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Sheer Force ちからずく Sheer Force Flavor text Generation III Currently unknown Generation IV Currently unknown Generation V Removes added effects to increase move damage. Generation VI Removes additional effects to increase move damage. Generation VII Removes additional effects to increase the power of moves when attacking. Generation VIII Removes additional effects to increase the power of moves when attacking.

Sheer Force (Japanese: ちからずく Sheer Force) is an Ability introduced in Generation V.

Effect

In battle

Sheer Force raises the base power of all damaging moves that have any additional effects by 30%, but their additional effects are ignored.

Reducing the target's stats, increasing the user's stats, inflicting a status condition or confusion to the target, and causing the target to flinch are all considered additional effects, so damaging moves that have a chance to cause these effects will have their power increased in exchange for ignoring their additional effects.

Sheer Force does not consider recoil or decreasing the user's own stats to be additional effects. Properties of moves—such as having a high critical-hit ratio, being unable to miss, having variable power or powering up, or having a charging turn, among others—are not considered additional effects. Moves that have one of these properties in addition to an additional effect will be powered up and only the additional effect will be negated. For example, Flare Blitz inflicts recoil damage to the user, but also has an additional effect to burn; if the user has Sheer Force, Flare Blitz's damage will be boosted by 30% and the user will take recoil damage, but it cannot burn the target. Effects of Fling caused by holding specific items are not considered additional effects for the purposes of Sheer Force.

If (and only if) a move is boosted by the effect of Sheer Force, several effects that normally happen after attacking will be skipped. This includes the effects of Eject Button, Red Card, Shell Bell, Kee Berry, and Maranga Berry; the recoil damage from Life Orb; the Abilities Color Change, Pickpocket, Wimp Out, Emergency Exit, and Berserk; as well as Meloetta's opportunity to switch forms if it acquires Sheer Force and uses Relic Song. Other effects are not negated this way; therefore, if a Pokémon with Sheer Force holding a Life Orb uses a move boosted by Sheer Force, it will gain the passive damage boost (because it isn't a secondary effect of the move nor is it on the list of skipped effects), but the Pokémon will not be damaged by the Life Orb.

Sheer Force does not affect Max Moves, neither powering them up nor removing their secondary effects.

Affected moves

The table below lists the moves affected by Sheer Force, as well as the Pokémon that can have Sheer Force and learn those moves.