Abilities
Abilities are passive effects that each Pokémon possesses for use in battle. A Pokémon may only have one Ability at a time; this Ability cannot be changed. A Pokémon's Ability is decided when the Pokémon spawns, and is chosen from a pool of up to three possible Abilities that the Pokémon can have, depending on the Pokémon's species.
Of the pool of possible Abilities a Pokémon can have, there are one or two normal Abilities and possibly one hidden Ability. If the Pokémon has two possible normal Abilities, there is an equal chance that either of them will be that Pokémon's Ability. Hidden Abilities are significantly rarer than normal Abilities; by default, a wild Pokémon has a 1150 chance of having its hidden Ability. The combination of types of Abilities that a Pokémon may have include:
- One normal Ability
- One normal Ability, one hidden Ability
- Two normal Abilities, one hidden Ability
Abilities, including hidden Abilities, can be passed down through breeding. There is an 80% chance that the mother Pokémon will pass down her Ability, or a 60% chance for hidden abilities; the other 20% or 40% of the time, the Ability is chosen randomly from the Pokémon's normal Abilities (with no chance of a hidden Ability). Along similar lines, the father has a 60% chance of passing down his Ability if he breeds with a Ditto, which applies for both normal and hidden abilities.
A Pokémon may change between its two normal Abilities using an Ability Capsule. However, an Ability Capsule cannot change a Pokémon's normal Ability into its hidden Ability or vice versa. In Creative mode, it is possible to toggle a Pokémon's Ability (including to and from its hidden Ability) using a Pokémon editor.
List of Abilities
- Adaptability
- Aerilate
- Aftermath
- Air Lock
- Analytic
- Anger Point
- Anticipation
- Arena Trap
- Aroma Veil
- Aura Break
- Bad Dreams
- Ball Fetch
- Battery
- Battle Armor
- Battle Bond
- Beast Boost
- Berserk
- Big Pecks
- Blaze
- Bulletproof
- Cheek Pouch
- Chilling Neigh
- Chlorophyll
- Clear Body
- Cloud Nine
- Color Change
- Comatose
- Competitive
- Compound Eyes
- Contrary
- Corrosion
- Cotton Down
- Curious Medicine
- Cursed Body
- Cute Charm
- Damp
- Dancer
- Dark Aura
- Dauntless Shield
- Dazzling
- Defeatist
- Defiant
- Delta Stream
- Disguise
- Download
- Dragon's Maw
- Drizzle
- Drought
- Dry Skin
- Early Bird
- Effect Spore
- Electric Surge
- Emergency Exit
- Fairy Aura
- Filter
- Flame Body
- Flare Boost
- Flash Fire
- Flower Gift
- Flower Veil
- Fluffy
- Forecast
- Forewarn
- Friend Guard
- Frisk
- Fur Coat
- Full Metal Body
- Gale Wings
- Galvanize
- Gluttony
- Gooey
- Gorilla Tactics
- Grass Pelt
- Grassy Surge
- Grim Neigh
- Gulp Missile
- Guts
- Harvest
- Healer
- Heatproof
- Heavy Metal
- Honey Gather
- Huge Power
- Hunger Switch
- Hustle
- Hydration
- Hyper Cutter
- Ice Body
- Ice Face
- Ice Scales
- Illuminate
- Illusion
- Immunity
- Imposter
- Innards Out
- Infiltrator
- Inner Focus
- Insomnia
- Intimidate
- Intrepid Sword
- Iron Barbs
- Iron Fist
- Justified
- Keen Eye
- Klutz
- Leaf Guard
- Levitate
- Libero
- Light Metal
- Lightning Rod
- Limber
- Liquid Ooze
- Liquid Voice
- Long Reach
- Magic Bounce
- Magic Guard
- Magician
- Magma Armor
- Magnet Pull
- Marvel Scale
- Mega Launcher
- Merciless
- Mimicry
- Minus
- Mirror Armor
- Misty Surge
- Mold Breaker
- Moody
- Motor Drive
- Moxie
- Multiscale
- Multitype
- Mummy
- Natural Cure
- Neuroforce
- Neutralizing Gas
- No Guard
- Normalize
- Oblivious
- Overcoat
- Overgrow
- Own Tempo
- Parental Bond
- Pastel Veil
- Perish Body
- Pickpocket
- Pickup
- Pixilate
- Plus
- Poison Heal
- Poison Point
- Poison Touch
- Power Construct
- Power of Alchemy
- Power Spot
- Prankster
- Pressure
- Prism Armor
- Propeller Tail
- Protean
- Psychic Surge
- Punk Rock
- Pure Power
- Queenly Majesty
- Quick Draw
- Quick Feet
- Rain Dish
- Rattled
- Receiver
- Reckless
- Refrigerate
- Regenerator
- Ripen
- Rivalry
- RKS System
- Rock Head
- Rough Skin
- Run Away
- Sand Force
- Sand Rush
- Sand Spit
- Sand Stream
- Sand Veil
- Sap Sipper
- Schooling
- Scrappy
- Screen Cleaner
- Serene Grace
- Shadow Tag
- Shadow Shield
- Shields Down
- Shed Skin
- Sheer Force
- Shell Armor
- Shield Dust
- Simple
- Skill Link
- Slow Start
- Slush Rush
- Sniper
- Snow Cloak
- Snow Warning
- Soul-Heart
- Solar Power
- Solid Rock
- Soundproof
- Speed Boost
- Stall
- Stalwart
- Stakeout
- Stance Change
- Static
- Stamina
- Steadfast
- Steam Engine
- Steelworker
- Steely Spirit
- Stench
- Sticky Hold
- Storm Drain
- Strong Jaw
- Sturdy
- Suction Cups
- Super Luck
- Surge Surfer
- Swarm
- Sweet Veil
- Swift Swim
- Symbiosis
- Synchronize
- Tangled Feet
- Tangling Hair
- Technician
- Telepathy
- Teravolt
- Thick Fat
- Tinted Lens
- Torrent
- Tough Claws
- Toxic Boost
- Trace
- Transistor
- Triage
- Truant
- Turboblaze
- Unaware
- Unburden
- Unnerve
- Unseen Fist
- Victory Star
- Vital Spirit
- Volt Absorb
- Wandering Spirit
- Water Absorb
- Water Bubble
- Water Compaction
- Water Veil
- Weak Armor
- White Smoke
- Wonder Guard
- Wonder Skin
- Wimp Out
- Zen Mode
Config settings
- "hiddenAbilitySpawnRate": The chance of wild or spawned-in Pokémon having their hidden Abilities. This setting does not affect breeding.
NBT tag storage
While Abilities themselves are stored in data as NBT tags, there is also a separate tag known as the "Ability slot", which is also created upon the spawning of the Pokémon. This value is where the Pokémon's Ability derives from and controls what the Pokémon's Ability will change to upon evolution (if applicable). It is also used when determining the chances of getting each possible Ability when breeding.
Through the use of an external NBT editor, it is possible to change a Pokémon's Ability. However, if the Pokémon's Ability slot is not also modified correctly, side effects will occur. For example, if a Pokémon spawns in with a normal Ability and is edited to have its hidden Ability without changing the Ability slot, it will be impossible for the Pokémon to pass down its Ability through breeding as the breeding algorithm relies on the Ability slot, which is still routed to a normal Ability in this case.