There’s a lot more to Pokemon training than meets the eye. When it comes to the question of the best Pokemon to use on a team, you have many factors to think about. It’s not just the one with the highest stats, the least weaknesses, or the best moves.
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In truth, it’s a combination of all of these traits and more. Another important thing to consider is the Ability a Pokemon has. This factor alone can make an otherwise great Pokemon almost useless. Slaking’s Truant, for instance, stops it from attacking on consecutive turns. Here, you can check out some of the best Pokemon abilities throughout the franchise.
Updated March 8, 2025, by Andrew Scariati: The best Pokemon abilities shift with every new Pokemon VGC metagame, though some of the top-tier options have remained constant for several generations. Pokemon Scarlet & Violet made some top-tier additions to the best Pokemon abilities, including both base game and DLC inclusions.
23
Flame Body
|
In Battle Effect |
Out Of Battle Effect |
|---|---|
|
Contact with this Pokemon will burn the opponent |
Halves the number of steps required to hatch an egg |
Flame Body is an important Ability to have on at least one Pokemon if you plan on breeding. This move will half the steps needed to hatch eggs and, as the name implies, comes from Fire type Pokemon.
Within battle, this Ability can be quite helpful as well. This competitive value of Flame Body isn’t that great, but overall, it’s fairly well-rounded and helpful for breeding the perfect Pokemon.
22
Ice Scales
|
In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
Halves damage from special moves that hit the Pokemon |
Ice Scales is available only to Snom and Frosmoth as their Hidden Ability. Because of this, the Ability isn’t possible to obtain if you don’t have one of these two Pokemon in your party.
This ability reduces the damage of all special attacks Snom/Frosmoth take by half. Frosmoth’s Special Defense is quite solid, so this makes it pretty darn tanky indeed. Its exclusivity is all that holds it back from rising any higher; imagine Blissey with this Ability. That’s terrifying to even think about.
21
Unaware
|
In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
When this Pokemon is targeted by a damaging move, the attacking Pokemon’s stats are ignored when calculating damage and accuracy |
A lot of the Abilities on this list have so much potential because they allow Pokemon to either deal huge damage outright or buff themselves so that they can. Before we get into that sort of thing, though, here’s an Ability that represents an enormous roadblock for Pokemon looking to set up.
In case you were unaware, an Unaware Pokemon isn’t affected by its opponent’s stat boosts.
If they’ve got boosted offenses, they’ll deal only their usual damage. If the opponent has increased their Defense/Special Defense, they’ll take the usual damage from a Pokemon with Unaware. It’s super handy to have, but it’s also a rare Ability and is quite niche. After all, if there are no boosts currently in play, this Pokemon essentially has no Ability.
20
Stance Change
|
In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
Changes the Pokemon from Shield Forme to Blade Forme, or vice versa
|
The Honedge line made its debut in Generation Six, and Aegislash quickly established itself as one of the greatest non-Legendary Pokemon ever. The key to its success? Its exclusive Ability, Stance Change. This Ability sees Aegislash switch from its Shield Forme (its default on being sent out) to its Blade Forme when using an offensive move.
In the process, its base defenses switch with its very low base offenses.
When it uses King’s Shield, it switches back to Shield Forme. With its low Speed, then, Aegislash will usually tank a hit with its high defenses before switching its stats and going on the attack with great force. It can’t take a hit at all in Blade Forme and can be quite predictable as a result, but Stance Change makes Aegislash a force to be reckoned with.
19
Sturdy
|
In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
The Pokemon is unaffected by one-hit knockout moves that cause a target to faint instantly regardless of HP, Defense, or Special Defense |
Sturdy is one of the best Pokemon abilities and has seen a lot of use. Essentially, Sturdy Pokemon have a built-in Focus Sash: if their HP is full when they’re attacked by a move that will take them out in one shot, they’ll withstand it with a single point of health left.
There are some major shortcomings to this, of course. Any kind of priority will immediately take the Pokemon down afterward, especially as most Pokemon with this Ability are slow, defensive Rock or Steel-types. The true potential of Sturdy lies in what that Pokemon does with its ‘free turn.’ There are ample setup opportunities here. Sturdy, Weakness Policy, and Rock Polish, in particular, can be a fearsome combination.
18
Wonder Guard
|
In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
The Pokemon is immune to all damaging moves that are not super effective. |
Wonder Guard is a unique ability that is exclusive to Shedinja. At face value, you might wonder just how the heck this Pokemon could be at all usable.
It has a total of 1 HP, which can’t be increased by any means.
The one thing Shedinja does have going for it is the aforementioned Ability, which renders it immune to any direct attacks it isn’t weak to. Super effective moves, status, weather damage, and hazards all spell doom for it, but if you know that you are going to face a Pokemon that isn’t super effective, then Shield Guard is great.
17
Neutralizing Gas
|
In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
Abilities of any other Pokemon in the battle can’t be used
|
Sometimes, an Ability doesn’t need to have a flashy effect in and of itself. After all, a critter like Mega Mawile (which was super reliant on Huge Power) is in some major trouble when that Ability is taken away.
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Neutralizing Gas is the exclusive Ability of the Koffing family and prevents or nullifies the effects of all other Pokemon in the battle. While this hasn’t been as dominating as it sounds, it’s an excellent counter to other strategies when played well.
16
Good As Gold/Purifying Salt
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In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
Good As Gold: This Pokemon cannot be affected by status conditions or moves that inflict them. Purifying Salt: This Pokemon cannot be affected by status conditions and halves the Special Attack or Attack of any Pokemon attacking with Ghost-type attacks. Cannot use Rest. |
Gholdengo is the only Pokemon with the Good As Gold ability that allows it to ignore all status conditions. The Ability description claims that this is thanks to its solid gold body that can’t be affected, but we think it’s probably just that Gholdengo is too cool to care.
Similarly, Garganacl’s Purifying Salt equals Gholdengo’s status condition nullification but also adds to the ability by reducing the attacker’s Attack and Special Attack when calculating damage. Unfortunately, you can’t recover using Rest with this Ability, but it’s a fair trade-off.
15
Multiscale
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In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
When this Pokemon is at its maximum HP, incoming damage is halved.
|
Multiscale is another Ability that doesn’t have any major direct power itself but allows the Pokemon the opportunity to boost itself and shoot for a sweep. It’s not just about being aggressive, either: Multiscale is just as useful from a defensive point of view.
This Ability halves the damage taken from direct attacks while the user’s HP is full. It’s available to only two Pokemon; Dragonite and Lugia. The former loves using it to help it accrue Dragon Dances, while it helps the latter with its main game plan: sitting there tanking absolutely everything and being a monumental pain.
Pokemon With Multiscale:
|
Pokemon |
Hidden Ability? |
|---|---|
|
Dragonite |
✓ |
|
Lugia |
✓ |
14
Gorilla Tactics
|
In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
This Pokemon’s Attack stat is increased by 50 percent, but it can only use one move. |
Gorilla Tactics is a newer Ability introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield
, exclusive to Galarian Darmanitan. What does it do? It immediately makes this ludicrous-looking creature overpowered.
The effect of the Ability is the same as that of a Choice Band: it gives the Pokemon an Attack boost but allows it to use only the first move it picked on being sent out. The truly frightening thing is that you can actually give it a Choice Band on top of that. Considering that this thing already has a base Attack of 140, that’s some astronomical power right there.
13
Prankster
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In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
Any status moves used by this Pokemon have their priority increased by one |
From an offensive point of view, Prankster doesn’t have any effect at all. From an irritating, status-spamming point of view, it does everything.
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This Ability’s effect is simple, yet powerful: all status moves used by the Pokemon in question gain priority. Since its introduction, this Ability has brought us the likes of Thunder Wave Thundurus, Recover/Will-O-Wisp Sableye, and all kinds of other things that are absolutely zero fun to deal with.
12
Beast Boost
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In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
When this Pokemon causes any other Pokemon in a battle to faint with a damaging move, its highest stat is increased by one stage to a maximum of +6 stages.
|
Beast Boost is an interesting case. This Ability was introduced in Pokemon Sun and Moon as the signature Ability of the Ultra Beasts. Its effect is very similar to that of Moxie (+1 to Attack when the Pokemon scores a knockout), with one important distinction: it will boost whichever stat is that particular Pokemon’s highest.
As a result, it’s got a lot more versatility. Ultra Beasts have some very high base stats, to begin with; giving Stakataka more Defense or Kartana more Attack is a frightening prospect.
11
Supreme Overlord
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In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
Upon entering battle, this Pokemon gets a ten percent increase to their moves’ Power for each Pokemon that has fainted in their party |
A name like Supreme Overlord speaks for itself. Kingambit gets a signature move in the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
games that provides a boost to an Attack’s Power based on how many of your other Pokemon have fainted.
Taking on a really challenging opponent, like a Gym Leader? Kingambit makes for an excellent last resort to avenge all your other fallen Pokemon.
10
Seed Sower
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In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
Turns the ground into Grassy Terrain when the Pokemon is hit by an attack. |
Arboliva is one of the most underrated new Pokemon added during the Scarlet & Violet generation, as this strong Grass-type Pokemon possesses one of the best abilities of its generation. Seed Sower is excellent for Grass-type Pokemon and can help them replenish HP over time.
Replenishing HP via Grassy Terrain is a massive bonus when combined with leftovers, and Arboliva’s supportive moveset is an excellent addition to teams that make use of its strengths. Arboliva and Seed Sower are particularly good in Doubles Battles when paired with more attacking options.
9
Sword/Tablets Of Ruin
|
Ability |
In Battle Effect |
|---|---|
|
Sword Of Ruin |
Lowers the Defense of all Pokemon (besides itself) by 25 percent. |
|
Tablets Of Ruin |
Lowers the Attack of all Pokemon (besides itself) by 25 percent. |
The Sword and Tablets Of Ruin are some of the best new abilities in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, as they allow you to reduce the Attack or Defense of all Pokemon by 25 percent immediately.
At first glance, there’s a huge upside to these abilities, but the reason they don’t stack up to some of the best Pokemon abilities is the hazard of using them. The reduced Defense or Attack applies to ally Pokemon as well, so using these Pokemon in Doubles Battles is a tricky proposition, but one that can be managed.
Pokemon With Sword Of Ruin
|
Pokemon |
Ability? |
|---|---|
|
Chien-Pao |
✓ |
Pokemon With Tablets Of Ruin
|
Pokemon |
Ability? |
|---|---|
|
Wo-Chien |
✓ |
8
Guts
|
In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
While this Pokemon is affected by a non-volatile status condition, its Attack stat is increased by 50 percent.
|
Simply having very high stats is good enough in and of itself, but some of the best Abilities in the series deal with a different concept entirely: protection from status. After all, what’s the use of a super high Attack stat if you’re just going to get burned?
With Guts, that’s no longer an issue. This Ability raises a Pokemon’s Attack when they’re afflicted by a status, making it a perfect way to circumvent one of the biggest threats to physical attackers. Not only that but with a Flame Orb or Toxic Orb, you can take advantage of this effect while also protecting yourself.
7
Drizzle
|
In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
When this Pokemon enters a battle, it begins to rain
|
While Politoed and Pelipper are both reasonable, viable Pokemon, sporting decent bulk/power and a nice array of supportive moves, there’s only one reason they’re used competitively — that reason is Drizzle.
This Ability automatically summons rain when the Pokemon is sent out. Needless to say, this is invaluable on rain teams. Additionally, rain can damage certain Pokemon, making them easier to take down.
Pokemon With Drizzle:
|
Pokemon |
Hidden Ability? |
|---|---|
|
Politoed |
✓ |
|
Pelipper |
|
|
Kyogre |
6
Orichalcum Pulse/Hadron Engine
|
In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
Orichalcum Pulse: When this Pokemon enters a battle, harsh sunlight is summoned, akin to Sunny Day.
Hadron Engine: When this Pokemon enters a battle, an Electric Terrain is summoned.
|
These abilities are exclusive to the box legendaries of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Koraidon and Miraidon, respectively. Given their exclusivity, you’d expect these abilities to be good, and they don’t disappoint, as they’re essentially identical to Drizzle, but focus on different terrain types.
Setting Sun or Electric Terrain when entering the battle is a massive benefit that also triggers the added attacking boosts, giving you a set-up Pokemon with the punch of a legendary stat spread behind its excellent moves.
Pokemon With Orichalcum Pulse
|
Pokemon |
Ability? |
|---|---|
|
Koraidon |
✓ |
Pokemon With Hadron Engine
|
Pokemon |
Ability? |
|---|---|
|
Miraidon |
✓ |
5
Regenerator
|
In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
Regenerate 33 percent of the Pokemon’s maximum HP when switching out of battle |
Sometimes, you take quite the beating while participating in a battle. We all know how frustrating it is to swap out a Pokemon with low HP, only to waste a turn healing them. With Regenerator, you can restore some health without lifting a finger.
Although 33 percent may not sound like much, this small HP boost can be beneficial in close battles, where every attack matters.
4
Tinted Lens
|
In Battle Effect |
|---|
|
Doubles the damage of “not very effective” moves |
It’s always best to think of type matchups when in battle. Doing so will make it go by smoother, especially if you are super effective to the opposing Pokemon.
This isn’t always the outcome though. At times, you may be facing a Pokemon that seems to have the upper hand. This is where Tinted Lens comes in handy. This move will double the damage of “not very effective” moves. If you just need to do a sliver of damage to defeat a Pokemon, this Ability can give you the edge.