How to Get Hidden Abilities and Ability Patches in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

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Are you wondering how to get Hidden Abilities and Ability Patches in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet? Many Pokemon have hidden abilities that you can unlock. However, unlocking these abilities isn’t simple and requires a bit of work. It helps to beat all the gym leaders and complete the main story first.

If you want to give your Pokemon a boost, you should know how to get Vitamins in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. You can also check out how to get the Choice Specs in Scarlet and Violet.

If you want to truly make your Pokemon the best, you will need to work on unlocking all of their abilities. Here is how to get Hidden Abilities and Ability Patches in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

What are Abilities and Hidden Abilities?

Abilities are passive effects that every species of Pokemon has, which can take effect in battle or in the overworld. Abilities range from useful (such as Vaporeon’s Water Absorb) to not as important (such as Slakoth’s Truant).

Did you know?

You can check a Pokemon’s abilities by accessing the summary page for your Pokemon. Here, you can find all the abilities that you Pokemon has. Hidden abilities will only show up after they are unlocked.

However, some species of Pokemon have abilities that are incredibly useful and unobtainable by ordinary means, these are called Hidden Abilities. Usually, they are incredibly advantageous in fights, and make them extremely desirable to acquire.

To view what Abilities your Pokemon possesses, simply go to their status screen in the menu. However, there will be no in-game indicator if what they currently have is an Ability or Hidden Ability.

How To Get Hidden Abilities

Currently, there are two ways to unlock a Pokemon’s ability. The first is using an ability patch which is quite rare to obtain. The next method is battling in Tera Raids and catching a Pokemon with a hidden ability.

How To Change Pokemon’s Hidden Ability

Ability Patches can be used on your Pokemon to change the Ability they currently have into a Hidden Ability. Ability Patches are not to be confused with Ability Capsules, as the latter only allows you to change your current Ability into another Regular Ability that the species has. They are incapable of conferring Hidden Abilities.

How To Get Ability Patches

Ability Patches are a rare reward from high-end Tera Raid Battles. Usually, they will drop from 6-star Tera Raids. Do remember, however, that they are rare drops and your luck will heavily determine whether you obtain one or not. Be sure to complete as many raids as you can in the postgame to get the most raid rewards.

How To Get Ability Capsules

Ability capsules are slightly easier to obtain compared to Ability Patches, as they can be purchased from the Chansey Supply shops for 100k Pokedollars. But the Chansey Supply shop will only become available after you have collected 8 badges. Or you may be lucky and an ability capsule will be the reward after completing five-star raids.

Trading

If you know some people who have obtained Pokemon with the Hidden Abilities you are looking for, then perhaps you can trade them a Pokemon they want in order to get the Pokemon with the Hidden Ability that you want. 

Breeding

Breeding Pokemon is also a way for you to get a Pokemon with the Hidden Ability. If you breed two Pokemon and at least one of them has a Hidden Ability, then there is a 60% chance that the egg they spawn will obtain the Hidden Ability. 

However, this method requires that you already own a Pokemon with the Hidden Ability. This method is a great way to duplicate the Hidden Ability if you have a friend looking for it. You can simply hatch the egg and trade it to them afterward.

That is everything you need to know about hidden abilities and Ability Patches in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. If you are trying to get the best team, be sure to check out the best moveset for Garchomp in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. You can also check out the best team for the Elite Four.

How to Get Hidden Abilities and Ability Patches in Scarlet and Violet – FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

How rare are hidden abilities in Pokemon Scarlet And Violet?

It’s usually a 1/250 chance to acquire hidden abilities in Pokemon Scarlet And Violet, so it’s pretty rare!

How do you get a Pokemon’s hidden ability?

Hidden abilities are hard to get, however, you can get ability patches from Tera Raid events and playing Raid events in general.

About the Author

Si Yan

Si Yan is an editor on Videogamer.com, researching interesting topics, working with a team for content creation and then editing onto site. Game wise Si Yan loves Pokémon and Super Mario.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

  • Platform(s): Nintendo Switch
  • Genre(s): RPG
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