There are some fantastic new signature abilities in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. While these can't necessarily be used by all Pokemon, they make battling with new species for Gen 9 an interesting experience. Players can create strong, powerful teams by paying close attention to each Pokemon's unique abilities.
Generation 9 introduces Paradox Pokemon, all of which have the ability Quark Drive: this is a powerful ability well worth exploring. It also brings in some interesting new stat-boosting abilities for other Pokemon. Here are the most interesting new abilities in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.
6 Quark Drive
An ability shared by all Paradox Pokemon, players won't encounter this until later in the game. Quark Drive activates when a Pokemon uses the move Electric Terrain: this creates electrical energy that lasts for 5 turns. Once this is activated, Quark Drive kicks in for Paradox Pokemon.
Quark Drive is excellent because it increases a Pokemon's highest stat by 30% (or 50% if Speed is the highest stat). This is an incredible boost and makes Paradox Pokemon even more imposing. Players can use Quark Drive without having to use Electric Terrain by hunting for the new item Booster Energy. This can be found in the Great Crater of Paldea, and it's worth having a look for it in order to activate Quark Drive all the time. A big boost in stats could tip the balance if players are struggling with some of the last battles in the game!
5 Good As Gold
The signature move of Gholdengo, Good as Gold protects the users from all status moves (except for moves that the Pokemon uses on itself). An incredible benefit, this essentially means Gholdengo is immune from many non-damaging status attacks, which prevents players from having to burn through their Antidote/Awakening/Burn Heal stocks.
Gholdengo evolves from the mysterious Gimmighoul; players must collect 999 Gimmighoul coins, a fairly difficult task. Not all players love Gholdengo (design-wise, it's not a fan favorite), but it does have some interesting abilities, including Make It Rain, a nod to Meowth's special move Pay Day. Make It Rain inflicts damage on the opponent and scatters coins on the ground, which players can pick up if they win the battle.
4 Supreme Overlord
The signature move of Kingambit, Supreme Overlord allows the Pokemon a 10% increase in both Attack and Special Attack for every Pokemon that has fainted in the same party. Tactically, this is an interesting ability. Players can keep Kingambit in their party, then bring it out if a battle isn't quite turning out the way they had planned.
Kingambit is a Dark/Steel Pokemon, and it's a strong Pokemon with an already-high Attack. Its Special Attack is pretty low, however, but players can boost this if they use Kingambit after all their other Pokemon have fainted. Kingambit is worth having around for several reasons, but it also has the benefit of being quite cool to look at, which is a nice bonus.
3 Zero To Hero
The dolphin Pokemon Palafin is one of the cutest Pokemon to be introduced to Gen 9. Palafin (which evolves from Finizen) looks pretty innocuous at first glance (in fact it looks almost identical to Finizen, except it has a red heart on its chest). However, if players switch it out, the ability Zero to Hero kicks in. Palafin will switch to Hero Form. Paladin in Hero Form will gain a huge boost in Attack, as well as a smaller increase in most of its other stats.
Palafin can potentially be a powerful Water-type Pokemon, and an ideal team member to tackle harder battles later in the game. If players use other moves in conjunction with Zero to Hero, like Baton Pass, they may be able to avoid the hassle of switching out Palafin and bringing it back in manually.
2 Toxic Debris
Used by the Pokemon Glimmet and Glimmora, this is a good defensive move that has the potential to be powerful when an enemy Pokemon uses a multi-strike move. Toxic Debris sets up Toxic Spikes on the enemy's side of the field whenever a physical attack hits Glimmet or Glimmora.
This move damages the enemy without the player having to do anything. Plus, if an enemy uses a multi-strike move, the ability will activate for each hit, making it potentially devastating as a counter-attack.
1 Opportunist
The large, emu-like Pokemon Espathra uses Opportunist, and it's an interesting move in battle. Espathra will take advantage in battle: whenever an enemy Pokemon uses a move that boosts its stats, Espathra will boost the same stat too. In the later stages of the game, some of the enemy Pokemon may be using moves that provide huge stat boosts, so this is an obvious bonus for Espathra fans.
This isn't a reliable technique to use, because it obviously relies upon enemy trainers using moves that boost stats, and this isn't guaranteed. However, it's an interesting ability, one that many players will wish other Pokemon could use too!