Hidden Ability

A Hidden Ability (Japanese: れ Hidden Ability) is a rare Ability that Pokémon normally do not have access to, introduced in Generation V. Hidden Ability is commonly abbreviated "HA". Most Pokémon encountered in the games will not have a Hidden Ability; but usually, there are special encounter methods where Pokémon can have a Hidden Ability. Certain event Pokémon and special in-game Pokémon may also have their Hidden Ability.
==Mechanics==
A Hidden Ability is an extra ability option for a Pokémon that replaces its normal Ability. A Pokémon with its Hidden Ability will retain its Hidden Ability upon evolution in the same way that its normal Abilities may change. For example, a with its Hidden Ability of will have upon evolving once and upon evolving into .
When with a Pokémon that has its Hidden Ability, its offspring have a chance of having their Hidden Ability as well.
 of Pokémon have a unique Hidden Ability, but it is still possible for their Ability slot to be their Hidden Ability. An example is a that evolved from a Caterpie that had its Hidden Ability: Metapod only has one Ability, Shed Skin, but if it has its Hidden Ability slot, it will evolve into a Butterfree with Tinted Lens. For some encounter methods that can spawn Pokémon with Hidden Abilities, a Pokémon that does not have a distinct Hidden Ability can still have its Hidden Ability slot. This will become apparent in a situation like Metapod if its evolution has a distinct Hidden Ability; or if the Pokémon is transferred forward to a generation where it has a Hidden Ability (like , which gained a new Hidden Ability, , in Generation VII and was catchable as a ).
An Ability Patch can be used to change a Pokémon's Ability from a normal Ability slot to its Hidden Ability slot or (since Generation IX) vice versa.
==List pages==
==Acquisition methods==
===General methods===
====Generation V====
* All Pokémon encountered in Entree Forest (i.e. obtained from the Pokémon Global Link, either via the Pokémon Dream World or a Global Link promotion) will always have their Hidden Ability, if they have one.
** Since the closure of the Pokémon Global Link, several evolutionary lines can no longer be newly obtained with their Hidden Ability (other than by breeding Pokémon caught there).
* Pokémon obtained from the Pokémon Dream Radar always have their Hidden Ability.
* Pokémon encountered in Hidden Grottos always have their Hidden Ability.
====Generation VI====
* Any Pokémon encountered in a Horde Encounter may have their Hidden Ability.
* Pokémon encountered in the Friend Safari have approximately a 1 in 3 chance of having their Hidden Ability if the Friend to whom the Friend Safari corresponds has been recognized as a Friend in the PSS (i.e. if both players have been on the PSS at the same time).
* have a chance of having their Hidden Ability (even if their species does not have a Hidden Ability), which increases as the Search Level for that species increases.
====Generation VII====
* Pokémon that appear as the tenth or later Pokémon in an SOS Battle have a chance of having their Hidden Ability (even if their species does not have a Hidden Ability), which increases as the chain length increases.
* All Pokémon transferred from the Virtual Console releases of the Generation I or Generation II games via Poké Transporter have their Hidden Ability, if they have one.
====Generation VIII====
* Pokémon encountered in Max Raid Battles may have their Hidden Ability (even if their species does not have a Hidden Ability), depending on the specific raid.
* Using an Ability Patch on a Pokémon gives it its Hidden Ability (unless its species does not have one).
* Pokémon encountered in grass patches that have more grass shaking off via the Poké Radar will have their Hidden Ability, if their species has one. These patches have a 1/128 chance of being generated when the Radar is used, for a total of approximately a 1/32.38 chance (or approximately 3.09%) of at least one of the four patches generated being such.
====Generation IX====
* Pokémon encountered in Tera Raid Battles may have their Hidden Ability (even if their species does not have a Hidden Ability), depending on the specific raid.
===Specific Pokémon===
* Certain event Pokémon may have their Hidden Ability.
* In , some overworld Pokémon have their Hidden Ability:
** The five in the Desert Resort.
** The in the Dreamyard on Fridays.
* In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, some overworld and gift Pokémon have their Hidden Ability:
** N's , which can be caught in the Desert Resort after using Memory Link. 
** On Mondays, a male at Undella Bay or a on .
** On Thursdays, a on or a female at Undella Bay.
** A given as a gift on .
** A male gifted by Amanita in Castelia City, after the player has entered the Hall of Fame.
** Yancy/Curtis will trade the player a specific Pokémon with a Hidden Ability after the player has entered the Hall of Fame and ridden the Ferris wheel with them.
* In , a with its Hidden Ability will appear behind the astronaut face board at the Mossdeep Space Center after the Delta Episode.
* In , some Totem-sized Pokémon have their Hidden Ability. This is to ensure the Totem Pokémon in question have only one possible Ability upon being received.
** Totem-sized , , and in Ultra Sun.
** Totem-sized , , and in Ultra Moon.
* In Pokémon Sword and Shield, certain static encounter and gift Pokémon have their Hidden Ability:
** All gift Pokémon given to the player by the Diglett Trainer in the Fields of Honor (except , which does not have a Hidden Ability).
** The gift given to the player by Hyde at the Master Dojo.
** The that appears at Ballimere Lake after interacting with the tombstone and interacting with 32 players' avatars.
* In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, all Legendary Pokémon encountered at Ramanas Park have their Hidden Abilities if applicable.
* In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the (which can be caught after being defeated) has its Hidden Ability.
==In animation==
===Pokémon the Series===
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A Hidden Ability was first seen in Saving Darmanitan From the Bell! by a using .
In Enter Elesa, Electrifying Gym Leader!, Bianca's father's "Red Flash Darmanitan" used Zen Mode.
Three Darmanitan used Zen Mode in A Maractus Musical!.
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Olympia's male used its Hidden Ability in All Eyes on the Future! during her Gym battle against .
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Six Darmanitan used their Hidden Ability, Zen Mode, in Raid Battle in The Ruins!. One of them was caught by Goh.
In Destination: Coronation!, Visquez's activated its Hidden Ability after being knocked out by Ash's Pikachu.
In Beyond Chivalry… Aiming to be a Leek Master!, Rinto's activated his Hidden Ability after being struck by Ash's Sirfetch'd's .
In A Flood of Torrential Gains!, 's activated its Hidden Ability to change its type to match the it used.
===Pokémon Horizons: The Series===
In Charge! Galar Mine!, Amethio's Ceruledge used its Hidden Ability to lower its Defense and increase its Speed during its battle against Friede's Charizard.
In HZ074, Diana's used its Hidden Ability during its battle against Liko's Floragato.
==In the manga==
===Pokémon Adventures===
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's , Moo, was the first Pokémon introduced in any media that had a Hidden Ability, with his Ability being . It has only been mentioned in .
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Several wild used their Hidden Ability in To Make a Musical.
's Darmanitan activated its Hidden Ability Zen Mode in The Lesson Ends Here.
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In Zap!! A Rising Beam of Light, 's ed a 's . However, this ended up activating Linoone's Hidden Ability, .
In Gulp Gulp!! Pokémon, Casey's , Kilo, was mentioned to have his Hidden Ability, .
==In other languages==
==Related articles==
* List of Pokémon by Ability
Category:Game mechanics
*
de:Versteckte Fähigkeit
es:Habilidad#Habilidad oculta
fr:Talent#Talent caché
it:Abilità speciale
ja:かくれとくせい
zh:特性#隐藏特性