Appearance
Strategic Pause - Ability ID 814
In-Game Description
"+2 crit rate when moving last + Analytic."
Extended In-Game Description
For use in Elite Redux extended ability UI (IMPORTANT: exactly 280-300 chars counted WITH spaces)
Strategic Pause combines patience with precision. When moving after the target, this ability provides a 30% damage boost from Analytic plus raises critical hit rate by 2 stages. The critical hit bonus transforms rare crits into frequent ones, making slow sweepers devastatingly effective.
Character count: 295
Detailed Mechanical Explanation
For Discord/reference use
Strategic Pause is a combination ability that merges the effects of Analytic with a powerful critical hit enhancement when the user moves last in battle.
Core Mechanics
Analytic Component:
- Provides a 1.3x (30%) damage multiplier when the user moves after the target
- Calculated during the offensive multiplier phase of damage calculation
- Applies to all damaging moves except Future Sight
Critical Hit Component:
- Adds +2 to the critical hit stage when moving after the target
- This is a significant boost - normal critical hit stages are 0, 1, or 2
- Stage 2 critical hits have much higher chance than stage 0 (base) critical hits
Activation Conditions
Turn Order Requirement: The user must move after the target in the same turn
- Determined by comparing
GetBattlerTurnOrderNum(target) < gCurrentTurnActionNumber
- This means the target has already taken their action this turn
- Determined by comparing
Move Exclusions: Future Sight and similar delayed moves do not trigger either effect
Technical Implementation
cpp
constexpr Ability StrategicPause = {
.onOffensiveMultiplier = Analytic.onOffensiveMultiplier,
.onCrit = +[](ON_CRIT) -> int {
CHECK(GetBattlerTurnOrderNum(target) < gCurrentTurnActionNumber)
CHECK(gBattleMoves[move].effect != EFFECT_FUTURE_SIGHT)
return 2;
},
};
Critical Hit Stage Mechanics
Critical hit stages in Elite Redux work as follows:
- Stage 0 (normal): ~6.25% chance
- Stage 1: ~12.5% chance
- Stage 2: ~25% chance
- Stage 3 (ALWAYS_CRIT): 100% chance
Strategic Pause provides Stage 2 critical hits when conditions are met, making critical hits occur roughly 1 in 4 attacks.
Damage Calculation
When both effects activate:
- Base damage is calculated
- Analytic multiplier applies:
damage × 1.3
- Critical hit check occurs with +2 stage bonus
- If critical hit occurs:
damage × 1.5
(or 2.25x for Super Luck users)
Strategic Implications
Ideal Users:
- Slow, powerful attackers (Trick Room teams)
- Pokémon with naturally low Speed stats
- Mixed attackers who can capitalize on both physical and special critical hits
Synergies:
- Trick Room: Makes the user naturally move last
- Super Luck: Increases critical hit damage from 1.5x to 2.25x
- Scope Lens/Razor Claw: Further increases critical hit chance
- Slow pivot moves: U-turn/Volt Switch for guaranteed last move
Team Building:
- Pair with Trick Room setters
- Use on naturally slow powerhouses
- Consider Choice Scarf as anti-synergy (makes user move first)
Common Users
Pokémon that naturally benefit from Strategic Pause:
- Slow special attackers (Slowking, Reuniclus)
- Bulky physical attackers (Conkeldurr, Machamp)
- Mixed attackers with good offensive stats
Competitive Usage
Advantages:
- Massive damage output when activated (1.3x × potential 1.5x crit)
- Reliable activation in Trick Room
- Punishes faster opponents
- Works on both physical and special moves
Counters:
- Priority moves (bypass turn order)
- Abilities that prevent critical hits (Battle Armor, Shell Armor)
- Switching to maintain turn order advantage
- Speed control (Tailwind, Choice Scarf)
Interactions with Other Mechanics
Move Interactions:
- Works with all damaging moves except Future Sight
- Applies to multi-hit moves (each hit gets both bonuses)
- Compatible with contact and non-contact moves
Ability Interactions:
- Stacks with other damage-boosting abilities if the Pokémon somehow has multiple
- Blocked by critical hit immunity abilities on the target
- Unaffected by Pressure or similar PP-draining abilities
Item Interactions:
- Scope Lens/Razor Claw: Further increases critical hit rate
- Life Orb: Stacks with Analytic boost for extreme damage
- Choice items: May prevent strategic positioning
Version History
Strategic Pause was introduced in Elite Redux as part of the expanded ability system, designed to give slow Pokémon a powerful niche in competitive play while maintaining the risk/reward dynamic of turn order manipulation.
The ability represents a tactical approach to battle - by allowing opponents to move first, the user gains significant offensive advantages, embodying the "strategic pause" concept of calculated patience leading to devastating strikes.