Rock Head - Ability ID 69

In-Game Description

"Immune to recoil damage, but not immune to Explosion/crash dmg."

Extended In-Game Description

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

Rock Head prevents all recoil damage from the user's moves, including Take Down, Double-Edge, Flare Blitz, and Head Smash. Also grants immunity to confusion status. However, crash damage from missed Jump Kicks and self-destruction from Explosion/Self-Destruct still occur normally.

Character count: 284

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

For Discord/reference use

ROCK HEAD is a defensive ability that provides both recoil damage immunity and confusion status immunity.

Recoil Protection:

• Coverage: Prevents recoil damage from all recoil moves
• Protected Moves: Take Down, Double-Edge, Flare Blitz, Head Smash, Wild Charge, Brave Bird, Wood Hammer, and all other moves with EFFECT_RECOIL variants
• Mechanism: The noRecoil = TRUE flag prevents recoil damage calculation entirely

Confusion Immunity:

• Trigger: Blocks confusion status from all sources (moves, abilities, items)
• Script: Shows standard immunity message
• Removal: Automatically removes existing confusion when ability activates (removesStatusOnImmunity = TRUE)

Important Limitations:

1. Crash Damage: Still takes damage from missed Jump Kick/High Jump Kick (EFFECT_RECOIL_IF_MISS)
2. Self-Destruction: Not immune to Explosion/Self-Destruct damage - these aren't recoil
3. Indirect Damage: Doesn't protect against Life Orb, Struggle, or other non-recoil self-damage

Interaction Rules:

• vs Mold Breaker: Rock Head can be suppressed (breakable = TRUE)
• vs Skill Swap/Role Play: Can be copied or replaced by other abilities
• vs Entrainment: Can be overwritten by Entrainment
• Multiple Effects: Both recoil immunity and confusion immunity work simultaneously

Technical Implementation:

constexpr Ability RockHead = {
    .onStatusImmune = +[](ABILITY_ON_STATUS_IMMUNE) -> int {
        CHECK(status & CHECK_CONFUSION)
        return TRUE;
    },
    .breakable = TRUE,
    .noRecoil = TRUE,
    .removesStatusOnImmunity = TRUE,
};

Move Synergy:

Excellent with:

• Head Smash (150 BP, normally 50% recoil)
• Double-Edge (120 BP, normally 33% recoil)
• Flare Blitz (120 BP, normally 33% recoil)
• Brave Bird (120 BP, normally 33% recoil)

Still risky with:

• Jump Kick/High Jump Kick (crash damage on miss)
• Explosion/Self-Destruct (self-KO moves)

Competitive Notes:

• Transforms high-power recoil moves into safe STAB options
• Particularly valuable on Pokemon with access to Head Smash
• Confusion immunity is a nice bonus but rarely the primary reason to use the ability
• Often preferred over other abilities on physical attackers with good recoil move access

Related Abilities:

• Reckless: Boosts recoil move power but keeps the recoil (opposite philosophy)
• Magic Guard: Broader protection including Life Orb, but no confusion immunity
• Brute Force: Combination of Rock Head + Reckless effects (custom Elite Redux ability)

Version History:

• Gen 3-8: Recoil immunity only
• Elite Redux: Added confusion immunity and cleaner implementation