Nature
- Timid redirects here. For the Ability named Timid in Japanese, see Defeatist (Ability).
- Quirky redirects here. For Pokémon Musical category, see Pokémon Musical.
- Relaxed redirects here. For Super Contest dress-up style, see Visual Competition.
- Calm redirects here. For character with the Japanese name Calm, see Calem (game).
Natures (Japanese: せいかく Personality) are the Pokémon analogue of personalities. They were introduced in the Generation III games and remain a game mechanic in Generation IV and Generation V. Every Pokémon in these games has one of these 25 Natures, listed and described in the section below.
A Pokémon's Nature usually affects the growth rate of two of its stats, ultimately increasing one of its stats by 10% and decreasing another by 10%. Natures also determine the Pokémon's favorite flavor and its disliked flavor. Each stat is tagged to a flavor (e.g. Attack-Spicy), and if the Nature boosts the stat, the tagged flavor will be the Pokémon's favorite (i.e. Lonely boosts Attack, hence a Lonely-natured Pokémon's favorite flavor is Spicy). The opposite also holds true (i.e. Bold hinders Attack, so a Bold-natured Pokémon will dislike Spicy food).
Every Nature represents one of the 25 unique possible combination of stat increase and decrease, thus there are five Natures that have no effect on the Pokémon's stat growth (Bashful, Docile, Hardy, Quirky and Serious). These five "neutral" Natures are technically Natures that increase and decrease the same stat.
From Emerald onwards, a Ditto or a female Pokémon that holds an Everstone has a 50% chance of passing its Nature to its offspring when at the Pokémon daycare. Since HeartGold and SoulSilver, male Pokémon can also pass on their Nature with an Everstone. In Generation IV, parents could only pass Natures to their offspring if both Pokémon and the Trainer all came from a game in the same language. Also from Emerald onwards, if a Pokémon with the Ability Synchronize is leading the party, there is a 50% chance of encountering a wild Pokémon with the same Nature. Synchronize affects any encounter, including stationary legends, but excluding Pokémon that are received from an NPC, such as the Eevee given out by Bill in HeartGold and SoulSilver, Pokémon are received in a museum after being resurrected from Fossils, or catching Pokémon during a Stroll in the Pokéwalker bundled with HeartGold and SoulSilver.
Natures also dictate the manner in which Pokémon battle by themselves at the Battle Palace, different Natures (including the five non-increasing/decreasing ones) make the Pokémon use different methods of attacks and change tactics when they are low on health. A man in a house closest to the Sunyshore City Heritage Site asks to see Pokémon with different Natures (Serious, Naive and Quirky), and will give the player three Pokétch applications.
Since HeartGold and SoulSilver the stat increased or decreased by a Pokémon's Nature has a red or blue shadow respectively when viewing that Pokémon's summary screen.
In Generation V games, Trainers themselves have Natures. The Nature can be viewed and changed on the Trainer Card. These Natures affect what the player will say on others' games at Unity Tower.
List of Natures
The following table lists each Nature and its effect on a Pokémon. It may be rearranged by clicking the boxes next to each column's heading.
| Nature | Japanese | Increased stat | Decreased stat | Favorite flavor | Disliked flavor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardy | がんばりや | — | — | — | — |
| Lonely | さみしがり | Attack | Defense | Spicy | Sour |
| Brave | ゆうかん | Attack | Speed | Spicy | Sweet |
| Adamant | いじっぱり | Attack | Sp. Attack | Spicy | Dry |
| Naughty | やんちゃ | Attack | Sp. Defense | Spicy | Bitter |
| Bold | ずぶとい | Defense | Attack | Sour | Spicy |
| Docile | すなお | — | — | — | — |
| Relaxed | のんき | Defense | Speed | Sour | Sweet |
| Impish | わんぱく | Defense | Sp. Attack | Sour | Dry |
| Lax | のうてんき | Defense | Sp. Defense | Sour | Bitter |
| Timid | おくびょう | Speed | Attack | Sweet | Spicy |
| Hasty | せっかち | Speed | Defense | Sweet | Sour |
| Serious | まじめ | — | — | — | — |
| Jolly | ようき | Speed | Sp. Attack | Sweet | Dry |
| Naive | むじゃき | Speed | Sp. Defense | Sweet | Bitter |
| Modest | ひかえめ | Sp. Attack | Attack | Dry | Spicy |
| Mild | おっとり | Sp. Attack | Defense | Dry | Sour |
| Quiet | れいせい | Sp. Attack | Speed | Dry | Sweet |
| Bashful | てれや | — | — | — | — |
| Rash | うっかりや | Sp. Attack | Sp. Defense | Dry | Bitter |
| Calm | おだやか | Sp. Defense | Attack | Bitter | Spicy |
| Gentle | おとなしい | Sp. Defense | Defense | Bitter | Sour |
| Sassy | なまいき | Sp. Defense | Speed | Bitter | Sweet |
| Careful | しんちょう | Sp. Defense | Sp. Attack | Bitter | Dry |
| Quirky | きまぐれ | — | — | — | — |
Nature table
As each Nature uniquely boosts one stat and hinders another, the 25 Natures may also be arranged into a table as shown:
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Battle style
Depending on a Pokémon's Nature, its battle style changes in the Battle Palace or the Battle Tent of Verdanturf Town. This does not affect its battling outside of those areas.
All attacks are grouped into three categories: Attack, Defense, and Support. The following is the list of attacks per category:
- Attack: Any attack not listed under Defense or Support.
- Defense: All moves targeting itself, as well as Bide. These include Acid Armor, Agility, Amnesia, Aromatherapy, Barrier, Baton Pass, Belly Drum, Bide, Bulk Up, Calm Mind, Camouflage, Charge, Conversion 2, Conversion, Cosmic Power, Defense Curl, Destiny Bond, Detect, Double Team, Dragon Dance, Endure, Focus Energy, Follow Me, Growth, Grudge, Hail, Harden, Haze, Heal Bell, Helping Hand, Howl, Imprison, Ingrain, Iron Defense, Light Screen, Meditate, Milk Drink, Minimize, Mist, Moonlight, Morning Sun, Mud Sport, Perish Song, Protect, Rain Dance, Recover, Recycle, Reflect, Refresh, Rest, Safeguard, Sandstorm, Sharpen, Slack Off, Softboiled, Splash, Stockpile, Substitute, Sunny Day, Swallow, Swords Dance, Synthesis, Tail Glow, Teleport, Water Sport, Wish, and Withdraw.
- Support: All moves that do not deal damage and are not categorized under Defense, as well as Counter and Mirror Coat. These include Assist, Attract, Block, Charm, Confuse Ray, Cotton Spore, Counter, Curse, Disable, Encore, Fake Tears, FeatherDance, Flash, Flatter, Foresight, Glare, GrassWhistle, Growl, Hypnosis, Kinesis, Leech Seed, Leer, Lock-On, Lovely Kiss, Magic Coat, Mean Look, Memento, Metal Sound, Metronome, Mimic, Mind Reader, Mirror Coat, Mirror Move, Nature Power, Nightmare, Odor Sleuth, Pain Split, Poison Gas, PoisonPowder, Psych Up, Roar, Role Play, Sand-Attack, Scary Face, Screech, Sing, Sketch, Skill Swap, Sleep Powder, Sleep Talk, SmokeScreen, Snatch, Spider Web, Spikes, Spite, Spore, String Shot, Stun Spore, Supersonic, Swagger, Sweet Kiss, Sweet Scent, Tail Whip, Taunt, Teeter Dance, Thunder Wave, Tickle, Torment, Toxic, Transform, Trick, Whirlwind, Will-O-Wisp, and Yawn.
All Natures have a set ratio of Attack, Defense, and Support moves; these change when the Pokémon's HP falls below 50%. This represents the likelihood a particular category of attack is chosen. During battle, a random attack from the Pokémon's moveset in the selected category is chosen; if no such attack exists, the Pokémon will "appear incapable of using its power", and will skip its turn.
The following table lists each Nature and its move type preferences; it may be rearranged by clicking the boxes next to each column's heading.
| Nature | Attack | Defense | Support | Attack (<50%) | Defense (<50%) | Support (<50%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardy | 61% | 7% | 32% | 61% | 7% | 32% |
| Lonely | 20% | 25% | 55% | 84% | 8% | 8% |
| Brave | 70% | 15% | 15% | 32% | 60% | 8% |
| Adamant | 38% | 31% | 31% | 70% | 15% | 15% |
| Naughty | 20% | 70% | 10% | 70% | 22% | 8% |
| Bold | 30% | 20% | 50% | 32% | 58% | 10% |
| Docile | 56% | 22% | 22% | 56% | 22% | 22% |
| Relaxed | 25% | 15% | 60% | 75% | 15% | 10% |
| Impish | 69% | 6% | 25% | 28% | 55% | 17% |
| Lax | 35% | 10% | 55% | 29% | 6% | 65% |
| Timid | 62% | 10% | 28% | 30% | 20% | 50% |
| Hasty | 58% | 37% | 5% | 88% | 6% | 6% |
| Serious | 34% | 11% | 55% | 29% | 11% | 60% |
| Jolly | 35% | 5% | 60% | 35% | 60% | 5% |
| Naive | 56% | 22% | 22% | 56% | 22% | 22% |
| Modest | 35% | 45% | 20% | 34% | 60% | 6% |
| Mild | 44% | 50% | 6% | 34% | 6% | 60% |
| Quiet | 56% | 22% | 22% | 56% | 22% | 22% |
| Bashful | 30% | 58% | 12% | 30% | 58% | 12% |
| Rash | 30% | 13% | 57% | 27% | 6% | 67% |
| Calm | 40% | 50% | 10% | 25% | 62% | 13% |
| Gentle | 18% | 70% | 12% | 90% | 5% | 5% |
| Sassy | 88% | 6% | 6% | 22% | 20% | 58% |
| Careful | 42% | 50% | 8% | 42% | 5% | 53% |
| Quirky | 56% | 22% | 22% | 56% | 22% | 22% |
See also
| Pokémon individuality | ||
|---|---|---|
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This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games. |
