Guardian Coat (Ability ID: 838)

Short Description

Blocks weather dmg and powders. Takes -20% physical damage.

Extended In-Game Description

Guardian Coat provides triple protection: complete immunity to weather damage from sandstorm and hail, total immunity to all powder-based moves like Sleep Powder and Spore, and reduces all physical damage taken by 20%. This defensive ability can be suppressed by Mold Breaker-type abilities.

Implementation Details

Source Code Location

• Definition: src/abilities.cc (line ~9666)

Key Properties

constexpr Ability GuardianCoat = {
    .onDefensiveMultiplier =
        +[](ON_DEFENSIVE_MULTIPLIER) {
            if (IS_MOVE_PHYSICAL(move)) MUL(.8);
        },
    .breakable = TRUE,
    .powderImmune = TRUE,
    .sandImmune = TRUE,
    .hailImmune = TRUE,
};

Mechanics Breakdown

1. Physical Damage Reduction

   • Applies a 0.8x multiplier to all incoming physical moves
   • Calculated during damage calculation phase
   • Stacks multiplicatively with other damage modifiers

2. Weather Immunity

   • sandImmune = TRUE: Prevents sandstorm damage at end of turn
   • hailImmune = TRUE: Prevents hail damage at end of turn
   • Does NOT affect weather-boosted moves (e.g., Solar Beam in sun)

3. Powder Move Immunity

   • powderImmune = TRUE: Blocks all powder-based moves
   • Affected moves include: Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Poison Powder, Rage Powder, Spore, Cotton Spore
   • Powder moves fail completely against this ability

4. Breakable Property

   • breakable = TRUE: Can be ignored by Mold Breaker and similar abilities
   • When broken, all protections are removed

Interaction Notes

• Does not protect against special moves (only physical damage reduction)
• Weather immunity only applies to residual damage, not weather-boosted attacks
• Powder immunity provides complete protection, not just status immunity
• Physical damage reduction applies after type effectiveness calculation

Competitive Usage

Guardian Coat is excellent for defensive Pokemon that need protection from multiple threats. The combination of weather immunity and powder immunity makes it valuable in various metagames, while the physical damage reduction provides consistent defensive utility. Best suited for Pokemon that can handle special attackers through other means.