Nature

Quirky redirects here. For the Pokémon Musical category, see Pokémon Musical.

Relaxed redirects here. For the Pokémon Super Contest theme, see Visual Competition.

Naughty redirects here. For the Natu belonging to McKenzie, see McKenzie.

Natures (Japanese: 性格 nature) are the mechanic that influence how a Pokémon's stats grow and were first introduced in Generation III.

In all games it appears in, a Pokémon's Nature is displayed on the Pokémon's summary screen. From Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver onward, the stats affected by a Pokémon's Nature are highlighted on their summary screens: the increased stat is notated in red text and the decreased stat is notated in blue text.

Mechanics

A Pokémon's Nature usually affects the growth rate of two of its stats, ultimately increasing one of its non-HP stats (Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, or Speed) by 10% and decreasing another by 10%. Natures also determine the Pokémon's favorite flavor and its disliked flavor. Each stat is associated with a flavor, and the flavor associated with the stat that the Nature increases will be the Pokémon's favorite. The opposite also holds true. For example, since the Lonely Nature increases a Pokémon's Attack stat (which is associated with the Spicy flavor) and decreases its Defense stat (which is associated with the Sour flavor), the Pokémon's favorite flavor will be Spicy and it will dislike Sour flavors.

A Pokémon's Nature is determined when it is generated by the game: when it is obtained as an Egg from the Pokémon Day Care (by the player in Generation III—except in Pokémon Emerald—and Generation V, or by the Day-Care Man in Emerald and Generation IV), when it is encountered in the wild, or when it is given to the player by a non-player character. In Generations III and IV, Nature is determined by the Pokémon's personality value. In later games, it is stored in an unrelated variable.

Every Nature represents one of the 25 unique possible combinations of stat increase and decrease; thus, there are five Natures that have no effect on the Pokémon's stat growth (Bashful, Docile, Hardy, Quirky, and Serious). These five neutral Natures are technically Natures that increase and decrease the same stat.

List of Natures

The following table lists each one of the 25 Natures and their effects on a Pokémon.

Nature	Japanese	Increased stat	Decreased stat	Favorite flavor	Disliked flavor
Lonely	さみしがり	Attack	Defense	Spicy	Sour
Brave	ゆうかん	Attack	Speed	Spicy	Sweet
Adamant	いじっぱり	Attack	Sp. Attack	Spicy	Dry
Naughty	やんちゃ	Attack	Sp. Defense	Spicy	Bitter
Bold	ずぶとい	Defense	Attack	Sour	Spicy
Relaxed	のんき	Defense	Speed	Sour	Sweet
Impish	わんぱく	Defense	Sp. Attack	Sour	Dry
Lax	のうてんき	Defense	Sp. Defense	Sour	Bitter
Modest	ひかえめ	Sp. Attack	Attack	Dry	Spicy
Mild	おっとり	Sp. Attack	Defense	Dry	Sour
Quiet	れいせい	Sp. Attack	Speed	Dry	Sweet
Rash	うっかりや	Sp. Attack	Sp. Defense	Dry	Bitter
Calm	おだやか	Sp. Defense	Attack	Bitter	Spicy
Gentle	おとなしい	Sp. Defense	Defense	Bitter	Sour
Sassy	なまいき	Sp. Defense	Speed	Bitter	Sweet
Careful	しんちょう	Sp. Defense	Sp. Attack	Bitter	Dry
Timid	おくびょう	Speed	Attack	Sweet	Spicy
Hasty	せっかち	Speed	Defense	Sweet	Sour
Jolly	ようき	Speed	Sp. Attack	Sweet	Dry
Naive	むじゃき	Speed	Sp. Defense	Sweet	Bitter
Hardy	がんばりや	—	—	—	—
Docile	すなお	—	—	—	—
Bashful	てれや	—	—	—	—
Quirky	きまぐれ	—	—	—	—
Serious	まじめ	—	—	—	—

Stat-focused table

As each Nature uniquely boosts one stat and hinders another, the 25 Natures may also be arranged into a table such as the one shown below.

Nature table
No change ↘		Decreased stat ↓ (disliked flavor)
		↓Attack (Spicy)	↓Defense (Sour)	↓Sp.Atk (Dry)	↓Sp.Def (Bitter)	↓Speed (Sweet)
Increased stat ↑ (favorite flavor)	↑Attack (Spicy)	Hardy	Lonely	Adamant	Naughty	Brave
	↑Defense (Sour)	Bold	Docile	Impish	Lax	Relaxed
	↑Sp.Atk (Dry)	Modest	Mild	Bashful	Rash	Quiet
	↑Sp.Def (Bitter)	Calm	Gentle	Careful	Quirky	Sassy
	↑Speed (Sweet)	Timid	Hasty	Jolly	Naive	Serious

Other applications

Breeding

From Pokémon Emerald onwards, a Ditto or a female Pokémon that holds an Everstone has a 50% chance of passing its Nature to its offspring when at the Pokémon Day Care. Starting in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, male Pokémon can also pass on their Nature by holding an Everstone. Starting in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, the Everstone's effect was increased to 100% effectiveness.

In Generation IV, parents would only be able to properly pass down their Nature when holding an Everstone if both Pokémon came from games of the same language. If they did not, the Masuda method would activate and regenerate the personality value to attempt to make the Pokémon Shiny, thereby unsetting the Nature that had previously been set. In later generations, this was not a problem since Nature was separated from the personality value.

In the wild

Since Pokémon Emerald, if a Pokémon with the Ability Synchronize is leading the party, there is a 50% chance of encountering a wild Pokémon with the same Nature. Synchronize affects any encounter, including stationary legendaries, but does not affect Pokémon that were caught during a Stroll in the Pokéwalker or Pokémon received from a non-player character such as the Eevee that Bill gives or resurrected Fossil Pokémon.

Battle Palace

Main article: Battle Frontier (Generation III) → Battle Palace

In the Battle Palace and in Verdanturf Town's Battle Tent, Trainers do not control their Pokémon during battle. Instead, Pokémon have different battle styles depending on their Nature.

All attacks are grouped into three categories: Attack, Defense (primarily status moves targetting the user), and Support (primarily status moves targetting the opponent).

All Natures have a set ratio of Attack, Defense, and Support moves that Pokémon with that Nature will prefer to use. These ratios may change when the Pokémon's HP falls below 50%. During battle, a Pokémon will select a category in which it wants to attack and then select a random attack from its moveset that fits that category; if no such attack exists, the Pokémon will "appear incapable of using its power" and skip its turn.

In side games

In Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, a Pokémon's Nature affects the effectiveness of different purification methods. An action that greatly lowers the Heart Gauge of one Shadow Pokémon might do very little for another one based on their respective Natures.

A few natures appear in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, whenever the player finishes their personality test. These natures determine which Pokémon the player will transform into.

Other

In Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, a man in the house closest to the Sunyshore City Heritage Site asks to see Pokémon with different Natures (Serious, Naive, and Quirky), and will give the player three Pokétch applications in return.

Starting in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the stats increased or decreased by a Pokémon's Nature have (respectively) a red or blue highlight on a Pokémon's summary screen.

From Generation V onwards, the player can assign a Nature to their Trainer profile. In Generation V, this is part of their Trainer Card and affects what the player will say on others' games at the Unity Tower. In Generation VI, this is part of the player's profile in the Player Search System.

In other languages

Language Title Mandarin Chinese 性格 Xìnggé French Nature German Wesen Italian Natura Korean 성격 Seonggyeok Spanish Naturaleza Turkish Mizaç

Specific Natures

English	Kana	Rōmaji	French	German	Italian	Spanish	Hangul	Romanized	Hànzì	Romanized
Adamant	いじっぱり	Ijippari	Rigide	Hart	Decisa	Firme	고집	Gojip
Bashful	てれや	Tereya	Pudique	Zaghaft	Ritrosa	Tímida	수줍음	Sujup'eum
Bold	ずぶとい	Zubutoi	Assuré	Kühn	Sicura	Osada	대담	Daedam
Brave	ゆうかん	Yūkan	Brave	Mutig	Audace	Audaz	용감	Yonggam
Calm	おだやか	Odayaka	Calme	Still	Calma	Serena	차분	Chabun
Careful	しんちょう	Shinchō	Prudent	Sacht	Cauta	Cauta	신중	Sinjung
Docile	すなお	Sunao	Docile	Sanft	Docile	Dócil	온순	Onsun
Gentle	おとなしい	Otonashī	Gentil	Zart	Gentile	Amable	얌전	Yamjeon
Hardy	がんばりや	Ganbariya	Hardi	Robust	Ardita	Fuerte	노력	Noryeok
Hasty	せっかち	Sekkachi	Pressé	Hastig	Lesta	Activa	성급	Seonggeup
Impish	わんぱく	Wanpaku	Malin	Pfiffig	Scaltra	Agitada	장난꾸러기	Jangnankkureogi
Jolly	ようき	Yōki	Jovial	Froh	Allegra	Alegre	명랑	Myeongrang
Lax	のうてんき	Nōtenki	Lâche	Lasch	Fiacca	Floja	촐랑	Chullang
Lonely	さみしがり	Samishigari	Solo	Solo	Schiva	Huraña	외로움	Oeroum
Mild	おっとり	Ottori	Doux	Mild	Mite	Afable	의젓	Yijeot
Modest	ひかえめ	Hikaeme	Modeste	Mäßig	Modesta	Modesta	조심	Josim
Naive	むじゃき	Mujaki	Naïf	Naiv	Ingenua	Ingenua	천진난만	Cheonjinnanman
Naughty	やんちゃ	Yancha	Mauvais	Frech	Birbona	Pícara	개구쟁이	Gaegujaeng'i
Quiet	れいせい	Reisei	Discret	Ruhig	Quieta	Mansa	냉정	Naengjeong
Quirky	きまぐれ	Kimagure	Bizarre	Kauzig	Furba	Rara	변덕	Byeongdeok
Rash	うっかりや	Ukkariya	Foufou	Hitzig	Ardente	Alocada	덜렁	Deolleong
Relaxed	のんき	Nonki	Relax	Locker	Placida	Plácida	무사태평	Musataepyeong
Sassy	なまいき	Namaiki	Malpoli	Forsch	Vivace	Grosera	건방	Geonbang
Serious	まじめ	Majime	Sérieux	Ernst	Seria	Seria	성실	Seongsil
Timid	おくびょう	Okubyō	Timide	Scheu	Timida	Miedosa	겁쟁이	Geopjaeng'i

Pokémon individuality
Level • Stats • Friendship • Gender • Ability (Hidden Ability) • Nature • Characteristic Effort values • Individual values • Go Power • Effort level Condition • Performance • Affection • Memory

This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.