Banshee - Ability ID 540

In-Game Description

"Sound moves get a 1.2x boost and become Ghost if Normal."

Extended In-Game Description

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

Banshee boosts all sound-based moves by 20% damage and converts Normal-type sound moves to Ghost-type. This affects moves like Growl, Roar, Sing, Supersonic, Screech, Snore, Uproar, Hyper Voice, Bug Buzz, Chatter, Round, Echoed Voice, Relic Song, Snarl, Noble Roar, Boomburst, and Parting Shot among others.

Character count: 293

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

For Discord/reference use

Core Mechanics

Banshee provides two distinct effects for sound-based moves:

1. Damage Boost: All moves with the FLAG_SOUND flag receive a 1.2x (20%) damage multiplier
2. Type Conversion: Normal-type sound moves are converted to Ghost-type before damage calculation

Activation Conditions

• The ability activates when the user uses any move flagged with FLAG_SOUND
• Both effects apply simultaneously if conditions are met
• Type conversion only affects Normal-type moves; other types remain unchanged
• The damage boost applies to all sound moves regardless of original type

Technical Implementation

constexpr Ability Banshee = {
    .onOffensiveMultiplier = LiquidVoice.onOffensiveMultiplier,  // 1.2x boost for sound moves
    .onMoveType = +[](ON_MOVE_TYPE) -> int {
        CHECK(moveType == TYPE_NORMAL)              // Only affects Normal-type moves
        CHECK(gBattleMoves[move].flags & FLAG_SOUND); // Must be a sound move
        return TYPE_GHOST + 1;                      // Convert to Ghost-type
    },
};

Complete List of Affected Sound Moves

Status Moves:

• Growl, Roar, Sing, Supersonic, Screech, Heal Bell, Metal Sound, Grass Whistle, Perish Song

Damaging Moves:

• Sonic Boom, Snore, Uproar, Hyper Voice, Bug Buzz, Chatter, Round, Echoed Voice, Relic Song, Snarl, Noble Roar, Boomburst, Parting Shot

Normal-type Sound Moves (gain Ghost typing):

• Growl, Roar, Sing, Supersonic, Screech, Sonic Boom, Snore, Uproar, Hyper Voice, Chatter, Round, Echoed Voice, Noble Roar, Boomburst

Interactions with Other Abilities/Mechanics

• Soundproof: Completely blocks Banshee's sound moves, negating both damage boost and type conversion
• Normalize: If a Pokémon with both abilities uses a sound move, Normalize converts it to Normal first, then Banshee converts it to Ghost
• STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus): Ghost-type Pokémon gain 1.5x STAB on converted moves, stacking multiplicatively with Banshee's 1.2x boost (total 1.8x)
• Punk Rock: If paired with Punk Rock (via ability modification), effects would stack for even greater sound move power
• Throat Chop: Pokemon affected by Throat Chop cannot use sound moves, preventing Banshee activation

Strategic Implications

Offensive Applications:

• Transforms typically weak Normal-type sound moves into powerful Ghost-type attacks
• Provides consistent 20% damage boost to already-powerful sound moves like Boomburst
• Ghost typing offers excellent neutral coverage and hits Psychic/Ghost types super-effectively
• Allows Normal-type Pokemon to hit Normal and Fighting types for neutral damage instead of resisted

Defensive Considerations:

• Ghost-type moves cannot hit Normal-type Pokemon, potentially reducing move effectiveness
• Sound moves are blocked by Soundproof ability users
• Doesn't provide any defensive benefits unlike other signature abilities

Example Damage Calculations

Boomburst (Base Power 140, Normal → Ghost conversion + 1.2x boost):

• Without Banshee: 140 BP Normal-type move
• With Banshee: 140 × 1.2 = 168 effective BP Ghost-type move
• With STAB (Ghost-type user): 168 × 1.5 = 252 effective BP
• Compared to Boomburst on non-Ghost type: 140 × 1.5 = 210 BP (if same type)

Hyper Voice calculation example:

• Base: 90 BP Normal-type
• With Banshee: 90 × 1.2 = 108 effective BP Ghost-type
• Super-effective vs Psychic: 108 × 2 = 216 effective BP

Common Users

• Toxtricity Redux Fuzz: Primary user of this ability in Elite Redux
• Sound-based Ghost-type Pokemon that might receive this ability
• Pokemon with diverse sound move pools benefit most from the type conversion utility

Competitive Usage Notes

Strengths:

• Significant power boost to already-strong sound moves
• Type conversion provides coverage options
• Consistent damage boost unlike situational abilities
• Works well in sound-move focused team compositions

Weaknesses:

• Completely shut down by Soundproof
• Ghost typing cannot hit Normal types (coverage loss)
• No defensive utility
• Limited to sound moves only

Counters

• Soundproof users: Completely immune to all Banshee-boosted attacks
• Normal-type Pokemon: Immune to converted Ghost-type sound moves
• Throat Chop: Prevents use of sound moves for two turns
• Sound-move absorbing abilities: Any hypothetical sound-absorbing abilities would counter this strategy

Synergies

• Choice Specs/Choice Band: Stacks multiplicatively with damage boost
• Life Orb: Additional damage boost with recoil trade-off
• Ghost-type STAB: Natural synergy for converted moves
• Sound move tutors: Access to diverse sound move pools maximizes utility
• Throat Spray: Activates on sound move use, boosting Special Attack

Version History

• Introduced in Elite Redux as part of the expanded ability system
• Part of the signature abilities for certain Pokemon forms
• Based on the Liquid Voice template but with Ghost-type conversion instead of Water-type