What Moves Does Covert Cloak Protect Against? A Comprehensive Guide
The Covert Cloak is a held item in the Pokémon video games, particularly prominent in recent generations, designed to provide crucial protection against a variety of secondary move effects. In essence, it shields the holder from additional effects triggered by damaging moves. This means that while the primary attack will still land, any accompanying side effects will be negated. Let’s dive deep into exactly which moves are rendered harmless by this valuable item.
In short, the Covert Cloak protects against moves that have a secondary effect in addition to damage. Think of it as a defense against moves that try to do more than just deal damage. These secondary effects include:
- Flinching: Moves like Rock Slide and Fake Out often cause the target to flinch, preventing them from acting on that turn. The Covert Cloak makes the holder immune to this effect.
- Stat Drops: Many moves reduce the target’s stats as a secondary effect. Examples include Icy Wind (lowering Speed), Acid Spray (lowering Special Defense), and Lunge (lowering Attack). A Pokémon wielding a Covert Cloak will not have its stats lowered by these attacks.
- Status Conditions Triggered by Attacks: Certain moves like Ice Fang have a chance to inflict status conditions like freeze. The Covert Cloak prevents these secondary chances for status conditions, ensuring the user can’t be frozen, burned, or poisoned due to the move’s effect.
- Passive Damage from Attacks: Moves that inflict passive damage like Salt Cure are mitigated, with the Covert Cloak preventing the passive damage component.
- Trapping effects of moves: Moves such as Whirlpool that both cause damage and trap the target will not have the trapping effect.
It is crucial to understand that the Covert Cloak does not protect against the primary effects of status moves that have no damage component. For instance, the move Will-O-Wisp, which solely inflicts a burn, will still inflict this status effect upon a Pokemon holding a Covert Cloak. Also, the Covert Cloak does not protect against stat changes resulting from your own moves, for instance using Leaf Storm, which lowers your Special Attack stat, will still lower it regardless of the cloak. The same applies to status conditions from your own moves, for example using moves like Flare Blitz which can still inflict the burn on yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does Covert Cloak protect against confusion caused by attacks?
Yes, the Covert Cloak protects against confusion that is inflicted as a secondary effect of an attacking move. For example, if an attack has a small chance to confuse and does damage, Covert Cloak protects against the secondary effect of confusion. This differs from confusion inflicted by status moves, which are not blocked.
Does the Covert Cloak stop Clear Smog’s stat removal?
No, the Covert Cloak does not protect against Clear Smog. Clear Smog’s ability to remove stat boosts is considered a primary effect, not a secondary one, thus the Covert Cloak will not prevent this.
Does Covert Cloak work in raids?
Absolutely. The Covert Cloak is incredibly useful in raids. It can prevent status conditions or stat drops inflicted by many common raid boss attacks. For example, it would prevent a raid boss’s attacks from poisoning you, or dropping your stats if it’s a move that deals damage and then drops your stat.
Does Covert Cloak stop the flinching of Fake Out?
Yes, the Covert Cloak is a perfect counter to flinching moves like Fake Out. The user will still take the damage, but will not flinch, allowing them to act on their turn.
Can Clear Amulet prevent secondary effects similar to Covert Cloak?
No, the Clear Amulet works differently. It prevents stat drops from opponent’s moves and abilities, but does not protect from other effects such as flinching, status conditions inflicted by attacks, and trapping. While both items protect from specific secondary effects, they have different applications.
Does Covert Cloak prevent the secondary effect of trapping from Whirlpool?
Yes, the Covert Cloak will protect against secondary effects such as trapping, which would otherwise have the trapped opponent take damage each turn from moves like Whirlpool. The damage from the move itself will still apply, but not the subsequent trapping.
Does Defiant activate if I get hit with an attack that drops my stat even when I’m holding Covert Cloak?
No, if your opponent’s damaging move drops your stat, but you are holding a Covert Cloak, the secondary effect of the move will be ignored, therefore Defiant will not activate. This contrasts with Clear Amulet which doesn’t block the activation of abilities such as Defiant and Competitive.
Does Covert Cloak protect against stat drops from my own moves?
No, the Covert Cloak only blocks stat drops from the opponent’s attacking moves. Moves like Close Combat or Overheat, which reduce your stats as a primary effect, will still reduce your stats even while holding the Covert Cloak.
Does Covert Cloak stop status conditions from self-inflicted moves like Flare Blitz?
No, the Covert Cloak only protects against the additional effects of opponent’s damaging moves. Self-inflicted status conditions, such as the burn from Flare Blitz, or stat drops from your own moves will still take place even with the Covert Cloak held.
Can Covert Cloak prevent status condition caused by Ice Fang?
Yes, the Covert Cloak prevents status conditions inflicted as a secondary effect of damaging attacks. Ice Fang, for example, may cause a Pokemon to freeze, but with the cloak equipped, the freeze effect will not occur.
Does Covert Cloak work against Haze?
No, Haze clears all stat changes. The Covert Cloak does not prevent this, as it does not work against primary status move effects.
Does Mirror Armor work on Secondary Stat Drops?
Mirror Armor specifically reflects stat-lowering effects back to the user. It is not a prevention. If you are trying to block secondary stat drops, the Covert Cloak is the item you want.
Does Covert Cloak stop passive damage?
Yes, Covert Cloak does protect against passive damage from an opponent’s move, if it’s a part of an attacking move. For example, Salt Cure will not inflict the passive damage if the target has the Covert Cloak.
Is Covert Cloak a good item in competitive Pokemon?
Absolutely! The Covert Cloak is a highly valuable item in competitive Pokemon battles, particularly in formats where flinching, status conditions, and stat drops are prevalent. It allows you to reliably use your moves without fear of the secondary effects of common moves.
Does Covert Cloak prevent speed drops from Icy Wind?
Yes, Icy Wind, among other moves, is a move that lowers speed while dealing damage. The Covert Cloak prevents the speed drop that comes with this move, thus making it a valuable item in certain scenarios.