Top 6 Best and Worst Former Signature Abilities in Pokémon

Pokémon can stand out in various ways, but having a Signature Ability is one of the most pronounced! That is, until your "signature" gets handed out like candy to other Pokémon to use what once made you so special... However just because an ability was exclusive doesn't mean it was good, so let's see which former signature abilities are the greatest and which are the pits!

[@emperorcubone]

For those wondering about Slow Start: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHalZGCvpMaGgdk (I didn't want to double up on regular signature abilities, which it was years ago when I made the first one.)

[@toumabyakuya]

I mean, an explanation similar to Truant can be given for Slow Start as well: Regigigas has it for balance reasons; Vroom has it as a joke (some cars's engines would take a while to start).

[@HaisaySasaki]

defeatist

[@Mynameishassan0]

@@toumabyakuyaTruant on Durant was also a joke.

[@RidleyIgnatiousAero]

I disagree with Aroma Veil being considered "bad". Say for instance you want to use status moves with Alcremie, a single Taunt can shut you down, potentially forcing you to switch and causing your opponent to gain a good deal of momentum.

[@LordShonji]

Same cause right now with the amount of taunt and encore in SV competitive, this ability is a godsend for any tanky setup pokemon

[@Watch-0w1]

I agree. Plenty set use taunt to shut down pkm. This abilityc can reverse the game by technically making your opponent waste a turn

[@Dusxio]

Most of these lists are build around the play through experience, not really considering competitive play as much

[@kingleonidas2182]

Yeah cuz I don’t think he understands the weight of waiting for 2 turns, let alone 5.

[@RidleyIgnatiousAero]

I get that. Most of EC's perspectives are based around general playthroughs. However, it is highly unlikely you are getting a Pokemon with Aroma Veil in a normal playthrough. With the exception of Lechonk, Aroma Veil is a Hidden Ability on the Pokemon it appears on. And in the case of Spritzee/Aromatise, you can't even catch them until post-game, and next year when the servers get shut down, it will be impossible to get Hidden Ability Pokemon via Friend Safari. So, in a sense, Aroma Veil is a competitive-only ability. @@Dusxio

[@apathynoises6456]

I prefer the theory that Durant got Truant purely for the pun - it is a "true ant" Or maybe the developers were just really annoyed when he joined Golden State and wanted to vent idk

[@GoinGreninja]

Durant didn't gain Truant as a joke. It got Truant because despite what some believe, not all worker ants are perfect in their work conduct and some are actively lazy, which this ability is referring to. To be specific, this idea is called The Worker Ant Theory, where it basically posits that among a 100% of worker ants, 20% of them work a whole ton, 60% do a decent amount of work and 20% are actively lazy. If one wants more of an idea about this, then they can search up the term I'd sited and read the articles written up about it. Also, part of the reason that some Durants can have the ability Hustle, to reference the hardworking ones.

[@kenthuang436]

I’ve always thought it was supposed to be a subtle nod to the Grasshopper and Ants story where the Grasshopper basically teaches the Ants that not constantly working isn’t a bad thing and that by taking a break every now and then you can enjoy life.

[@9Destra]

I’m pretty sure it’s a reference to how in some species, the worker ants are worked so hard that they have to take brief rests every few minutes just so they don’t drop dead

[@Compucles]

@@kenthuang436 I'm pretty sure you missed the point to that fable. The ant got to live comfortably during the winter due to how hard it worked during the summer, while the grasshopper suffered and may have even died in the cold after slacking off all summer.

[@samszczepanski2281]

​@@kenthuang436that... that's the opposite of the moral of the story

[@TKnHappyNess]

Speed Boost was the signature ability for Ninjask until Yanma would get it the following year, but we all know who really benefited from it

[@karthus006]

A certain flaming chicken that got bumped up to Ubers.

[@eusoumaniaco]

Baton pass ninjask very much benefitted from it before anyone else

[@El_Neon_20180]

A certain ostrich that looks like Lady Gaga

[@jayrome1884]

Aroma Veil is an amazing ability I'm sorry, being totally immune to Taunt is far better than waiting 3 turns until it wears off I don't know how you can not see that

[@yanis95546]

Well because he doesn't know what he's talking about tbh..

[@jayrome1884]

@@yanis95546 he's just not into competitive

[@TheKyubiisaan]

1. Switching would also fix that 2. The Pokémon with aroma veil suck in competitive anyway 3. Even if they didn’t it would still be somewhat niche, but again, see point 2

[@AZV0108]

​@@TheKyubiisaan 1. Yeah, that would mean the opponent would have the opportunity to either set up, attack the taunted Pokémon or predict the switch and strike whatever comes in. Specially in Doubles, Taunt is a way valuable move and getting taunted can be severly punished. That why most support Pokémon runs Mental Herb. 2. Literally Alcremie found a solid niche in Gen 8 VGC precisely for having Aroma Veil and use Decorate without being punished by Taunt.

[@TheKyubiisaan]

@@AZV0108 and what does it have on par with decorate lmao

[@DSmaster8585]

Ill never forget the first time I used a Machamp in Soul Silver! I just thought No Guard boosted accuracy. But then I tried using Dynamicpunch against a Fearow who went first and used Fly. It hit anyways, confused the Fearow and it beat itself on the 2nd turn!😂

[@emperorcubone]

Moments like this rank among the most satisfying in Pokemon!

[@AnonEcho98]

_>Proceeds to take notes, as I currently use Machamp on my Refined Gold team_

[@Celestia282]

I had a similar experience with Doublade in X. I was doing one of those restaurant battles where you have to knock out your opponent in an exact number of turns, but my opponent used fly on the turn I had to knock it out. I was already starting to get mad, but then Doublade hit it, anyway. I was very confused but happy.

[@Compucles]

To be fair, Taunt and Encore are often a lot more disrupting to battle strategies than Reflect or Light Screen are. Many times, you can't afford to wait for those moves to wear off.

[@caiusdrakegaming8087]

And those two moves, Reflect and Light Screen, are countered by Brick Break, a move that is pretty widely available among different pokemon. If anything I'm surprised less people bring a pokemon with that move to bust the screens

[@Kalaphant]

Yeah, especially since taunt (and often encore as well), prevents you from just protecting it out

[@Nutleaf420]

Aroma veil being regared as one of the worst is certainly a take

[@blakdeth]

Lopunny can learn switcheroo. So instead of thinking of klutz as a rare defense against being given a bad held item, you can give lopunny a bad held item to swap it for an opponents good held item. Still not great but not completely useless.

[@jacker90]

Agree fully that Klutz can be a great ability

[@lixyo4320]

It doesn’t even have to be a bad item per se, you could give Lopunny an assualt vest then switcheroo it to an opposing support pokemon to shut down basically their entire moveset

[@SaibotKing2000]

I used Mega Lopunny with Klutz in gen 6 since mega stones will still be usable, and had the move Entrainment to give the other Pokemon Klutz. It screws them over if they have an item lol

[@Damian-ng5en]

i was just about to say that, Klutz is amazing with switcheroo

[@trash44gzgigasmashkaza50]

Just using kluttz with the move fling with iron ball ore any other harming item its fun

[@kuyajayschannelkjc3684]

Slow Start for Regigigas (then for Varoom) maybe a special mention🤣🤣🤣

[@Watch-0w1]

Alot ability are basically the same but different name like Arena trap

[@Crim-kun]

One point to no guard is you can build around it but you opponent probably did not and thus while all moves hit you will choose the harder hitting moves Also love that bulletproof directly counters pokemon with megalauncher or skill link as the moves that benefit from the buffs are negated

[@emperorcubone]

That's true; poor Clauncher gets a hard counter to its one specialty...

[@youraveragenickel2177]

That's not quite true. The only moves Bulletproof counters that are boosted by Skill Link are Barrage, Bullet Seed, and Rock Blast while the only Mega Launcher move it counters is Aura Sphere. I wish it did work like that though. It would make remembering what Bulletproof counters so much easier lol.

[@Crim-kun]

@@youraveragenickel2177 oh youre right sorry i thought there were more mega launcher boosted moves

[@youraveragenickel2177]

@@Crim-kun That's understandable. It really feels like there would be. Personally, I've always thought it was weird that they made an ability for just 5 moves.

[@kotzpenner]

Love my No Guard Machamp

[@hondaaccord1399]

Pure Power is a "joke ability" since in Japanese it translates into "Yoga Power" which applies to Meditite and 'cham's lax combat nature

[@emperorcubone]

I get why Nobody else has Pure Power, what I don't get is why Medicham wouldn't also fit with Huge Power; it's a "Muscleman" too, right?

[@hondaaccord1399]

@@emperorcubone Nah man, Medicham is chill like that. She's all about that mental fortitude strength, peace of mind that strengthens her muscles. Her power may not be Huge, but it is certainly Pure.

[@toumabyakuya]

@@emperorcubone It gets Pure Power over Huge Power because it specializes in yoga, no other reason.

[@Compucles]

Also, the Japanese name for "Huge Power" has alternate meaning of fortifying mochi, while mochi is often associated with the moon rabbit, hence the selection of Pokémon that receive it and why they didn't just give it to Medicham.

[@Unknown_Gamer_NL]

Fun fact about shadow tag, it was chandelure's hidden ability in gen 5, but it was never actually released. In gen 6 it got infiltrator instead. I find this sad, cause I love chandelure and this would've made it amazingly broken.

[@toe_sucker_4165]

Fun fact: as of generation 9, Slow Start is now eligible for this list, as Revavroom can learn it as a hidden ability.

[@ChenzoCenteen]

Definitely cant agree with Aroma Veil being bad lol Aromatisse saw gameplay upon release because of that ability, it was great for support and setup, trick room teams especially benefitted from it and the fact that it was a pure fairy type pokemon and there werent an insane amount of steel and poison types to threaten it while it was also decently tanky

[@yserareborn]

I don't know about the Pokemon that get it, but Aroma Veil in a vacuum seems fine. Many Pokemon pvp players use Mental Herb to protect their set-up moves, and Aroma Veil seems like a sort-of permanent Mental Herb with it's coverage.

[@elladunham9232]

I’m surprised you didn’t mention sand stream since in gen 3 it was the signature ability of tyranitar and literally defined gen 3 competitive Pokémon

[@emperorcubone]

That is a good one for sure! Maybe if I do a part two...

[@9Destra]

Speaking of No Guard, I saw a Fakemon with an ability called “Psycholocation”. It’s basically a one-sided No Guard in Psychic Terrain. Yeah, they aren’t guaranteed to hit you while you’re guaranteed to hit with any move, like Sing and Focus Blast and Hydro Pump

[@emperorcubone]

I like that it has the limitation of the terrain; it doesn't make it too overpowered...

[@9Destra]

@@emperorcubone It’s really cool, balanced and flavorful! The Fakemon is called Susonar (yes, that was the actual name) and it’s based on an Indian River Dolphin, an animal that’s practically blind. I pulled up the Dex Entry for it: "It uses pulses of psychic energy to probe its surroundings instead of its sight. It’s so adept that trainers often forget that it’s completely blind."

[@daniellejackson6543]

​@@9DestraWhat are its stats?

[@9Destra]

@@daniellejackson6543 If I had to guess, I’d say it’s a fast or bulky special attacker

[@9Destra]

@@daniellejackson6543It’s a fast special attacker. Its stat spread is kinda like Starmie but with the SpA and Spe switched

[@UmbreonTheDarkKnight]

Huge Power stacked with Defense Curl and Rollout makes Azumarill even more scary

[@RugaQwarrcall]

Aroma Veil and Klutz? Really? Literally EVERY Lopunny before Mega Lopunny was a Klutz + Trick/Switcheroo set that could ruin any single sweeper or wall it wanted to without being hindered by the downsides of its original held item or the held item it stole. And that variant of Lopunny still saw play even after the Mega was introduced.

[@emperorcubone]

Casual play is just as important in these evaluations; competitive isn't everything...

[@Watch-0w1]

Useless now thank to knock off.

[@toumabyakuya]

@@emperorcubone However, it sounds more like you are ignoring the competitive aspect of the abilities instead of weighing them against its casual aspects. Yeah, casual play is important, but so is the competitive play as well...

[@toumabyakuya]

@@Watch-0w1 Knock Off existed in gen 4 yet that did not stop Klutz Lopunny from being as popular as it was.

[@Watch-0w1]

@@toumabyakuya yes that why I say now

[@christopherbennett5858]

Oh honey, Skill link is a godsend. It made Cinccino and Cloyster must-haves for the battle tower in sword and shield.

[@LordShonji]

Ah yes Aroma Veil the ability that stops anti-tank options with the amount of Encore and Taunt (specifically on faster pokemon that can keep you lockeddown) that is being used in VGC. Such a bad ability. 🙄😂

[@DonDavelle]

Klutz lets you be ckeeky with items with negative effects. Iron ball, Lagging Tail, Power Items, Choice items, AV, and Utility Umbrella all won't affect you, but if you trick/switcheroo them to your opponent then they receive the nega traits. Imagine switching an AV onto a Toxapex or Blissey or giving Gengar a lagging tail and watching it always go last. The problem is a Lopunny is Lopunny, and Golurk will die again before it ever gives up No guard Poltergeist.

[@trolleymouse]

Klutz is great with Trick, as you can pass a toxic orb or flame orb onto a target and not be hampered by their choice band or life orb.

[@sleepiestboi4631]

Or with the Entrainment move, forces a switch out if the opponent wants to keep using their item.

[@enlongjones2394]

Klutz is better than you’d think at first. It opens up the opportunity for a few nasty strategies that wouldn’t otherwise be usable. For example, give a Pokémon with Klutz the move Trick or Switcheroo, and the item Assault Vest. Assault Vest increases damage, but prevents all moves that aren’t attacks. Normally, that would prevent the use of Switcheroo, but Klutz disables the item, so you’re free to give it to your opponent’s Pokémon and turn off all their status moves. This can similarly be done with Choice items, Toxic or Flame orbs, Sticky Barb, or any other item with a negative effect you want to give to your opponent, but don’t want to deal with yourself.

[@Crispierbug]

12:16 the reason Durant got Truant is 40% of worker ants are lazy.

[@emperorcubone]

Yeah... that sounds like fans doing the legwork for something that doesn't make sense. Like the whole "rhinos in captivity" argument for why Nidoqueen can't breed, (even though Rhyhorn is unaffected.)

[@GoinGreninja]

@@emperorcubone That's just an early gen mistake. Gamefreak doesn't do mistakes like these anymore, not to my knowledge. So it's fairly likely that the lazy worker ant idea is why Truant is its hidden ability.

[@lobaoguara2332]

I would love to imagine what pokemon would be like if parents could pass on one of the abilities to their babies, I think it would increase the "building" potential even more when creating competitive pokemons and many other crazy things.

[@metageek7878]

Cincinno gets triple axel in the swsh dlc, so at least that saw some use, but yes skill link is great Although technician with weighted dice in gen 9 might be even better Then again that takes a move slot so could be up for debate

[@emperorcubone]

Technician is one of my favorite abilities! But as far as I know it was never signature, being on multiple Pokemon from the start.

[@metageek7878]

@@emperorcubone that's true, just thinking outloud if technician cinncino will outpace skill link with the new loaded dice item or if another item with skill link is still better once it comes back in the indigo disk

[@AnonEcho98]

Funny thing; The first time I properly encountered Skill Link was when I used Shelder/Cloyster for USUM

[@emperorcubone]

Making this video has really made me want to try out a Cloyster because I've never used one before!

[@AnonEcho98]

@@emperorcubone I would highly recommend a Jolly one, and invest everything into Attack and Speed, because Cloyster's natural bulk makes up for everything else. From there, it's just a matter of grabbing the right moves to make use of Skill Link. I certainly had fun melting Ultra Necrozma with Icicle Spear

[@shrekthenoob]

I get where youre coming from, but Truant/Entrainment Durant is still viable in lower/mid tiers in competitive. Its a good ability when you play around it properly.

[@emperorcubone]

"Lower tier" doesn't sound THAT good to me...

[@macwelch8599]

I wonder how many “normal” Pokemon would benefit from the Paradox Abilities

[@GoinGreninja]

Not especially many, if the Booster Energy doesn't work on them. But if did, then a lot of Pokémon would absolutely love it since a 30% boost in most stats for either a specific weather/terrain or for a Booster Energy consume is quite worth it.

[@emperorcubone]

I feel like the Past ability is more useful, but maybe that's because Electric Terrain isn't as readily set up as sun...

[@liannabunny7775]

@@emperorcuboneWhy do I have a terrifying thought of the idea of Tapu Koko with Quark Drive?

[@macwelch8599]

@@emperorcubone ok, cool

[@elaias4955]

slow start is no longer a signature ability, so it technically should be in this list

[@kylehammack2025]

Hey Caleb just here to like the video and say I enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work brother

[@pokehunterhd]

1:27 "The smell comes through the pokeball"-Ash Ketchum (sparks fly for magnemite).

[@anthonytaliaferro6115]

Sorry I haven't been commenting recently. I've been busy with school, btw I still love your videos. Keep up the good work ❤

[@emperorcubone]

That's perfectly fine! You don't HAVE to comment every time, I'm just happy you watch and enjoy!

[@fireembliam9090]

I never comment at all.

[@shadowdragonlord2295]

Video suggestion: There's been rumors about the Unova Remakes coming up next so i was wondering what are your thoughts or rather hopes for them. My hopes are: They make Exp.Share all a setting or key item like in gen 6 and 7. It's not a bad feature but let the players have control over it. Add some more Pokemon via regional variants and convergent evolution, at the very least to give us more type variety to make full teams of a certain typing. Difficult setting. It's time we had it! New content that foreshadows a Legends game or BW3 game. Memory link lets us battle our previous self in BW2. We could battle our rivals and the teams they had so why not with our past character?

[@emperorcubone]

There actually were difficulty settings in B2W2, so it'd be fitting to see them again in a Unova remake. Now, I'm not against the idea, however I'm not sure they're coming next; if you look at all the regions it's actually been the longest since we've been to Johto, since HGSS came out before Gen 5. You might say that doesn't matter, but after ORAS people were expecting Sinnoh remakes, however we got Let's Go instead, because it had been the longest since we saw a Kanto game, being the back half of Gen 3, so we had to cover that before going to Gen 4, so I think they'll want to hit the back half of Gen 4 with Johto (maybe in a Legends style) before moving to Unova...

[@shadowdragonlord2295]

@@emperorcubone Hmm okay I'm not against a return to Johto but there different hopes for that if it's true which revolves around the old games being released on the Switch. Have them release FireRed+Leaf green followed up by HeartGold+SoulSilver with the memory link feature so that both Blue and Red's teams are the same from a player's Kanto playthrough. Those can be followed up by a Legends game and then a possible sequel to both regions. Or they could remaster the games with new content added in.

[@dtdc7209]

@@emperorcubonewe are prob getting gen 5 remakes in gen 10 Cause gen 2 remakes in gen 4, Gen 3 remakes in gen 6 and ofc gen 4 remakes in gen 8

[@5Porygon]

Thank you so much for all videos you made. You are one of my absolutely best youtubers ever. :) Jsi borec. Mám moc rád tvoji tvorbu. Zdraví Nogy.

[@DylanMurray360]

Yooo. Thank you so much for pronouncing “truant” correctly. I’ve never heard anyone say it correctly. Every other poketuber says “true-want” and I never understood why that was the case. You understand basic English. You are a hero among men.

[@UncleFrostyPoo]

Hey, guy. You make good videos and I watch them. Thanks for that. Hope you're doing well.

[@decidubirdman1674]

Skill Link Cloyster with Icicle Spear was the MVP of my first Violet team

[@adamthespinygiant]

Bulletproof is why Chesnaught is so underrated and is my favorite Kalos starter.

[@emperorcubone]

SO true, Chesnaught is the best of Gen 6!

[@adamthespinygiant]

@@emperorcubone I named mine Chazz

[@renegaderaven3777]

The idea behind klutz is to use switcheroo with it I think. Trade detrimental items like flame orbs and lagging tails since those were introduced in gen 4 with Lopunny. Pretty gimmicky at best. Ha ha, but the funny part is Lop doesn’t even get Switcheroo normally. You have to breed it onto it. It’s entire gimmick requires extra steps in it’s intro gen.

[@emperorcubone]

Breeding onto it implies it would not be the intent then. But if that's your goal couldn't you just use it on the first turn and be done with it? You don't need the ability to negate a Flame Orb or Choice Specs when you immediately get rid of it, right?

[@commandacrunch]

@@emperorcubone It makes the strategy too predictable. Klutz gives you the freedom to choose when to use switcheroo. It also enables swapping assault vest which would otherwise disallow the use of switcheroo.

[@neiiko5712]

See this how I know you don’t play vgc. Aromatise (if was brought back) would be the o my Pokémon in the game apart from sabeleye can gaurentee trick room and in doubles that’s insane. Can’t get taunted and with covert cloak can’t get fake out flinched. Also can go above sabeleye if paired with a prankster taunt can by prevent taunt on its partner Pokémon to taunt imprison. This mon would be insane with a great mono fairy typing.

[@lunanewyear3233]

I think it's cute they gave Ursaluna and Applin bulletproof. Because bears always get hunted and apples get shot off of heads for target practice!

[@laterferaligatr2947]

I totally disagree with Klutz. I fondly remember Tricking Toxapex or Chansey an Assault Vest with my Klutz Golurk...or baiting Landorus or some fighting type switch ins on presumably Mega Lopunny, only to get Switcherooed a Flame Orb, effectively crippling teams.

[@EidinAegis]

As gimmicky as this is, Lopunny gains access to Switcheroo so you can screw over stally Pokemon that like to set up screens, entry hazards, heal off their damage via recovery moves, or like to set themselves up with Swords, Dragon and Quiver Dances or even Nasty Plot. Thanks to Lopunny's speed it can work pretty well in the lower tiers competitively.

[@joeyteter9383]

Klutz can be paired with something like “switcheroo” or “trick” though, right? Being able to hold a damaging item and pass it to your opponent maybe? Doesn’t make it good at all, just not entirely useless lol

[@lobaoguara2332]

The ability for Plusle and Minun could be that they buff some ally status in a double battle. Plusle could give a little boost to the special attack for himself and double that increase for his ally while Minun gives a slight increase in special defense for himself and double that for his ally.

[@zenestunova4858]

My boy archeops happy to not be mentioned in a video about bad signature abilities

[@emperorcubone]

He's just lucky nobody else has gotten it or you know he would...

[@toumabyakuya]

Hmm, I am starting to ponder if you cared to check if there were some tricksy way in which some of this abilities could be used. - Aroma Veil: Used in competitive. It prevents your Pokemon from being locked out of its best move or unable to heal itself and these are both things a competitive player cannot wait till they are gone because a single turn could fully twist the outcome of the battle. - Klutz: Useful to give harmful items to your opponent and also preventing said items to affect your own Pokemon. - Truant: Your explanation for Slaking fits. As for Durant? This one is meta: Is because the ability sounds like "true ant". It is a joke.

[@emperorcubone]

Exceptions to the rule do not suddenly make abilities good; casual play is just as important to these lists so one tiny ray of usefulness doesn't make up for being a hindrance in every other scenario...

[@toumabyakuya]

@@emperorcubone Thing is that you are ignoring how useful they can be. It sounds to me like you simply do not care at all about the competitive side and want to ignore it entirely. *"casual play is just as important to these lists..."* Thing is that it sounds less like you are saying that casual play is as important and more like you are saying that it is the only thing that matters.

[@CosmicNebula444]

@@toumabyakuya Eh, I'm with Cubone on this one, the vast majority of players are casual and saying an ability has a niche in competitive doesn't auto excuse it being bad. Doesn't help that most of the Pokémon that get Aroma Veil are just bad or better off with something else. If it was more widespread, sure, and I personally would've put it at number 6 at worst, but still.

[@toumabyakuya]

@@CosmicNebula444 *"the vast majority of players are casual"* And...? That is no excuse to act like the competitive side doesn't exist at all. *"and saying an ability has a niche in competitive doesn't auto excuse it being bad."* Thing is that there are enough abilities that are good/bad in both casual and competitive fields that making a list only caring about the casual side and ignoring the possible uses in competitive feels wrong. *"Doesn't help that most of the Pokémon that get Aroma Veil are just bad or better off with something else."* Yet with how prevalent moves like Taunt are in today's competitive scene, I would say that Aroma Veil is still useful.

[@CosmicNebula444]

@toumabyakuya I don't think he's ignoring competitive completely, it's just not as nearly as big of a factor to him as it is to you. And yes, your opinion is that it's useful, and my and Cubone's is that it's situational. We can both be right here lol opinions on the internet, crazy idea

[@TheKyubiisaan]

It makes perfect sense for Ursaluna to have Bulletproof. You try shooting that thing, you’ll just make it angry! It’s meant to reflect a bear being shot with like, a pistol. The idea is that the thick hide blocks the bullet.

[@JCaylor2099]

Imagine having a Smeargle sketch Sheer Cold, Fissure, and Guillotine then have no guard tricked onto it in a double battle what a monster

[@fyreboy5798]

That ending bit saying Download is good while Filter sucks. I think it's the other way around. Download is only helpful on a mixed attacker as it boosts the attacking stat to exploit the opponent's worse defensive stat. Filter reduces damage from super-effective attacks by 25%, essentially making the hit a x1.5 damage increase instead of x2. Then again, what do I know? I primarily play Splatoon and Monster Hunter.

[@emperorcubone]

No, you're right, that's why I framed it that way, in case anybody had any wild, out-there opinions like "Filter is bad."

[@fireembliam9090]

10:33 I am sad that the Gible Evolution line does not have Rough Skin as it based ability.

[@fishyfishking7906]

7:15 You can use klutz with switcheroo on lopunny to trick an assault vest onto a stall pokemon and completely shutting it down, potentially forcing it to struggle.

[@NathanOdiorne]

Not having Slow Start on here is crazy!

[@deadlydingus1138]

How to utilize truant: Step 1. Catch a pokemon with truant. Step 2. Name it “Bread”. Step 3. Bring Bread into a battle. Step 4. Wait a turn.

[@Mojavekight17]

Maybe in gen 10 we could get super abilities

[@emperorcubone]

Hmm, as far as gimmicks go I don't hate it, but please elaborate...

[@Mojavekight17]

@@emperorcubone just like the elemental hats focus on abilities, i'll think about it more and comment on your next video

[@justinterry2926]

I would prefer no gimmick

[@Mojavekight17]

@@justinterry2926 gimmicks sales copies so

[@OrbitalPulsar]

Klutz can be used with switcheroo to give bad/limitting items to enemies. Its the only way to give an enemy an assault vest for example.

[@Metalseadraking]

There are a lot of items that limit your moves like choice items or Assault vest which completely stops you from anything non damaging Klutz however, while stopping you from getting the benefits of those items allows you to freely choose your moves, like... Switcheroo, which switches your item with the opponents. Putting assault vest on a support or defenseive pokemon is a death sentence Or having a choice item on a pokemon that needs to use coverage moves. Of course you can also use items like Burn or toxic orb too

[@TastyMeerkat]

Entraintment Truant Durant with a Choice Scarf so it outspeeds anything. Used it a bunch at the Battle Tree in Gen 7 since opposing trainers would almost never switch out. Send in a setup sweeper after with Protect and usually a free win!

[@mysterykingCCC]

Klutz reduces knock off damage, also stops you from getting tricked into a choice item

[@josedubois2295]

Klutz, switcheroo, assault vest onto your enemy healer or status ability mon. Also you can choose when to trick a choice item onto the enemy.

[@LucasF25]

Ehh, Aroma Veil might not be that good, but it's not bad by any means. Being immune to Taunt and Encore can be crazy handy in a battle at times and could be the difference between winning and losing Also, yes, Klutz is terrible, but no, you don't need to rely on getting a Flame Orb being given to you. You can just hold the Flame orb and pass it to the enemy yourself, lol.

[@georgewashington4866]

Thanks to the Bellsprout line and Spidops line, Truant can be cancelled out in Double Battles with one move: Gastro Acid.

[@emperorcubone]

Spidops gets Gastro Acid? You learn something new every day...

[@georgewashington4866]

@@emperorcubone yes. These Pokemon get Gastro Acid in S/V: Ekans, Arbok, Bellsprout, Weepinbell, Gulpin, Swalot, Seviper, Eelectrik, Eelectross, Tarountula, Spidops, Victreebel by move remember, and by breeding, Chewtle and Dreadnaw.

[@Compucles]

And we can't forget the other Double Battle tricks with Truant like Skill Swap. Then again, that's really only worth doing with Slaking that has no other Ability options.

[@georgewashington4866]

@@Compucles the only issue with that is the opponent retreats, the ability is reset. The best option is using Gastro Acid to cancel Truant on Slaking that way as a powerhouse, it can rival legendary Pokemon

[@Compucles]

@@georgewashington4866 Sure, Gastro Acid is a better option. I'm just pointing out that there are also other options, and forcing a retreat still keeps one of their Pokémon inactive for the turn (just like with your Slaking) and may provide a better matchup. If your Skill Swap monster also knows Pursuit, that's even better.

[@austinmccormick8952]

Thanks for always starting each entry with the worst

[@emperorcubone]

I always want to leave on a high note!

[@AHomelessShoe]

I still wish that truant gave some sort of minor boost during the slacking off phase.

[@emperorcubone]

Boosting Defense while you're stuck immobile would certainly help!

[@scmontgomery]

Or like a leftovers amount of heal on down turns

[@sparkypikachu7776]

​@@scmontgomeryYes that's what I was thinking!

[@fryguy0563]

I would like to see some of the form changing abilities be given to more Pokémon or even regional forms like Snorlax with hunger switch or medicham with zen mode or even flower gift on more grass types

[@emperorcubone]

Oh man, hungry Snorlax sounds scary!

[@alvaropinilla8639]

I always considered aroma veil a good ability, it protects you and your ally of getting taunted or encored

[@dorkenspache8353]

Also I notice how Slow Start wasn't here on this list. It is actually Varoom's Hidden Ability if you didn't know that already, making it at least #2 on this list imo

[@macofphilly]

had to point out an inaccuracy...azumarill's base attack is 50 but with huge power it's more like 150...it doubles the attack stat (EVs included) not the base attack...for mega mawile it's equivalent to like base 250 or 260 i think...

[@dylanbuchanan6511]

Speaking of underrated abilities, Aftermath is one that I’ve always thought could be really good on the right pokemon. Think about it, you KO a Pokémon and feel pretty confident about your position in the game then suddenly you take a ton of damage, causing you to either weaken a Pokémon or have it outright revenge killed. It’s kind of busted in my opinion and isn’t complained about more often because the Pokémon that get it tend to suck…isn’t that right Drifblim?

[@dorkenspache8353]

Actually, there is a way for Machamp to get No Guard and an Oh Ko move. I think it could learn an Oh Ko move in Gen 1, so transfer it up, use an Ability Patch and then change its ability to No Guard

[@Dragon_Racer_09]

I used lopunny with klutz and entrainment to prevent gym leaders from using items in bdsp

[@anhduongviet2354]

Truant durant to disable the opponent then switch to protect shellsmash icicle spear skill link cloyster was my go to team for single battle maison. Sometimes good or bad is just for how you use them

[@MrJudiojodido]

man, I knew skill link would be here, I used to smash with shell smash Cloyster to my unsuspecting friends and just making Cloyster go bbbbbbbbbbrrrrrrr with multihits

[@Huh_What_Who]

If Shadow Tag is on the list of best abilities, the ability Arena Trap should be as well because it does the same purpose as Shadow Tag. For some time, it was Diglett and Dugtrio's signature ability and proved to be quite the thing on the speedy moles. True, Trapinch starts off with the ability Arena Trap but when it evolves into Vibrava, it's ability changes to Sand Veil, losing its unique ability.

[@emperorcubone]

Arena Trap doesn't hit Flying Pokemon, or ones with Levitate so it wasn't as all-encompassing as Shadow Tag, but other than that you're right!

[@Mynameishassan0]

13:49 While Cincinno can have Skill Link and learn Tail Slap to take advantage of it, Ambipom cannot. That seems weird because Ambipom has hands on its tails and would’ve been a perfect Pokémon to give Tail Slap.

[@dannylopez5976]

In defense of Klutz it does give a Pokemon to trick pr switcheroo a Assault vest onto a wall, completely neutering them worse then a choice item.

[@devinknox7558]

Ursaluna might have it because nothing but a high powered rifle will kill a grizzly bear.

[@jeremylindemann3933]

I strongly disagree with Klutz being bad. My wife runs a Lopunny whenever she can, has had it for years. One of her favorite tricks is to have it hold a choice item and switcheroo it on to her opponent to lock them into something useless, while she takes their item. She can't get locked in by the choice item, and she can disrupt part of their gameplan. I've been gotten by her lopunny many times. She's also done that with Flame Orb to inflict burn. Sometimes she's even stolen the flame orb back and burned a second pokemon.

[@RandomGuy-us9go]

The only niche use for entrainment truant durant is the pve battle facility in the post games, since the AI doesnt like to switch out you just switch out to a sweeper with dragon/quiver dance and protect to later OHKO everything

[@Whale-Shark-Katie]

I definitely agree that truant is nothing but a hindrance, like, that is just a fact lmao, but on Slaking it’s actually really fun to use, I used a Slaking in my most recent ORAS playthrough and most times, truant didn’t really effect her cuz she would OHKO most Pokémon she went against lmao, and the few times it did effect battling, it was a bit of a fun limitation that I had to work around, it made battling feel completely different to anything I had experienced before and I found that really cool c:. Tho yeah I definitely agree it shouldn’t be on Durant lol, it doesn’t have an utterly broken BST like Slaking does so it’s kinda unfair, plus it doesn’t even make sense, ants are known to be incredibly hard workers, why would they of all animals just not do anything for a turn lmao

[@GoinGreninja]

Because not all worker ants are extremely diligent workers. Some are hardworking, some are lazy and most are average, that's how their society works. Why has evolution kept them so? Because evolution only cares about good enough and even with some lazy ants, they still were productive enough. If you want a detailed idea of what this truly is, search up The Worker Ant Theory.

[@jonathanrivera4528]

I like this video, thank you for sharing. I do have something to say about shacking and his torrent ability though. Now even though the ability itself is bad if you thing about it what moves also has the ability that prevents you from moving the next turn? Hyper beam, as you know you got to recharge the next turn which you can move so even though slacking can't move the next turn due to his ability it doesn't really matter because hyper beam is going to do that anyways so with slacking having very high attack while using hyper beam that has 150 base power and hlgiving it stab ability because slacking is a normal type and so is hyper beam that makes it 225 power move with a 670 power of slacking makes for 1 powerful attack

[@jonathanrivera4528]

Sorry for making it so long, I probably could have made it shorter

[@pixelfire86]

4:02 You actually think that bulletproof is better than fur coat? I simply cannot take this list even remotely seriously anymore, because you clearly don't know what you're talking about.

[@ShayTheValiant]

Why isn't Slow Start number one? It used to be the signature ability of Regigigas, but now Varoom has it as its hidden ability.

[@emperorcubone]

Honestly, just because back when I did the regular still Signature Abilities it was before Gen 9, so I didn't want to double up...

[@durk5331]

Truant makes sense on Slaking, with how high its stats are, that's the trade off.... but putting it on Any Other Pokemon is just Why!?!

[@Compucles]

You didn't mention the best move for No Guard Machamp, Dynamic Punch!

[@emperorcubone]

That certainly helps with the 50% accuracy...

[@antsost1983]

Naw in this current meta, Aroma Veil would be amazing. Taunt and Encore are EVERYWHERE, so having an ability that ignores is is pretty good if you ask me, competitive or not imo

[@drchops_4242]

Huge power, doubles the Pokémon’s attack stat; Pure power doubles the Pokémon‘s in battle attack stat 9:10

[@stars9084]

I could be way off about this, I’m hardly an expert, but wouldn’t an ability that suppresses held items make an ideal Fling user?

[@emperorcubone]

If you think an ability being solely devoted to a single, one-time use trick is worth it I can't stop you, but after that's been played you're left with nothing...

[@stars9084]

@@emperorcubone Oh I'm not saying that would make it worth using, I'm just saying there is at least a modicum of utility to it

[@OgerponIsACutie]

Slow start was given to varoom so it should be on this list

[@emperorcubone]

True, however it was on the *still signature ability list way back in the day, so I didn't want to repeat...

[@OgerponIsACutie]

@@emperorcubone mmm I guess it’s like water shuriken becoming accelgor’s signature move in swsh

[@johnioannou8708]

I think that Lightning Rod and Water Absorb should have been on the list and not just honorable mentions, as well as Speed Boost, Iron Fist and Sap Sipper. Klutz and No Guard can be a pain in your stomach or quite useful. Klutz can neutralize a bad item and No Guard can guarrantee that your opponent's move will land as well and if it outspeeds yours, No Guard can be your nightmare..

[@emperorcubone]

I didn't realize Water Absorb was signature, otherwise it might have been on the list...

[@johnioannou8708]

I think it is the signature ability of Maractus, if I'm not mistaken. If I am, apologies..@@emperorcubone

[@talenstout8324]

There are signature things that should be more commonly accessible. Your being to harsh on some of these abilities.

[@Kalaphant]

2:54 Yeah xD

[@1musamune]

Skill link is one of the reasons Cloyster is one of my go tos

[@emperorcubone]

I've never used a Cloyster, but now I want to!

[@adamcartrette4037]

Klutz should be buff to make the Pokemon immune to being affected by some of the opponent held items. No damage from an opponent holding Rocky Helmet. No flinching caused by the opponent holding a Kings Rock.

[@emperorcubone]

Ooh, I really like that; it's like Unaware but for items?

[@adamcartrette4037]

Yes, like Unaware for items.

[@ImTooFew]

in Gen 8 1v1 aroma veil encore + disable Aromatisse is a massive

[@TheTumbleFever]

MOAR

[@alexgrissom3513]

No Slow Start? That’s Revavroom’s hidden ability now

[@GoinGreninja]

Nope. Only on Varoom. Revavroom evolves it into Filter instead.

[@alexgrissom3513]

@@GoinGreninja oh right