In Pokémon, there are many different ways to ensure you have the strongest Pokémon possible — the right moves, the maximum amount of Grit investment, and of course, Natures. Natures are important for Pokémon, as they can influence stats by 10%. If you’re curious on how to pick the right Nature for your Pokémon, look no further.
Pokémon attacks are split into two categories: Physical and Special. Physical attack damage is influenced by your Pokémon’s Attack stat and the defending Pokémon’s Defense stat, while Special Attack damage is influenced by your Pokémon’s Special Attack stat and the defending Pokémon’s Special Defense stat. If you look at your Pokémon’s stat screen via the Summary option, you may notice that one of it’s stats are raised and one stat lowered. This is due to Nature.
There are 25 Natures in Pokémon, each with different effects. When you catch a Pokémon, a Nature will be randomly assigned to it. Five Natures will do nothing to your Pokémon’s stats, while the other 20 will raise a stat and lower a stat. Here is the list:
- Hardy: Does nothing.
- Serious: Does nothing.
- Bashful: Does nothing.
- Quirky: Does nothing.
- Docile: Does nothing.
- Lonely: Attack Up, Defense Down
- Brave: Attack Up, Speed Down
- Adamant: Attack Up, Special Attack Down
- Naughty: Attack Up, Special Defense Down
- Bold: Defense Up, Attack Down
- Relaxed: Defense Up, Speed Down
- Impish: Defense Up, Special Attack Down
- Lax: Defense Up, Special Defense Down
- Timid: Speed Up, Attack Down
- Jolly: Speed Up, Special Attack Down
- Hasty: Speed Up, Defense Down
- Naive: Speed Up, Special Defense Down
- Modest: Special Attack Up, Attack Down
- Mild: Special Attack Up, Defense Down
- Quiet: Special Attack Up, Speed Down
- Rash: Special Attack Up, Special Defense Down
- Calm: Special Defense Up, Attack Down
- Gentle: Special Defense Up, Defense Down
- Sassy: Special Defense Up, Speed Down
- Careful: Special Defense Up, Special Attack Down
The trick to choosing the right Nature for your Pokémon is looking at two main things:
- What type of attacks does your Pokémon have access to?
- What stat is higher: Attack or Special Attack? Defense or Special Defense?
Speed is always important: you typically do not want to lower Speed. The one instance you would have in previous games was Trick Room, a move that allowed slower Pokémon to go first. Trick Room is not in Arceus, so you do not need to worry about it.
We will use Alakazam for an example: Alakazam is a Pokémon with high Special Attack and low Attack. Alakazam gets access to many powerful Special Attack moves, such as Psychic and Shadow Ball. In this instance, we would want to choose the Modest or Timid Natures, to maximize either Special Attack or Speed at the expense of Attack, a stat we wouldn’t use.
Another example: Landorus. This Pokémon has high Attack and high Special Attack, but the Attack stat is higher. Landorus has access to a new move called Sandsear Storm, which is a Special Attack, but also access to moves like Outrage and Stone Edge, which are physical Attacks. You could go either way, but because the Attack stat is higher, we would recommend Jolly or Adamant to maximize your damage.
