What exactly is the purpose of "Abilities" like Truant, Slow Start, Klutz & Defeatist?

[Evening]

To put you at a disadvantage.

 

[Sun]

Truant and Klutz aren't necessary bad, moves like Skill Swap and Switcheroo for the latter one, are handy! :)

 

[AkameTheBulbasaur]

I think they were originally put in as a nerf for Pokemon they thought would be overpowered without them, but personally I don't think the Pokemon that got NERFed would have been all that overpowered if they had something else as their ability, but that's just me.

The only thing I can think of to use for them is basing your Pokemon around Skill Swap and getting rid of your crappy ability and laughing while your opponent is stuck with it. That's kind of situational though, and I've personally found those abilities to be more of a nusiance than a necessity.

 

[LegendChu]

I completely understand where you're coming from because the word ability means "possession of the means or skill to do something" or "talent, skill, or proficiency in a particular area." The opposite of 'ability' would be weakness, which is precisely what slow start and truant are. They're weaknesses, not skills.

The problem here is that there's really no other way to assign Pokemon with these unique drawbacks because ability slots are basically just passive effect slots and abilities are a very specific game mechanic. I hope I'm explaining this correctly :)

Ya I get that! It would be weird if the abilities in question (Truant, Slow Start, Klutz & Defeatist) were called "weaknesses" or "drawbacks" instead, in the games

.

Pika Pika :chu:

 

[KetsuekiR]

I think it's GameFreak's attempt, for once, to have Pokemon make sense. A sleeping giant like Regigigas should have a slow start and so it does. I do hope you understand what I'm trying to get at here xD

I completely understand where you're coming from because the word ability means "possession of the means or skill to do something" or "talent, skill, or proficiency in a particular area." The opposite of 'ability' would be weakness, which is precisely what slow start and truant are. They're weaknesses, not skills.

Well, not necessarily. An ability could be negative too. The classic definition of ability doesn't really apply here since unlike reality, in Pokemon, abilities are passive. Therefore, it's possible for an ability to be negative. Think of it this way. If I say I have the ability to be terrible at something, isn't it negative? :o

Also, you Googled Ability, didn't you? Don't worry, I did too. Shh ;D

 

[Crystal Berry]

Well, not necessarily. An ability could be negative too. The classic definition of ability doesn't really apply here since unlike reality, in Pokemon, abilities are passive. Therefore, it's possible for an ability to be negative. Think of it this way. If I say I have the ability to be terrible at something, isn't it negative? :o

Also, you Googled Ability, didn't you? Don't worry, I did too. Shh ;D

Abilities in Pokemon are passive, but my post was meant to be seen through the perspective of the main poster because ability for the most part means positive aptitude, and "Traunt" and "Slow Start" barely qualify as actual abilities because being handicapped isn't an ability. I was just trying to say that 'ability' is a very specific game mechanic, so the meaning of the word shouldn't be taken by its strongest most highly used definitions.

I googled ability only so I could post a direct quote of its main definition. Also I wrote this with limited time and I have to go now so I hope I explained well :l

 

[KetsuekiR]

Abilities in Pokemon are passive, but my post was meant to be seen through the perspective of the main poster because ability for the most part means positive aptitude, and "Traunt" and "Slow Start" barely qualify as actual abilities because being handicapped isn't an ability. I was just trying to say that 'ability' is a very specific game mechanic, so the meaning of the word shouldn't be taken by its strongest most highly used definitions.

I googled ability only so I could post a direct quote of its main definition. Also I wrote this with limited time and I have to go now so I hope I explained well :l

That's exactly my point. The strongest, most highly used definition for ability is that abilities are positive. In the context of the game, abilities are more like natures or passive features of a Pokemon. Therefore, in the context of the game, they can be either positive or negative. :o

 

[Crystal Berry]

That's exactly my point. The strongest, most highly used definition for ability is that abilities are positive. In the context of the game, abilities are more like natures or passive features of a Pokemon. Therefore, in the context of the game, they can be either positive or negative. :o

Yes I got your point and I agree with you

 

[LegendChu]

Well, not necessarily. An ability could be negative too. The classic definition of ability doesn't really apply here since unlike reality, in Pokemon, abilities are passive. Therefore, it's possible for an ability to be negative. Think of it this way. If I say I have the ability to be terrible at something, isn't it negative? :o

I agree with you that the dictionary definition of "ability" does not apply to Pokemon abilities (but why would anyone say that they have the "ability" to be terrible at something? :P).

Pika Pika :chu:

 

[LegendChu]

Okay, moves like Skill Swap, Switcheroo etc. can be used to negate the disadvantages of the abilities in question, but what if you don't have Pokemon with those moves in your team?

Pika Pika :chu: