Published Title Publisher
New Title Publisher
Updated Title
Published Title Score Editor's Choice
Published Title Score

Pokémon: Sun & Moon

Purchase on Amazon

Selecting Ability

By
Vincent Lau

Getting the right Ability (in this case, Drizzle) can make all the difference.

Pokemon can have anywhere between one and three Abilities. Two Abilities will appear randomly most commonly. For example, "Pelipper" IconPelipper’s first two Abilities are Keen Eye and Drizzle. The third Ability, if unique, is Hidden . This means you won’t see it if you breed or use Ability Capsule.

Breeding Keen Eye Pelipper will give lots of "Wingull" IconWingull with Keen Eye and some with Hydration (Wingull’s second Ability, Hydration, will become Drizzle upon evolution). But you’ll never see Rain Dish , the Hidden Ability they possess.

Instead, you will have to SOS Chain Wingull or Pelipper until you have one with Rain Dish to breed. After that, you will have a high chance of hatching offspring with that Ability.

Passing Down Generic Abilities

In the realm of inheriting Abilities, the mother will always have the greatest amount of power. If you breed a female Pokémon with an Ability (the male parent can either be a compatible male or a "Ditto" IconDitto, doesn’t matter), the Ability she has will always have an 80% chance of being passed down.

So having a female Pokémon with the Ability you want maximizes the chance of getting said Ability. The male Pokémon’s Ability has zero influence normally. However, if you breed a male (or genderless) Pokémon with a Ditto, they are suddenly treated as a female and pass down their Ability with a 80% chance .

Passing Down Hidden Abilities

Paired with a compatible male or with a Ditto, a female has a 6 0% chance of passing down her Hidden Ability, so it’s slightly lower than with generic abilities. The other 40% will be split 20/20 if the Pokemon has two generic Abilities.

Breeding a male or genderless Pokémon with a Ditto also gives you a 60% chance of passing it down.

If you have a female Pokemon with the same species male Pokemon and both have their Hidden Ability, the chance for passing it down remains set at 60%, as this depends solely on the status of the mother.

Again, your friendly reminder that to get the base Pokemon with the Hidden Ability in the first place, you have to SOS Chain!

No Comments
Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Nintendo
  • Platforms,
    DS
  • Genre
    RPG
  • Guide Release
    12 December 2016
  • Last Updated
    7 December 2020
  • Guide Author
    Vincent Lau, Cassie Sun

Share this free guide:

Welcome to Alola, a region of tropical islands, filled with gorgeous natural beauty and Pokemon never seen before. Having recently moved to Alola, your journey begins soon afterwards. Your adventures will be filled with fascinating and colorful people with quirky island traditions and of course Pokémon. Delight in the mysteries of the brand new Alola region as your travels take you the length and breadth of the region and the secrets of the legendary Pokémon Solgaleo and Lunala are finally unveiled.

Our massive and comprehensive guide includes the following:

  • A full route and trial battle guide covering your journey from Pokémon novice to eventual Champion.

  • All dungeons and Rite of the Island challenges covered.

  • Detailed breeding and capture guide, including locations for every Pokémon as well as information on the new Alolan forms.

  • Gameplay strategies to maximise your team potential as well as details on Hyper Training.

  • Minigames and secrets uncovered.

  • An explanation of the brand new Rotom Pokédex and loads more!

Get a Gamer Guides Premium account: