News

Datamines unveil Ability Capsule for Hidden Abilities coming to Sword and Shield DLC

A very special kind of item that switches your Pokémon’s Ability to its Hidden Ability is arriving to Pokémon Sword and Shield.

A recent Twitter upload by @mattyoukhana_ reveals the upcoming addition of an item for the second wave of Pokémon Sword and Shield DLC!

The new item currently doesn’t have a name, but it does something very similar to the already valuable Ability Capsules used regularly for competitive battling. Using the item changes any of a Pokémon’s standard Abilities into their Hidden Ability.

With this change, breeding for a Hidden Ability Pokémon will no longer be necessary, and transferred Pokémon from older generations are no longer stuck with their standard Abilities! Additionally, Pokémon that previously have had no access to their Hidden Abilities, such as the new fossil Pokémon (Dracovish, Arctovish, Dracozolt, Arctozolt), will now be able to acquire them. With Egg Moves also no longer requiring breeding, it is also now theoretically possible to obtain almost any Pokémon and learnset combination without any prior breeding. This shortens the time-sink for teambuilding even further, which Game Freak continues to emphasize as a goal throughout Generation 8.

However, it is worth noting that the item does not change a Hidden Ability into a standard Ability, making it currently impossible to change back to a normal Ability once the item is used. Use it carefully!

The item is set to arrive in Pokémon Sword and Shield alongside the Crown Tundra DLC launching in the fall of 2020.

Edited by bobandbill and HeroLinik.