When it comes to Pokémon, they are very iconic for their looks, personalities, and the elements that they represent. Though a first impression of them can be seen as fictional animals, they’re far more special than that and deserve to be considered individual characters. Whether it’s our parents, us, or even our children in the future – Pokémon are just so lovable that they never get old.
One important thing about Pokémon is that they are incredibly competitive. Whether it’s the animated media or the video games, one thing that strongly determines how much we love them are their abilities. If a Pokémon’s ability is not interesting or strong – it can make or break their popularity.
As the ninth generation of Pokémon has just started with Scarlet and Violet, it’s the perfect time to rank the – best Pokémon abilities for 2023!
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Best Pokémon Abilities Ranked
With hundreds of Pokémon and so many potential evolutions, it’s very difficult to pick favorites. But not all of them are equal, thus there are many that fans and our staff at Legends Pit considers the best.
So, by looking at both our personal preferences and what the community loves – this is our ranking of the best Pokémon abilities.
1. Ability to Distort Space (Exclusive to Palkia)
With hundreds of Pokémon in existence, it’s easy to expect mind-blowing abilities. However, what you probably don’t have in mind is probably the ability to distort space itself. Palkia is the mascot of Pokémon Pearl and Pokémon Shining Pearl, which is where most know it from.
This Pokémon represents space and is a member of the “creation trio” of Sinnoh and is in fact a deity. It can live between parallel dimensions and its power is amazingly powerful. Using Special Rend, Palkia rips through the very space an enemy resides in and then damages them. It’s one of the best Pokémon abilities and incredibly powerful too.
2. Multitype (Exclusive to Arceus)
Arceus is an incredibly famous Pokémon, and he’s very important to the second last game. And when a Pokémon has their name on the box, it’s a no-brainer that they have an amazing ability. Thus, the “Multitype” ability is what Arceus has to offer and it’s actually exclusive for this character.
What this ability does is that it allows Arceus to change his type based on whichever plate is being held. For example, holding a Flame Plate makes him Fire type, and holding a Waterium Z will make him a Water type. This adds an amazing amount of versatility to the Pokémon since you can experience different movesets. And you’re not limited to one Type nor a fixed Dual one, thus this is one of the best Pokémon abilities in any generation.
3. Intimidate
The ability to Intimidate your opponent is not only great in real life, but in the Pokémon world too. What this does is that your Pokémon intimidates their opponent as soon as they come. If the opponent had an attack boost applied, it will be removed due to the effect of this ability.
And if the opponent did not have a boost, then their attack stats will be reduced. Thus, whatever they hit you with won’t hurt as much as it could have otherwise. It’s a great ability both in terms of looking cool and the fact that it can prove to be so useful.
4. Wonder Guard (Exclusive to Shedinja)
This is a controversial pick, but hear me out. This Pokémon is the perfect way to troll your opponents in a high risk, high reward type of experience. If you know that your enemy does not have someone with entry hazard, weather damage, or a specific effect – then it’s time to use Shedinja.
Why? Well, this Pokémon has the ability Wonder Guard that only receives damage by either effective moves or indirect damage. If your opponent uses direct attacks of any kind, Shedinja receives no harm whatsoever. And you can troll your enemies for as long as they don’t bring out a Pokémon that can one-shot it. It’s one of the best Pokémon abilities due to how unique it is and the fact that it can be one-shot makes it a fun gamble.
5. Regenerator
Regenerator is an ability that was only introduced in the fifth generation of Pokémon. But it’s easily one of the best ones and has become a mainstay due to how useful it is. No matter what the situation is, this is something that’s always good to have by your side because it does not have specific conditions. For example, something like Snow Warning can be negated by certain opponents – but Regenerator is mostly universal.
It restores ⅓ of your Pokémon’s health when they withdraw from the battle. So, when they are switched back in – their health is better. And this applies to moves that switch your Pokémon out too, so there’s no loss upon the opponent doing this. It’s not a groundbreaking ability, but it’s an incredibly useful one.
6. Moody
Moody is a hidden ability that has been a mainstay since Generation 5. At the end of each turn, Moody raises one of the stats of the Pokémon who uses it by two stages. And on the other hand, it decreases another stat by one stage. Both of these happen randomly, and the ability does not touch the same stat for both lowering and raising.
Sure, this ability can sometimes give you a disadvantage. But more often than not, it’s helpful. It effects almost every stat aside from evasion and accuracy (which is a recent change). And some tournaments even ban it – which gives an idea of how useful it is.
7. Pure Power and Huge Power
Pure Power and Huge Power is an ability that doubles the attack stat of your Pokémon. For example, if a Pokémon like Meditite has 40 base attack, with its Max Stats after a boost with this ability will go up to a whopping 392. And if you compare to a maxed out attack stat of a Pokémon like Azumarill which is 218, the boost makes it 436 – which is a boost of almost 150 points.
It’s a no-nonsense ability for players who like to rely on brute strength. And given that so many Pokémon can use this, it’s easily one of the best Pokémon abilities that you can pick.
8. Speed Boost
You might not expect speed to be a big deal in Pokémon, but there’s a very good reason why it’s important. Several Pokémon use this and Mega Blaziken is perhaps the best choice since his normal speed isn’t that good. What this ability does is tha it will give your Pokémon the chance to go first in every turn.
The opponent will need to use something like Quick Attack if they wish to fight back. However, if your Pokémon uses Quick Attack too – then their attempt is again negated. And if they don’t use Quick Attack, then whatever you use will always go as the first move too. It’s a bit of a strategic way to play, but it’s one of the best Pokémon abilities if you properly learn how to use it.
9. Guts
One thing in common with almost every Pokémon ability is that they are vulnerable to statuses. However, what if an ability specifically fought against that? That’s where Guts comes in. A Pokémon with this ability has a condition in which its attack increases by 50% if they find themselves under a status by an opponent. Not only that, but the Pokémon also won’t lose their turn if they have experienced burn.
And if all of that isn’t enough – if your Pokémon is frozen, they use a move to thaw it out such as Flame Wheel or Flare Blitz. Though admittedly, between generations, some of these stats go back and forth. But ultimately, it’s still one of the best Pokémon abilities.
10. Drizzle
Drizzle is one of the best Pokémon abilities in the competitive scene. Though there’s not a strong reason to use it offline, players love having it on their Pokémon for competition. What this ability does is that your Pokémon will make it rain on the battlefield as soon as they enter.
Then, if you’re using a team that can benefit from rain and water, Drizzle will be an amazing booster for you. Not to mention that certain things happen, such as never missing Thunder attacks – which can prove to be incredibly helpful. Learn to make it count, and Drizzle can be your difference between winning and losing.
That’s our list of the best Pokémon abilities! Keep in mind that this is our opinion and what thousands of players consider to be valid too. It’s not an objective list and we know that we’ve left out many amazing abilities. But the ones we included – we are confident in their awesomeness.
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