life-risking recoil
3. Synergies: Works exceptionally well with:
   • Rock Head (negates recoil entirely)
   • Recovery moves or items (Roost, Leftovers)
   • High HP Pokémon that can handle recoil better

Common Users:

• Physical attackers with access to multiple recoil moves
• Pokémon that can learn both Reckless and recovery options
• Fast sweepers that aim to KO before recoil becomes problematic

Competitive Notes:

• The 20% damage boost makes recoil moves extremely threatening
• Requires careful HP management due to accumulated recoil damage
• Often paired with priority moves to secure KOs when at low HP
• Can break through bulky walls that would normally survive unboosted attacks

Interaction Notes:

• Does not stack with other damage-boosting abilities
• The boost applies before other damage modifiers in the calculation
• Works with all recoil moves regardless of type or category (physical/special)