Abilities and held items in battle
What an ability is, what a held item is, which kinds exist, and how far the engine goes.
In short
- Every Pokemon has one ability, fixed by its species; some species have a hidden one.
- A held item works by itself, every battle, until it is consumed or taken.
- More than 220 abilities and nearly 200 items have battle effects in the engine today. Each database page says what its entry does.
- Tap any ability or item name in a battle to read its card.
Abilities
An ability is a passive rule the Pokemon brings to every battle. The abilities database describes each one and lists which species carry it; a species page shows its possible abilities, with the hidden one marked.
The kinds you will meet first:
- On switch-in. Intimidate lowers the opponent's Attack, Download picks the stat to raise, Drizzle, Drought, Sand Stream and Snow Warning set the weather, Neutralizing Gas switches everyone else's ability off.
- Damage changers. Technician, Tough Claws, Adaptability, Sheer Force, Huge Power and Pure Power on offence; Thick Fat, Multiscale, Fur Coat and Filter on defence. Tinted Lens doubles not-very-effective hits, Wonder Guard refuses anything but a super-effective one.
- Immunities. Levitate to Ground, Flash Fire to Fire, Water Absorb and Volt Absorb to their types, Sturdy against a one-hit knockout from full health.
- Status. Guts turns a burn into an Attack boost, Quick Feet ignores paralysis, Magic Guard cancels every indirect damage, Poison Heal turns poison into healing, Natural Cure heals on switch-out.
- Contact punishers. Rough Skin and Iron Barbs, Static, Flame Body and Effect Spore.
- Speed and stages. Speed Boost, Moxie, Contrary, Unaware, Simple.
- Type changers. Protean and Libero become the type of the move they use.
Mold Breaker, Teravolt and Turboblaze ignore the target's ability. An Ability Capsule switches a Pokemon between its two regular abilities and an Ability Patch unlocks the hidden one; both are items.
Held items
A Pokemon holds one item. Give it from the Bag with "Give", or from the Team screen. The items database lists every item with its effect and where it comes from.
| Kind | Examples | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| Damage boosters | Life Orb, Expert Belt, Muscle Band, Wise Glasses, Charcoal and the type items, the Plates | multiply damage, sometimes at a cost |
| Choice items | Choice Band, Choice Specs, Choice Scarf | ×1.5 to a stat, locked into the first move used until switched out |
| Survival | Focus Sash, Eviolite, Assault Vest, Heavy-Duty Boots, Air Balloon | survive, resist, ignore hazards, float |
| Recovery | Leftovers, Black Sludge, Shell Bell | heal each turn or on hitting |
| Orbs | Flame Orb, Toxic Orb | inflict a status on the holder, for Guts and Poison Heal |
| Berries | Sitrus, Oran, Lum, Chesto, the pinch berries, the resist berries | fire once when a threshold is met, then they are gone |
| Chance items | Quick Claw, King's Rock, Bright Powder, Wide Lens | move first, flinch, dodge, hit |
| Field extenders | Heat Rock, Damp Rock, Smooth Rock, Icy Rock, Light Clay, Terrain Extender | lengthen weather, screens and terrain to eight turns |
| Seeds | Electric, Grassy, Misty, Psychic Seed | a one-off stat boost on their terrain |
| Transformations | Mega Stones, Z-Crystals | not obtainable or usable yet; see Mega Evolution, Z-Moves and Terastallization |
Berries and gems are consumed when they fire. Gluttony makes a pinch berry fire at half health instead of a quarter, and Ripen doubles what any berry does. Knock Off removes an item, Trick swaps them, and a consumed item stays gone for the rest of the battle and after it.
Outside battle
Some held items matter between battles: a Training Weight adds a training point per level, and an item the Pokemon holds stays with it through trades and the PC. The out-of-battle items are covered in the items guide once it is written.