Adding Abilities to Pokestar

Quick Reference

Files to modify:

1. src/enums/battleEnums.js - Add abilityIdEnum.YOUR_ABILITY entry (ONLY if not exists)
2. src/battle/data/abilities.js - Add the ability implementation

DO NOT modify other abilities or battleConfig.js unless explicitly asked.

Ability Structure

[abilityIdEnum.ABILITY_NAME]: new Ability({
  id: abilityIdEnum.ABILITY_NAME,
  name: "Ability Name",
  description: "Description of what the ability does",
  abilityAdd({ battle, target }) {
    // Called when ability is applied (battle start)
    return {
      // Properties to store for later use in abilityRemove
      listenerId: this.registerListenerFunction({...}),
    };
  },
  abilityRemove({ battle, target, properties }) {
    // Called when ability is removed
    battle.unregisterListener(properties.listenerId);
  },
}),

Properties Pattern

Return state from abilityAdd that you'll need in abilityRemove:

abilityAdd({ battle, target }) {
  return {
    listenerId: this.registerListenerFunction({...}),
    originalValue: target.getStat("atk"),
    triggered: false,
  };
},
abilityRemove({ battle, target, properties }) {
  battle.unregisterListener(properties.listenerId);
}

Event Listener Registration

Abilities have a class-level registerListenerFunction method that automatically includes the ability instance:

abilityAdd({ battle, target }) {
  return {
    listenerId: this.registerListenerFunction({
      battle,
      target,
      eventName: battleEventEnum.AFTER_DAMAGE_DEALT,
      callback: ({ damage, abilityInstance }) => {
        // abilityInstance.data contains the properties
        // Perform ability logic
      },
      conditionCallback: getIsSourcePokemonCallback(target),
    }),
  };
},

Common Patterns

Refer to references/pattern-* for common ability implementations.

Common Gotchas

1. Always Clean Up Listeners: Failing to unregister listeners causes memory leaks.

2. Event Argument Modification: Return modified values from callbacks:

   callback: (args) => {
     return { damage: Math.floor(args.damage * 0.5) };
   };
   

3. abilityInstance: Access stored properties via abilityInstance.data in callbacks.

4. Source vs Target: Use the right condition callback:

   • getIsSourcePokemonCallback - when this Pokemon is dealing damage/using moves
   • getIsTargetPokemonCallback - when this Pokemon is receiving damage/effects

Validation

After implementing an ability, run the ability test suite to validate the implementation:

npm test -- src/battle/data/__tests__/abilities.test.js

This runs an e2e test that verifies all abilities can be applied and removed without throwing errors. If your new ability causes a test failure, fix the implementation and re-run until tests pass.

See the unit-test skill for more details on testing.

References

• add-event-listener skill - Common event types and condition callbacks
• references/pattern-* - Common ability implementation patterns