Fluffy - Ability ID 218

In-Game Description

"Takes 1/2 dmg from contact moves but Fire moves hurt it 2x more."

Extended In-Game Description

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

Fluffy fur reduces damage from physical contact moves by 50%, making the Pokémon resistant to attacks like Tackle, Scratch, and Punch moves. However, the fluffy coating is highly flammable, causing Fire-type moves to deal double damage. The defensive benefit is lost if the ability is suppressed.

Character count: 295

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

For Discord/reference use

Core Mechanics

• Contact Move Reduction: All moves that make physical contact deal 0.5x damage (50% reduction)
• Fire Vulnerability: Fire-type moves deal 2.0x damage (100% increase)
• Breakable: Can be suppressed by abilities like Mold Breaker, Teravolt, Turboblaze

Activation Conditions

• Contact move reduction triggers when the Pokémon is hit by any move with the contact flag
• Fire vulnerability applies to all Fire-type moves regardless of contact status
• Both effects are passive and automatic

Technical Implementation

constexpr Ability Fluffy = {
    .onDefensiveMultiplier =
        +[](ON_DEFENSIVE_MULTIPLIER) {
            if (moveType == TYPE_FIRE) RESISTANCE(2.0);
            if (IsMoveMakingContact(move, attacker)) MUL(0.5);
        },
    .breakable = TRUE,
};

Contact Moves (Examples)

Affected moves include:

• Physical attacks: Tackle, Scratch, Pound, Quick Attack, Body Slam
• Punching moves: Punch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch
• Slashing moves: Slash, Night Slash, Psycho Cut
• Biting moves: Bite, Crunch, Fire Fang
• Multi-hit contact moves: Fury Swipes, Double Slap, Bullet Seed (if contact)

NOT affected:

• Projectile moves: Hyper Beam, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt
• Ranged physical moves: Rock Slide, Earthquake, Stone Edge
• Status moves: Thunder Wave, Toxic, Spore

Interactions with Other Abilities/Mechanics

• Suppression: Mold Breaker, Teravolt, Turboblaze ignore both benefits and drawbacks
• Ability Shield: Protects from ability suppression
• Type effectiveness: Fire weakness stacks with natural Fire weakness
• Critical hits: Contact reduction applies to critical hits
• Multi-hit moves: Each hit affected individually

Strategic Implications

Strengths:

• Excellent physical wall against contact-based attackers
• Forces opponents to use special moves or non-contact physical moves
• Synergizes well with high HP and Defense stats

Weaknesses:

• Severe Fire weakness creates exploitable matchups
• Vulnerable to special attackers and ranged physical moves
• Ability suppression removes all benefits while keeping Fire weakness

Example Damage Calculations

Against a Pokémon with Fluffy:

• Tackle (contact): 100 base damage → 50 damage (50% reduction)
• Flamethrower (Fire, non-contact): 90 base damage → 180 damage (2x Fire weakness)
• Fire Punch (Fire + contact): 75 base damage → 150 damage (Fire weakness applied, contact reduction ignored for Fire moves)
• Earthquake (non-contact): 100 base damage → 100 damage (no modifier)

Common Users

• Stufful line: Stufful and Bewear are the primary users in mainline games
• Defensive Pokémon: Works best on bulky Pokémon that can capitalize on the contact reduction
• Mixed walls: Particularly effective on Pokémon with good special bulk to compensate for Fire weakness

Competitive Usage Notes

• Team building: Requires Fire-type switch-ins or resists
• Movepool synergy: Benefits from non-contact physical moves for offense
• Weather: Sun doubles Fire damage, making the weakness even more severe
• Item synergy: Leftovers or other recovery items help maintain bulk

Counters

• Fire-type moves: Exploit the 2x weakness
• Special attackers: Bypass the contact reduction entirely
• Mold Breaker variants: Ignore the ability completely
• Non-contact physical moves: Earthquake, Rock Slide, Stone Edge
• Status moves: Toxic, Will-O-Wisp for indirect damage

Synergies

• Assault Vest: Boosts special bulk to cover Fire weakness
• Rocky Helmet: Stacks damage with contact-based counter-attacks
• Recovery moves: Roost, Recover to maintain defensive presence
• Intimidate support: Further reduces physical damage

Version History

• Introduced in Generation VII (Sun/Moon)
• Implemented in Elite Redux with identical mechanics
• Ability ID 218 in Elite Redux's ability system
• Classified as breakable ability in current implementation