Reversal Report

Move Name: Reversal
Battle Classification: Physical Attack
Type: Fighting
Total number of affected targets: 1
Range: 1 adjacent target other than user
Direct contact needed to initiate attack: Yes
Base Power: 20, 40, 80, 100, 150, 200
Accuracy Rate: 100%
PP: 15 (maximum 24)

Similar in function to the more commonplace Flail attack, the Reversal attack is a potent variant that takes the move's unique damage capabilities and add a strong Fighting-type twist to them. The Reversal attack is effectively a full-power strike performed with a body part or even the entire body of a Pokémon in close quarters with relatively little technique or preparation. While it might not be exceptionally powerful when the user is healthy, when used at the brink at defeat, this move can easily turn the tide in any battle and prove that a battle should not be counted as a loss until the very last second.

While both the Flail and Reversal attacks rely on nerve impulses as the catalyst for the move, the Reversal attack is slightly more specialized in that it allows for muscle control during the attack. When used, the Reversal attack causes the brain of the user to send out massive electrical signals to the user's muscles but, instead of merely causing them to contract rapidly and uncontrollably, the electrical signals force the muscles to do so only once and not repeatedly. This builds up tremendous tension within the muscles that is only released when the user chooses to release it, which in turn signifies the execution of the Reversal attack. Since it works in much the same way as the Flail attack, the amount of tension that gets built up is completely dependent upon how active the user's pain receptors are and therefore how much damage has actually been inflicted, starting at a measly Base Power of 20 and topping out at 200 when the user has less than 5% of its total health remaining. Unfortunately, because this move is completely dependent upon how damaged the user is, its applications are virtually limited to extremely desperate situations; nonetheless, the ability to deliver a blow as destructive as a Self-Destruct attack in the worst of situations is a powerful strategy that few trainers look completely away from, especially if they have an item like a Focus Band or a Focus Sash with them (which may explain why it was made into TR21 as part of Silph Co.'s first line of TRs and then TM134 for their 9th generation line of TMs).

Countering Reversal: Although an opponent using a Reversal attack does have control over their body, they have very limited mobility and will respond very little to pain during the attack, so dodging or preventing the attack is exceptionally difficult in close quarters. Armor is of little use in protecting against this attack and may even do more harm than good if pieces of armor are driven inward by the force of the attack's impact. The Reversal attack is not one that you are likely to see until near the end of a battle, but that also means that it should be prepared for extensively; if a Pokémon is not able to finish off the opposition completely with a powerful strike, the potential of a complete turn-over in battle can become a real threat that often only strong defenses will be able to handle fully.

Professor Wormwood