Pokémon Natures & Characteristics

Pokémon Natures

Rather than just being a superficial personality, Natures actually affect the growth of a Pokémon. Each nature increases one of its stats by 10% and decreases one by 10% by level 100. Five natures increase and decrease the same stat and therefore have no effect.

In most cases it is preferable to have a nature that decreases either Attack or Special Attack for Pokémon whose strengths are the opposite type of attack. Gyarados, for example, favours physical (Attack) moves, so it's best to use a nature that decreases its Special Attack since it won't be used.

The 25 natures are shown in the grid below. Read across the top for stat-reducing natures, and down the left side for stat-increasing natures. Where the modifiers intersect is the name of the nature - for example, a Hasty nature will reduce a Pokémon's Defense but increase its Speed.

	- Attack	- Defense	- Sp. Atk	- Sp. Def	- Speed
+ Attack	Hardy	Lonely	Adamant	Naughty	Brave
+ Defense	Bold	Docile	Impish	Lax	Relaxed
+ Sp. Atk	Modest	Mild	Bashful	Rash	Quiet
+ Sp. Def	Calm	Gentle	Careful	Quirky	Sassy
+ Speed	Timid	Hasty	Jolly	Naive	Serious

Pokemon Characteristics

Characteristics are another in-game barometer of key strengths. In your pokemon's data it will say one of the following messages, which is a indication of the pokemon's best stat.