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Ability

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An Ability (Japanese: 特性 ability) is a game mechanic introduced in Generation III that provides a passive effect in battle or in the overworld. Individual Pokémon may have only one Ability at a time. Prior to Generation VI, an Ability could not be changed after a Pokémon is obtained except by evolution, where the Ability it changes into is determined by the former Ability and form change. Most abilities are beneficial, but some will hinder the user in certain scenarios. Some fairly rare battle strategies can take advantage of this fact and pass unwanted abilities to foes.

Mechanics

Primal Kyogre activating its Ability, Primordial Sea

Some species of Pokémon may have multiple Abilities. Pokémon of these species caught in the wild will have one of two possible Abilities, and there is a 50% chance of encountering either. In terms of game data, these Abilities may be thought of as being stored in separate slots (i.e. Munna has Forewarn in the first slot and Synchronize in the second).

The only way a Pokémon can normally change its Ability is upon evolution. The "slot" storage system means that if an unevolved Pokémon has the "first" Ability for its species, it will have the "first" Ability of its evolved species upon reaching this stage, even if this Ability differs in the evolved species. In other words, a Poochyena with Run Away would evolve into a Mightyena with Intimidate, while a Poochyena with Quick Feet would evolve into a Mightyena with Quick Feet. If the unevolved Pokémon has only one Ability, but its evolution may have one of two Abilities, then it has a 50% chance of acquiring either Ability (dependent on its personality value). Generation VI introduced the Ability Capsule, which allows the user to change a Pokémon's Ability, under two conditions: the current Ability is not a Hidden Ability, and the species has two regular Abilities. It is consumed after use.

When Abilities were introduced in Generation III, some Pokémon only had one possible Ability. A number of these species were given a second Ability in Generation IV; if a Pokémon of a species which gained a new Ability in Generation IV is evolved in Generation IV or V, its Ability will be recalculated.

Some Abilities also have effects outside of battle.

Hidden Abilities

Main article: List of Pokémon with released Hidden Abilities (Generation V)
Main article: List of Pokémon with released Hidden Abilities (Generation VI)

Beginning in Generation V, most Pokémon were given access to another Ability, referred to in-game as a Hidden Ability, if obtained under certain circumstances:

If a female Pokémon has a Hidden Ability and is bred, it has a 60% chance of giving that Ability to each of its children. Each of the other Abilities has a 20% chance of being passed down. In Generation V, Hidden Abilities cannot be passed down from male or genderless Pokémon, or when breeding with Ditto. In Generation VI, this was changed so that male and genderless Pokémon have the chance to pass down their Hidden Ability, but only when bred with Ditto. A Ditto with its Hidden Ability cannot pass down a Hidden Ability to offspring.

Abilities and breeding

The mechanics of which Ability is acquired upon hatching a Pokémon Egg (in instances when a hatched Pokémon may have one of two Abilities) varies from game to game. In all games up to and including Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, a Pokémon hatched from an Egg has a 50% chance of acquiring either Ability.

However, starting from Pokémon Black and White, there is an 80% chance of the resulting offspring having the same "slotted" Ability as its mother and hence a 20% chance of the other Ability being passed down as long as the other parent is not Ditto. From Pokémon X and Y onwards, if one parent is Ditto, there is an 80% chance that the non-Ditto parent's Ability will be passed on.

List of Abilities

# Name Effect Generation Single Dual Hidden
091 Adaptability Powers up moves of the same type. IV 0 4 5
184 Aerilate Normal-type moves become Flying-type moves. VI 1 0 0
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 2
071 Arena Trap Prevents the foe from fleeing. III 0 3 0
165 Aroma Veil Protects allies from attacks that limit their move choices. VI 0 0 2
188 Aura Break The effects of "Aura" Abilities are reversed. VI 1 0 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 8 4
066 Blaze Powers up Fire-type moves in a pinch. III 18 0 2
171 Bulletproof Protects the Pokémon from some ball and bomb moves. VI 0 0 3
— Cacophony Avoids sound-based moves. III 0 0 0
167 Cheek Pouch Restores HP as well when the Pokémon eats a Berry. VI 0 3 0
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 7 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
172 Competitive Boosts the Sp.Atk stat when a stat is lowered. VI 0 7 1
014 Compound Eyes The Pokémon’s accuracy is boosted. III 2 6 1
126 Contrary Inverts stat modifiers. V 0 2 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 1 12 1
006 Damp Prevents combatants from self destructing. III 0 8 10
186 Dark Aura Powers up each Pokémon's Dark-type moves. VI 1 0 0
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
191 Delta Stream Eliminates weather effects and eliminates weaknesses of Flying-type Pokémon. VI 1 0 0
190 Desolate Land Creates harsh sunlight. VI 1 0 0
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 2 0 2
087 Dry Skin Reduces HP if it is hot. Water restores HP. IV 0 6 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
187 Fairy Aura Powers up each Pokémon's Fairy-type moves. VI 1 0 0
111 Filter Powers down supereffective moves. IV 1 2 0
049 Flame Body Contact with the Pokémon may burn the foe. III 9 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
166 Flower Veil Prevents lowering of ally Grass-type Pokémon's stats. VI 3 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 8
119 Frisk The Pokémon can check the foe’s held item. IV 0 12 8
169 Fur Coat Halves damage from physical moves. VI 1 0 0
177 Gale Wings Gives priority to Flying-type moves. VI 0 0 3
082 Gluttony Encourages the early use of a held Berry. IV 6 4 9
183 Gooey Contact with the Pokémon lowers the attacker's Speed stat. VI 0 0 3
179 Grass Pelt Boosts the Defense stat in Grassy Terrain. VI 0 0 2
062 Guts Boosts Attack if there is a status problem. III 3 14 4
139 Harvest Sometimes restores a consumed Berry. V 0 0 5
131 Healer Has a 30% chance of curing each adjacent ally of any major status ailment after each turn. V 2 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 1 3 2
055 Hustle Boosts the Attack stat, but lowers accuracy. III 3 7 8
093 Hydration Heals status problems if it is raining. IV 2 10 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 7 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 7 14
039 Inner Focus The Pokémon is protected from flinching. III 4 16 6
015 Insomnia Prevents the Pokémon from falling asleep. III 0 11 3
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 5 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 21 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 2 0
135 Light Metal Halves the Pokémon's weight. V 0 0 5
031 Lightning Rod The Pokémon draws in all Electric-type moves and then raise Sp.Atk. III 0 9 5
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 1 0 3
098 Magic Guard The Pokémon only takes damage from attacks. IV 0 7 3
170 Magician The Pokémon steals the held item of a Pokémon it hits with a move. VI 0 0 4
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
178 Mega Launcher Powers up aura and pulse moves. VI 3 0 0
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 4 6 8
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 8
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 Contact with this Pokémon spreads this Ability. V 2 0 0
030 Natural Cure All status problems are healed upon switching out. III 3 12 0
099 No Guard Ensures the Pokémon and its foe’s attacks land. IV 2 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 18 0 2
020 Own Tempo Prevents the Pokémon from becoming confused. III 0 15 5
185 Parental Bond Parent and child attack together. VI 1 0 0
124 Pickpocket Steals attacking Pokémon's held item on contact. V 0 0 7
053 Pickup The Pokémon may pick up items. III 1 14 0
182 Pixilate Normal-type moves become Fairy-type moves. VI 2 0 1
057 Plus Boosts Sp. Atk if another Pokémon has Minus. III 1 3 4
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 16 0
143 Poison Touch Has a 30% chance of poisoning Pokémon upon contact when attacking. V 0 3 4
158 Prankster Raises non-damaging moves' priority by one stage. V 4 2 8
046 Pressure The Pokémon raises the foe’s PP usage. III 18 3 4
189 Primordial Sea Causes heavy rain. VI 1 0 0
168 Protean Changes the Pokémon's type to the same type of the move it is using. VI 0 0 4
074 Pure Power Boosts the power of physical attacks. III 3 0 0
095 Quick Feet Boosts Speed if there is a status problem. IV 0 5 4
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
174 Refrigerate Normal-type moves become Ice-type moves. VI 2 0 0
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 14 4
069 Rock Head Protects the Pokémon from recoil damage. III 2 16 5
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 8
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 6 7
157 Sap Sipper Absorbs Grass moves, raising Attack one stage. V 2 6 8
113 Scrappy Enables moves to hit Ghost-type foes. IV 0 2 8
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 3
061 Shed Skin The Pokémon may heal its own status problems. III 11 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 3 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 9 5
081 Snow Cloak Raises evasion in a hailstorm. IV 4 3 1
117 Snow Warning The Pokémon summons a hailstorm in battle. IV 3 0 2
094 Solar Power Boosts Sp. Atk, but lowers HP in sunshine. IV 0 3 5
116 Solid Rock Powers down supereffective 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 8
100 Stall The Pokémon moves after even slower foes. IV 0 1 0
176 Stance Change The Pokémon changes form depending on how it battles. VI 1 0 0
009 Static Contact with the Pokémon may cause paralysis. III 9 5 1
080 Steadfast Raises Speed each time the Pokémon flinches. IV 2 3 5
001 Stench The stench may cause the target to flinch. 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
173 Strong Jaw The Pokémon's strong jaw gives it tremendous biting power. VI 2 0 0
005 Sturdy The Pokémon is protected against 1-hit KO attacks. III 8 22 5
021 Suction Cups Negates moves that force switching out. III 2 3 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
175 Sweet Veil Prevents itself and its allies from falling asleep. VI 2 0 0
033 Swift Swim Boosts the Pokémon’s Speed in rain. III 8 20 10
180 Symbiosis The Pokémon can pass an item to an ally. VI 0 0 3
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 14
164 Teravolt Moves can be used regardless of Abilities. V 2 0 0
047 Thick Fat Raises resistance to Fire- and Ice-type moves. III 0 16 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 18 0 2
181 Tough Claws Powers up moves that make direct contact. VI 2 2 0
137 Toxic Boost Increases Attack to 1.5× when poisoned. V 0 0 1
036 Trace The Pokémon copies a foe's Ability. III 0 5 0
054 Truant The Pokémon can't attack on consecutive turns. III 2 0 1
163 Turboblaze Moves can be used regardless of Abilities. V 2 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 5 7
127 Unnerve Prevents opposing Pokémon from eating held Berries. V 0 4 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 supereffective 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 Pokémon Conquest

Main article: List of Abilities in Pokémon Conquest

While most Pokémon species in Pokémon Conquest have access to three Abilities (similar to the main series, Hidden Abilities included), many of these Abilities are different from the main series due to differences in the battle system. For example, Abilities like Cute Charm and Rivalry do not exist in Pokémon Conquest (due to the game's lack of a gender mechanic), while other Abilities utilize mechanics unique to Pokémon Conquest battles (like "Sprint", which increases the user's movement Range).

Like the main series, an individual Pokémon's Ability is dictated by its current species (i.e. evolutionary form) and may change during evolution.

In the anime

Clemont's Chespin activating Overgrow
050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.

Abilities have been shown in the anime, but are usually only used in battles; however, sometimes they have an effect on the plot, such as Ash's Infernape's Blaze. At one point in Gotta Catch A Roggenrola!, Iris pointed out that Roggenrola had the Ability Sturdy, implying that Roggenrola would receive less damage than a Pokémon normally would. In Showdown At Linoone, a Linoone has the Ability Pickup and takes items to its private stash, including May's Poké Balls.

Abilities were shown to work differently in the anime than they would in the games, such as Mold Breaker where it would cancel out any Ability instead of the ones that would prevent the user from using any moves as seen in Shapes of Things to Come! where Cranidos activated it to stop Elekid from activating Static. This was repeated again in O'er the Rampardos We Watched! but this time with Rampardos and Pikachu.

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.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Roxanne's Nosepass was the first Pokémon shown to have an Ability in this manga. Abilities have been featured sometimes after this, mainly during battles.

Trivia

140Kabuto.png This section contains old or outdated information, or has not been updated in a while.
Please check the content of this section and update it as required.
Reason: an update to the second trivia point to factor in Generation VI.
  • The unused Ability Cacophony was included in the coding for third-generation games as Ability #076 (Air Lock was #077). From the fourth generation, Cacophony was removed and Air Lock was renumbered as #076, with the new Abilities positioned from #077 onward.
  • As of Generation V, excluding Hidden Abilities, there are 106 Pokémon (just under one-sixth of the total) who have unique Ability combinations.
  • Generation III introduced the most Abilities, with 76. Generation VI introduced the least, with 27.

In other languages

Language Title
Mandarin Chinese 特性 Tèxìng
Denmark Flag.png Danish Specielle evne
The Netherlands Flag.png Dutch Capaciteit
Finland Flag.png Finnish Kyky
France Flag.png French Capacité spéciale / Talent
Germany Flag.png German Fähigkeit
India Flag.png Hindi काबिलियत Kabiliyat
Italy Flag.png Italian Abilità
South Korea Flag.png Korean 특성 Teukseong
Spain Flag.png Spanish Habilidad
Vietnam Flag.png Vietnamese Khả năng/Đặc Tính

See also



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


Project Moves and Abilities logo.png 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.
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