---
title: "Abilities: Pokémon Mechanics Explained | pokee.si"
url: "https://pokee.si/guide/mechanics/abilities"
description: "Passive powers that change a battle: how many a Pokémon can have, how to change them, and how they are inherited. Guide on pokee.si."
last_updated: "2026-10-19"
publisher: "pokee.si: a Pokédex for families (unofficial fan site)"
---

# Abilities

Passive powers that change a battle: how many a Pokémon can have, how to change them, and how they are inherited.

An Ability is a passive effect a Pokémon carries into battle. Some are tiny nudges and some decide matches. Gyarados lowers the Attack of its foes with Intimidate, Pikachu can paralyse attackers that touch it with Static, and Gengar's Cursed Body can disable the move that hit it.

## Where Abilities come from

Abilities were introduced in Generation III with Ruby and Sapphire. In the Pokédex data, a Pokémon species has up to three Ability slots: two ordinary ones, and one rarer Hidden Ability (introduced in Generation V). An individual Pokémon has only one Ability at a time. There are now more than 300 different Abilities, and the newest main-series games lean on them heavily. Pokémon: Let's Go, Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Pokémon Legends: Z-A do not use Abilities at all.

## Slots stay with evolution

Think of the slots as Slot 1, Slot 2 and Hidden. When a Pokémon evolves, it stays in the same slot, so its Ability can change name. A Poochyena with Run Away evolves into a Mightyena with Intimidate, and one with Quick Feet stays on Quick Feet.

## Changing an Ability

Besides evolution and form changes, there are two items:

- The Ability Capsule (Generation VI) swaps a Pokémon between its two ordinary Abilities. It does nothing if the species has only one. - The Ability Patch (Generation VIII) moves a Pokémon from an ordinary Ability to its Hidden Ability. From Generation IX it can also move a Hidden Ability back to the first ordinary one.

In battle, Abilities can be changed or switched off by moves like Skill Swap, Worry Seed and Gastro Acid. The held item Ability Shield stops the holder's Ability from being changed or switched off this way.

## Passing Abilities on

When you breed, the baby's Ability is often chosen from its mother (or from the non-Ditto parent). In recent games a mother with an ordinary Ability has an 80% chance to pass on her slot. A Pokémon with a Hidden Ability has a 60% chance. If an Egg does not inherit the Ability, it gets one of the two ordinary ones at random, never the Hidden Ability.

## Some Abilities worth knowing

- Intimidate lowers the foes' Attack when the Pokémon enters battle. - Levitate makes a Pokémon immune to Ground moves. - Drought, Drizzle, Sand Stream and Snow Warning set the weather. - Electric Surge, Grassy Surge, Misty Surge and Psychic Surge set the terrain. - Mold Breaker lets moves ignore many defensive Abilities. - Protosynthesis and Quark Drive power up the Paradox Pokémon in sun or Electric Terrain.

Abilities and held items can overlap. A Pokémon with the Ability Sturdy that also holds a Focus Sash will trigger Sturdy first.

## Related

- [All abilities](https://pokee.si/abilities)
- [Weather and terrain](https://pokee.si/guide/mechanics/weather-and-terrain)
- [Breeding and Eggs](https://pokee.si/guide/mechanics/breeding)

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Source: https://pokee.si/guide/mechanics/abilities (HTML page). pokee.si is an unofficial fan site and is not affiliated with Nintendo, Creatures, GAME FREAK or The Pokémon Company. Pokémon and all related names and images are © their respective owners.