When you catch any Pokémon throughout the Pokémon series, they’re assigned a Nature at random. It’s what makes every single Pokémon unique – they each have their very own personality which can affect how they perform in battle.
This feature was first introduced in Gen III, with Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. In total, there are a total of 25 different Natures that your Pokémon can be assigned. But why do they actually matter? Read on to find out all the nitty-gritty details in our Pokémon Nature guide!
Pokémon Nature Stats and Berries
©Screenshot from Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Pokémon Nature Stats Table
The first major impact of a Pokémon’s Nature is on its stats. Depending on which Nature your Pokémon is given, there’s a chance it’ll be given a Nature that affects two of its stats by 10%. One is increased, while the other is decreased.
We’ve got the full table to help you understand how your Pokémon are being affected by their Nature:
| Nature | Increased Stat (+10%) | Decreased Stat (-10%) |
|---|---|---|
| Adamant | Attack | Sp. Attack |
| Bashful | None | None |
| Bold | Defense | Attack |
| Brave | Attack | Speed |
| Calm | Sp. Defense | Attack |
| Careful | Sp. Defense | Sp. Attack |
| Docile | None | None |
| Gentle | Sp. Defense | Defense |
| Hardy | None | None |
| Hasty | Speed | Defense |
| Impish | Defense | Sp. Attack |
| Jolly | Speed | Sp. Attack |
| Lax | Defense | Sp. Defense |
| Lonely | Attack | Defense |
| Mild | Sp. Attack | Defense |
| Modest | Sp. Attack | Attack |
| Naive | Speed | Sp. Defense |
| Naughty | Attack | Sp. Defense |
| Quiet | Sp. Attack | Speed |
| Quirky | None | None |
| Rash | Sp. Attack | Sp. Defense |
| Relaxed | Defense | Speed |
| Sassy | Sp. Defense | Speed |
| Serious | None | None |
| Timid | Speed | Attack |
Pokémon Nature Berries Table
It’s not just the stats that are affected. Each Nature has its own favored and disliked Berry flavor, when it comes to healing items such as a Figy Berry. The main mechanic you need to watch here is their disliked Berry flavor. If you feed a Pokémon its least-favorite Berry flavor in the middle of the battle, they’ll become confused, giving you a massive disadvantage.
The full chart for Pokémon Natures and how they’re affected by each flavor Berry can be found below:
| Nature | Favorite Berry Flavor | Disliked Berry Flavor |
|---|---|---|
| Adamant | Spicy | Dry |
| Bashful | None | None |
| Bold | Sour | Spicy |
| Brave | Spicy | Sweet |
| Calm | Bitter | Spicy |
| Careful | Bitter | Dry |
| Docile | None | None |
| Gentle | Bitter | Sour |
| Hardy | None | None |
| Hasty | Sweet | Sour |
| Impish | Sour | Dry |
| Jolly | Sweet | Dry |
| Lax | Sour | Bitter |
| Lonely | Spicy | Sour |
| Mild | Dry | Sour |
| Modest | Dry | Spicy |
| Naive | Sweet | Bitter |
| Naughty | Spicy | Bitter |
| Quiet | Dry | Sweet |
| Quirky | None | None |
| Rash | Dry | Bitter |
| Relaxed | Sour | Sweet |
| Sassy | Bitter | Sweet |
| Serious | None | None |
| Timid | Sweet | Spicy |
What is the Best Pokémon Nature?
©Screenshot from Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Because different Pokémon have different base stats, there’s never going to be the perfect answer to finding the best Pokémon Nature. However, some matchups will be much stronger than others, just because they play to a Pokémon’s strengths.
For example, if you have a Lucario, its base stats are as follows:
- Attack: 110
- Defense: 70
- Sp. Attack: 115
- Sp. Defense: 70
- Speed: 90
Here, you have some options. If you want to turn Lucario into a glass cannon, a Nature such as Lonely (+Attack, -Defense) or Naughty (+Attack, -Sp. Defense) would be perfect. However, you could turn it into an all-rounder with the Impish Nature (+Defense, -Sp. Attack).
This applies for every single Pokémon in existence. Some are just going to be naturally more suited to certain Natures, and you won’t always get the perfect match. In later games, there’s one way to change that…
Changing Pokémon Natures
©Screenshot from Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Pokémon Sword and Shield introduced a new feature called Mints, which you can purchase in-game to alter the stat change of a Pokémon’s Nature, reflecting the Mint that was used. While technically this doesn’t change the Nature of a Pokémon, functionally, it does just that.
This was a great addition, as it removed the element of randomness from the game, and heightened the overall skill ceiling. You could finally choose the nature of your Pokémon to fit your overall team composition to gain an advantage over opponents.
Here’s the full list of Mints you can purchase in Pokémon Sword and Shield.
| Mint | Increased Stat (+10%) | Decreased Stat (-10%) |
|---|---|---|
| Adamant Mint | Attack | Sp. Attack |
| Bold Mint | Defense | Attack |
| Brave Mint | Attack | Speed |
| Calm Mint | Sp. Defense | Attack |
| Careful Mint | Sp. Defense | Sp. Attack |
| Gentle Mint | Sp. Defense | Defense |
| Hasty Mint | Speed | Defense |
| Impish Mint | Defense | Sp. Attack |
| Jolly Mint | Speed | Sp. Attack |
| Lax Mint | Defense | Sp. Defense |
| Lonely Mint | Attack | Defense |
| Mild Mint | Sp. Attack | Defense |
| Modest Mint | Sp. Attack | Attack |
| Naive Mint | Speed | Sp. Defense |
| Naughty Mint | Attack | Sp. Defense |
| Quiet Mint | Sp. Attack | Speed |
| Rash Mint | Sp. Attack | Sp. Defense |
| Relaxed Mint | Defense | Speed |
| Sassy Mint | Sp. Defense | Speed |
| Serious Mint | None | None |
| Timid Mint | Speed | Attack |
As you can see, there are no Mints for the Bashful, Docile, Hardy, or Quirky Natures. However, if you want to give your Pokémon the same effect, just feed them a Serious Mint.
In Pokémon Sword and Shield, you can purchase Mints from the Battle Tower, at the BP Shop for a price of 50BP each. You can only do this after you’ve finished the main story, however. In Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, you can instead buy them at the Chansey Supply store after you’ve attained six Gym Badges across your adventure.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Screenshot from Pokémon Sword and Shield..