Psychic Mind

Ability ID: 343
Type: Offensive Multiplier
Activation: HP-based threshold

Overview

Psychic Mind is a signature ability that enhances the power of Psychic-type moves based on the user's remaining HP. This ability follows the classic "pinch ability" pattern, providing moderate enhancement at full health that dramatically increases when the user becomes desperate.

Mechanics

Damage Calculation

• Normal state (HP > 1/3): Psychic-type moves deal 1.2x damage (20% increase)
• Pinch state (HP ≤ 1/3): Psychic-type moves deal 1.5x damage (50% increase)

Technical Implementation

File: /Users/joel/Github/eliteredux/eliteredux-source/src/abilities.cc
Line: 3627-3629

constexpr Ability PsychicMind = {
    .onOffensiveMultiplier = SWARM_MULTIPLIER(TYPE_PSYCHIC),
};

The ability uses the SWARM_MULTIPLIER macro with TYPE_PSYCHIC, defined at lines 293-301:

#define SWARM_MULTIPLIER(type)                                               \
    +[](ON_OFFENSIVE_MULTIPLIER) {                                           \
        if (moveType == type) {                                              \
            if (gBattleMons[battler].hp <= (gBattleMons[battler].maxHP / 3)) \
                MUL(1.5);                                                    \
            else                                                             \
                MUL(1.2);                                                    \
        }                                                                    \
    }

Key Mechanics

• Only affects outgoing damage from Psychic-type moves
• HP threshold check: current HP ≤ (max HP ÷ 3)
• Stacks multiplicatively with other damage modifiers
• Active on both physical and special Psychic-type moves

Strategic Applications

Offensive Strategy

• Early game: Provides consistent 20% damage boost to Psychic moves
• Late game/Pinch situations: Transforms into a powerful 50% damage boost
• Sweeping potential: Combines well with high Special Attack Psychic-types
• Revenge killing: Low HP trigger makes weakened Pokemon dangerous

Defensive Considerations

• Opponents may avoid bringing the user to low HP to prevent the boost
• Creates mindgames around healing vs. maintaining pinch state
• Works well with strategies that intentionally lower HP (Substitute, Life Orb)

Synergistic Items

• Life Orb: Accelerates reaching pinch state while boosting damage further
• Focus Sash: Guarantees survival to trigger maximum boost
• Sitrus Berry: Can heal out of pinch range when strategic
• Choice items: Maximize the boosted damage output

Competitive Analysis

Strengths

• Consistent boost: Always provides at least 20% damage increase
• Pinch power: 50% boost in desperate situations is significant
• Wide coverage: Affects all Psychic-type moves
• Mind games: Creates prediction layers in battle

Limitations

• Type-specific: Only affects one type of move
• HP dependent: Requires taking damage for maximum benefit
• No defensive utility: Purely offensive ability
• Predictable: Opponents know when boost is active

Usage Tiers

Tier 4 (Standard): Solid ability for Psychic-type attackers
Tier 3 (Competitive): Strong on Pokemon with diverse Psychic movesets
Tier 2 (High-level): Excellent on specialized Psychic sweepers

Pokemon with Psychic Mind

As Changeable Ability

• Alolan Raichu (Electric/Psychic) - Line 35861
• Jynx (Ice/Psychic) - Line 26073
• Mewtwo variants - Lines 67276, 76972

As Innate Ability

• Psyduck (Water) - Line 10386
• Golduck (Water) - Line 10651
• Abra line - Multiple entries
• Psychic-type specialists - Various lines throughout SpeciesList.textproto

Note: Over 35 Pokemon have this ability, making it one of the more widely distributed type-boosting abilities.

Related Abilities

Same Pattern (SWARM_MULTIPLIER)

• Swarm (Bug-type) - 1.2x/1.5x for Bug moves
• Blaze (Fire-type) - 1.2x/1.5x for Fire moves
• Torrent (Water-type) - 1.2x/1.5x for Water moves
• Overgrow (Grass-type) - 1.2x/1.5x for Grass moves

Enhanced Variants (BOOSTED_SWARM_MULTIPLIER)

Some abilities use the boosted version with 1.3x/1.8x multipliers instead.

Interactions

Battle Mechanics

• Critical hits: Boost applies before critical hit calculation
• Type immunity: No effect if Psychic move doesn't affect target
• Multi-hit moves: Each hit gets the boost
• STAB: Stacks multiplicatively with Same Type Attack Bonus

Status Conditions

• Burn: Physical Psychic moves still get boosted damage
• Paralysis/Sleep: Ability remains active while incapacitated
• Confusion: Boost applies to confusion self-damage if Psychic-type

Trivia

• Part of the "pinch ability" family that originated in Generation III
• The 1/3 HP threshold is consistent across all similar abilities
• Despite the name, affects both physical and special Psychic moves
• One of the most common innate abilities in Elite Redux