Gulp Missile

Ability ID: 241
In-game description: "Gulps a prey after Dive/Surf. If hit, shoots prey at enemy."

Extended In-Game Description (280-300 chars)

When Cramorant uses Surf, Triple Dive or Dive, it catches prey: Gulping form if HP >50% or Gorging form if HP ≤50%. When hit in either form, spits prey dealing 25% max HP damage to attacker and returns to base. Gulping form also lowers Defense by 1; Gorging form paralyzes.

Character count: 297

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

Form Change Trigger

Gulp Missile activates when Cramorant uses one of three specific moves:

• Surf
• Triple Dive
• Dive (including accelerated two-turn variant)

The ability checks if:

1. The Pokémon is not transformed (e.g., not Ditto)
2. The Pokémon is specifically Cramorant (base form)
3. One of the trigger moves was used AND dealt damage OR the Pokémon is underwater (Dive's first turn)

Form Determination

When triggered:

• HP > 50%: Changes to Cramorant-Gulping (caught a regular fish)
• HP ≤ 50%: Changes to Cramorant-Gorging (caught a Pikachu)

Counterattack Mechanics

When Cramorant in Gulping or Gorging form is hit by any damaging move:

1. Damage: Deals exactly 25% of the attacker's maximum HP as damage
   • Minimum 1 damage if calculation rounds to 0
   • Ignores Magic Guard on the attacker
   • Bypasses Substitute (HITMARKER_IGNORE_SUBSTITUTE)
   • Classified as passive damage
2. Form Reversion: Always returns to base Cramorant form
3. Additional Effects:
   • Gulping Form: Lowers attacker's Defense by 1 stage (unless blocked by Clear Body, Full Metal Body, Clear Amulet, or Flower Veil)
   • Gorging Form: Attempts to paralyze the attacker

Special Properties

• Unsuppressable: Cannot be suppressed by abilities like Neutralizing Gas
• Randomizer Banned: Not available in randomizer modes
• Form Change Priority: Updates ability state indices when changing forms
• Battle Script Integration: Uses dedicated battle scripts for each form's counterattack

Key Code References

• Implementation: src/abilities.cc lines 2615-2641
• Battle Scripts: data/battle_scripts_1.s lines 8239-8318
• Ability Definition: proto/AbilityList.textproto entry for ABILITY_GULP_MISSILE

Interactions and Edge Cases

1. The counterattack only triggers if ShouldApplyOnHitAffect() returns true
2. Magic Guard does NOT protect against the 25% HP recoil damage
3. The form change happens immediately during the move execution
4. Triple Dive was added as a trigger move in Elite Redux (not in vanilla)
5. The ability remains active even at 1 HP - form is based purely on HP percentage