The way this works is exactly the same as the rate the pokemon and move above you threads, except this one is for abilities.

The process is simple. I will post a pokemon ability for the next person to talk about and rate, they'll rate it on a scale of 1-10, give a brief explanation on their rating, and then they will provide a new ability for the next person to rate, so on and so forth until the end of time. Ratings will be on a 1-10 scale. Examples of this are: 2/10, 5/10, 8/10, etc.

The first ability to rate will be Intimidate.

Intimidate is a pretty solid ability, especially in competitive play. I'm pretty terrible at competitive battling, but I've seen clips where people are able to strategically switch Pokemon with Intimidate in and out when they anticipate their opponent with use Protect to lower their opponents attack over and over again. Overall I'll give it a 9 out of 10, being able to lower your opponent's attack is always beneficial.

The next ability is Soundproof.

Soundproof is really situational. Against some Pokemon it's really useful but it's more of an in game thing as it blocks annoying moves like supersonic and growl. Competitively it's not very viable.

The next ability to rate will be Water Absorb.

Water Absord is really only useful if your opponent is really stupid. With the exception of Volcanion, the Wooper line, and the Palpitoad line, all of the Pokemon that have it are already resistant to water, so it wouldn't make sense for your opponent to use a water type move against them. I suppose it helps if you're in a double battle and your opponent has a Pokemon with Surf, as it will dis-incentivize (is that a word?) him from using it, even if your other Pokemon is weak against water. For the most part though, not a particularly useful ability in most circumstances. I'll give it a 6 out of 10.

The next ability is Shadow Tag.

Water absorb is also a bit situational since it requires you to be hit by a water type attack to activate. Even if you are hit by a water type move, you are only recovering 1/4 of your hp. In game, it would be better to heal using a potion instead of relying on passive recovery on the chance you are attacked with a water type move. Overall, I rate it a 4/10

The next ability is Sheer Force.

Sheer Force is an ability that I feel is actually kind of overlooked. Lets think about it for a second, right? You have let's say a Rampardos with Sheer Force. You want to use Zen Headbutt. A solid choice. Normally, you'd have a 20% chance to make the enemy Pokemon Flinch. Pretty low if you ask me. Negligible to say the least. But with Sheer Force, it makes the a 0% chance but increased the power of Zen Headbutt by 30% more. So now Zen Headbutt has a power of 110 instead of 80.

That is an amazing increase. 110 power on a move with 90% accuracy and 15 PP. Although, it does give up it's chance to make the enemy Pokemon flinch. I think that the 30% damage increase is good but the flinch could help a lot in the right situation so I'll give Sheer Force a 8.5/10 just because the situational additional effects could help in a pinch.

The next ability up is Guts!

Guts is very situational as most Pokemon who get it are too slow to take advantage of it. Big exception being Swellow of course. It's better in game where everything has stun spore haha

The next ability is Arena Trap

Guts is an interesting ability. It doesn't come into effect unless you have a status problem, but it helps turn that status problem into less of a negative by boosting your attack stat. This is good for two reasons. Obviously the first reason is that if you are poisoned or burned it gives you a better chance to knock out your opponent before you die from that. If you are paralyzed you are slower and may not be able to attack every turn, but when you do attack you pack more of a punch. It also may cause your opponent to not want to inflict a status problem on you, because of the attack increase. That's an additional benefit that you may not think about initially. Overall, I'll give it a 7 out of 10.

The next ability is Inner Focus.

Edit: Ninja'd lol

Inner Focus is a pretty average ability to have because it protects from flinch inducing moves like headbutt and fake out. Other than that, it is a very situational ability that isn't bad, but isn't game changing either. Definitely better abilities out there. Overall, I rate it a 5/10.

The next ability to rate is Speed Boost.

Speed boost is amazing for Pokemon that can utilize it well. The most famous Speed Booster is probably Yanmega yet I would argue that it's not among the best. Ninjask and Scolipede are both fantastic at setting up stat boosts and using baton pass to ... pass them around (badum tshh). Mega Blaziken is, well, banned from OU so we don't talk about that.

Next ability is Motor Drive

Motor Drive is a solid situational ability that only a select few Pokemon have. In order for it to take effect and raise your speed, it requires you to be hit by an electric type attack (and oddly enough, all the Pokemon that have Motor Drive as an ability are electric type). While electric type moves are by no means uncommon in-game and in competitive battling, this is still a very specific circumstance which is also unlikely to be met since most opposing Pokemon, competitive or in-game, wouldn't try to attack you with a move that's the same typing you are. Since it's an ability with very limited use and payoff, I'll rate it a 5/10.

The next ability is Levitate.

SacredShadow : Levitate has been the game changer for some pokemon in the past, flying types have the perk of being able to switch in on ground attacks and generally force an opponent to forgo any ground type tactics overall, and several other conditions like arena trap and spikes don't affect flying types either. Levitate grants the same perks to pokemon who aren't flying type, and that's sensational. Unless you're fan rotom, in which case it's just weird. I give it an eight.

Next up, iron fist.

Iron fist is a very good ability. You usually get a lot of coverage punching moves with that ability (elemental punches, shadow punch etc.) however I don't know if it's always the best option. My prime example of this is probably the second most famous Iron Fist pokemon, Conkeldurr. It gets a really strong drain punch and ice punch, but that's about it. People tend to use its other ability, Guts, way more often due to the predictable nature of Iron Fist sets. Still a solid ability though.

The next ability to rate will be Gooey.

Gooey gets an instant 10 out of 10, since it is an ability that only our lord and savior Goomy can have. Seriously though, it is a pretty good ability. The ability to attack first is crucial in Pokemon battles, so any time you can lower your opponent's speed, it's a plus.

The next ability is Overgrow.

Overgrow is pretty bad. I mean when it activates it helps I guess but you'd rather not be below a third of your health. Most grass starters get much better hidden abilities like Venusaur's Clorophyl, Serperior's Contrary etc. Also if you use it to get a powerful Giga Drain off, you'll likely go above a third of your health again which defeats the purpose.


The next ability to rate will be Shell Armor

Overgrow is a pretty standard and common ability among grass types, especially starters. Having extra power behind your moves is always nice, but it doesn't activate unless you are at or under 1/3 of your maximum HP. When it does activate however, it is a pretty substantial power up of 50%. While it does require you to be near fainting, it is a pretty decent clutch move with good payoff. I rate it a solid 6/10.

The next ability to rate is Adaptability.

Edit: Ninja'd again. Good lord lol.

Adaptability is a great ability in my opinion. The STAB increase from 1.5x to 2x is huge. If used by Crawdaunt, for example, it could increase Surf's power from 90 to 180, making it more powerful that Hyper Beam. I'll give it a 9 out of 10.

The next ability is Drought.

Drought is a great ability with the right team support. It got nerfed obviously as it only lasts for 5 turns but you can still do some cool stuff with it. 8/10

The next ability to rate is Inner Focus

Again? Lol.

Inner Focus is pretty average as far as abilities go. Being protected from flinch causing moves is always nice, but Inner Focus is pretty limited in its use outside of that. It also doesn't help that there are other abilities like Mold Break, which ignores the effects of other abilities and can break through Inner Focus. I stand by my previous rating of 5/10.

The next ability to rate is Moxie.

Moxie isn't that great of an ability in my opinion for competitive play, as you will be switching Pokemon in and out a lot. It could be really helpful in regular story mode gameplay though, since you can typically destroy an entire team with one Pokemon. I'll give it a a 7 out of 10.

The next ability is Sturdy.

Sturdy is a very... iffy ability. It basically grants the same effect as the focus sash by default, and it is often found on pokemon that have weaknesses crippling enough to reliably one shot them. However, there are many things which bypass it, namely traps and weather, since as soon as your pokemon isn't at full health you're vulnerable. The other thing sturdy does, which I'm not 100% sure about, is immunity to moves like guillotine, fissure, and sheer cold. If it still has that effect after the gen 5 change, I think so anyways. 5/10

Next up, solar power.

Solar Power doesn't seem like a particularly useful ability. It's completely useless unless there is harsh sunlight, and while the 1.5x for special attack is nice, it also cuts into your HP. Overall, not a great ability. 4 out of 10.

The next ability is Run Away.

Run Away is only convenient when you need to escape from Pokemon that use moves like mean look or have abilities like arena trap. Unless you are being swarmed by Digletts, there isn't really a lot of application for this move. To make matters worse, Run Away does nothing as far as battling goes. It would be nice if it could allow you to recall your Pokemon from trapping moves like bind or fire spin, at least then it would serve some sort of purpose. Overall, it is a very underwhelming move that is only slightly convenient in some situations. I rate it a 2/10.

The next ability to rate is Prankster.

Any ability that can gain attack priority over other moves in a good one, and prankster is no different. To have the ability to inflict status conditions onto other Pokémon, even if they have quick guard (in gen V at least) is a big advantage to sticking first or having better stats. Obviously the ability isn’t that good, as it only affects a variety of moves and can now be blocked by quick guard, the ability is still a quality one and I’d rate it a 6/10

The next ability is infiltrator.

Infiltrator is an ok ability. It allows your Pokemon to bypass the effects of Reflect, Light Screen, Mist, and Substitute. However, if your opponent doesn't use one of these moves, it's pretty useless. It's an ability that is really only useful is specific situations. 5 out of 10.

The next ability is Levitate.

Levitate is fantastic. Not only do you dodge all ground type attacks (which is arguably the best offensive typing in the game, or at least top 3), you also dodge all entry hazards sans stealth rock. The ability literally has no drawbacks. Top tier ability for sure.

The next ability to rate is Pressure

Pressure is a really annoying ability. It isn't that good when your Pokemon has it, but it's annoying as heck when your opponent has it. Kind of like Zubat lol. In a competitive battle most moves have enough PP for Pressure to not be a huge deal, and in an offline battle such as against a gym leader or a member of the Elite 4, your opponent's Pokemon don't last long enough for it to have much of an impact. However, if the gym leader or Elite 4 member has a few Pokemon with Pressure, it can cause a lot of problems for you. For example, both of Phoebe's Dusclops have Pressure in the Hoenn games, and they do a number on your PP, especially if you don't one-shot them. That being said, if the Pokemon survives for enough turns in a competitive battle, Pressure could become troublesome for your opponent. 6 out of 10.

The next ability is Rock Head.

Rock Head has an interesting concept but I don't know how useful it is competitively. I find the alternative, Reckless, to be a lot better as during competitive play I'd rather have a bit more power than to not take some recoil. Most Rock Head Pokemon are slow anyway so they'll take plenty of hits and damage regardless of the ability. 5/10

The next ability to rate will be Cursed Body

Cursed Body is a pretty cool ability. having a chance to disable your opponent's move any time they use a physical attack on your can come in handy. That being said, the ability can be ignored altogether by using special attacks instead of physical ones. Overall, I'll give it a 7 out of 10.

The next ability is Effect Spore.

Effect Spore is a funny ability. I've actually tried to use it competitively before and it has minor success some battles. Getting that clutch sleep or that clutch paralysis can really turn the tides of the battle. I tried it with a sashed Parasect and the thing actually put in a decent amount of work. Now I got lucky throughout that entire fight obviously but I think it ended up getting 4 kills before finally going down. All thanks to effect spore too. It's an infuriating ability in game though. Once a wild Shroomish has you trapped there is never an escape. 4/10

The next ability is Fur Coat

Fur Coat is a useful ability that reduces damage taken from physical attacks by 50%. Even though Furfrou and Alolan Meowth are the only pokemon that can get this ability, it is a very useful one to have both in-game and competitively since it essentially doubles your defense stat in battle. Overall I think it deserves a solid 8/10.

The next ability to rate is Super Luck.

Super Luck is a pretty good ability. Critical hits are super useful in battle not only because they increase damage, but also because they ignore stat modifiers. Pairing Super Luck with an attack like Slash could make your Pokemon quite the threat. I'll rate it a 7 out of 10.

The next ability to rate is Slow Start lol

Slow Start is easily right up there with Truant as one of the worst abilities in the game. For 5 turns, your attack and speed stats (arguably the most important stats) are cut in half. Thankfully, Regigigas is the only pokemon that has this ability, because it is just too much of a handicap for normal pokemon to handle. Even a Regigigas with a monstrous base 160 attack and 100 speed is harmless until turn 6 when it gains access to its full power. A lot can happen in 5 turns and this crippling ability prevents an otherwise strong pokemon from being used more often in competitive battling. I rate it a 1/10 as it serves no purpose.

The next ability to rate is Sand Stream.

Sand Stream can be a really useful ability. It creates a sandstorm, which causes damage to Pokemon that aren't rock, ground, or steel type, and also raises the special defense of rock type Pokemon. It can also be used to reverse current weather conditions, if your opponents Pokemon has created a weather condition that is beneficial for them. Overall, a pretty solid ability, 8 out of 10.

The next ability to rate is Early Bird.

Early Bird is a bad ability. Yeah you'll sleep for less longer but how often would you really need that anyway? Get a better ability for your Pokemon, 2/10

The next ability is Inner Focus

Inner focus is a decent ability, but not great. Preventing flinching is nice, but how often are you in a situation when you will flinch anyway? It protects you from Fake Out I suppose, but that's about it. All in all, not that useful. I'll give it a 4 out of 10.

The next ability is Clear Body.

Clear Body is nice as stat drops are always annoying. It still doesn't eliminate your own stat drops from moves like Leaf Storm though so chances are its only use would be to stop intimidate and sticky webs. 6/10

The next ability is CompoundEyes

Compound Eyes is a pretty solid ability. It is great in that it makes moves like Thunder, Blizzard, Fire Blast, and other high power moves with typically low accuracy a lot more usable. Overall I'll give it an 8 out of 10.

The next ability is Pickup.

Pickup is a god send depending on the game that you play. In Ruby/Sapphire it was entirely broken, being able to get high level items, including rare candies, before the first gym.
Even after it was nerfed to depend on your level, it was still a decent ability. If you have any space to spare, pick up a few pokemon with this ability to greatly increase your money, depending on the game.

Rating: 11/10 in Ruby/Sapphire
7/10 every other game

I guess I'll rate Pickup as well then. It's a very solid ability to have in game when you don't have your full team of 6 yet. Put a zigzagoon or an Aipom with it on your team and it will give you all sorts of neat stuff. In battle it has a very specific use as well as it allows you to pick up items that were used up previously (things like berries, for example). This should almost never happen to you though. 7/10

The next ability to rate will be Marvel Scale

Marvel Scale is a pretty good ability. If you are at a disadvantage because of a status condition, Marvel Scale neutralizes it by increasing your defense pretty significantly. This is good for the obvious reason that your defense is higher if you're poisoned, burned, or paralyzed, however it's also beneficial for the less obvious reason that your opponent will be less likely to inflict a status condition on you if he or she knows that it will increase your defense. I'll rate it an 8 out of 10.

The next ability to rate is Thick Fat.

Thick fat is fantastic. Becoming resistant to two of the most offensive types out there - fire and ice - will always be a huge help. Then when you have bulky Pokemon like Mega Venusaur getting this ability and it becomes almost broken. Easily a 9/10

The next ability to rate will be Sand Rush

Sand Rush is a pretty solid ability, if the Pokemon knows the move Sandstorm. It results in increased speed, in addition to the regular benefits of Sandstorm. If the Pokemon doesn't know Sandstorm though, or you aren't a huge fan of weather moves like me, then it is kind of useless. 6 out of 10.

The next ability to rate is Swift Swim.

Swift Swim is similar to Sand Rush as it increases speed in rain. Useful, but with Drizzle now only lasting 5-8 turns it got significantly nerfed. 7/10

The next ability is Sheer Force

I'm honestly not really sure how I feel about Sheer Force. For some moves it's good I guess, but for others I think I'd rather have the additional effect. It can be good situationally, but overall I'll rate it a 5 out of 10.

The next ability is Gale Wings.

Gale Wings would've received a 10/10 in generation 6. In generation 7 however it was nerfed to oblivion. It now only takes effect when you're on full HP. That means that Talonflame, who mainly uses recoil moves like Flare Blitz and Brave Bird, has no more use for it. Can't even priority roost anymore for free health. 4/10 in generation 7.

The next ability is Skill Link

Skill Link is an incredibly overpowered ability. It turns moves like Bullet Seed, Icicle Spear, Pin Missile, and Rock Blast into 125 power / 90-100 accuracy moves. It also turns Spike Cannon into a 100 power / 100 accuracy move. It's usefulness is limited to certain Pokemon with certain movesets, but with those Pokemon it is great. 10 out of 10.

The next ability is Arena Trap.

Arena Trap is underrated. Sure, in game it's not that useful as very few trainers have the AI level to switch out their Pokemon. In competitive play however it's fantastic. It used to be even better before generation 5 I think, because there would be no team preview back then. Dugtrio was always a fear in the back of your mind so this ability deserves a 10/10

The next ability is Huge Power

Huge Power is a really good ability to have since it basically doubles your attack stat. This is why pokemon with weak attack stats like Azumarill and Diggersby (at 50 and 56 respectively) are able to completely abuse this this ability and punch holes in teams. This is also why Mega Mawile is so godly in competitive, it essentially has a colossal base attack stat of 210. Nothing is surviving. I rate this ability 10/10 overall.

The next ability to rate is Disguise.

Honestly, I don't know too much about that ability. It's exclusive to Mimikyu from the gen 7 games, which (other than Let's Go Eevee) I haven't played. It seems pretty solid, but the explanation on Bulbapedia is a little convoluted, so I'm not sure I'm understanding it correctly. I'll hesitantly give it an 8 out of 10.

The next ability is Shadow Tag.

Shadow Tag is great to have. Completely trapping your opponent (exception being ghost types) is so slept on. It's pretty much the sole reason Mega Gengar was banned from OU and put into Ubers. And who hasn't had a horror story with an unexpected Wobuffet. 9/10

The next ability to rate will be Liquid Ooze.

Liquid Ooze is a pretty cool ability. Attacking moves that restore HP can be really annoying, so having preventative measures to fight against that would be beneficial. That being said, there aren't an overwhelming amount of those moves, so in a lot of situations the ability won't do anything. Still a solid ability though, I rate it an 8 out of 10.

The next ability is Natural Cure.

Natural Cure is so useful. Fighting one of those annoying Static Pokemon? No worries, just switch out! Got burned by Blaine? Better have burn heal just switch out! It's an ability made for the lazy people who can't be bothered to enter their bag and look for 2 minutes to find an Ice Heal, so I love it. 9/10

The next ability to rate will be Regenerator

Regenerator is an awesome ability, especially in competitive battles or when challenging the Pokemon League. Being able to recover a significant amount of HP when switching out is extremely beneficial. 10 out of 10.

The next ability is Magnet Pull.

Magnet Pull is pretty bad in game, but competitively it really changed the meta game. There's this one steel bird called Skarmory that was feared by all in the OU tier, so when Magneton got this ability it finally gave us a hard check for Skarmory. It's been the bane of Skarmory's existence ever since (though it's still great in battle). 3/10 in game, 10/10 competitively

The next ability to rate is Oblivious

Oblivious is an ok ability. Falling in love in Pokemon battles is super annoying, and being immune to that is cool, but it doesn't happen all that often. There aren't too many Pokemon out there that have Cute Charm or know the move attract. Additionally, Pokemon of the same gender or genderless Pokemon can't fall in love. So overall, Oblivious doesn't have that much use. I'll rate it a 6 out of 10.

Speaking of which, Cute Charm is the net ability to rate!

Like Oblivious, Cute Charm is an okay ability. It has a 30% chance to inflict infatuation on the attacking pokemon. While this sounds nice, it is only a 30% chance and it does not affect pokemon of the same gender as the pokemon with Cute Charm, genderless pokemon, or pokemon that have the ability oblivious. A lot of pokemon fit one of these three exceptions so it isn't as widely effective. If it does infatuated another pokemon however, there is a 50% it will be 'immobilized by love' and unable to attack, which is never fun. Outside of battle, if the leading pokemon has Cute Charm, the odds of finding a pokemon of the opposite gender increase to 66% if you need that for some reason...Overall, I'll give it a 6/10, it's a pretty average ability that does have some use.

The next ability to rate is Simple.

Simple is a double-edged sword. Sure, your own stat boosts are double effective, but so are negative boosts inflicted by your opponent. Depending on your opponent's strategy, you can get yourself in a real bad situation pretty quick.
5/10

Up next is Adaptability, a personal favorite of mine.

Adaptability is honestly one of the best abilities in the game. Getting what basically is a super effective hit on all moves that share your typing is always valuable and makes switching into these pokemon extremely hard. There's a reason why Mega Lucario is straight up Ubers.

10/10 would Adaptability again

The next ability to rate will be Shell Armor

I personally think that most of the pokemon that can have the ability have better abilitied they can have. While it being nice and safe from crit's, ill have to give it a 5/10

Next is the ability Contrary

Contrary is an awesome ability. Not a lot of Pokemon get it but they make sure that they all have moves to make use of it (Superpower, Leaf Storm, Shell Smash Shuckle, etc.)

9/10 because it can be used against you.


Next ability to rate is Inner Focus

Inner Focus is a very average ability that prevents the pokemon from flinching. While this is somewhat useful, there are still abilities that can pierce through Inner Focus (like Mold Breaker).

I rate it a 5/10, it has its uses, but nothing really remarkable or game-changing.

The next ability to rate is Neuroforce.

So I actually had to google this one as I have yet to touch Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and while I knew there was a thing called Ultra Necrozma (still think the normal Necrozma looks the best) I had no clue it had a new unique ability.

What it does apparently is power up super effective moves by 25% meaning they go from a usual 200% damage to a 250% damage attack. That's essentially the same as holding a slightly stronger Expert Belt while keeping the item slot open. Or well, I guess you don't really have an item after all since you're forced to use a z-move to utilize this ability.

Still, it's essentially a straight buff to an already great Pokemon so it gets a 10/10 for me.

The next ability to rate is Defiant.

Defiant is a pretty solid ability. Whenever any of the pokemon's stats are lowered, its attack stat receives a sharp increase. While this doesn't work for self inflicted stat lowering moves like close combat for example, it is still a solid ability even though it isn't guaranteed since you do have to rely on a teammate or an enemy pokemon to actually lower your stats.

I rate it a 6/10.

The next ability to rate is Arena Trap.

Arena Trap is an ability that's practically useless during a playthrough of a game. I mean there are a very select amount of trainers with the AI to switch their Pokemon so most of the time it doesn't matter. In game it's also hella annoying when wild diglett prevent you from running away.

Competitively though, it's extremely viable due to the sheer amount of switching Pokemon that happens. If you catch your opponent off guard or send out a choice banded Dugtrio after something of yours dies, you can easily just get rid of a Pokemon for free. Just the threat of Dugtrio being in the game means your opponent has to always play on edge.

3/10 in game

10/10 in competitive play


The next ability to rate will be Protean

Protean is one of the best abilities in all of Pokemon. Being able to change your pokemon's type along with getting STAB boost for any attacking move in the game is insane! It really helps Greninja be one of the best competitive starter Pokemon of all time!

10/10 in game

10/10 in competitive play


The next ability to rate is Moody.

Moody is probably one of the biggest wildcards you can have for an ability. It increases one stat by 2 stages after every turn, but it also lowers another one by one stafe so depending on your luck you can get set up really quickly or get nerfed equally as fast.

After time it obviously builds up to a point where all your stats are in the positives, but only when your opponent allows for it.

Now the Pokemon that actually get this ability sadly aren't the greatest. Bibarel and Glalie, just to name a few, are very mediocre Pokemon in the competitive metagame. It can work in very specific situations but the moment your opponent has like Roar, Whirlwind, Circle Throw, Haze, etc. it gets destroyed.

3/10 in game

5/10 in competitive play

The next ability to rate will be Hydration

Hydration is a situationally useful ability that heals the user of any status conditions (even self inflicted ones like using Rest) while it is raining. There aren't too many pokemon that have this ability, but of the 22 pokemon that do, 16 of them are water types, plus 9 of the ones that could have it get it as a hidden ability which doesn't make it as easy to obtain. Even though most people's team will consist of pokemon with varied typings, Hydration is still a useful ability. I think it can be a lot more useful on a water and rain dance based team though.

I rate it a 6/10.

The next ability to rate is Protean.

Well Protean only has two users so it makes it limited but both users use it well. Kecleon, the clear better of the two, is a solid Assault Vest user that can change its type for stab attacks on all his attacks, including multiple priority moves. It's useful both offensively and defensively as you could for example turn into a ghost type against a fighting type to block their attacks.

Greninja exists as well but nobody cares about Greninja.


But yeah great ability, 10/10

Next ability to rate is Comatose

Comatose is Komala's unique ability; it allows Komala to be treated as if it were asleep. Because of this, it cannot be inflicted with other major status ailments like sleep, freeze, paralysis, burn, confusion, or poison. This ability also can't be removed or replaced with moves like skill swap.

Overall, it is a pretty neat ability that prevents it from being hit with major status ailments since it allows Komala to behave as though it is asleep.

I rate it a 7/10.

The next ability to rate is Tough Claws.

Tough Claws is an awesome ability that increases the damage dealt by contact moves (aka most physical moves) by 30%, essentially granting you a free life orb for them. Without the recoil, of course. It single handedly makes things like Lycanrock Dusk, Mega Charizard X / Aerodactyl and more just that more scary to deal with.

Because it has no drawbacks I can only give it 10/10 due to it being so broken.

The next ability to rate will be Prankster

Prankster is a very solid ability that adds +1 priority to status moves like sleep powder and will-o-wisp. This means that even if the pokemon that has Prankster has a lower speed stat than thee opponent (or is just slow in general), it will have priority if it uses a status type move. Even if an opposing pokemon that is slower than the ability bearer uses a priority move like tackle, the ability bearer will still go first. Most moves have a priority stat of 0, so Prankster can definitely be useful and make all the difference when on the right pokemon with the right status move, especially in competitive.

I rate Prankster an 8/10.

The next ability to rate is Battle Armor.

Battle Armor is decent at best ability that blocks moves from being critical hits.. but like when are critical hits are even that scary that you'd want to waste a pokemon slot with this ability just to not get hit with a crit xD
I give Battle Armor a 5/10

The next ability to rate is Lightning Rod.

Lightningrod is an interesting ability. It makes you immune to electric type attacks and instead of getting hit it gives you +1 special attack.

Now that sounds good and all but in practice it loses viability real quick. Most pokemon that get this ability were immune to electric from the start. Think Marowak, Rhydon (aiming for the horn doesnt work) etc. Others are electric types themselves so it's not like they would've taken a lot of damage.

However, there is one exception. One shining exception. And that Pokemon is the almighty Seaking. A water type getting a hidden immunity to electric? Heck yeah! But sadly Seaking sucks so it's more of a fun fact than a useful ability.

In double battles it does redirect electric attacks aimed at your teammate, so it's useful there.

I'll give it 6/10 for double battle usage.

The next ability to rate will be Power Construct

Power Construct is an interesting ability unique to Zygarde where if Zygarde's 10% or 50% form falls below half of its max HP, it changes to its 100% complete form and gets a massive HP boost.

Pretty cool ability overall, I rate it an 8/10.

The next ability to rate is Swift Swim.

So Swift Swim is one of those abilities that you come across while playing the game and wonder "when the heck is this ever useful", seeing how you'll most likely run all attacking moves and rarely enter a rainy area. And you'll usually only have one water type on your team anyway, sometimes even your starter, so chances are you'll never actually use this ability.

Competitively speaking however, it's really, really good. Being able to DOUBLE your speed is insane, and weather teams have been around since gen 3 when abilities were introduced. You don't have to run much speed investment with it at all so you can invest more freely in offense or even bulk, making your pokemon more lethal. It also helps that Rain is probably the best weather condition in the game, maybe in contention for the title with Sand.

Especially now that more Pokemon are getting access to weather setting abilities like Drizzle, or even due to the +1 speed a Z-Rain Dance gives you, it has become even more prominent from gen 5 onwards. Though that will likely go down a bit due to Z moves not being in Sword and Shield. Bummer.


Probably rate it a 9/10 due to it being situational and temporary.


The next ability to rate will be Simple

Simple is a pretty simple (ba-dum tsss) ability that doubles the effect of all stat changes. For instance, if you use dragon dance, normally attack and speed each go up one stage, but with simple, they'd each be at +2 stages instead. It is a double-edged sword though because stat lowering moves/effects are also doubled.

It can be pretty good and really work in your favor if you use it right, but it has it's drawbacks, so I rate it a 7/10.

The next ability to rate is Download.

Download is a pretty unique ability. It used to be exclusive to the Porygon evolution line until Genesect came along, another man made Pokemon.

Download will raise your Attack or Special Attack by one stage upon entering the field. Sounds great right? Just gotta get lucky with which one you get and you're set.

Well that would be easy and you'd get the boost you want 50% of the time, but in game it looks at whichever of your opponent's Defense or Special Defense is lower, and raises that attacking stat so you can hit them extra hard on their weaker side.

So if you're smart you will be able to send your Pokemon out against an opponent with an obvious lower stat in one of them like Golem. However in competitive play I guess you could also scout what investments some Pokemon with equal defensive stats like Mew are running.

Thing is, you hardly see this ability. I'd say of the three abilities a member of the Porygon line can have, Download is by far the worst of the three. I mean you can really abuse your opponent with Trace by Tracing something like regenerator, or with Analytic you can hit for extra damage when either going after your opponent or catching them on a switch.

So all in all I'll just give Download a 7/10 as it will only really see usage on Genesect.

The next ability to rate will be Shadow Tag

Shadow Tag is an all around useful ability for both in-game and especially competitive battling. Most of the time, in-game battles aren't really difficult enough for Shadow Tag to be necessary, but it's always good to have control of the battle and prevent your opponent from switching out. It's especially useful when used against pokemon your pokemon is strong against. It only ever backfires if you use it against a pokemon you can't hit, but hey, that's what coverage moves are for.

Overall, I rate Shadow Tag a 9/10.

The next ability to rate is Magician.

Not gonna lie I had to google this one to make sure it was what I was thinking of.

Magician basically just allows you to take your opponent's item should you not be holding one yourself. The ability triggers when you hit said opponent with an attack.

Not a lot of pokemon get this ability. In fact, it's limited to the Fennekin line, Klefki and Hoopa.

Now, you should never use this item on a Klefki as its hidden ability prankster is just so much better in every way. You're forced to run it on a Hoopa but how often do you really see this coming in handy? If you're not careful you'll steal a choice item or something like an assault vest when they might not suit your spread and set.

It's an option on Delphox but overall Blaze is probably the better ability. I mean Delphox typically tends to run either a choice scarf set or some Z move set, both of which Magician just does nothing for.

So even though the concept of the ability is fun, on every pokemon that has it it gets outclassed by their other abilities and it can typically only be used once a battle, so I have to give it a low score of 3/10

The next ability to rate will be Natural Cure

Natural Cure is a very straightforward ability that heals the ability holder of all status problems when they switch out. With how rampant status inflicting moves are in the competitive scene, it is always a huge plus to have an ability or move that allows you to undo some of the damage. Even in casual in-game play where most of the AI opponents aren't running competetive movesets and are out to stall and cripple you, Natural Cure is still useful when you just need to get rid of a status ailment without using a healing item (or sometimes several in the case of gym leaders and Elite 4 members) or immediately rushing over to a Pokecenter.

Altogether, Natural Cure is a great ability to have in casual and competitive gameplay. I rate it an 8/10.

The next ability to rate is Poison Point.

Poison Point is probably one of the most annoying abilities in the game. I know every single person that's played Pokemon has looked at an enemy Nidoran and just prayed to Arceus to please not get poisoned by the scratc- you are now poisoned.

I mean literally all it does is it gives you a 30% chance to poison the opponent when you get hit with a move that makes physical contact. There's nothing more to it and you rarely see it used in competitive play as it's unreliable and the move Toxic exists for a reason.

I'll rate it a 2/10

The next ability is Poison Point's much more talented cousin, Poison Touch