Inner Focus - Ability ID 39

In-Game Description

"Blocks flinch, Intimidate, Scare. Focus Blast never misses."

Extended In-Game Description

For use in Elite Redux extended ability UI (280-300 chars max)

Inner Focus provides immunity to flinching, Intimidate-like effects (Intimidate, Scare, Fearmonger, etc.), and status conditions from Taunt. Additionally, when this Pokémon uses Focus Blast, it bypasses accuracy checks and always hits the target, improving its battle reliability.

Character count: 280

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

For Discord/reference use

INNER FOCUS is a defensive ability that provides immunity to certain status conditions and battlefield effects while enhancing Focus Blast accuracy.

Primary Immunities:

• Flinching: Complete immunity to flinch status from moves and abilities
• Intimidate Effects: Immune to all Intimidate-clone abilities that lower stats:
  • Intimidate (lowers Attack)
  • Scare (lowers Special Attack)
  • Fearmonger (lowers Attack and Special Attack)
  • Yuki Onna (lowers Attack and Special Attack)
  • Terrify, Malicious, and other Intimidate variants
• Taunt Effects: Immune to Taunt status condition

Special Move Interaction:

• Focus Blast: When the user attempts Focus Blast (normally 70% accuracy), Inner Focus grants perfect accuracy
• This makes Focus Blast effectively 100% accurate, significantly improving its viability

Technical Implementation:

constexpr Ability InnerFocus = {
    .onAccuracy = +[](ON_ACCURACY) -> AccuracyPriority {
        CHECK(move == MOVE_FOCUS_BLAST)
        return ACCURACY_ALWAYS_HITS;
    },
    .breakable = TRUE,
    .tauntImmune = TRUE,
};

Intimidate Immunity Mechanics:

• Uses the tauntImmune = TRUE flag which is checked by IsBattlerImmuneToLowerStatsFromIntimidateClone()
• When an Intimidate-clone ability activates, Inner Focus users are completely unaffected
• No stat changes occur, and no battle message is displayed for the immune Pokémon

Breakable Property:

• Mold Breaker Effects: Inner Focus can be bypassed by Mold Breaker, Teravolt, Turboblaze, and similar abilities
• When suppressed, the Pokémon loses all immunities and Focus Blast accuracy bonus
• This is the main counterplay to Inner Focus's defensive benefits

Competitive Applications:

1. Flinch Immunity: Protects against flinch-heavy strategies (Serene Grace, Stench, King's Rock)
2. Intimidate Cycling: Prevents stat drops from repeated Intimidate switches
3. Focus Blast Reliability: Makes Focus Blast a consistent 100% accurate Fighting-type nuke
4. Anti-Control: Immunity to Taunt prevents status move lockdown

Common Users:

• Primarily found on Psychic and Fighting-type Pokémon
• Often paired with Focus Blast users for maximum benefit
• Valuable on special attackers that rely on non-damaging moves

Interaction Notes:

• Does not prevent stat drops from moves (only ability-based drops)
• Does not prevent sleep, paralysis, or other major status conditions
• Focus Blast accuracy bonus works regardless of other accuracy modifiers
• Stacks with other accuracy-boosting effects when using non-Focus Blast moves

Version History:

• Gen 3-4: Only prevented flinching
• Gen 5+: Added Intimidate immunity
• Elite Redux: Added Taunt immunity and Focus Blast accuracy bonus