Ability

Abilities (Japanese: 特性 special characteristic) are a game mechanic introduced in Generation III. Individual Pokémon may have just one of these special attributes, which generally serve to assist them in battle. Not every Ability is beneficial, though; some can actually hinder the user.

Some Pokémon may have the option of having more than one Ability. In this case, the chances of obtaining a Pokémon with a particular Ability are equally likely. These Pokémon are known as "dual Ability" Pokémon; similarly those with only one are known as "single Ability" Pokémon. Some single Ability Pokémon may have abilities unique to themselves or their evolutionary lines: a signature Ability. However, in the Mystery Dungeon games, dual Ability Pokémon literally have two abilities, which are both active.

Pokémon that evolve and have a certain Ability in their pre-evolution (dual-Ability Pokémon only), but evolve into a dual-Ability Pokémon upon evolution (such as Poochyena with Run Away or Quick Feet evolving into Mightyena with Intimidate or Quick Feet), the Pokémon will keep its Ability from its pre-evolution upon evolving (so a Poochyena with Quick Feet in Generation IV would keep its Ability upon evolving into a Mightyena, while one with Run Away would evolve into a Mightyena with Intimidate instead). If the Pokémon is a Single-Ability Pokémon, then it will still have a 50% chance for each if its evolution is a dual-Ability (Dependent on IVs).

Abilities were carried over into the Generation IV games, and some new abilities were added. Some Pokémon that debuted in the first three generations are able to have these new abilities, as well as their old ones, becoming dual-Ability Pokémon, but will keep the Ability they had in Generation III unless they evolve. All Generation III abilities were maintained, with the exception of the unused Cacophony. The only Ability listed after Cacophony in the game data, Air Lock, was renumbered, and the new abilities followed after.

In Generation V, Pokémon obtained in the Dream World have new hidden abilities, meaning that some species of Pokémon now have three possible abilities. Many of the new abilities in Generation V are exclusive to Pokémon met in the Dream World.

List of abilities

Each Ability listed here is linked to an article containing a list of Pokémon that can have that Ability. For those lists:

• Pokémon listed under 'Single Ability' can only have that Ability; for example, Mew can only have Synchronize. 292 Pokémon have just one Ability.
• Pokémon listed under 'Dual Ability' can have that Ability or another; for example, Chansey can have either the Ability Natural Cure or the Ability Serene Grace. 357 Pokémon may have one of two abilities.
• Pokémon listed under 'Hidden Ability' have that Ability only when obtained from the Pokémon Dream World; for example, Servine usually has Overgrow, but a Servine from the Dream World will have Contrary. 582 Pokémon have hidden abilities.

#	Name	Description	Generation	Single	Dual	Hidden
091	Adaptability	Powers up moves of the same type.	IV	0	3	3
106	Aftermath	Damages the foe landing the finishing hit.	IV	0	4	4
076	Air Lock	Eliminates the effects of weather.	III	1	0	0
148	Analytic	Strengthens moves when moving last.	V	0	0	12
083	Anger Point	Raises Attack upon taking a critical hit.	IV	0	3	4
107	Anticipation	Senses the foe’s dangerous moves.	IV	1	4	1
071	Arena Trap	Prevents the foe from fleeing.	III	0	3	0
123	Bad Dreams	Reduces a sleeping foe’s HP.	IV	1	0	0
004	Battle Armor	The Pokémon is protected against critical hits.	III	2	4	2
145	Big Pecks	Protects the Pokémon from Defense-lowering attacks.	V	0	7	4
066	Blaze	Powers up Fire-type moves in a pinch.	III	15	0	2
034	Chlorophyll	Boosts the Pokémon’s Speed in sunshine.	III	10	19	6
029	Clear Body	Prevents the Pokémon’s stats from being lowered.	III	6	2	3
013	Cloud Nine	Eliminates the effects of weather.	III	0	2	4
016	Color Change	Changes the Pokémon’s type to the foe’s move.	III	1	0	0
014	Compoundeyes	The Pokémon’s accuracy is boosted.	III	2	4	1
126	Contrary	Inverts stat modifiers.	V	0	0	5
130	Cursed Body	Has a 30% chance of Disabling any move that hits the Pokémon.	V	0	2	3
056	Cute Charm	Contact with the Pokémon may cause infatuation.	III	3	8	1
006	Damp	Prevents combatants from self destructing.	III	0	8	10
129	Defeatist	Halves Attack and Special Attack below 50% HP.	V	2	0	0
128	Defiant	Raises Attack two stages upon having any stat lowered.	V	0	2	10
088	Download	Adjusts power according to the foe’s lowest defensive stat.	IV	1	3	0
002	Drizzle	The Pokémon makes it rain if it appears in battle.	III	1	0	1
070	Drought	The Pokémon makes it sunny if it is in battle.	III	1	0	2
087	Dry Skin	Reduces HP if it is hot. Water restores HP.	IV	0	4	1
048	Early Bird	The Pokémon awakens quickly from sleep.	III	0	13	2
027	Effect Spore	Contact may paralyze, poison, or cause sleep.	III	2	4	1
111	Filter	Powers down super- effective moves.	IV	0	2	0
049	Flame Body	Contact with the Pokémon may burn the foe.	III	5	5	4
138	Flare Boost	Increases Special Attack to 1.5× when burned.	V	0	0	2
018	Flash Fire	Powers up Fire-type moves if hit by a fire move.	III	4	10	4
122	Flower Gift	Powers up party Pokémon when it is sunny.	IV	1	0	0
059	Forecast	Transforms with the weather.	III	1	0	0
108	Forewarn	Determines what moves the foe has.	IV	0	6	0
132	Friend Guard	Decreases damage inflicted against ally Pokémon.	V	0	0	5
119	Frisk	The Pokémon can check the foe’s held item.	IV	3	3	5
082	Gluttony	Encourages the early use of a held Berry.	IV	6	4	9
062	Guts	Boosts Attack if there is a status problem.	III	3	14	4
139	Harvest	Restores any held Berry after the turn on which it is used.	V	0	0	3
131	Healer	Has a 30% chance of curing each adjacent ally of any major status ailment after each turn.	V	0	2	3
085	Heatproof	Weakens the power of Fire-type moves.	IV	0	2	0
134	Heavy Metal	Doubles the Pokémon's weight.	V	0	0	5
118	Honey Gather	The Pokémon may gather Honey from somewhere.	IV	1	0	1
037	Huge Power	Raises the Pokémon’s Attack stat.	III	0	3	0
055	Hustle	Boosts the Attack stat, but lowers accuracy.	III	3	7	8
093	Hydration	Heals status problems if it is raining.	IV	2	7	9
052	Hyper Cutter	Prevents the Attack stat from being lowered.	III	0	9	0
115	Ice Body	The Pokémon regains HP in a hailstorm.	IV	3	5	4
035	Illuminate	Raises the likelihood of meeting wild Pokémon.	III	0	6	0
149	Illusion	Takes the appearance of the last conscious party Pokémon upon being sent out until hit by a damaging move.	V	2	0	0
017	Immunity	Prevents the Pokémon from getting poisoned.	III	1	1	1
150	Imposter	Transforms upon entering battle.	V	0	0	1
151	Infiltrator	Ignores Light Screen, Reflect, and Safeguard.	V	0	2	9
039	Inner Focus	The Pokémon is protected from flinching.	III	4	16	6
015	Insomnia	Prevents the Pokémon from falling asleep.	III	0	10	1
022	Intimidate	Lowers the foe’s Attack stat.	III	5	19	3
160	Iron Barbs	Damages attacking Pokémon for 1/8 their max HP on contact.	V	2	0	0
089	Iron Fist	Boosts the power of punching moves.	IV	0	3	7
154	Justified	Raises Attack when hit by dark-type moves.	V	4	0	5
051	Keen Eye	Prevents the Pokémon from losing accuracy.	III	5	19	5
103	Klutz	The Pokémon can’t use any held items.	IV	0	6	1
102	Leaf Guard	Prevents status problems in sunny weather.	IV	1	6	7
026	Levitate	Gives full immunity to all Ground-type moves.	III	30	3	0
135	Light Metal	Halves the Pokémon's weight.	V	0	0	5
031	Lightningrod	The Pokémon draws in all Electric-type moves.	III	0	9	6
007	Limber	The Pokémon is protected from paralysis.	III	1	7	2
064	Liquid Ooze	Inflicts damage on foes using any draining move.	III	0	4	0
156	Magic Bounce	Reflects most non-damaging moves back at their user.	V	0	0	3
098	Magic Guard	The Pokémon only takes damage from attacks.	IV	0	7	3
040	Magma Armor	Prevents the Pokémon from becoming frozen.	III	0	3	0
042	Magnet Pull	Prevents Steel-type Pokémon from escaping.	III	0	5	0
063	Marvel Scale	Boosts Defense if there is a status problem.	III	1	0	2
058	Minus	Boosts Sp. Atk if another Pokémon has Plus.	III	1	3	2
104	Mold Breaker	Moves can be used regardless of abilities.	IV	2	4	6
141	Moody	Raises a random stat two stages and lowers another one stage after each turn.	V	0	0	7
078	Motor Drive	Raises Speed if hit by an Electric-type move.	IV	1	2	1
153	Moxie	Raises Attack one stage upon KOing a Pokémon.	V	0	5	6
136	Multiscale	Halves damage taken from full HP.	V	0	0	2
121	Multitype	Changes type to match the held Plate.	IV	1	0	0
152	Mummy	Changes attacking Pokémon's abilities to Mummy on contact.	V	2	0	0
030	Natural Cure	All status problems are healed upon switching out.	III	3	10	0
099	No Guard	Ensures the Pokémon and its foe’s attacks land.	IV	0	3	3
096	Normalize	All the Pokémon’s moves become the Normal type.	IV	0	2	0
012	Oblivious	Prevents the Pokémon from becoming infatuated.	III	0	16	3
142	Overcoat	Protects against damage from weather.	V	0	5	12
065	Overgrow	Powers up Grass-type moves in a pinch.	III	15	0	2
020	Own Tempo	Prevents the Pokémon from becoming confused.	III	0	13	4
124	Pickpocket	Steals attacking Pokémon's held item on contact.	V	0	0	5
053	Pickup	The Pokémon may pick up items.	III	1	9	0
057	Plus	Boosts Sp. Atk if another Pokémon has Minus.	III	1	3	3
090	Poison Heal	Restores HP if the Pokémon is poisoned.	IV	0	2	1
038	Poison Point	Contact with the Pokémon may poison the foe.	III	0	14	0
143	Poison Touch	Has a 20% chance of poisoning Pokémon upon contact when attacking.	V	0	1	4
158	Prankster	Raises non-damaging moves' priority by one stage.	V	2	2	7
046	Pressure	The Pokémon raises the foe’s PP usage.	III	18	3	4
074	Pure Power	Boosts the power of physical attacks.	III	2	0	0
095	Quick Feet	Boosts Speed if there is a status problem.	IV	0	5	7
044	Rain Dish	The Pokémon gradually recovers HP in rain.	III	0	3	8
155	Rattled	Raises Speed one stage upon being hit by a Dark, Ghost, or Bug move.	V	0	0	11
120	Reckless	Powers up moves that have recoil damage.	IV	0	3	8
144	Regenerator	Heals for 1/3 max HP upon leaving battle.	V	0	3	14
079	Rivalry	Raises Attack if the foe is of the same gender.	IV	0	12	4
069	Rock Head	Protects the Pokémon from recoil damage.	III	2	16	0
024	Rough Skin	Inflicts damage to the foe on contact.	III	2	1	3
050	Run Away	Enables sure getaway from wild Pokémon.	III	0	16	7
159	Sand Force	Strengthens Rock, Ground, and Steel moves to 1.3× their power during a sandstorm.	V	1	2	11
146	Sand Rush	Doubles Speed during a sandstorm.	V	0	4	2
045	Sand Stream	The Pokémon summons a sandstorm in battle.	III	3	0	0
008	Sand Veil	Boosts the Pokémon’s evasion in a sandstorm.	III	7	4	7
157	Sap Sipper	Absorbs Grass moves, raising Attack one stage.	V	0	3	8
113	Scrappy	Enables moves to hit Ghost-type foes.	IV	0	2	7
032	Serene Grace	Boosts the likelihood of added effects appearing.	III	2	8	2
023	Shadow Tag	Prevents the foe from escaping.	III	2	0	6
061	Shed Skin	The Pokémon may heal its own status problems.	III	10	5	0
125	Sheer Force	Strengthens moves with extra effects to 1.3× their power, but prevents their extra effects.	V	1	6	17
075	Shell Armor	The Pokémon is protected against critical hits.	III	1	13	7
019	Shield Dust	Blocks the added effects of attacks taken.	III	4	1	0
086	Simple	The Pokémon is prone to wild stat changes.	IV	0	3	2
092	Skill Link	Increases the frequency of multi-strike moves.	IV	0	2	4
112	Slow Start	Temporarily halves Attack and Speed.	IV	1	0	0
097	Sniper	Powers up moves if they become critical hits.	IV	0	7	5
081	Snow Cloak	Raises evasion in a hailstorm.	IV	4	3	1
117	Snow Warning	The Pokémon summons a hailstorm in battle.	IV	2	0	0
094	Solar Power	Boosts Sp. Atk, but lowers HP in sunshine.	IV	0	3	3
116	Solid Rock	Powers down super- effective moves.	IV	0	4	0
043	Soundproof	Gives full immunity to all sound-based moves.	III	3	6	3
003	Speed Boost	The Pokémon’s Speed stat is gradually boosted.	III	1	2	5
100	Stall	The Pokémon moves after even slower foes.	IV	0	1	0
009	Static	Contact with the Pokémon may cause paralysis.	III	9	5	0
080	Steadfast	Raises Speed each time the Pokémon flinches.	IV	1	3	5
001	Stench	The stench helps keep wild Pokémon away.	III	0	6	1
060	Sticky Hold	Protects the Pokémon from item theft.	III	0	8	0
114	Storm Drain	The Pokémon draws in all Water-type moves.	IV	0	4	3
005	Sturdy	The Pokémon is protected against 1-hit KO attacks.	III	8	22	2
021	Suction Cups	Negates moves that force switching out.	III	2	1	0
105	Super Luck	Heightens the critical-hit ratios of moves.	IV	0	6	3
068	Swarm	Powers up Bug-type moves in a pinch.	III	4	16	4
033	Swift Swim	Boosts the Pokémon’s Speed in rain.	III	8	20	10
028	Synchronize	Passes on a burn, poison, or paralysis to the foe.	III	3	12	0
077	Tangled Feet	Raises evasion if the Pokémon is confused.	IV	0	5	2
101	Technician	Powers up the Pokémon’s weaker moves.	IV	0	9	5
140	Telepathy	Protects against damaging moves from friendly Pokémon.	V	0	2	12
164	Teravolt	Makes moves ignore targets' abilities if they could hinder or prevent them.	V	1	0	0
047	Thick Fat	Raises resistance to Fire- and Ice-type moves.	III	0	15	5
110	Tinted Lens	Powers up “not very effective” moves.	IV	0	4	5
067	Torrent	Powers up Water-type moves in a pinch.	III	15	0	2
137	Toxic Boost	Increases Attack to 1.5× when poisoned.	V	0	0	1
036	Trace	The Pokémon copies the foe’s Ability.	III	0	5	0
054	Truant	The Pokémon can’t attack on consecutive turns.	III	2	0	1
163	Turboblaze	Makes moves ignore targets' abilities if they could hinder or prevent them.	V	1	0	0
109	Unaware	Ignores any change in stats by the foe.	IV	0	4	3
084	Unburden	Raises Speed if a held item is used.	IV	0	4	5
127	Unnerve	Prevents opposing Pokémon from eating held Berries.	V	0	2	15
162	Victory Star	Raises moves' accuracy to 1.1× for friendly Pokémon.	V	1	0	0
072	Vital Spirit	Prevents the Pokémon from falling asleep.	III	1	4	7
010	Volt Absorb	Restores HP if hit by an Electric-type move.	III	1	2	2
011	Water Absorb	Restores HP if hit by a Water-type move.	III	1	12	8
041	Water Veil	Prevents the Pokémon from getting a burn.	III	0	4	7
133	Weak Armor	Raises Speed and lowers Defense by one stage each upon being hit by any move.	V	0	1	15
073	White Smoke	Prevents the Pokémon’s stats from being lowered.	III	1	0	1
025	Wonder Guard	Only super effective moves will hit.	III	1	0	0
147	Wonder Skin	Has a 50% chance of protecting against non-damaging moves that inflict major status ailments.	V	0	1	3
161	Zen Mode	Changes the Pokémon's shape when HP is halved.	V	0	0	1

In the TCG

Abilities under the name of abilities did not appear in the Trading Card Game until the Black & White expansion kicking off Generation V. However, this was merely a renaming of the longstanding Pokémon Powers. Pokémon Powers were very similar to abilities, but were introduced much earlier, appearing in the very first Base Set during Generation I. In fact, some abilities from the games originally appeared as Pokémon Powers.

With the introduction of the Expedition Base Set, Pokémon Powers were split into two groups: Poké-Powers and Poké-Bodies. Poké-Powers are special effects that the player must trigger or announce using. A Poké-Body's effect is a passive ability that is always in effect. When Pokémon Powers became Abilities, these distinctions were done away with.

Trivia

• As of Generation V, excluding Dream World abilities, there are 106 Pokémon (almost exactly one-sixth of the total) who have unique Ability combinations.

See also

• Ability variations
• List of Pokémon by ability
• List of abilities in other languages

This article is part of Project Moves and Abilities, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on two related aspects of the Pokémon games.