Pokémon Sword and Shield are finally here, and they’ve brought along with them plenty of new features, new Pokémon, and brand-new moves. All of these new Pokémon have also brought along some new Abilities, switching things up a bit in the battle department.
Altogether, Pokémon Sword and Shield have 25 brand-new Abilities, several of which are exclusive to just one Pokémon or evolution line. 18 of these Abilities are basic Abilities that Pokémon found and caught normally in the wild can have, while the other seven are Hidden Abilities, only able to be obtained on their respective Pokémon through special means. Pokémon caught from Max Raid Battles have a chance of having their Hidden Ability, but Sword and Shield’s other methods of obtaining Hidden Abilities, if any, have not come to light yet.
List of new Abilities
Here’s a list of all 25 new Abilities in Pokémon Sword and Shield along with their effects, what Pokémon can have them, and if they’re a Hidden Ability or not. The entire row will be highlighted orange if the Ability is Hidden, as well.
| Ability Name | Effect | Pokémon That Can Have Ability | Hidden Ability? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball Fetch | If the Pokémon is not holding an item, it will fetch the Poké Ball from the first failed throw of the battle. | Yamper | No |
| Cotton Down | When the Pokémon is hit by an attack, it scatters cotton fluff around and lowers the Speed stat of all Pokémon except itself. | Gossifleur, Eldegoss | No |
| Dauntless Shield | Boosts the Pokémon's Defense stat when the Pokémon enters a battle. | Zamazenta | No |
| Gorilla Tactics | Boosts the Pokémon's Attack stat but only allows the use of the first selected move. | Galarian Darmanitan | No |
| Gulp Missile | When the Pokémon uses Surf or Dive, it will come back with prey. When it takes damage, it will spit out the prey to attack. | Cramorant | No |
| Hunger Switch | The Pokémon changes its form, alternating between its Full Belly Mode and Hangry Mode after the end of each turn. | Morpeko | No |
| Ice Face | The Pokémon's ice head can take a physical attack as a substitute, but the attack also changes the Pokémon's appearance. The ice will be restored when it hails. | Eiscue | No |
| Ice Scales | The Pokémon is protected by ice scales, which halve the damage taken from special moves. | Snom, Frosmoth | Yes |
| Intrepid Sword | Boosts the Pokémon's Attack stat when the Pokémon enters a battle. | Zacian | No |
| Libero | Changes the Pokémon's type to the type of the move it's about to use. | Scorbunny, Raboot, Cinderace | Yes |
| Mimicry | Changes the Pokémon's type depending on the terrain. | Galarian Stunfisk | No |
| Mirror Armor | Bounces back only the stat-lowering effects that the Pokémon receives. | Corviknight | Yes |
| Neutralizing Gas | If the Pokémon with Neutralizing Gas is in the battle, the effects of all Pokémon's Abilities will be nullified or will not be triggered. | Koffing, Weezing, Galarian Weezing | No |
| Pastel Veil | Protects the Pokémon and its ally Pokémon from being poisoned. | Galarian Ponyta, Galarian Rapidash | No |
| Perish Body | When hit by a move that makes direct contact, the Pokémon and the attacker will faint after three turns unless they switch out of battle. | Cursola | Yes |
| Power Spot | Just being next to the Pokémon powers up moves. | Stonjourner | No |
| Propeller Tail | Ignores the effects of opposing Pokémon's Abilities and moves that draw in moves. | Arrokuda, Barraskewda | Yes |
| Punk Rock | Boosts the power of sound-based moves. The Pokémon also takes half the damage from these kinds of moves. | Toxtricity | No |
| Ripen | Ripens Berries and doubles their effect. | Applin, Flapple, Appletun | No |
| Sand Spit | The Pokémon creates a sandstorm when it's hit by an attack. | Silicobra, Sandaconda | No |
| Screen Cleaner | When the Pokémon enters a battle, the effects of Light Screen, Reflect, and Aurora Veil are nullified for both opposing and ally Pokémon. | Galarian Mr. Mime, Mr. Rime | No |
| Stalwart | Ignores the effects of opposing Pokémon's Abilities and moves that draw in moves. | Duraludon | Yes |
| Steam Engine | Boosts the Pokémon's Speed stat drastically if hit by a Fire- or Water-type move. | Rolycoly, Carkol, Coalossal | No |
| Steely Spirit | Powers up ally Pokémon's Steel-type moves. | Perrserker | Yes |
| Wandering Spirit | The Pokémon exchanges Abilities with a Pokémon that hits it with a move that makes direct contact. | Galarian Yamask, Runerigus | No |
More Pokémon Sword and Shield guides
Want more help with Sword and Shield? Check out one of our other great guides to assist you through the games!
Written by Jaxson Tapp
As a lover of gaming and the written word, Jaxson currently fills his time not only with playing games, but also writing about them. Ready for anything, Jaxson’s passion for puzzle games, JRPGs, tough platformers, and whimsical indies helps him bring a well-rounded opinion to Nintendo Wire’s reporting.
