And you all thought I was crazy!
An off-hand remark on GameFAQs by a guy called HugeBlackDude sent me hunting. He told the board that Ramuh's physicals don't provoke counter-attacks from Monks and those with the support ability set. Seeing this myth debunked only yesterday, I was quick to dismiss the info, until I ran into Ramuh for unrelated reasons. And lo and behold, never did Ramuh provoke counters. At least twenty battles, and no counters whatsoever on a party of four Monks. Then I set Berserk on the guy, and his second physical provoked. How odd...
Long story short, Ramuh doesn't use normal physicals. He uses a pseudo-physical attack that works like a physical attack, but is different in at least four ways; it doesn't provoke Counter-attacks, it doesn't dispel the Singing status, it doesn't remove Sleep and it doesn't remove Confuse. In the AI script, the normal physical is indicated by value #80, the pseudo-physical is indicated by value #DE. Since the Berserk status forces the affected target to use the normal attack, it will make those attacks counterable again.
So I was right, sorta... It also proves that those dingbats at Square knew the possible conflicts with Counter and final bit setting, just look at the list of creatures that always use the pseudo-physical:Ramuh, Catoblepas, Sekhmet, Sandworm, Exdeath. Haven't checked yet for the GBA monsters, will do at a later date.
