Pokemon Natures explained: How they affect stats & what they change

Published: Oct 18, 2021, 22:34

Nintendo

In Gen III and above, Natures play a pivotal role in raising Pokemon. But what are they and how do they work? Here’s what you need to know, including stat effects and changes.

First introduced in Ruby and Sapphire on the Game Boy Advance, Natures directly influence how a Pokemon’s stats grow based on percentages. It may sound complicated and you might not have ever bothered with them before, but they’re very important if you want your ‘mon to reach its full potential.

Which nature a Pokemon gets is completely random, and there are 25 different variants, each with its own changes and effects.

Pokemon Natures explained

Each Pokemon has its own Nature.

In short, a Nature both increases and decreases a specific stat, meaning you’ll need to work out which is best for your ‘mon depending on how you want to use it. In Pokemon Sword & Shield, for example, will you be entering it into Competitive? What kind of moveset does it have? The mechanic also decides its favorite and disliked flavors for Berries, PokeBlocks, and more.

Read More: 15 best Fire-type Pokemon

Here’s every available Pokemon Nature and its stat effects:

Nature	Stat effects	Favorite flavor	Disliked flavor
Hardy	+ Attack – Attack	None	None
Lonely	+ Attack – Defense	Spicy	Sour
Brave	+ Attack – Speed	Spicy	Sweet
Adamant	+ Attack – Sp. Atk	Spicy	Dry
Naughty	+ Attack – Sp. Def	Spicy	Bitter
Bold	+ Defense – Attack	Sour	Spicy
Docile	+ Defense – Defense	None	None
Relaxed	+ Defense – Speed	Sour	Sweet
Impish	+ Defense – Sp. Atk	Sour	Dry
Lax	+ Defense – Sp. Def	Sour	Bitter
Timid	+ Speed – Attack	Sweet	Spicy
Hasty	+ Speed – Defense	Sweet	Sour
Serious	+ Speed – Speed	None	None
Jolly	+ Speed – Sp. Atk	Sweet	Dry
Naive	+ Speed – Sp. Defense	Sweet	Bitter
Modest	+ Sp. Atk – Attack	Dry	Spicy
Mild	+ Sp. Atk – Defense	Dry	Sour
Quiet	+ Sp. Atk – Speed	Dry	Sweet
Bashful	+ Sp. Atk – Sp. Atk	None	None
Rash	+ Sp. Atk – Sp. Def	Dry	Bitter
Calm	+ Sp. Def – Attack	Bitter	Sour
Gentle	+ Sp. Defense – Defense	Bitter	Spicy
Sassy	+ Sp. Def – Speed	Bitter	Sweet
Careful	+ Sp. Def – Sp. Atk	Bitter	Dry
Quirky	+ Sp. Def – Sp. Def	None	None

How to change a Pokemon’s Nature

At the time of writing, there’s only one way to change your Pokemon’s Nature and it’s only in Sword & Shield. The Battle Tower sells Mints for every type which, when fed to your ‘mon, makes it have that specific one.

In every other game, you can’t change it outright but you can keep catching and breeding until you get your desired one.