- For a complete list, see List of Abilities.
Dialga exerting its Ability, Pressure, in Pokémon Platinum Version
An Ability (Japanese: 特性, Hepburn: Tokusei), called Special Ability in Pokémon the Series, is a mechanic that was introduced in Generation III.
Description[]
Abilities are various powers or characteristics possessed by each Pokémon. Abilities are activated automatically in battle, and some have shown to have use outside of battle. There are many types of Abilities. Some Abilities are exclusive to certain Pokémon and their evolutions, while others are known by many Pokémon. Generation V introduces a certain type of Ability, Hidden Abilities, which certain Pokémon have depending on where they are encountered, including certain Gift Pokémon.
While several species of Pokémon can know only one Ability, many of them can have one of a few Abilities, such as Gligar, which can have either Hyper Cutter or Sand Veil. The evolved form of certain Pokémon can have a different Ability than its basic form. In Generation III, Generation IV, and Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version, the Ability of a newborn Pokémon is decided randomly, regardless of the Abilities of each of its parents. This was rectified in Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2, in which the hatched Pokémon has an eighty percent chance of inheriting the Ability of its mother. Additionally, there is a sixty percent chance that the Hidden Ability of the newborn Pokémon is inherited by its mother, but only if both its mother and father are part of the same egg group. As of Generation VI, the father can pass a Hidden Ability onward if its partner is a Ditto.
Since its introduction, Abilities have appeared in most games of the core series, as well as Pokémon the Series and even spinoff games. Abilities do not return in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!, presumably because it is based on the Generation I game Pokémon Yellow Special Pikachu Edition, which released prior to the introduction of Abilities, or because it is based on Pokémon GO, another game in which Abilities do not appear. Although Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! as well as Pokémon Legends: Arceus do not feature Abilities, they are still determined within the game's data, for if Pokémon had been traded over from a different game in the core series.
There is currently a total of 310 Abilities. The first 76 Abilities were added in Generation III. 47 Abilities were added in Generation IV. 41 Abilities were added in Generation V. 27 Abilities were added in Generation VI. 42 Abilities were added in Generation VII. 34 Abilities were added in Generation VIII. 43 Abilities were added in Generation IX.
Effects[]
Abilities have a wide variety of effects. Trace allows the Pokémon to replicate the Ability of another Pokémon. Other Abilities such as Receiver similarly allow a Pokémon to inherit the Ability of an ally who has fainted. Mummy, an Ability exclusive to Yamask and Cofagrigus, replaces the opponent's Ability if the opponent hits them with a move that makes contact.
Stat changes[]
Some Abilities cause stat changes, either toward the user or opponents. An example of an Ability that lowers a certain stat is Intimidate, which lowers the attack of all opponents in battle by one. Certain Abilities increase a specific stat of the user, such as Defiant, which increases the Pokémon's Attack by two stages if one of its stats has been lowered, and Dauntless Shield, which increases the Pokémon's Defense by one. One Ability in particular, Clear Body, protects the Pokémon from having any of its stats reduced by an opponent.
Though Unaware does not alter any stats, the Pokémon with Ability ignores any stat changes of its opponent while attacking.
All first partner Pokémon and their evolutions have an Ability in which at least one of the effects is increasing the power of moves of the same type as the Pokémon if their HP is at 1/3 or lower. Several Abilities have a positive effect, but there are some that have a negative effect.
Damage[]
Some Abilities increase the damage output of certain moves. Sheer Force increases the damage output moves with secondary effects by thirty percent, although at the cost of disabling any secondary effects themselves. Iron Fist strengthens moves that involve punching. Strong Jaw strengthens moves that involve biting.
A few Abilities cause a Pokémon to take less damage from certain moves. Fur Coat halves the damage taken from physical moves from doubling the Pokémon's Defense stat. Fluffy halves the damage from moves that make contact, although it doubles the damage taken from Fire-type moves.
Aftermath damages the opponent if they defeat the Pokémon with the Ability.
Items[]
Certain Abilities involve the use of held items. Pokémon with Gluttony can consume certain held Berries earlier than they normally would. With Cheek Pouch, any Berry can restore a third of the Pokémon's maximum HP.
Multitype and RKS System affects the type of the Pokémon based on its held item. Multitype, an Ability exclusive to Arceus, changes its type depending on which plate Arceus is holding. Likewise, RKS System, an Ability exclusive to Silvally, changes its type depending on which Memory is attached to it.
With Pickpocket, a Pokémon can steal the opponent's held item if it hits them with a move that makes contact.
With Symbiosis, if an ally has used their held item, the Pokémon with Symbiosis passes over its held item to them.
Types[]
Besides the aforementioned Multitype and RKS System, there are other Abilities that involve types in a different manner. Galvanize changes all Normal-type moves to Electric-type, while Pixilate changes all Normal-type moves to Fairy type. Color Change, an Ability unique to Kecleon, changes its type depending on the move used on it.
The Lightning Rod Ability allows the Pokémon to redirect Electric-type moves back to their opponent.
The Storm Drain Ability causes a Pokémon to draw in all Water-type moves, including those used by opponents. From Generation V onward, the Ability also makes the Pokémon unaffected by any Water-type moves and increases their Special Attack by one.
Weather[]
Many Abilities change the weather to a certain one, much like certain moves. The difference with Abilities that cause a weather condition is that they remain effect during the entire battle instead of just five turns, unless something else causes the weather to change. Drizzle causes it to rain, much like the move Rain Dance. Sand Stream causes a sandstorm, much like the Sandstorm move itself. Snow Warning causes Hail, also caused by an identically named move. Drought causes harsh sunlight, like the move Sunny Day. Conversely, there is an Ability that gets rid of any weather condition, Cloud Nine.
Desolate Land, an Ability exclusive to Primal Groudon; Primordial Sea, an Ability exclusive to Primal Kyogre; and Delta Stream, an Ability exclusive to Mega Rayquaza, are all more effective than other Abilities and moves that cause a weather condition because a different weather-affecting Ability or move cannot override them. Desolate Land causes extremely harsh sunlight, a more severe variation of harsh sunlight in which Water-type moves that inflict damage have no effect in battle. Primordial Sea presents an effect similar to Desolate Land, since it causes a stronger variation of a weather condition, heavy rain, which has the same effects as its basic form, rain, except it causes damaging-inflicting moves of a certain type to fail, in this case Fire type. Delta Stream works differently since it not only causes a powerful weather condition, strong winds, but also reduces the power of moves that are super effective against the type to inflict regular damage.
Forms[]
Some Abilities can change a Pokémon's form under certain conditions. Four such Abilities—Power Construct, Shields Down, Schooling, and Zen Mode—activate depending on the number of remaining HP from the Pokémon. Imposter causes the Pokémon to transform into their opponent and take on all of their attributes except their gender and individual values. Greninja has the Battle Bond Ability, which turns it into Ash-Greninja for the remainder of battle after it has defeated one of the opponents. Aegislash's signature Ability, Stance Change, causes it to become its Blade Forme when using an attack move and into its Shield Forme if it has used King's Shield. Cramorant's signature Ability, Gulp Missile, allows Cramorant to change into either its Gulping Form or Gorging Form after using Surf or Dive, with the form depending on how much of its HP is left.
Miscellaneous[]
A few Abilities allow a Pokémon to damage their opponent regardless of their Abilities, as is the case with Mold Breaker, Teravolt, and Turboblaze.
Some Abilities can put a Pokémon at a disadvantage. Regigigas' Slow Start Ability halves its Attack and Speed during the first five turns. Archen and Archeops' Ability Defeatist halves their Attack and Special Attack if their HP is at half or lower than the maximum amount.
A Pokémon with Frisk can learn which held items are carried by their opponents.
Anticipation allows a Pokémon to sense if their opponent knows any one-hit knockout moves or moves that are super effective against them.
Three Abilities prevent a Pokémon from escaping or being recalled: Arena Trap, Magnet Pull, and Shadow Tag. From Generation VI onward, Ghost-type Pokémon are unaffected by Shadow Tag. Even if an opposing Pokémon has the Ability, a Pokémon can still circumvent this with attacks such as U-turn or Volt Switch.
Torrent, Blaze, and Overgrow are the Abilities of the Water-type, Fire-type, and Grass-type first partner Pokémon, respectively.
If a Pokémon with Aftermath or Innards Out faints after being hit by a move, the Pokémon that attacked it takes damage. If the fainted Pokémon has Aftermath, their opponent's move needs to have made contact in order for it to be damaged, always subtracting 25 percent of the attacking Pokémon's maximum HP. If the fainted Pokémon has Innards Out, the attacking Pokémon loses the exact number of HP that the Pokémon with Innards Out had prior to fainting.
Uniquely, Mega Kangaskhan's Parental Bond Ability enables it to attack twice in one turn, with the second move being a weaker one from its child.
Changing[]
It is not possible for any Pokémon to receive any Ability, especially because a lot of them depend on a Pokémon's characteristics, but there are a few items that can change its range of Abilities. The Ability Capsule, introduced in Generation VI, changes one of a Pokémon's regular Abilities to another one of its regular Abilities, if it has another. The Ability Patch, introduced in Generation VIII, can be used to permanently change a Pokémon's Ability to its Hidden Ability.
Appearances[]
Spinoffs[]
Pokémon Conquest[]
Pokémon also have Abilities in Pokémon Conquest, but some of them were changed to suit the gameplay style. Similarly, the warriors have their own abilities, known as Warrior Skills.
Some of the Abilities involve the proximity of the user to other battle participants. For instance, Flame Boost increases the power of Fire-type move of nearby allies, while Frost Bite can possibly freeze nearby enemies at the start of each round. Disgust causes an opponent switch positions with an ally after being attacked. The Climber ability, exclusive to Monferno and Infernape, is more effective if the Pokémon is positioned lower than its target.
The terrain is associated with a few Abilities: Grass Cloak, which increases the Defense if its Pokémon is on grass; Gulp, held by Magikarp and Wooper, regenerates their HP while they are on water; and Mountaineer, which enables a Pokémon to overcome cliffs.
A few Abilities depend on whether the Pokémon is moving or not. Munchlax has the ability Lunchbox, which recovers its HP while it is idle. Both Nomad and Run Up increase the Pokémon's Attack relative to the distance they have traveled during the turn.
Hero increases the Pokémon's Attack and Defense if the combined strength of their side falls below 33 percent of the opposing side. Last Bastion increases Attack and Defense if the Pokémon's allies are defeated.
Some Abilities may cause a status condition, such as how Calming may put targets to sleep at the start of a turn or how Static may inflict paralysis.
Anime[]
Abilities have made various appearances in Pokémon the Series. One of the more noticeable instances is with Kecleons, which use Color Change throughout the anime. Color Change is also the first Ability showcased in the anime, with its appearance in "The Kecleon Caper".
Manga[]
Abilities make an appearance in Pokémon Adventures. They are first seen in the Ruby & Sapphire Chapter, corresponding to their debut in Pokémon Ruby Version and Pokémon Sapphire Version.
Trading Card Game[]
Since the Black & White series, cards within the Pokémon Trading Card Game have an Ability section located below their illustration, replacing Pokémon Powers from previous expansions, and the name of the Ability is always displayed in red. Some Abilities do not appear in the core series, and some that do appear have an entirely different effect to accommodate the play style.
See also[]
- Special Trait, the equivalent to Abilities in the Pokémon Rumble series
- IQ skill, a similar mechanic in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series