Bulletproof - Ability ID 171

In-Game Description

"Immune to projectile, ball, or bomb-based moves."

Extended In-Game Description

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

Provides complete immunity to ball, bomb, and projectile moves. Blocks Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, Aura Sphere, Sludge Bomb, Energy Ball, Bullet Seed, and similar ballistic attacks. The immunity prevents all damage and effects from these moves, working against both physical and special variants.

Character count: 296

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

For Discord/reference use

Core Mechanics

Bulletproof provides complete immunity to moves with the FLAG_BALLISTIC flag. When a ballistic move targets a Pokémon with Bulletproof, the move fails entirely before any damage calculation or effect application.

Implementation Details

constexpr Ability Bulletproof = {
    .onImmune = +[](ON_IMMUNE) -> int {
        CHECK(gBattleMoves[move].flags & FLAG_BALLISTIC)
        CHECK_NOT(GetBattlerBattleMoveTargetFlags(move, attacker) & MOVE_TARGET_USER)
        *immunityScript = BattleScript_SoundproofProtected;
        return TRUE;
    },
    .breakable = TRUE,
};

Activation Conditions

• Triggers when targeted by any move with FLAG_BALLISTIC
• Does NOT block moves that target the user (self-targeting moves)
• Immunity occurs before damage calculation
• Prevents all effects, damage, and secondary effects

Complete List of Blocked Moves

Physical Ballistic Moves:

• Anchor Shot
• Barrage
• Bullet Seed
• Egg Bomb
• Gunk Shot
• Gyro Ball
• Ice Ball
• Magnet Bomb
• Rock Blast
• Rock Wrecker
• Scale Shot
• Seed Bomb
• Spike Cannon

Special Ballistic Moves:

• Acid Spray
• Aura Sphere
• Beak Blast
• Electro Ball
• Electro Shot
• Energy Ball
• Flash Cannon
• Focus Blast
• Mist Ball
• Mud Bomb
• Mud Shot
• Octazooka
• Pollen Puff
• Pop Mayhem
• Pyro Ball
• Searing Shot
• Shadow Ball
• Sludge Bomb
• Snipe Shot
• Steel Beam
• Syrup Bomb
• Tar Shot
• Water Gun
• Weather Ball
• Wyrm Wind
• Zap Cannon

Important Interactions

• Mold Breaker: Cannot bypass Bulletproof immunity (works at the move level, not ability level)
• Gastro Acid: Can suppress Bulletproof, allowing ballistic moves to hit
• Self-targeting moves: Bulletproof does not block moves that target the user
• Multi-target moves: Blocks the move entirely for the Bulletproof user, but other targets can still be hit

Strategic Implications

Offensive Usage:

• Provides immunity to many common special attacks (Shadow Ball, Focus Blast)
• Excellent against Bullet Seed and other multi-hit ballistic moves
• Strong counter to many pulse moves (Aura Sphere, Dark Pulse technically isn't ballistic)

Defensive Considerations:

• Doesn't block many common physical moves (Earthquake, Close Combat)
• Vulnerable to non-ballistic special moves (Psychic, Flamethrower)
• Can be suppressed by Gastro Acid or similar effects

Common Users

In Elite Redux, Bulletproof appears as both a regular ability and innate ability on various Pokémon. Common examples include Pokémon with defensive or tanky builds that benefit from selective immunity.

Competitive Usage

• Excellent in formats with heavy special attack usage
• Pairs well with other defensive abilities as innate
• Strong against specific offensive archetypes
• Less effective against physical sweepers or non-ballistic special attackers

Counters

• Non-ballistic moves (majority of the movepool)
• Gastro Acid to suppress the ability
• Physical attackers using non-ballistic moves
• Status moves and indirect damage

Synergies

• Works well with other defensive abilities
• Excellent as an innate ability alongside offensive abilities
• Pairs with recovery moves and defensive stats
• Synergizes with abilities that benefit from taking less damage

Version History

Bulletproof was introduced in Generation VI and has remained largely unchanged in its core functionality. In Elite Redux, it maintains its original mechanics while being available as both a regular and innate ability on various Pokémon.