Pokemon With Hidden Abilities For Competitive Play

One of the many tools of the competitive Pokemon trade, Abilities are beneficial effects innate to each Pokemon. Unlike moves or items, trainers didn’t originally have much in the way of choice when it comes to an Ability, since they’re pre-set.

Generation 5 opened up players’ options a little with the addition of Hidden Abilities. Given to almost every monster, these extra Abilities are usually quite hard to get hold of. As such, they are much more powerful than their regular ones. Some are regular Abilities very well-suited to that particular Pokemon, while others are unique Abilities.

Updated December 8, 2023, by Blaise Santi: With every new generation of Pokemon games, the metagame morphs and changes thanks to the introduction of new creatures, new moves, and most importantly, new Abilities. Often, Abilities are what makes or breaks a Pokemon’s competitive potential. They can turn the tide of battle with conditional stat boosts, defensive benefits, and even complete form changes. However, sometimes a rare Pokemon will have a Hidden Ability, which offers even greater benefits in competitive battles. These Pokemon from throughout the franchise, including some who are brand-new to Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, are the best examples.

20 Skeledirge: Unaware

Opponents Should Be Far From Unaware

• Effect: The user ignores the opponent’s stat changes when attacking.

This Fire/Ghost-type Pokemon is the fully-evolved form of Fuecoco, one of the starter Pokemon in Scarlet & Violet. As with typical Fire starters, Skeledirge’s main Ability is Blaze, which powers up Fire-type moves. However, its Hidden Ability, Unaware, offers an incredible advantage in the heat of competitive play.

With the Hidden Ability Unaware, Skeledirge is able to ignore a change in stats from their opponents. This means Skeledirge can ignore, for instance, the stat changes of another Pokemon as a result of their Abilities or even their Type. This can be incredibly detrimental for Pokemon who are weak to Skeledirge’s powerful Fire and Ghost-type STAB moves.

19 Hisuian Samurott: Sharpness

Samurott Levels Up Its Swordplay

• Effect: Boosts the power of slicing moves by 50%.

The fully-evolved Water-type starter from Gen 5, Samurott, comes with a pretty useful Hidden Ability in Shell Armor, which blocks critical hits. However, Samurott was granted a new form with the 2022 title Pokemon Legends: Arceus, in the form of the Water/Dark-type Hisuian Samurott. This regional form’s Hidden Ability is uniquely powerful.

The Hidden Ability Sharpness, which was introduced in Gen 9 and known by Pokemon like Gallade and Kleavor, powers up “slicing” moves. This benefits many of Hisuian Samurott’s moves, including its signature move Ceaseless Edge. It also gives Hisuian Samurott a boost for some coverage moves like X-Scissor, Aerial Ace, and Sacred Sword.

18 Corviknight: Mirror Armor

This Armored Bird Plays Defense

• Effect: The user reflects stat lowering effects it receives.

Introduced in Gen 8, Mirror Armor is one of the best hidden Abilities for competitive play. Paired with a powerful offense and strong durability, Corviknight can become a formidable opponent — or ally. Mirror Armor gives opponents a taste of their own medicine.

Not ony does its effect make it very difficult for an opponent to lower Corviknight’s stats, it actively harms them if they try. This is especially effective on Pokemon that use ‘Intimidate’ to lower the opposing Pokemon’s stats, as the player has limited control of how that harms them.

17 Maushold: Technician

A Little Goes A Long Way With This Family

• Effect: Increases the damage of the user’s moves with a Base Power less than 60 by 50%.

Maushold is a Gen 9 Pokemon that resurrected a Gen 4 Ability: Technician. Technician powers up weak moves, meaning that moves with a power of 60 or lower get boosted by 50%

When paired with the signature move ‘Population Bomb’ and a wide lens, Technician Maushold becomes a real pain to deal with. ‘Population Bomb’ not only has STAB, but it can hit up to ten times, so the relatively weak move on its own becomes a formidable force that can wipe out a Pokemon in seconds.

16 Flamigo: Costar

Putting The ‘Amigo’ In Flamigo

• Effect: The Pokemon copies an ally’s stat changes when it enters the field.

Flamigo is one of Scarlet & Violet‘s more controversial designs, being literally just a Flamingo. Regardless of design, though, it’s become a strong option for doubles competitive play thanks to its Hidden Ability ‘Costar.’

Introduced in Gen 9 like Flamigo itself, Costar gives it synergy with a whole host of Pokemon. If it copies a Pokemon using ‘Belly Drum,’ for example, it reaches maximum attack by doing nothing at all. Paired with a Dondozo that has ‘eaten’ a fainted Tatsugiri, it can even access higher stats than that.

15 Dragonite: Multiscale

Dragonite Plans To Stick Around In Battle

• Effect: Reduces amount of the damage the user receives by 50% if its HP is full.

Multiscale is a rarity in the franchise, as it can only exist as a Hidden Ability. More interestingly, it is only held by two Pokemon, one of which is banned from regular competitive play. With Lugia being unavailable to competitive players, Dragonite takes center stage with this ability.

Multiscale is a move that more or less ensures that Dragonite will stick around for a little while, as it causes the Pokemon to take half damage when it has full HP. That means, save for an uber-powerful Dynamax move, Dragonite will never be taken out before it can strike.

14 Octillery: Moody

High Risk, High Reward

• Effect: The user increases a random stat by two stages and lowers another by one stage at the end of each turn.

Moody can be as much a curse as it is a blessing. That might lead one to believe that it’s not seen much competitive use; however, Smeargle has been banned from some formats because of it, especially when paired with a move like Dark Void.

Octillery’s usage of it is more viable, but players will have to be careful. At the end of every turn, Moody will boost one stat by two stages and drop another stat by one. This means that every turn, players are getting a free stat boost. However, if it’s not in a favorable stat for that Pokemon, they could be in trouble. Thankfully, there are a few options, as both Glalie and Bibarel can use it too.

13 Shuckle: Contrary

Shuckle Makes A Blessing Out Of A Curse

• Effect: Moves that changes stats now have the opposite effect.

Playing with stat changes can be a dangerous game. Most moves that do so will forgo an attack, meaning they have to be used at the right moment for maximum impact. By the same token, having an opponent try and lower a team member’s stats can be extremely frustrating and can cripple their ability to contribute in the battle.

Shuckle, and several other Pokemon like Malamar and Serperior, don’t have to worry about it, thanks to Contrary. This simple Ability inverses all stat changes done to a Pokemon. Decreases become boosts, and boots become decreases. Not only does this prevent the opponent from dropping stats, but many moves lower the user’s stats. With Contrary, these become boosts instead.

12 Hatterene: Magic Bounce

Good Luck Trying To Poison Hatterene

• ​​​​​​​Effect: The user reflects moves that change the status of Pokemon.

Both stat changes and status effects can be problems on their own and utterly debilitating when paired together. Players need not worry, though, as there is an Ability that deals with both. A few Mega-Pokemon have it by default, like Absol and Sableye, but some regular Pokemon that use it as a Hidden Ability, like Natu, Espeon, and Hatterene.

With Magic Bounce, any move that serves only to inflict a status effect or stat change is bounced back at the user. This means not only is it defending the team, but it’s hurting the opponent to boot. That said, it’s not impenetrable, as attacking moves that also inflict those things will still land.

11 Blaziken: Speed Boost

Blaziken Catches Up

• ​​​​​​​Effect: Increases the user’s Speed by one stage at the end of each turn.

Speed is essential to get the advantage in a battle. Striking first can severely limit the opponent’s options if played well. Boosts in Speed are hard to come by. There aren’t many moves that do it, and several of the ones that do, aren’t worth using.

Thankfully, Hidden Abilities are here to save the day once again, as Blaziken, Sharpedo and Scoliopede can all use Speed Boost to get them out of a bind. This Ability does exactly what it says on the tin and boosts a Pokemon’s speed stat by one stage at the end of each turn. There’s no real downside to it, and is a must-have for any Pokemon that can use it.

10 Crawdaunt: Adaptability

Take A STAB At Using Crawdaunt

• ​​​​​​​Effect: Increases the user’s STAB multiplier from 1.5x to 2.0x.

While Crawdaunt may not be the greatest option for competitive battling, they definitely have some upsides that can’t be ignored. This Pokemon’s120 Attack stat is nothing to sniff at, making combining that power with Adaptability absolutely essential.

This Ability increases the power of ‘Same Type Attack Bonus’ or ‘STAB’, which is a 50% damage increase to moves that are the same type as the Pokemon using it. With Adaptability, that 50% buff becomes a 100% buff, meaning all of Crawdaunt’s Water and Dark-type moves will be hitting for double damage.

9 Alakazam: Magic Guard

Alakazam Has Tricks Up Its Sleeve

• ​​​​​​​Effect: Protects the user from all sources of damage except direct attacks.

While attacks are the primary way of dealing damage in a battle, they’re not the only way. There are plenty of ways that other elements can damage Pokemon, which can be a real nuisance for trainers to have to deal with.

Magic Guard is here to help, as it negates any damage that doesn’t come from a direct attack. This means that things like Entry Hazards, Weather Effects, or Status Ailments are now completely null and void. As such, the powerful Alakazam can now hold a Life Orb to boost their attacks without slowly draining their health.

8 Luxray: Guts

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger

• ​​​​​​​Effect: Increases the user’s Attack by 50% if it has a status condition.

Status Ailments are a pain. Several of them inflict chip damage every turn, but even when that’s negated, the other adverse effects can wreak havoc with a team. Trainers know they’re sure to get hit with at least one in every battle, which is why they should prepare to turn it into an advantage with Guts.

Guts doesn’t stop Pokemon from getting hit by Status Ailments, but they turn them into a source of power, with them granting a 50% power boost to all attacks while they’re under the effects of the Ailment. This is especially great at disabling Burn, which usually drops attacking power instead of increasing it.

7 Absol: Justified

Tricky To Activate, Difficult To Take Back

​​​​​​​Effect: The user’s Attack increases by one stage whenever it gets hit by Dark-type moves.

There are many Dark-type Pokemon with powerful Attack stats. Absol is one of them, but their movepool isn’t shifted toward dealing significant damage. This can make many of them not competitively viable, as getting things like STAB bonuses are the key between winning and losing.

Thankfully, such Pokemon come with a Hidden Ability to fix that problem. Justified boosts the user’s attack every time they’re hit with a Dark-type move. That may not sound great, as they have to get hit by an attack, but in a double battle, getting an opponent to use a weak Dark-type move like Beat Up gives several buffs and can turn a Pokemon like Absol into a destroyer of worlds.

6 Cinderace: Libero

Cinderace Keeps Opponents On Their Toes

• ​​​​​​​Effect: Changes the Pokemon’s type to the type of the move it is about to use. This works only once each time the Pokemon enters battle.

Starter Pokemon have slowly become more competitively viable over the past couple generations, with at least one of the trio getting a featured spot on competitive rosters. As it stands, they almost entirely have Hidden Hbilities to thank for that. Overgrowth, Blaze, and Torrent aren’t easily usable in competitive battles, but replacing them makes things far more interesting.

Cinderace’s Libero is an excellent example of this, as it changes the Pokemon’s type on the fly. This Ability is unique to Cinderace and causes its type to change to the same as whatever attack it’s about to use. This not only means that it always gets STAB on its attacks but that a varied moveset will give it plenty of options to turn an unfavorable matchup into a favorable one.

5 Garchomp: Rough Skin

A New Meaning To “Can’t Touch This”

• ​​​​​​​Effect: The attacker takes 12.5% of its max HP worth of damage when it makes direct contact with the user.

Garchomp, sitting amongst the all-time great competitive Pokemon, has some fantastic Abilities. Its default Ability, Sand Veil, was so good that it’s been banned in several formats for making Garchomp impossible to hit. However, its Hidden Ability gives it plenty of power to shine too.

Quite simply, Rough Skin makes any Pokemon whose attack physically connects with Garchomp will take damage. In some cases, it’s a small price to pay to get such a powerhouse off the field, but if Garchomp can keep their defenses up, they can deal some serious damage just by repeatedly taking hits.

4 Greninja: Protean

This Ninja Is A Master Of Disguise

• ​​​​​​​Effect: Changes the user’s type to the type of the move it’s about to use.

Greninja is not a popular Pokemon for competitive battles. Water/Dark is an unfavorable type combination that leaves it with a few too many weaknesses. Its Torrent Ability wasn’t doing it any favors either, as it would rarely be in the right amount of health to activate. Protean gives it a saving grace, though.

Usable only by Greninja and Kecleon, its effects are identical to Libero, change its type to match that of its attack. The STAB bonus is a huge help, but it also means that Greninja can shake off its bad typing and significantly reduce its weaknesses.

3 Venusaur: Chlorophyll

Here Comes The Sun

• ​​​​​​​Effect: Increases the user’s Speed stat under sunshine.

While there are better choices nowadays, Venusaur will still occasionally see competitive usage as tanky Pokemon that can dole out Status Ailments on opponents. There are a couple of different ways to make it work, but what’s mandatory is Chlorophyll.

Teams built around the sunny weather effect live for Abilities like this. With Chlorophyll, Venusaur, a typically slow Pokemon, increases its Speed by 50% in the sun. This makes getting it out onto the field a lot easier, as even if it gets burned away in a single hit, it will have gotten out a vital attack first.

2 Rillaboom: Grassy Surge

This Starter Changes The Game, Literally

• ​​​​​​​Effect: The user applies Grassy Terrain to the battlefield for five turns when it enters a battle.

Hidden Abilities seem like they were almost entirely designed to make Starter Pokemon competitively viable, as Cinderace, Greninja, Venusaur, and now Rillaboom can attest. Used frequently in the current era of competitive Pokemon, Rillaboom can deal heavy damage, but its Ability benefits the whole team.

Previously only usable by Tapu Bulu, Grassy Surge turns the battle’s terrain to Grass when it enters combat. This provides a bunch of beneficial effects. Grass-type moves get a damage boost, increasing Rillaboom’s power, and all Pokemon touching the ground recover a small amount of health each turn. It makes Rillaboom simultaneously great for both support and attack.

1 Incineroar: Intimidate

• ​​​​​​​Effect: Lowers opponent’s Attack upon entering battle.

One of Generation 7 and 8’s biggest forces to be reckoned with, Incineroar’s universal usage in competitive play comes from its brilliant Hidden Ability. Incineroar has incredible attacking power and has all the tools it needs to use it, so being able to weaken its opponents as soon as it arrives is perfect.

Intimidate lowers the Attack stat of all opposing Pokemon when it enters the field, meaning the opponents can’t hit as hard. It gives Incineroar staying power, not because it’s great defensively, but because it nullifies the opponent’s ability to hit it. That’s why it’s been such a mainstay on teams for years.