Does Clear Body Prevent Burn? Understanding Pokémon Abilities and Status Conditions
The short answer is no, Clear Body does not prevent burn. While Clear Body is a powerful ability that provides a significant defensive advantage in Pokémon battles, its protection is specifically limited to stat reduction caused by another Pokémon’s moves or abilities. Burn, on the other hand, is a status condition and not a stat reduction. Therefore, Clear Body offers no protection against being burned. This distinction is crucial for understanding how various abilities and status conditions interact within the Pokémon battle system.
Understanding Clear Body: What It Does and Doesn’t Do
Clear Body is an ability that prevents an opponent from lowering a Pokémon’s stats using their moves or abilities. This means if an opponent tries to use moves like Sand Attack, Charm, or abilities like Intimidate to reduce stats, a Pokémon with Clear Body will remain unaffected. This is a very strong defensive tool as it negates common strategies designed to weaken Pokémon.
However, Clear Body is not a catch-all defense. It doesn’t prevent stat reductions caused by the Pokémon itself, such as from moves like Superpower or Hammer Arm. Additionally, it also does not block stat increases from moves like Swagger or Flatter, and, importantly, it does not protect against status conditions such as burn, paralysis, or poison. This is where the confusion often lies; Clear Body is a stat-based defense, not a status-based defense.
The Nuances of Status Conditions Like Burn
Burn is a status condition that causes damage over time and halves the afflicted Pokémon’s Attack stat. It is inflicted by a variety of moves such as Will-O-Wisp, or through contact with a Pokémon using an ability like Flame Body. Status conditions operate independently of stat changes, and so an ability that focuses solely on stat protection like Clear Body will not provide any relief.
To be immune to the burn status effect, different abilities or type advantages are needed. For instance, Fire-type Pokémon are completely immune to burns. Further, some Pokémon with Water Veil, Water Bubble, or Comatose abilities are also immune to being burned.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Clear Body and Burn
To clarify the interactions of Clear Body and burn, and other related aspects of the Pokémon battle system, here is a list of frequently asked questions.
1. What abilities do prevent burn?
Several abilities offer complete immunity to burn. These include Water Veil, Water Bubble, and Comatose. A Pokémon with the ability Heatproof will only take half the normal damage each turn, but will still be burned. And Leaf Guard will offer protection from all status conditions, including burn, only in harsh sunlight.
2. Can a Fire-type Pokémon be burned?
No. Since Generation III, Fire-type Pokémon are completely immune to being burned by any method, unless their type is changed.
3. If a Pokémon with Clear Body uses a move that lowers its own stats (like Superpower), will Clear Body prevent that?
No. Clear Body only prevents stat reduction caused by another Pokémon’s moves or abilities. Self-inflicted stat reductions are not blocked by Clear Body.
4. Does Clear Body prevent stat drops from items like Iron Ball?
No. Clear Body only prevents stat reduction from moves or abilities by another Pokémon. Items that inflict stat reduction like the Iron Ball are unaffected by Clear Body.
5. Does Clear Body protect against Haze?
No. Haze ignores Clear Body. Haze does not reduce your stats, instead, it returns your stats to normal, so Clear Body’s effect is not triggered. Clear Body blocks things like Sand Attack and Charm that specifically reduce a stat.
6. Does Clear Amulet stop Haze?
No. The Clear Amulet prevents the holder from having its stats lowered by other Pokémon’s moves or abilities. However, it does not protect against the effects of Haze or Clear Smog.
7. Is Clear Body a Hidden Ability?
No, Clear Body is not a hidden ability. Some Pokémon may have it as a standard ability, but none have it as a hidden ability.
8. What does the ability White Smoke do?
White Smoke prevents enemy Pokémon from decreasing the user’s stats, in the same way as Clear Body. Also, outside of battle, if you have a Pokemon with the White Smoke ability in your party’s lead, you will encounter wild Pokémon 50% less often.
9. Is there an item that can prevent stat reduction?
Yes, the Clear Amulet protects the holder from having its stats lowered by any moves directed at it, as well as the effects of other Pokémon’s Abilities, but it will not help against Haze.
10. Does Covert Cloak stop burn?
Yes, the Covert Cloak will protect the holder from secondary effects such as poison, freeze or burn, and even stop any stat changes the move might have applied.
11. Does Clear Body work with Superpower?
No, while Clear Body does prevent stat reduction caused by another Pokémon, it does not prevent self-inflicted stat reductions such as those caused by moves like Superpower.
12. Can a Pokémon be poisoned and burned at the same time?
Yes, a Pokémon can be burned and poisoned simultaneously. It can also be burned or poisoned at the same time while Asleep, Confused, or Paralyzed.
13. How does burn weaken a Pokémon?
A burned Pokémon will lose 1/16th of its HP each turn, however, this damage over time will not activate if the burned Pokemon knocks out their opponent. The attack drop that occurs on burned pokemon will cut the afflicted Pokemon’s Attack stat in half.
14. Is Clear Body good for Dragapult?
Clear Body is a good ability for Dragapult as it prevents speed reduction from Sticky Web, which often leads to it being easily defeated.
15. Is Light Metal a good ability?
Light Metal is not considered a good ability. It only halves the damage from one attack that hits for neutral damage, and one attack that already hits for not very effective damage, and both of these situations can be avoided in most circumstances. On the other hand, Clear Body is considered a more effective ability.
Conclusion
While Clear Body is an extremely valuable ability in Pokémon battles, it is crucial to understand its specific limitations. It is a stat-reduction defense, not a status-condition defense, meaning it offers no protection against the burn status. For burn protection, players need to rely on abilities like Water Veil or Comatose, or have their Pokémon be a Fire-type. Understanding these distinctions allows for better strategic play and more effective team building.