Guard Dog - Ability ID 553

In-Game Description

"Can't be forced out. Inverts Intimidate effects."

Extended In-Game Description

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

Guard Dog prevents forced switching from moves like Roar, Whirlwind, Dragon Tail, and Circle Throw, plus items like Red Card. When affected by Intimidate, it boosts Attack by one stage instead of lowering it. Perfect immunity to switch-forcing effects and stat control.

Character count: 290

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

For Discord/reference use

Guard Dog provides two distinct protective effects that make it excellent for maintaining battlefield control:

Core Mechanics

• Switch Prevention: Completely prevents forced switching from any source
• Intimidate Inversion: Converts Attack-lowering Intimidate effects into Attack boosts
• Passive Ability: Always active, no activation conditions required

Switch Prevention Details

Guard Dog blocks all forms of forced switching including:

• Moves: Roar, Whirlwind, Dragon Tail, Circle Throw
• Items: Red Card activation when hit
• Other Effects: Any ability or move effect that forces switching

The switch prevention works through the onTrap mechanism, similar to abilities like:

• Arena Trap (grounds Flying types)
• Shadow Tag (prevents normal switching)
• Magnet Pull (traps Steel types)

However, Guard Dog provides universal switch prevention regardless of type or grounding status.

Intimidate Inversion Mechanics

When the opponent's Intimidate ability activates:

1. Normal effect would lower Attack by 1 stage
2. Guard Dog inverts this to raise Attack by 1 stage instead
3. The boost triggers the same visual and audio cues as normal stat boosts
4. Works against all forms of Intimidate including from abilities like:
   • Standard Intimidate
   • Abilities that include Intimidate effects (like some custom abilities)

Technical Implementation

// Switch prevention (similar to other trapping abilities)
.onTrap = +[](ABILITY_ON_TRAP) -> int { 
    return TRUE; // Always prevents switching 
},

// Intimidate inversion (likely similar to stat boost abilities)
.onStatStage = +[](ABILITY_ON_STAT_STAGE) -> int {
    if (stat == STAT_ATK && stages < 0) {
        // Invert attack reduction to boost
        return -stages; // Convert negative to positive
    }
    return stages;
}

Strategic Applications

Offensive Uses:

• Guaranteed setup time without fear of being forced out
• Intimidate becomes a free Attack boost
• Perfect for setup sweepers that need time to boost

Defensive Uses:

• Prevents phazing from hazard-setting teams
• Blocks Red Card switches that could disrupt strategy
• Forces opponents to deal with the Pokémon directly

Team Synergy:

• Excellent on setup sweepers like Dragon Dance users
• Great with Baton Pass strategies (can't be forced out mid-pass)
• Synergizes with Substitute (prevents forced switching through Sub)

Affected Moves and Items

Forced Switch Moves:

• Roar (Normal-type, -6 priority)
• Whirlwind (Normal-type, -6 priority)
• Dragon Tail (Dragon-type, -6 priority)
• Circle Throw (Fighting-type, -6 priority)

Items Blocked:

• Red Card (forces attacker to switch when holder takes damage)

Interactions with Other Mechanics

• Substitute: Guard Dog still prevents forced switching even through Substitute
• Magic Bounce: If Magic Bounce reflects a switch move, Guard Dog still blocks it
• Taunt: Doesn't prevent Guard Dog's passive effects
• Mold Breaker: Cannot bypass Guard Dog's switch prevention or Intimidate immunity

Example Damage Calculations

Guard Dog doesn't affect damage calculations directly, but the Attack boost from inverted Intimidate provides:

• +1 Attack stage = 1.5x physical attack power
• Example: 100 Base Power move goes from 100 → 150 effective power

Common Users

In Elite Redux, Guard Dog is typically found on:

• Dog-like Pokémon (thematically appropriate)
• Defensive walls that need to maintain field presence
• Setup sweepers requiring guaranteed setup time

Competitive Usage Notes

Advantages:

• Hard counters phazing strategies
• Turns Intimidate users into setup bait
• Provides exceptional battlefield control
• Cannot be bypassed by most abilities

Limitations:

• Doesn't prevent voluntary switching
• No protection against status moves or stat drops besides Intimidate
• Requires the opponent to actually use forced switch moves to gain benefits

Counters

• Direct KO moves (bypasses switch prevention)
• Special attackers (Intimidate inversion only helps physical attacks)
• Status moves and other stat-reducing effects
• Pokémon that don't rely on forced switching or Intimidate

Synergies

Excellent Partners:

• Entry hazard setters (Guard Dog user can't be phased out)
• Baton Pass Pokémon (safe setup and passing)
• Pokémon with setup moves (guaranteed setup time)

Item Synergies:

• Leftovers (extended staying power)
• Life Orb (capitalizes on Attack boosts)
• Choice items (can't be forced to switch and lose choice lock)

Version History

• Introduced in Generation IX
• Elite Redux implementation maintains official mechanics
• No known changes from official game mechanics