Purifying Salt - Ability ID 547

In-Game Description

"Immune to status conditions. Take 1/2 damage from Ghost."

Extended In-Game Description

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

Purifying Salt provides complete immunity to all major status conditions including sleep, paralysis, burn, freeze, and poison. Additionally reduces all Ghost-type damage by 50%. If afflicted with status when gaining this ability, conditions are immediately cured. Suppressible by Mold Breaker.

Character count: 287

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

For Discord/reference use

PURIFYING SALT is a dual-effect defensive ability providing comprehensive status protection and Ghost-type resistance.

Core Implementation:

constexpr Ability PurifyingSalt = {
    .onDefensiveMultiplier =
        +[](ON_DEFENSIVE_MULTIPLIER) {
            if (moveType == TYPE_GHOST) RESISTANCE(.5);
        },
    .onStatusImmune = +[](ABILITY_ON_STATUS_IMMUNE) -> int {
        CHECK(status & CHECK_STATUS1)
        return TRUE;
    },
    .breakable = TRUE,
    .removesStatusOnImmunity = TRUE,
};

Status Immunity Component:

• Coverage: All major status conditions (CHECK_STATUS1)
  • Sleep (including Yawn delayed sleep)
  • Paralysis (speed reduction and move failure)
  • Burn (damage over time and attack reduction)
  • Freeze (move prevention)
  • Poison (regular and badly poisoned/Toxic)
• Mechanism: onStatusImmune callback blocks status application
• Cleansing: removesStatusOnImmunity = TRUE cures existing status when ability is gained

Ghost-Type Damage Reduction:

• Multiplier: 0.5x (50% reduction) against Ghost-type moves
• Mechanism: onDefensiveMultiplier with RESISTANCE(.5)
• Calculation: Applied during damage calculation phase
• Stacking: Multiplicative with type effectiveness and other resistances

Protected Status Sources:

1. Direct Status Moves: Sleep Powder, Thunder Wave, Will-O-Wisp, etc.
2. Secondary Effects: Scald's burn chance, Body Slam's paralysis chance
3. Ability-Induced: Static, Flame Body, Effect Spore
4. Item-Induced: Flame Orb, Toxic Orb, Sticky Barb
5. Field Effects: Toxic Spikes
6. Self-Inflicted: Rest, Yawn

Ghost Moves Affected:

All Ghost-type attacks including:

• Physical: Shadow Claw, Phantom Force, Shadow Punch
• Special: Shadow Ball, Hex, Moongeist Beam
• Status: Curse (when used by Ghost-types)
• Signature: Spectral Thief, Never-Ending Nightmare

Damage Calculation Examples:

Ghost-type move vs Normal-type with Purifying Salt:

• Base damage × 1.0 (neutral) × 0.5 (ability) = 0.5x damage

Ghost-type move vs Psychic-type with Purifying Salt:

• Base damage × 2.0 (super effective) × 0.5 (ability) = 1.0x damage

Ghost-type move vs Dark-type with Purifying Salt:

• Base damage × 0.5 (not very effective) × 0.5 (ability) = 0.25x damage

Ability Properties:

• breakable = TRUE: Suppressed by Mold Breaker, Teravolt, Turboblaze
• removesStatusOnImmunity = TRUE: Cleanses status when gained mid-battle
• Passive: Both effects are always active while ability is present

Interactions:

With Mold Breaker Effects:

• Both status immunity and Ghost resistance are completely bypassed
• Pokémon with suppressing abilities can inflict status and deal full Ghost damage

With Corrosion:

• Status immunity still applies (Corrosion only bypasses poison immunity specifically)
• Ghost damage reduction unaffected

With Status Moves:

• Sleep Talk cannot be used (no sleep status to activate it)
• Guts, Quick Feet, Marvel Scale never activate
• Facade remains at base 70 power

With Toxic Spikes:

• User can switch in safely without absorbing or being affected by spikes
• Multiple layers have no effect

Strategic Applications:

Defensive Utility:

1. Status Absorber: Safe switch into status moves and spreaders
2. Ghost Wall: Significantly reduces damage from Ghost-type coverage
3. Setup Enabler: Can boost stats without fear of status disruption
4. Stall Counter: Immune to Toxic stalling strategies

Team Support:

1. Pivot Safety: Can switch into predicted status moves
2. Anti-Lead: Counters status-spreading lead Pokémon
3. Hazard Immunity: Safe from Toxic Spikes
4. Coverage Check: Resists common Ghost-type coverage moves

Competitive Viability:

• Tier: High utility defensive ability
• Usage: Excellent on defensive pivots and walls
• Value: Dual protection makes it consistently useful
• Niche: Particularly valuable against status-heavy metagames

Common Users:

Pokémon with Purifying Salt benefit significantly from:

• High defensive stats to capitalize on Ghost resistance
• Movepool that appreciates status immunity
• Role as defensive pivot or wall
• Weakness to Ghost-type coverage moves

Counters:

1. Mold Breaker Family: Completely bypasses both effects
2. Non-Status Conditions: Confusion, attraction, torment still work
3. Physical/Special Moves: Other attacking types deal normal damage
4. Ability Suppression: Gastro Acid, Worry Seed remove protection

Synergies:

1. Leftovers/Recover: Reliable recovery without status interruption
2. Setup Moves: Can boost without status chip damage
3. Toxic Immunity: Pairs with stall strategies
4. Ghost Resistance: Valuable on types weak to Ghost coverage

Version History:

• Generation 9: Introduced in Scarlet/Violet
• Elite Redux: Implemented with standard mechanics, maintaining both status immunity and Ghost resistance at 50% reduction

Purifying Salt represents one of the most comprehensive defensive abilities, providing reliable protection against two of the most common forms of indirect damage in competitive play.