Aquatic - Ability ID 294

In-Game Description

"Adds Water type to itself."

Extended In-Game Description

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

Upon entering battle, this ability adds the Water type to the Pokémon as a third type. This grants all Water-type interactions including STAB on Water moves, resistance to Fire and Steel attacks, weakness to Electric and Grass moves, and immunity to burn status.

Character count: 294

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

For Discord/reference use

Core Mechanics

Aquatic adds Water as a third type to the Pokémon when it enters battle, implemented through the AddBattlerType() function which assigns the type to the type3 slot.

constexpr Ability Aquatic = {
    .onEntry = +[](ON_ENTRY) -> int { return AddBattlerType(battler, TYPE_WATER); },
};

static int AddBattlerType(int battler, int type) {
    CHECK_NOT(IS_BATTLER_OF_TYPE(battler, type))
    
    gBattleMons[battler].type3 = type;
    PREPARE_TYPE_BUFFER(gBattleTextBuff2, gBattleMons[battler].type3);
    BattleScriptPushCursorAndCallback(BattleScript_BattlerAddedTheType);
    return TRUE;
}

Activation Conditions

• Triggers automatically upon entering battle
• Only activates if the Pokémon doesn't already have Water type
• No activation requirements or conditions beyond entry

Type Interactions Gained

Resistances (0.5x damage taken):

• Fire-type moves
• Steel-type moves
• Ice-type moves
• Water-type moves

Weaknesses (2x damage taken):

• Electric-type moves
• Grass-type moves

STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus):

• All Water-type moves gain 1.5x power multiplier

Status Immunities:

• Burn status (Water types cannot be burned)

Common Users

Optional Ability:

• Tynamo (#602) - Electric type fish Pokémon
• Eelektrik (#603) - Electric type eel evolution
• Stunfisk (#618) - Ground/Electric type flatfish

Innate Ability:

• Dragalge (#691) - Poison/Dragon type with natural aquatic nature

Strategic Implications

Advantages:

• Provides immediate type coverage expansion
• Grants Fire resistance to non-Water types
• Enables Water-type STAB for diverse movesets
• Burns become impossible

Disadvantages:

• Adds Electric and Grass weaknesses
• Can make Electric types weak to Grass attacks
• Permanent type change cannot be removed

Interactions with Other Abilities/Moves

• Forest's Curse/Trick-or-Treat: Can stack with other type-adding effects
• Soak: Will override this ability's Water type addition
• Burn Heal/Aromatherapy: Burn immunity makes these moves less necessary
• Lightning Rod/Storm Drain: Synergizes well by redirecting Electric/Water attacks

Competitive Usage Notes

Synergies:

• Electric types gain Fire resistance while keeping Electric STAB
• Poison types can use Water moves for coverage
• Ground types can hit Fire types super effectively with Water moves

Counters:

• Grass-type attackers gain advantage
• Electric attacks become more threatening for Ground types
• Freeze-Dry ignores Water resistance

Example Damage Calculations

Stunfisk (Ground/Electric + Water via Aquatic):

• Fire Blast: 0.5x damage (Water resistance)
• Grass Knot: 2x damage (new Grass weakness)
• Surf with STAB: 1.5x power output

Dragalge (Poison/Dragon + Water via innate Aquatic):

• Flamethrower: 0.5x damage (Water resistance)
• Thunder: 2x damage (new Electric weakness)
• Hydro Pump with STAB: 1.5x power output

Version History

• Introduced in Elite Redux as part of type-adding ability system
• Functions identically to other type-adding abilities like Half Drake (Dragon), Metallic (Steel), and Phantom (Ghost)
• Part of the expanded type system allowing Pokémon to have up to 3 types simultaneously