Dry Skin - Ability ID 87

In-Game Description

"Water/Rain heals. Fire/Sun hurts."

Extended In-Game Description

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

Dry Skin heals 25% HP from Water-type moves and 12.5% HP each turn in rain. Takes 25% more damage from Fire moves and loses 12.5% HP per turn in sun. Combines Water Absorb's healing with Rain Dish's rain recovery. Sun damage bypasses Substitute but not Magic Guard. Crucial for weather synergy.

Character count: 298

Detailed Mechanical Explanation

For Discord/reference use

DRY SKIN is a unique weather-dependent ability that combines water absorption, rain healing, fire weakness, and sun damage into one powerful mechanic.

Core Mechanics:

• Water Absorption: Completely absorbs Water-type moves, healing 25% max HP
• Rain Healing: Restores 12.5% max HP at end of turn in rain
• Fire Weakness: Takes 1.25x damage from Fire-type moves
• Sun Damage: Loses 12.5% max HP at end of turn in sun

Technical Implementation:

constexpr Ability DrySkin = {
    .onAbsorb = WaterAbsorb.onAbsorb,  // Inherits Water Absorb's effect
    .onEndTurn = +[](ON_END_TURN) -> int {
        // Sun damage effect
        if (IsBattlerWeatherAffected(battler, WEATHER_SUN_ANY) && !IsMagicGuardProtected(battler)) {
            gBattleMoveDamage = gBattleMons[battler].maxHP / 8;
            if (gBattleMoveDamage == 0) gBattleMoveDamage = 1;
            BattleScriptPushCursorAndCallback(BattleScript_SolarPowerActivates);
            return TRUE;
        }
        // Rain healing effect (calls RainDish)
        return RainDish.onEndTurn(DELEGATE_END_TURN);
    },
    .onDefensiveMultiplier =
        +[](ON_DEFENSIVE_MULTIPLIER) {
            if (moveType == TYPE_FIRE) RESISTANCE(1.25);  // 25% more damage
        },
    .breakable = TRUE,
};

Water Absorption Component:

• Effect: Nullifies all Water-type damage and heals 25% max HP
• Trigger: When targeted by any Water-type move
• Multi-hit: Each hit of a multi-hit Water move heals 25%
• Status Moves: Only damaging Water moves trigger healing

Rain Healing Component:

• Healing: 12.5% max HP (1/8) at end of turn
• Condition: Must be in rain AND not at full HP
• Script: "Rain restored {Pokémon}'s HP!"
• First Turn: No healing on the turn Pokémon enters battle

Fire Weakness Component:

• Damage Multiplier: 1.25x (25% more damage)
• Applies To: All Fire-type moves regardless of weather
• Calculation: Applied after type effectiveness
• Stacking: Multiplicative with other damage modifiers

Sun Damage Component:

• Damage: 12.5% max HP (1/8) per turn
• Weather Types: Any sun variant (WEATHER_SUN_ANY)
• Damage Protection: Magic Guard prevents damage; Substitute does NOT
• Minimum Damage: Always at least 1 HP if calculation rounds to 0
• Script: Uses Solar Power's damage message

Interaction Rules:

1. Weather Priority:

   • In sun: Takes damage (no healing even if hit by Water move that turn)
   • In rain: Heals at end of turn
   • No weather: Only Water absorption and Fire weakness apply

2. Ability Interactions:

   • Magic Guard: Prevents sun damage but not Fire weakness
   • Cloud Nine/Air Lock: Negates weather-based effects
   • Mold Breaker: Bypasses Dry Skin entirely

3. Move Interactions:

   • Scald: Absorbed for healing despite being hot water
   • Steam Eruption: Fire-type, triggers weakness not absorption
   • Freeze-Dry: Not absorbed (Ice-type)

Strategic Applications:

1. Rain Teams: Excellent passive recovery combined with Water immunity
2. Anti-Water: Complete Water immunity makes it a perfect Water counter
3. Weather Wars: Forces careful weather management from opponents
4. Defensive Synergy: Pairs well with Leftovers for additional recovery

Competitive Notes:

• Mandatory rain support or careful sun avoidance
• Fire weakness is always active, making Fire coverage extremely threatening
• Can heal beyond single-hit KO range with multi-hit Water moves
• Sun teams hard counter Dry Skin users
• Excellent on defensive Pokémon that can switch into predicted Water attacks

Canonical Dry Skin Users:

• Parasect, Croagunk, Toxicroak, Heliolisk, Thirst (fakemon)
• In Elite Redux: Available as changeable or innate ability on various Pokémon

Damage/Healing Calculations:

• 400 HP Pokémon in rain: +50 HP per turn
• 400 HP Pokémon in sun: -50 HP per turn
• 400 HP Pokémon hit by Surf: +100 HP
• 400 HP Pokémon hit by Flamethrower (neutral): 125 base damage → 156 damage

Version History:

• Gen 4: Introduced with all current effects
• Elite Redux: Maintained canonical mechanics with weather system integration