Insomnia - Ability ID 15

In-Game Description

"Cannot fall asleep. Rest fails if used."

Extended In-Game Description

For use in Elite Redux extended ability UI (280-300 chars max)

Prevents falling asleep by any means, including sleep moves, abilities like Yawn, and other effects that cause sleep status. Rest will fail completely when used. If gained while asleep (via Worry Seed/Skill Swap), immediately wakes up. Can be bypassed by Mold Breaker and similar abilities.

Character count: 290

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

For Discord/reference use

Core Mechanics

Insomnia is implemented in src/abilities.cc (lines 461-468) with the following properties:

constexpr Ability Insomnia = {
    .onStatusImmune = +[](ABILITY_ON_STATUS_IMMUNE) -> int {
        CHECK(status & CHECK_SLEEP)
        return TRUE;
    },
    .breakable = TRUE,
    .removesStatusOnImmunity = TRUE,
};

Key Features

1. Sleep Immunity:

   • Prevents the Pokémon from being put to sleep by any means
   • Uses the CHECK_SLEEP flag in the onStatusImmune callback
   • Returns TRUE when any sleep-inducing effect is attempted

2. Rest Prevention:

   • The move Rest will fail completely if used by a Pokémon with Insomnia
   • This is handled in the battle script system
   • Prevents self-induced sleep for recovery

3. Wake-Up Effect:

   • removesStatusOnImmunity = TRUE means if a sleeping Pokémon gains Insomnia, it immediately wakes up
   • This can occur through moves like Worry Seed that change abilities

Ability Properties

• breakable: TRUE - Can be suppressed by abilities like Mold Breaker
• removesStatusOnImmunity: TRUE - Cures existing sleep when gained

Sources of Sleep Blocked

• Sleep Powder, Spore, Hypnosis, Sing, Grass Whistle
• Dark Void, Lovely Kiss
• Effect Spore ability
• Yawn (prevents sleep after drowsy turn)
• Rest (move fails entirely)
• Any other sleep-inducing effect

Interactions

1. With Worry Seed:

   • Worry Seed changes the target's ability to Insomnia
   • Cannot be used on Pokémon that already have Insomnia
   • Protected by Ability Shield

2. With Other Sleep Immunity Abilities:

   • Vital Spirit: Identical sleep immunity
   • Sweet Veil: Protects self and allies from sleep
   • Rude Awakening: Conditional sleep immunity
   • Comatose: Always acts as if asleep but immune to sleep status

3. With Ability-Ignoring Effects:

   • Can be bypassed by Mold Breaker and similar abilities
   • Sleep-inducing moves from Pokémon with Mold Breaker will work

Technical Details

The ability check happens at multiple points:

• When attempting to inflict sleep status
• During move execution (for Rest)
• In AI calculations for move effectiveness
• During status cure checks

Strategic Implications

• Sleep Immunity: Complete protection against sleep-based strategies
• Rest Denial: Cannot use Rest for recovery, limiting healing options
• Status Absorber: Can switch into predicted sleep moves safely
• Lead Potential: Good for leads that fear sleep leads like Butterfree

Common Users

Typically found on Pokémon that are naturally alert or restless, often including nocturnal Pokémon or those with high energy levels.

Competitive Usage Notes

• Excellent on setup sweepers that fear sleep
• Valuable on defensive Pokémon that can't afford sleep turns
• Trade-off: loses Rest as a recovery option
• Can enable safer switches into known sleep users

Counters

• Direct damage (no defensive benefits beyond sleep immunity)
• Other status conditions still work normally
• Mold Breaker bypasses the immunity
• Pokémon with Insomnia often lack recovery without Rest

Synergies

• Pivot Pokémon that can absorb sleep moves
• Setup sweepers that need uninterrupted setup
• Pokémon with other recovery options (Roost, Recover, etc.)
• Teams weak to sleep-based strategies

Version History

Insomnia has remained functionally identical throughout the generations, providing consistent sleep immunity. The interaction with Rest failing has been present since its introduction.