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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

  1. 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
  2. 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:

  1. Base damage is calculated
  2. Analytic multiplier applies: damage × 1.3
  3. Critical hit check occurs with +2 stage bonus
  4. 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.

Elite Redux Ability Codex