Pokemon Sword and Shield: How-to Get Hidden Abilities

We're taking a look at how-to get hidden abilities in Pokemon Sword and Shield! With all of the new Pokemon being added to the game, we've got quite a few new abilities that can be obtained in the game. These give certain Pokemon some unique ways to be played by giving them these new options.

How-to Get Hidden Abilities in Pokemon Sword and Shield

To obtain these hidden abilities you will need to participate in Max Raid Battles. To enter into one of these battles, you will first need to obtain the Dynamax Band. This is gotten by playing the story normally, so just progress through the game and you will be given the band eventually. After that, you will want to go into the Wild Area and look for the red beams of light that spawn around the map.

Once you engage with the red beam of light, you will have the option to queue up with other players. These battles are tough, so if you're early in the game you will probably need the help. If not, you can just hit Ready to Battle! and the game will give you some random AI players to help you.

Fight it out with the very large Pokemon and if you defeat it, you will get a chance to catch it! You get some pretty nice rewards for catching one of these like Exp. Candies and some other useful items. If you were lucky, the Pokemon you caught via this battle will have a hidden ability! It's completely random, so if you have a specific Pokemon you want you will need to battle them over and over until you receive the one you are looking to obtain!

Hidden Abilities List

We're still confirming some of these, but here's a rough list of the hidden abilities you can earn in the game.

• Grassy Surge: Turns the ground into Grassy Terrain when the Pokémon enters a battle.
  • Grookey, Thwackey, Rillaboom
• Sniper: Powers up moves if they become critical hits when attacking.
  • Sobble, Drizzile, Inteleon
• Libero: Changes the Pokémon's type to the type of the move it's about to use.
  • Scorbunny, Raboot, Cinderace
• Mirror Armor: Bounces back only the stat-lowering effects that the Pokémon receives.
  • Corviknight
• Intrepid Sword: Boosts the Pokémon’s Attack stat when the Pokémon enters a battle.
  • Zacian
• Dauntless Shield: Boosts the Pokémon’s Defense stat when the Pokémon enters a battle.
  • Zamazenta
• Propeller Tail: Ignores the effects of opposing Pokémon’s Abilities and moves that draw in moves.
  • Arrokuda, Barraskewda
• Gulp Missile: When the Pokémon uses Surf or Dive, it will come back with prey. When it takes damage, it will spit out the prey to attack.
  • Cramorant
• Stalwart: Ignores the effects of opposing Pokémon’s Abilities and moves that draw in moves.
  • Duraludon
• Ice Scales: The Pokémon is protected by ice scales, which halve the damage taken from special moves.
  • Snom, Frosmoth
• Ice Face: The Pokémon’s ice head can take a physical attack as a substitute, but the attack also changes the Pokémon’s appearance. The ice will be restored when it hails.
  • Eiscue
• Power Spot: Just being next to the Pokémon powers up moves.
  • Stonjourner
• Mimicry: Changes the Pokémon’s type depending on the terrain.
  • Stunfisk
• Steely Spirit: Powers up ally Pokémon’s Steel-type moves.
  • Perrserker
• Perish Body: When hit by a move that makes direct contact, the Pokémon and the attacker will faint after three turns unless they switch out of battle.
  • Cursola
• Wandering Spirit: The Pokémon exchanges Abilities with a Pokémon that hits it with a move that makes direct contact.
  • Yamask, Runerigus
• Hunger Switch: The Pokémon changes its form, alternating between its Full Belly Mode and Hangry Mode after the end of each turn.
  • Morpeko