Abilities are a mechanic in Pokemon that grants an effect to a Pokemon in and sometimes out of battle. Pokemon can have up to three Abilities, but whichever one they're given is randomized and determined by its species. Some Pokemon only have one Ability, such as Rotom (Ability: Levitate). While most Pokemon will have either their first or second Ability, the third one is much rarer. This is called a Hidden Ability.

Related

10 Open-World Games With The Best Evolutionary Simulations

With few evolution games to choose from, and even fewer with an open world, which is the best one to play?

Hidden Abilities are often worth the trouble of getting, but that is not always the case. Sometimes it's better to stick with one of their normal Abilities, as it will prove more beneficial in battle compared to their Hidden Ability. The following Pokemon in the Teal Mask, part 1 of Pokemon Scarlet/Violet's expansion pack, have arguably worse Hidden Abilities.

10 Poliwrath

Hidden Ability: Swift Swim

Swift Swim is an Ability that enhances the user's Speed stat when it's raining in battle. By no means is it a bad Ability, as an extra Speed boost is always helpful in most battles. However, the drawback to Swift Swim is that it requires the setup of rain via Rain Dance, Drizzle (Ability), or natural climate.

Poliwrath's two main/common Abilities are Water Absorb and Damp:

• Water Absorb will restore Poliwrath's HP if it's hit by a Water-type attack.
• Damp prevents the usage of Self-Destruct, Explosion, and other related moves.

Not only is Poliwrath's base Speed lower than its pre-evolved form, Poliwhirl, but trainers using Poliwrath aren't going to want to rely on its Speed as much of its other stats when using it in battle. Thus, the better choice is one of its regular Abilities. Neither one requires weather effects and can be triggered so long as the opposing Pokemon uses the appropriate move.

9 Probopass

Hidden Ability: Sand Force

Sand Force increases the power of Steel, Rock, and Ground-type movesduring a sandstorm. Like Swift Swim, Sand Force only works if the proper weather is in effect, or if one of the Pokemon in-battle use Sandstorm.

Related

14 Amazon Finds for a Pokemon Themed Gaming Room

Pokemon fans have lots of options when it comes to decor, but these finds are absolutely perfect for a Pokemon game room!

Probopass learns several Rock-type moves when leveling, but it's going to need TMs to learn better Steel-type moves to fully make use of Sand Foce. However, a little boost in power for Probopass may not be worth hunting for its Hidden Ability. Probopass has meager Attack and Special Attack. Instead, it's best to use it as a Wall thanks to its high Defense and Special Defense. Probopass' other Abilities, Magnet Pull and Sturdy, are far more useful - especially competitively:

• Magnet Pull will prevent trainers from swapping out their Steel-types in battle.
• Sturdy ensures Probopass cannot be 1HKO'd. Sturdy has the same effect as a Focus Sash but won't "break" after one "use."

8 Swanna

Hidden Ability: Hydration

Hydration is Swanna's Hidden Ability that heals it of any Status Effects (ex: Burn) at the end of each turn. On paper, that doesn't sound like a bad deal. Unfortunately, Hydration only works when it's raining - much like Swift Swim. Swanna may be a speedier Pokemon than Poliwrath and thus be able to set up Rain Dance, but trainers don't want it to get knocked out in the same turn. Thus, the best way to make use of Hydration is to have a Pokemon before it set up Rain, then use Swanna.

Alternatively, trainers can just make use of Swanna's regular Abilities: Big Pecks or Keen Eye:

• Big Pecks prevents Swanna's Defense stat from being lowered in battle.
• Keen Eye prevents Swanna's Accuracy from being lowered in battle. Plus, it allows Swanna to ignore any of the target's evasiveness when attacking.

7 Magcargo

Hidden Ability: Weak Armor

Weak Armor is an Ability that triggers when a Pokemon is hit by an attack. This causes the Pokemon's Defense to lower, but in turn, its Speed will be raised by two levels. While a great Ability for speedy Pokemon, it's not so great for slow movers such as Magcargo.

Related

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: Best Pokemon for Rain Teams

Weather effects can drastically shift the tides of a battle. This guide will cover some of the best Pokemon to use in the rain in Scarlet and Violet.

Magcargo's best stat is its Defense with its Speed being its worst stat. While a boost in Speed sounds ideal, it's not worth it at the cost of Magcargo's Defense. Unfortunately, the lava-snail has two major type weaknesses that deal 4x damage instead of 2x: Water-type and Ground-type. It's highly likely that it can be 1HKO'd by a special attack that targets its weaknesses.

Trainers may want to consider its other Abilities, Magma Armor or Flame Body:

• Magma Armor: Magcargo can't be frozen in battle.
• Flame Body: Any Pokemon that hits Magcargo with a physical move has a 30% chance of receiving a Burn. Flame Body also makes it easier to hatch Eggs outside of battle.

6 Yanma & Yanmega

Hidden Ability: Frisk

Frisk allows trainers to see what the opposing Pokemon may be holding in battle. If it's not holding anything, then Frisk won't trigger, obviously. While a good Ability for competitive matches, Frisk isn't as useful in the story mode of Scarlet/Violet, as most trainers do not equip their Pokemon with items.

Yanma and Yanmega already have excellent regular abilities: Speed Boost or * Compound Eyes (Yanma)/Tinted Lens (Yanmega):

• Speed Boost: Increases Yanma/Yanmega's Speed by one stage at the end of each turn.
• Compound Eyes: Raises the accuracy of Yanma's moves in battle.
• Tinted Lens: Increases the damage of Yanmega's "not-very-effective" moves in battle, essentially doubling their power.

* If a Yanma's Ability is Compound Eyes, it will change into Tinted Lens when it evolves into Yanmega. If it has Speed Boost, then it will remain Speed Boost as a Yanmega.

Speed Boost is useful when battling Pokemon that may be quicker than Yanma/Yanmega. However, once Yanma/Yanmega's Speed can't be raised anymore, it's essentially a useless Ability. Compound Eyes and Tinted Lens influence the Yanma-line's attacks, making it a bit more useful as these Abilities don't have "caps."

5 Munchlax & Snorlax

Hidden Ability: Gluttony

Munchlax and Snorlax's Hidden Ability, Gluttony, means it will consume the Berry it's holding much sooner in battle. Instead of eating it at 1/3 HP, it will eat it at 50% HP. This can have pros and cons, as eating a Berry sooner in battle means its HP can be fully restore compared. On the downside, Gluttony is dependent on whether Munchlax/Snorlax is holding a Berry and of course, once the Berry is consumed, the Ability doesn't have much use.

The other two Abilities, * Immunity (Snorlax) and Thick Fat, are more useful:

• Immunity prevents Snorlax from being Poisoned.
• Thick Fat reduces the damage received from Fire and Ice-type moves by half.

* Munchlax's other regular Ability is Pick Up, which allows it to pick up a random item as long as it's currently not holding anything. The type of item it picks up is determined by its level.

Related

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: Best Pokemon for Sun Teams

Sunlight is a very useful condition to take advantage of and can give any competitive trainer a much-needed edge in battle.

Either Thick Fat or Immunity work for Snorlax as they're both useful Abilities. Immunity means it'll shrug off even Toxic poisoning, and Thick Fat ensures it'll take high-powered Fire and Ice-type attacks such as Blast Burn and Blizzard.

4 Conkeldurr

Hidden Ability: Iron Fist

Iron Fist is the Hidden Ability of Conkeldurr, and it raises the power of its punching moves (i.e: Drain Punch, Ice Punch, etc) by 1.2x. Unfortunately, Conkeldurr only learns Focus Punch and Dynamic Punch by leveling up. It'll need TMs to gain more useful punching moves such as Drain Punch.

Conkeldurr's other Abilities, Guts and Sheer Force, may be preferred over Iron Fist:

• Guts: Raises its Attack in battle if it has a Status Ailment such as Poison or Paralysis.
• Sheer Force: Increases the power of moves with second effects in exchange for nullifying these effects. Ex: Dynamic Punch has 100 power and causes Confusion. If Conkeldurr has Sheer Force, then Dynamic Punch will lose its second effect: its ability to Confuse the target.

3 Dusknoir

Hidden Ability: Frisk

Dusknoir's Hidden Ability is Frisk, and like Yanma/Yanmega, this allows it to see what the target Pokemon is holding. Unlike most Pokemon, Dusknoir only has one main/common Ability and one Hidden Ability. Surprisingly, trainers may want to consider taking its regular Ability over the Hidden one.

Related

Pokemon VGC: The Best Dark-types For Competitive Battling

Dark-types are a somewhat rare type in the Pokemon world. Here are the best Dark-type Pokemon for competitive battling.

Dusknoir's primary Ability is Pressure. This increases the PP usage of a move targeting Dusknoir. It's an Ability that several Legendary Pokemon have, and it's ideal to have on a Pokemon like Dusknoir, which is easier to obtain... sometimes. Pressure doesn't rely on the opposing Pokemon to be carrying an item and will trigger any time Dusknoir is attacked.

2 Kommo-o

Hidden Ability: Overcoat

Overcoat protects is user from Sandstorm, powder moves (i.e: Stun Spore), and Spore. While a decent Ability, it's not as useful as a Hidden Ability for a Pokemon like Kommo-o. In fact, some fans believe that Mutliscale would have been a better choice for Kommo-o due to its appearance and being known as the Scaly Pokemon.

Instead, trainers may get better use out of a Kommo-o with its Bulletproof or Soundproof Ability:

• Bulletproof: Prevents Kommo-o from being damaged by bullet/seed moves (ex: Aura Sphere, Sludge Bomb).
• Soundproof: Grants immunity to Kommo-o from sound-based moves (ex: Disarming Voice, Boomburst).

Either one of Kommo-o's main Abilities work, as they'll nullify damage rather than nullifying the effects of Sandstorm or powder moves. While they're both reliant on the opposing Pokemon's movesets, they're bound to get more use in-battle compared to Kommo-o's Hidden Ability. Aura Sphere is a strong special attack that never misses, so Kommo-o with Bulletproof will be able to shake it right off. On the other hand, Soundproof means Kommo-o also can't be put to sleep by the move Sing, or be damaged by moves that would benefit the opposing Pokemon's stats, such as Torch Song.

1 Milotic

Hidden Ability: Cute Charm

Milotic's original Abilities are already well-suited for battle, so it's a bit of a letdown that its Hidden Ability isn't a step-up, but rather a step back. Cute Charm has a 30% of inflicting the "infatuation" effect on a Pokemon that makes contact with Milotic. However, it only works if the Pokemon is the opposite gender of Milotic, or else the Ability won't trigger.

The main abilities for Milotic are Marvel Scale and Competitive:

• Marvel Scale: Defense is increased by 50% if Milotic is poisoned, burned, or paralyzed.
• Competitive: If any of Milotic's stats are lowered in battle, its Special Attack is raised by two stages.

Related

25 Pokemon With The Highest Attack

A high attack stat really helps separate the good Pokemon from the extraordinary. If you prioritize high attack, these are the Pokemon for you.

Milotic is a Pokemon with great Special Defense and Special Attack. Having a boost in Defense as a result of a status effect can make it difficult to defeat. On the other hand, a Milotic with Competitive means it can potentially 1HKO its opponents if the Ability is triggered enough. Of course, Marvel Scale only works on Defense, not Special Defense; Competitive only affects Special Attack, not Attack. Thus, for the latter, Competitive works better if Milotic's attacking moves are special attacks rather than physical.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available for Nintendo Switch.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Franchise

Pokemon

Platform(s)

Switch

Released

November 18, 2022

Developer(s)

Game Freak

Genre(s)

RPG