Abilities

Abilities are passive traits that Pokémon have in battle and sometimes in the overworld. Introduced in Generation III, every Pokémon has 1–2 regular ability slots and an optional hidden ability. The /ability/ endpoint provides the name, effect descriptions, and which Pokémon have the ability.

There are over 300 abilities across all generations.

Endpoints

Method	Path	Description
GET	`/ability/`	List all abilities (paginated)
GET	`/ability/{name}`	Get an ability by name
GET	`/ability/{id}`	Get an ability by ID

Example request

curl https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/ability/intimidate

const res = await fetch('https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/ability/intimidate');
const intimidate = await res.json();

Example response

{
  "id": 22,
  "name": "intimidate",
  "is_main_series": true,
  "generation": { "name": "generation-iii", "url": "https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/generation/3/" },
  "names": [
    { "name": "Intimidate", "language": { "name": "en", "url": "..." } }
  ],
  "effect_entries": [
    {
      "effect": "Lowers the opposing Pokémon's Attack by one stage when the Pokémon enters battle.",
      "short_effect": "Lowers the foe's attack by one stage upon entering battle.",
      "language": { "name": "en", "url": "..." }
    }
  ],
  "flavor_text_entries": [
    {
      "flavor_text": "Intimidates the foe to lower its Attack stat.",
      "language": { "name": "en", "url": "..." },
      "version_group": { "name": "sword-shield", "url": "..." }
    }
  ],
  "pokemon": [
    {
      "is_hidden": false,
      "slot": 1,
      "pokemon": { "name": "growlithe", "url": "https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/pokemon/58/" }
    },
    {
      "is_hidden": false,
      "slot": 1,
      "pokemon": { "name": "arcanine", "url": "https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/pokemon/59/" }
    }
  ]
}

Key fields

is_main_seriesbooleanrequired

Whether the ability appears in the main series games (as opposed to only in side games like Pokémon GO or Mystery Dungeon).

generationNamedAPIResourcerequired

The generation in which this ability was introduced.

effect_entriesVerboseEffect[]required

Full effect description and a short version. Look for language.name === 'en'.

pokemonAbilityPokemon[]required

All Pokémon that can have this ability. Each entry includes is_hidden (true for hidden abilities) and slot (1, 2, or 3).

Ability slots

Each Pokémon entry in pokemon has a slot field:

Slot 1 — Primary ability. All Pokémon of this species can have it.

Slot 2 — Secondary ability. A second option for the species (not all Pokémon have this).

Slot 3 — Hidden ability. Rarely distributed; often stronger than regular abilities.

Finding a Pokémon's abilities

You can look at abilities from either direction:

// Abilities listed on the Pokémon resource
const p = await fetch('https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/pokemon/arcanine').then(r => r.json());
p.abilities.forEach(a => {
  console.log(a.ability.name, a.is_hidden ? '(hidden)' : '');
});
// → "intimidate"
// → "flash-fire"
// → "justified" (hidden)

// Pokémon listed on the Ability resource
const a = await fetch('https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/ability/intimidate').then(r => r.json());
const hidden = a.pokemon.filter(p => p.is_hidden).map(p => p.pokemon.name);
const regular = a.pokemon.filter(p => !p.is_hidden).map(p => p.pokemon.name);

Notable abilities

Ability	Effect
`levitate`	Immune to Ground-type moves
`sturdy`	Survives any one-hit KO at full HP
`speed-boost`	Speed increases by 1 stage each turn
`wonder-guard`	Only takes damage from super-effective moves
`drought`	Sets harsh sunlight when entering battle
`rain-dish`	Restores HP in rain each turn