Ice Face - Ability ID 248

In-Game Description

"Protects once against an attack. Restores protection under hail."

Extended In-Game Description

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

Ice Face transforms Eiscue into its Noice Face form after taking a physical attack, negating damage once. Under hail weather, the Pokemon regenerates its Ice Face form, regaining the protective disguise. Only physical attacks trigger the transformation. Special attacks bypass the protection entirely.

Character count: 293

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

For Discord/reference use

Ice Face is a disguise-type ability exclusive to Eiscue that provides one-time physical damage negation with weather-based restoration:

Core Mechanics:

• Functions as a form-changing disguise ability similar to Mimikyu's Disguise
• When Eiscue (Ice Face form) takes a physical attack, it transforms to Eiscue Noice Face form
• The first physical attack that would hit is completely negated (0 damage)
• Special attacks bypass Ice Face entirely and deal normal damage
• Multi-hit moves only break the disguise on the first hit; subsequent hits deal full damage

Restoration Mechanics:

• Under any hail weather (temporary or permanent), Eiscue automatically restores its Ice Face form
• Restoration occurs during weather checks (entry, weather change, end of turn)
• Must be in Noice Face form to restore - cannot restore if already in Ice Face form
• Works with natural hail, Snow Warning, and other hail-inducing effects

Battle Interactions:

• Ability is breakable (can be suppressed by Mold Breaker effects)
• Unsuppressable (cannot be changed by abilities like Skill Swap)
• Provides hail immunity (takes no hail damage)
• Form changes trigger the standard form change battle script and animations
• Transformation cannot occur if the Pokemon is already transformed by other means

Strategic Applications:

• Guaranteed survival of one physical attack per hail cycle
• Excellent synergy with hail teams and Snow Warning setters
• Forces opponents to use special attacks or set non-hail weather
• Can be used repeatedly if hail weather is maintained
• Particularly effective against physical setup sweepers

Technical Implementation:

• Uses the onDisguise callback to determine form change (SPECIES_EISCUE → SPECIES_EISCUE_NOICE_FACE)
• onEntry and onWeather callbacks handle form restoration under hail
• Requires specific species check (only works on Eiscue species)
• Cannot function if Pokemon is transformed by other effects (Transform move, etc.)

This ability represents a unique defensive tool that combines one-time damage negation with weather dependency, making it a cornerstone of defensive hail strategies while requiring careful weather management for maximum effectiveness.