5th Gen "Serperiors special attack sharply rose" Gen V ability discussion.

[Perriechu]

What are your opinions on the new abilities that Generation V introduced us to? Do you think they are the best set of abilities or the worst?
Which ability is your favourite and which is your least? Why do you like that ability

For me, it would have to be Sheer Force, thanks to it Life Orb recoil exists no more and moves that had secondary effects like Flamethrower
gain a nice 33% boost in power.

Just so you know, this is only for Generation V abilities

They are;

Spoiler:

Pickpocket - It steals the item of an opponent that touches it.
Sheer Force - Attacks gain power, but lost their secondary effect.
Contrary - It reverses changes to its stats.
Unnerve - You make the opponent tense and won't let them eat their berry.
Defiant - As its stats are lowered, it's attack increases.
Defeatist - If it's HP drops below 50%, it's attack is decreased.
Cursed Body - If it is attacked, it will occasionally cause the attacking move to be Disabled.
Healer - It will occasionally heal its team mate's status problems.
Friend Guard - It can lower the damage received by a team-mate.
Weak Armor - When hit with physical attacks its Defense is lowered, but its Speed is increased.
Heavy Metal - This Pokemon's weight is doubled.
Light Metal - This Pokemon's weight is halved.
Multiscale - When this Pokemon is at full HP, damage is lessened.
Toxic Boost - When poisoned the power of its Physical attacks rises.
Flare Boost - When burnt the power of its Special attacks rises.
Harvest - The same berry can be reused infinitely within one battle.
Telepathy - It reads the mind of its team-mates and is unaffected by their attacks.
Moody - Its stats go up and down.
Overcoat - It will not take damage from weather effects.
Poison Touch - The opponent can become poisoned just by this Pokemon.
Regenerator - HP is restored when you switch out.
Big Pecks - Its defense cannot be lowered.
Sand Rush - Speed rises in a Sand Storm.
Wonder Skin - Your body makes it difficult to take stat-changing moves.
Analytic - If you are last to attack, the move becomes more powerful.
Illusion - You transform into the Pokemon behind you and them come out into the field.
Imposter - You transform into the Pokemon in frong of you - Ie your opponent.
Infiltrator - You slip through the opponents walls and attack.
Mummy - If you are touched by an opponent, you make their ability Mummy.
Moxie - Attack rises when you knock out an opponent.
Rattled - There are types you are rattled around of and raise your speed.
Magic Bounce - It can reflect the effect of stat-changing moves.
Sap Sipper - Attack rises if hit with a Grass-type attack.
Prankster - Non-attacking moves have a higher speed priority.
Sand Force - Certain momves will increase in power during a sandstorm.
Iron Barbs - If this Pokemon if touched the opponent will receive damage.
Zen Mode - Your form will change when in a pinch.
Victory Star - You and your team mates receive an accuracy increase.
Turboblaze - It can attack the opponent regardless of their ability.
Teravolt - It can attack the opponent regardless of their ability.

Along with new abilities, old abilities also got a new boost. The new effects are;

Spoiler:

Stench - Increases the chance that the opponent will flinch when you make Physical contact with them.
Sturdy - The Pokemon cannot be knocked out by one attack. If an attack would have knocked it out from Full HP, the Pokemon keeps 1HP.
Lightning Rod - Renders an electric move powerless and raises the Pokemon's special attack.
Storm Drain - Renders a water move powerless and raises the Pokemon's special attack.
Keen Eye - Wild Pokemon of any level lower than this Pokemon are less likely to be encountered.
Plus - Boost Sp.Atk if another Pokemon has Plus or Minus.
Minus - Boosts Sp.Atk if another Pokemon has Minus or Plus.

Do you like these changes? Or do you think they weren't needed?

I like the new changes and it's good to see that abilities like Sturdy, Storm drain etc. Got a decent effect this time around.

 

[2Cool4Mewtwo]

Some abilities are cool (ex. Contrary, Moxie, and Prankster), but some others are totally useless.

Toxic Boost is a waste because there is already an ability called Guts. I'd rather have preferred Zangoose get speed boost or something in lieu of an ability that is inferior to Guts.

Zen mode wasn't necessary at all, because it changes Darmanitan's attack-based form to sp. atk based form, rendering it "weaker."

 

[~*!*~Tatsujin Gosuto~*!*~]

What are your opinions on the new abilities that Generation V introduced us to?
I think they are pretty good except for the Mummy one (of course it would have to be my favorite Pokemon)

Do you think they are the best set of abilities or the worst?
They are in the middle not too bad but not the best of abilities (I honestly dont think Generations 3 or 4)

Which ability is your favourite and which is your least?
Unnerve is my least favorite


:t354:TG

 

[Gymnotide]

Some abilities are cool (ex. Contrary, Moxie, and Prankster), but some others are totally useless.

Toxic Boost is a waste because there is already an ability called Guts. I'd rather have preferred Zangoose get speed boost or something in lieu of an ability that is inferior to Guts.

Zen mode wasn't necessary at all, because it changes Darmanitan's attack-based form to sp. atk based form, rendering it "weaker."

Toxic Boost is there to emphasize the gimmick of Zangoose vs Seviper. Sure, Guts / Quick Feet would have been nice, but that would also encourage using Burn Orb, or absorbing status on Zangoose, which is not it's purpose! But you're right in that Toxic Boost is completely obsolete. It's a similar dynamic to Flare Boost being a reference to Drifloon / Drifblim's balloon nature. Though, arguably, Flare Boost is the less useful of the two.

What are your opinions on the new abilities that Generation V introduced us to?
I think they are pretty good except for the Mummy one (of course it would have to be my favorite Pokemon)

Do you think they are the best set of abilities or the worst?
They are in the middle not too bad but not the best of abilities (I honestly dont think Generations 3 or 4)

Which ability is your favourite and which is your least?
Unnerve is my least favorite


:t354:TG

Mummy is actually a very good ability. It cripples anything that hits physically--and on Cofagrigus, who has immense DEF, you can basically swap it in whenever. A lot of Pokemon completely rely on their ability to work well, such as Sand Rush Excadrill, or basically any Pokemon with an immunity-granting Ability.

 

[dreyko]

two of my favorite abilities this generation are prankster and magic bounce. prankster makes pokemon like whimsicott, tornadus, thundurus even more threatening, and magic bounce gives espeon more use in the competitive field.

 

[2Cool4Mewtwo]

Toxic Boost is there to emphasize the gimmick of Zangoose vs Seviper. Sure, Guts / Quick Feet would have been nice, but that would also encourage using Burn Orb, or absorbing status on Zangoose, which is not it's purpose! But you're right in that Toxic Boost is completely obsolete. It's a similar dynamic to Flare Boost being a reference to Drifloon / Drifblim's balloon nature. Though, arguably, Flare Boost is the less useful of the two.

I would say Flare Boost is at least more useful than Toxic Boost, in the sense that there's no "superior" version of ability that also covers Flare Boost (and it can also be abused by the held item Flame Orb). Zangoose also already has Immunity, so there's no need for another ability that resembles Zangoose vs. Seviper Rivalry (Seviper also doesn't have an ability that "resembles" this rivalry).

Mummy is actually a good ability, because it shuts down physical attackers that rely on its ability to be successful.

 

[Sire]

Some abilities are cool (ex. Contrary, Moxie, and Prankster), but some others are totally useless.

Toxic Boost is a waste because there is already an ability called Guts. I'd rather have preferred Zangoose get speed boost or something in lieu of an ability that is inferior to Guts.

Zen mode wasn't necessary at all, because it changes Darmanitan's attack-based form to sp. atk based form, rendering it "weaker."

Obviously you don't know what you're talking about because when Darmanitan is in Zen Mode, it's Defensive stats become base 105 and it's Sp. Attack becomes base 140.

Magic Bounce is one of my favorites. Sheer Force is amazing and I think Regeneration is broken.

 

[2Cool4Mewtwo]

Obviously you don't know what you're talking about because when Darmanitan is in Zen Mode, it's Defensive stats become base 105 and it's Sp. Attack becomes base 140.

Magic Bounce is one of my favorites. Sheer Force is amazing and I think Regeneration is broken.

In most cases Darmanitan is a physical attacker. Zen Mode Darmanitan has 30 attack, which is good for nothing on physical attacks, and Standard Darmanitan has 30 Sp. Atk which sucks if you plan to use special attacks instead. Turning Darmanitan into a "mixed attacker" in lieu of coverage moves is pointless and in the least bit useful. Added defenses don't really help because your health was already cut in half. On top of that it cuts your speed. Plus Sheer Force is infinitely better than Zen Mode on Darmanitan.

Magic Bounce is a good ability, and I do agree a bit about Regeneration being a broken ability, because it's like reverse of entry hazards.

 

[Gymnotide]

Regenerator is pretty balanced at a nice 33% recovery. It's not broken, but it's quite useful. The only two Pokemon which can really use Regenerator effectively are Slowbro and Ho-Oh. Everyone else is either too frail or has better abilities. I guess Tangrowth could make good use of it too. The caveat is that you have to switch for it to work. That's enough to nerf it.

Magic Bounce, on the other hand, is completely broken. That's why only two Pokemon get it--one of them is NU and the other is a Psychic-type (weak to Pursuit) with low HP and DEF.

I would say Flare Boost is at least more useful than Toxic Boost, in the sense that there's no "superior" version of ability that also covers Flare Boost (and it can also be abused by the held item Flame Orb). Zangoose also already has Immunity, so there's no need for another ability that resembles Zangoose vs. Seviper Rivalry (Seviper also doesn't have an ability that "resembles" this rivalry).

Well, the mongoose always beats the snake in the end. I say that Flare Boost is less useful than Toxic Boost because Drifblim's main goal isn't to be a special attacker, while Zangoose's is to be a physical attacker. Flare Boost is completely non-essential compared to Unburden. Flare Boost also prevents you from using Explosion effectively, which is one of Drifblim's selling points.

 

[PlatinumDude]

I like the new abilities, like Sheer Force (which increased Nidoking's usefulness) and Contrary (which actually makes Serperior more useful offensively). Honorable mentions go to Magic Bounce, Harvest, Regenerator and Moxie. I also like Sturdy's upgrade.

Some of the new abilities are rather pointless, like Overcoat (a weaker Magic Guard).

 

[Oryx]

Am I the only one who loves Iron Barbs? :C I always put a Rocky Helmet on my Ferrothorn and physical attackers are like "noooo whyyyy"

 

[deoxys121]

I'm just gonna discuss a few of my favorite/least favorite Gen V abilities, or ones that stick out to me.

Cursed Body is a great ability, in my opinion, since there's a 30% chance of disabling any offensive move.

Defeatist has to be, by far, the worst ability ever. It pretty much makes come-from-behind victories impossible with Archen or Archeops.

Harvest looks like it would be awesome, especially on a Sunny Day team, since it instantly restores any berry, even with a 50/50 chance with no sunlight. If holding a Sitrus Berry, chiseling down HP would become next to impossible for the opponent.

Heavy Metal, which doubles your weight, is great to have if your Pokemon knows Heavy Slam, but horrible if up against someone who knows Low Kick or Grass Knot.

Illusion can be a death sentence if the one on the receiving end doesn't see through it.

Infiltrator can be very useful against a Light Screen/Reflect user.

Justified is, if you ask me, a waste of an ability on the Musketeers. Using a Dark-type move against a Fighting-type Pokemon just isn't gonna happen if you're battling a human.

Moxie is an ability I've used before. If you're planning on taking a team down with one Pokemon, this ability is great to have at least in-game.

Overcoat is great to have on any weather-based team. 'Nuff said.

Regenerator is great to have if you plan on having a Pokemon switch out multiple times in battle so it can heal.

Sand Force and Sand Rush can be great on a Sandstorm team, but not on anything else.

Sap Sipper is awesome, especially when faced against Grass-types with, say, Bouffalant. It's an unexpected ability on a Normal-type, so it can catch people off guard.

Sheer Force is my favorite Gen V ability. Any attack that causes a status ailment or flinching, plus a few other things I'm not gonna mention, gets a power boost. Use one of these moves with a Life Orb, and the Life Orb damage is negated. Darmanitan with Sheer Force using Flare Blitz holding a Life Orb = death.

 

[dreyko]

@ deoxys121

i agree that defeatist is probably the worst ability evar!
buut,
i disagree that overcoat is good for weather teams, because why not take advantage of magic guard , which basically has the same effect as overcoat but with some benefits such as no LO recoil, no burn or poison damage and no entry hazard damage which are common.

 

[2Cool4Mewtwo]

Well, the mongoose always beats the snake in the end. I say that Flare Boost is less useful than Toxic Boost because Drifblim's main goal isn't to be a special attacker, while Zangoose's is to be a physical attacker. Flare Boost is completely non-essential compared to Unburden. Flare Boost also prevents you from using Explosion effectively, which is one of Drifblim's selling points.

135 Sp. Atk isn't something to laugh at, though you're right about everything else. Let's just say they're both equally useless.

I guess I'm bit biased when it comes to Zangoose, but he would've easily had a chance at OU if he had speed boost... (and be more recognized). I guess life's not always fair.

 

[Gymnotide]

135 Sp. Atk isn't something to laugh at, though you're right about everything else. Let's just say they're both equally useless.

I guess I'm bit biased when it comes to Zangoose, but he would've easily had a chance at OU if he had speed boost... (and be more recognized). I guess life's not always fair.

The thing is that in the one turn it takes for Flame Orb to kick in, you could have used Calm Mind for the same boost as Flame Orb (but without the -50% ATK and the +50% SpDEF). Then, if you're using Unburden, you'll also gain 100% of your SPE later on--and if you're using a Berry, you could also gain 50% in another stat when critical.

The thing about other Pokemon that use Flame Orb / Toxic Orb to trigger their abilities is that they are nowhere near as bulky as Drifblim is. It's generally bad form to Burn your own Pokemon when it's immune to zero forms of residual damage, but each % is a large amount of HP.

* * * * *

Full review

• Pickpocket - Fairly useless. Though it will let you take an item during contact (even when the foe attacks you with a contact move), all Pokemon that have it have better Abilities. It's an okay utility move for in-game, but that's as far as it goes.
• Sheer Force - Good. Highly acclaimed--and justly so. It'll negate any secondary effects (not primary effects) and item-effects that occur after damage. The most common usage of this is to pair it with Life Orb for an extra kick. It only provides a boost of 30%, but is substantial enough. This is Darmanitan's notorious ability.
• Contrary - Fair. Overrated. It'll let you suck up stat-downs, but only Serperior can use it effectively. However, Serperior's movepool is really shallow and it's so obvious that Leaf Storm is going to be the first move--unless it's a bluff and they're going to Growth / Coil on the switch. It's alright, though 75 bSPATK isn't a lot.
• Unnerve - Fair. Not too useful, but it can prevent the foe from using super-effective Berries and stat-up Berries that some Pokemon rely heavily on. It also stifles ChestoRest and Custap Berry. However, all the Pokemon that get this Ability also get one that far outclasses it. Tyranitar is to note, though, since you can use Unnerve in lieu of Sand Stream if you don't want to harm your team (but that'll handicap you versus special attacks).
• Defiant - Fair. Not too useful, but lets you come in on a few unlikely threats with +100% ATK (unless they used Featherdance). No one really uses stat-downs and it won't work on self-inflicted moves, though. It's usefulness is further diminished by the fact that ATK can easily be halved using Burn status.
• Defeatist - Useless. Goes without saying. It was put into the game for balance, not for utility.
• Cursed Body - Good. Its proc rate is less than reliable at 30%, but also annoys the hell out of physical attackers. Notably, it will put an end to Choice users (and users with one attack) because it prevents them from using that move. Other than that, it forces switches all the time.
• Healer - Bad. It might see more use in Triples, but is unreliable at proc 30%, especially when attacks come in three times as fast in Triples. Then again, it's easier to focus-fire in Triples / Doubles, rather than inflict status. Plus, it's only optimal when you're in the center, but that makes you the main target for attacks. Your call. Useless in singles.
• Friend Guard - Useless; no fully-evolved Pokemon have this Ability.
• Weak Armor - Good. Many Pokemon that have this could use the extra SPE boost, but also have high enough DEF to withstand two or more hits. It's also really funny to see in-game when a low-level Pokemon hits 5 times with a multi-hit move on Weak Armor.
• Heavy Metal - Useless; only Aggron needs it, and only for one move--Heavy Slam. Otherwise, it also makes it extra weak to Low Kick (though, its bDEF is very high too).
• Light Metal - Useless; no real utility in battle, Low Kick and Grass Knot are already weakened on most of the Pokemon that get it, and far outclassed by other Abilities (Clear Body, Technician). Makes you take more damage from Heat Crash, which all Light Metal Pokemon are weak to.
• Multiscale - Very good. Both Pokemon that have it are very bulky and learn a recovery move to reuse it over and over. Dragonite was very eager to welcome this Ability in Generation V, as it makes it extra bulky at full health.
• Toxic Boost - Fair. Only Zangooose gets it; it's better than its default Ability and boosts its already monstrous attack.
• Flare Boost - Fair. Only Drifblim gets it, but it's outclassed by Unburden. The SpATK boost is okay, but isn't Drifblim's main interest.
• Harvest - Good. It has a 50% proc out of sunlight, but 100% in sunlight. It provides unlimited use of Sitrus Berry and stat-ups, but that also means giving up Chlorophyll (on Exeggutor's massive bSpATK, nonetheless).
• Telepathy - Fair. Sees some utility in Doubles / Triples.
• Moody - Very good, but inconsistent. It will always net a +50% at the end of the turn, which makes it like Speed Boost, but it can also hit other stats. +100% on Evasion is dumbly annoying and +100% on Accuracy is difficult to come by. The immediate use is Smeargle's Baton Pass. Though, Moody is banned in competitive play.
• Overcoat - Good. It lets you stay alive in weather. It doesn't matter that Magic Coat is better; Overcoat is just as useful.
• Poison Touch - Bad. It has a low proc at 20% and inflicts the weakest status condition, and only on contact. It might be useful for Muk, but Toxicroak and Seismitoad have Dry Skin / Swift Swim, respectively (and the latter has few contact moves to use).
• Regenerator - Very good. Fantastic for bulky Pokemon like Tangrowth, Slowbro, and Ho-Oh. Otherwise, the HP recovered is fairly inconsequential. The fact that you need to switch out makes it balanced.
• Big Pecks - Bad. Few situations arise when you need to use Big Pecks.
• Sand Rush - Very good. Seeing how devastating Sandstorm is already, Sand Rush adds to the injury. This is Excadrill's selling point, allowing it to abuse its naturally high ATK to massacre the enemy.
• Wonder Skin - Good. It will make you very hard to hit with secondary effects and is a good alternative to Sigilyph's Magic Guard. I guess it's also Delcatty's best Ability. It's not a reliable 100%, so Magic Guard might be better for a similar effect (and to abuse Psycho Shift).
• Analytic - Bad. The Pokemon that get it are very fast, so they won't get the boost. Magnezone has to use Magnet Pull, and Porygon-Z has better choices in its defaults.
• Illusion - Very good. Nothing is like a good surprise attack. Since Zoroark's SpATK is so high, it's almost a guaranteed kill. However, after the first use, it's pretty much done for, unless your foe is forgetful or you get lucky. Any ability that can almost assure even one KO is fantastic, though.
• Imposter - Overpowered. Ditto can and will wreck entire teams with just this one Ability. If your foe finds it appropriate to stat-up on you, just swap in Ditto on the faint and proceed to take out up to 5 Pokemon all at once. Game-breaker.
• Infiltrator - Bad. Few openings for use.
• Mummy - Good. Cripples physical attackers and combo gimmicks with Slaking's Pursuit.
• Moxie - Very good. Forgoes the need to stat-up and will sometimes cause a game win from the cascade of ATK boosts.
• Rattled - Would be good, but useless. It reacts to three types, which is rare for an Ability, and provides a much-needed SPE boost... Though, only Sudowoodo and Clamperl are decent users of it. Not very good.
• Magic Bounce - Overpowered. It shrugs off almost any utility move and fires it back. Ironically, not many Pokemon can deal with their own moves. It's balanced by having it only on two Pokemon--Xatu is seldom used, and Espeon has low DEF / HP; both have common weaknesses too.
• Sap Sipper - Very good. Any Ability that confers elemental immunity is good.
• Prankster - Extremely good. Notorious for its use with Taunt, Prankster makes any Pokemon good at utility. It's also the saving grace for Murkrow and Sableye, who can now do some nasty things with Roost / Recover. Murkrow Perish-traps and Sableye abuses priority Will-O-Wisp.
• Sand Force - Good. Similar to Sand Rush.
• Iron Barbs - Very good. Since Ferrothorn's DEF is so high, Iron Barbs will activate time and time again, racking up a lot of residual damage.
• Zen Mode - Useless. Situational use and requires you to dampen Darmanitan's moveset for effective use. It's also outclassed by Sheer Force.
• Victory Star - Very good. Accuracy boosts are always good--even though this is only 10%, that's enough to nearly ensure hits on Stone Miss Edge and other moves at 90%, and will bump 95% moves over 100.
• Turboblaze / Teravolt - Both function the same as Mold Breaker; see the Bulbapedia page for Mold Breaker for the work I've done on it. Otherwise, Teravolt is better than TurboBlaze. Teravolt is notable for negating Lightningrod, Volt Absorb, AND Motor Drive; TurboBlaze has limited use (since no Pokemon other than Heatran can resist the combination of Dragon / Fire).

 

[Pwnyta Jockey]

My favorite ability is Rattled, if only for my Sudowoodo.
Least favorite is Healer. Audino and Alomomola have much better abilities.

Magic Bounce can be broken if opponent Trace's. Prefer synchronize on Espeon anyway.

 

[2Cool4Mewtwo]

The thing is that in the one turn it takes for Flame Orb to kick in, you could have used Calm Mind for the same boost as Flame Orb (but without the -50% ATK and the +50% SpDEF). Then, if you're using Unburden, you'll also gain 100% of your SPE later on--and if you're using a Berry, you could also gain 50% in another stat when critical.

The thing about other Pokemon that use Flame Orb / Toxic Orb to trigger their abilities is that they are nowhere near as bulky as Drifblim is. It's generally bad form to Burn your own Pokemon when it's immune to zero forms of residual damage, but each % is a large amount of HP.

Same could be said with Zangoose & Toxic Orb; it's just not bulky enough to wait for 1 turn for Toxic Orb to kick in. Plus it could also use Swords Dance in 1 turn to double its attack instead.

Toxic Boost is an okay ability, but it's certainly not better for a unique ability. He could've just had Guts instead.

 

[Gymnotide]

Same could be said with Zangoose & Toxic Orb; it's just not bulky enough to wait for 1 turn for Toxic Orb to kick in. Plus it could also use Swords Dance in 1 turn to double its attack instead.

Toxic Boost is an okay ability, but it's certainly not better for a unique ability. He could've just had Guts instead.

Correct, but I think my point was that Toxic Boost trumps Immunity any day, whereas Unburden is much better than Flare Boost for Drifblim. It's just a matter of whether +2+1 ATK on b115 is better than +1(+1) SpATK +1 SpDEF +2 SPE on a b90. I'm not disagreeing that Zangoose with Guts (or actually, Quick Feet would be best) would have been nice :) Though, either way, it wouldn't have made much of a difference, since you'd use Toxic Orb over Burn Orb anyway. XD

 

[2Cool4Mewtwo]

Correct, but I think my point was that Toxic Boost trumps Immunity any day, whereas Unburden is much better than Flare Boost for Drifblim. It's just a matter of whether +2+1 ATK on b115 is better than +1(+1) SpATK +1 SpDEF +2 SPE on a b90. I'm not disagreeing that Zangoose with Guts (or actually, Quick Feet would be best) would have been nice :) Though, either way, it wouldn't have made much of a difference, since you'd use Toxic Orb over Burn Orb anyway. XD

I do agree that Toxic boost is superior to Immunity, but what I'm saying is as a standalone ability it's not good. If you really wanted him to get another ability that resembles the "mongoose vs snake" rivalry, Poison Heal would've been another good alternative.

 

[The Nightmare]

most ability's are useless but pickpocket is useful for items and flash fire and all that are good for your stats.