Pokémon Natures: Everything You Need To Know

Understanding the Nature of your Pokémon and how to use it to your advantage will dramatically improve your Pokémon gameplay. There are 25 Natures available and each Pokémon will be randomly assigned one.

In this comprehensive guide we will break down the 25 Natures and their effects so you can work them into your Pokémon strategy.

The 25 Pokémon Natures are:

Adamant

Pokémon with an Adamant Nature will receive a boost to their Attack and a decrease to their Special Attack. This Nature is most effective in a Normal or Fighting type Pokémon, as they rely on physical attacks. They rarely use Special Attacks anyway, so this decrease will not affect them.

Likes: Spicy Dislikes: Dry

Bashful

Bashful is what we call a “neutral Nature”. This means that it does not offer any stat boosts or cuts. This means your Pokémon will have fully balanced stats and can be a well-rounded fighter.

Bold

Pokémon with a Bold Nature will gain a Defense boost but a cut to their Attack. It’s a great Nature for Steel or Rock type Pokémon as they rely highly on defense. These types excel at enduring damage and diminishing the opponents health with Special Attacks. So, losing some of their Attack power is not a huge deal.

Likes: Sour Dislikes: Spicy

Brave

A Pokémon with a Brave Nature will have increased Attack power but lowered Speed. This is best suited to Normal, Fighting and some Rock types. This is because these types have a decent Defense and can endure the loss of some Speed better than other types.

Likes: Spicy Dislikes: Sweet

Calm

Calm Pokémon will have Special Defense boosts but a decreased Attack. Legendary Pokémon will benefit most from the Nature due to their high Special Defense. Unfortunately, catching one is tedious. This would also be a good Nature for dual-typed Pokémon since they are weak to Special Attacks.

Likes: Bitter Dislikes: Spicy.

Careful

A Careful Nature adds a Special Defense bonus but lowers Special Attack. Normal types will benefit most as they don’t often use Special Attack anyway so can take the hit on this stat.

Likes: Bitter Dislikes: Dry

Docile

Docile is another neutral Nature. There are no stat alterations with this Nature.

Gentle

Gentle boosts Special Defense and lowers Defense. This is best for Ghost type Pokémon as they are immune to regular attacks, so low Defense won’t matter. They are, however, affected by Special Attacks, so a Special Defense boost is really helpful.

Likes: Bitter Dislikes: Sour

Hardy

Hardy is another neutral Nature with no bonuses or losses. This Nature will allow you to grow all your stats equally.

Hasty

Hasty Pokémon will gain higher Speed but lower Defense. Pokémon that have good Speed can benefit from this but don’t forget the lower Defense. It’s best suited to a Pokémon that can inflict Status Ailments, like a Bug type, that can be used to quickly inflict the ailment and then be subbed out for a more powerful type.

Likes: Sweet Dislikes: Sour

Impish

An Impish Nature will boost Defense and lower Special Attack. This is best for Normal, Rock, Steel and Fighting types as they rely on Attack rather than Special Attack.

Likes: Sour Dislikes: Dry

Jolly

Jolly Pokémon gain increased Speed but lowered Special Attack. This Nature works well with Normal Pokémon that have a decent speed to begin with, such as Rattata. Since Normal types don’t usually use Special Attack, they are not harshly affected by the reduction in the stat.

Likes: Sour Dislikes: Bitter

Lax

This Nature adds Defense and lowers Special Defense. Lax is a compatible Nature with most Normal types. Normal types have a weakness to Fighting types. Since Fighting Pokémon use Attack, Normal types don’t rely so heavily on Special Defense.

Likes: Sour Dislikes: Bitter

Lonely

Lonely Pokémon gain an Attack boost but lowered Defense. It’s a good nature for Legendary Pokémon and Dragon types as these types typically have both a strong Special Defense and Defense, meaning they can take the hit on Defense.

Likes: Spicy Dislikes: Sour

Mild

Mild Pokémon gain Special Attack boosts but lowered Defense. Ghost types benefit most as they rely on Special Attacks and are also not affected by regular attacks, hence they don’t need the Defense anyway.

Likes: Dry Dislikes: Sour

Modest

Modest Pokémon will gain higher Special Attack but lower Attack. This Nature is best for Fairy, Ghost or Psychic types who almost always use Special Attack rather than regular Attack.

Likes: Dry Dislikes: Spicy

Naive

Naive Pokémon have boosted Speed but decreased Special Defense. This Nature is good for single type Pokémon as well as Normal and Fighting types. The loss of Special Defense won’t cause these types many problems.

Likes: Sweet Dislikes: Bitter

Naughty

A Naughty Nature will offer Attack boosts but lower Special Defense. This is a good Nature for Normal or Steel types as they have minimal weaknesses and losing a bit of Special Defense wouldn’t affect them harshly.

Likes: Spicy Dislikes: Bitter

Quiet

Pokémon with a Quiet Nature will gain Special Attack but lose some Speed. Ghost and Dragon types will benefit most from this Nature as they both rely on Special Attacks and are very resilient to damage.

Likes: Dry Dislikes: Sweet

Quirky

Quirky is another neutral Nature.

Rash

Rash Pokémon gain Special Attack boosts but lose Special Defense. Psychic, Ghost, and some Fairy types will do best with this Nature as they rely predominantly on Special Attacks. We recommend a single type Pokémon as suffer less from lower Special Defense.

Likes: Dry Dislikes: Bitter

Relaxed

A Relaxed Nature boosts Defense but lowers Speed. This is good nature for Pokémon with an already high defense like Rock, Steel, or Dragon.

Likes: Sour Dislikes: Sweet

Sassy

Sassy Pokémon gain higher Special Defense but lower Speed. This Nature is ideal for a hard-hitting Pokémon that can take the hit on their Speed. It’s a good choice for those who have dual-types and are weak to lots of moves.

Likes: Bitter Dislikes: Sweet

Serious

Serious is a neutral Nature.

Timid

A Timid Nature boosts Speed but lowers Attack. This is a great Nature for Bug or Psychic types as their strength is Special Attacks that cause status ailments, so they don’t use Attack much. Also, the increased Speed can help them land the first hit.

Likes: Bitter Dislikes: Sour

Resources:

https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Nature

https://pokemondb.net/mechanics/natures