One of the most important parts of any Pokémon is its ability. These passive effects have been a part of the Pokémon series for generations, and while some are relatively simple and forgettable compared to others, many can help certain Pokémon be an unstoppable powerhouse when properly utilized.
Each new Pokémon game introduces new abilities and changes older ones, and Pokémon Sword & Shield the largest range in the series. Many of the strongest and strangest abilities can fly under the radar of most trainers, but if you’re looking to train a new teammate, these are some abilities you should look out for.
10 Iron Fist
Iron Fist is one of the more classic abilities, initially being Hitmonchan’s signature ability to match his punch-based fighting style. This ability boosts punching moves by 20%, which isn’t a huge amount but just enough to make a surprisingly wide range of moves more substantial. For Hitmonchan, this especially helps attacks like Bullet Punch and Mach Punch that attack fast and make up for its poor speed.
However, it’s no longer exclusive to Hitmonchan, meaning there are far more Pokémon that can explore this ability. Defensive Pokémon like Golurk and Conkeldurr can use it to a great extent by using a boosted Drain Punch to effectively recover health, or can deal an unusually high amount of damage thanks to their access to the additionally-boosted move Dynamic Punch.
9 Pickpocket
Veterans of competitive Pokémon know the value of items in battle. Many Pokémon are utterly useless without the stat boosts of certain items like the Eviolite or Choice Scarf, and to counter these items it can be common to use moves like Knock Off or Thief to snatch them away.
Pickpocket makes for a much stronger alternative, as any Pokémon with this ability will steal the item of whoever it makes physical contact with so long as it isn’t holding one already. Weavile and Shiftry both can receive this ability and also learn the move Fake Out, which will hit the opponent first and make them flinch. This combo can remove your foe’s item without losing any of your valuable time.
8 Adaptability
One of the important aspects of Pokémon battling is the Same Type Attack Bonus, which improves the damage of a Pokémon’s attacks if they match the user’s types. For example, a Charizard will deal an average amount of damage with Normal-type moves, but will have 50% percent more power with all its Fire-type moves.
Adaptability doubles this effect, making any moves the same type as the user deal twice as much damage as its base power. With Pokémon like Eevee, this can lead to attacks like Double Edge to reach a total of 240 base power, making it stronger than most moves in the game, and able to eliminate nearly any opponent instantly.
7 Compound Eyes
This Bug-type ability doesn’t show up quite often in Pokémon Sword & Shield, with Galvantula and Butterfree being the only ones with access to it currently. Nonetheless, its ability to boost the Pokémon’s accuracy by 30% is immense, and lets them use moves that few other Pokémon can use effectively.
For Butterfree, this primarily surrounds moves like Sleep Powder and Stun Spore, both of which are highly inaccurate moves that can inflict serious status ailments. With this ability, these moves have nearly perfect accuracy, and while its stats might not be spectacular, it makes Butterfree significantly stronger than it looks.
6 Scrappy
Many Pokémon with the ability Scrappy came with the Isle of Armor DLC, and they are very much worth many trainer’s times. With strong Pokémon like Dragapult and Gengar running wild, Fighting and Normal-type moves can often be a liability, but Scrappy negates all of these to let Pokémon like Kangaskhan and Stoutland stand a better chance.
This ability also received a buff in Pokémon Sword & Shield by also blocking the ability Intimidate, which normally lowers an opponent’s Attack stat when it enters battle. As a result, Pokémon with the Scrappy ability can be harder to weaken or avoid than ever before.
5 Plus & Minus
Many trainers might be familiar with the abilities Plus & Minus from Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, back when they were exclusive to the Electric-type duo of Minun and Plusle. These abilities boosted the Special Attack of Pokémon with the compatible ability, and it meant that these two could put up more of a fight when working together.
But recently, this ability has been buffed to be easier to use, and can appear among far more species. It now will boost the Special Attack of any Double Battle partners with either ability, meaning two Pokémon with Minus can boost each other. This ability won’t do much in typical Single Battles, but can make for several unexpected duos like Klinklang and Toxtricity.
4 Technician
Technician is far from the unknown by many trainers, but many underestimate just how powerful its effect can be. This will give at least fifty percent more power to any moves with 60 power or less, meaning attacks like Wing Attack will be about as powerful as stronger moves like Flamethrower.
Much like Iron Fist, this move’s power comes in the variety of attacks it affects. Moves that make multiple hits like Triple Axel and Dual Wingbeat can now each deal over a hundred damage since each strike is boosted individually, helping Pokémon like Hitmontop and Scizor deal ludicrous amounts of damage with many underrated and unexpected moves.
3 Mold Breaker
Mold Breaker is one of the less clear abilities of the Pokémon series, but its effects are plenty powerful. It essentially causes the Pokémon to ignore the abilities of other Pokémon, meaning it can still use many attacks that wouldn’t normally work from defensive effects.
For example, if a Pokémon like Haxorus or Pinsir were to use Earthquake against a Pokémon with Levitate, Levitate’s resistance to Ground-type moves would be ignored and it could deal the damage. This ability has a huge set of abilities that can be ignored like Lightning Rod and Flash Fire, which provide Pokémon with powerful immunities, and much like Scrappy, this ability can make aggressive fighters nearly unstoppable.
2 Storm Drain
Speaking of moves that provide immunities, Storm Drain is an exceptionally powerful one. This will not only negate the damage from Water-type moves and raise the user’s Special Attack, but in Double Battles it also draws in these moves and prevent allies from being hit by them.
This means that Pokémon like Gastrodon and Maractus not only protect themselves, but also their allies who would normally be weak to these moves. Throwing them it into battle beside a Fire-type of Rock-type can make for duos that are incredibly challenging to defeat.
1 Unburden
The most powerful ability that many trainers often forget about is Unburden, which will double a Pokémon’s speed if it consumes its held items. This can be anything from berries to a Weakness Policy, and after receiving this boost many Pokémon can become the speediest in the game.
Accelgor is the fastest user of this, and when this ability triggers it will become frighteningly faster than any other Pokémon in the game. However, much slower Pokémon can use this ability to gain an abnormal amount of speed, with some like Drifblim and Slurpuff able to outrun the game’s speediest sweepers as soon as it activates.
NEXT: Pokémon: Ranking The 10 Most Underrated Sinnoh Pokémon
