Natures

Pokémon Natures have been another game mechanic introduced in the third generation of Pokémon (Ruby and Sapphire) and have been in every installment ever since. They both increase and decrease specific stats by 10% and improve a Pokémon's overall quality tremendously.

Each Pokémon either receives a Nature at birth (differing between you receiving the egg from the daycare or when the game generates the egg) or upon encountering it in the wild, randomly selected from a total of 25 Natures. Usually, this Nature will be displayed on the Pokémon's summary screen and highlighted in red or blue showcasing which stat is increased (in red) and decreased (in blue). This color-coding got introduced in HeartGold and SoulSilver.

It is important to note that these Natures are far more critical than a normal playthrough of any given game will ever elude to, as they become relevant only when tackling end-game content like the Battle Tower or starting to participate in competitive play.

For example, most of the time, you should try to raise a Pokémon with a favorable Nature to maximize its potential as it supports a Pokémon's natural stat attribution or moves. Assuming your Pokémon is a physical attacker, you should aim for the Adamant Nature as it increases the Attack stat but lowers the Special Attack stat, which is not utilized anyways due to the Pokémon being a physical attacker.

A complete list containing all Natures and their team-building recommendations are featured down below.

Flavor preferences

Pokémon Natures also determine the Berries and Pokéblocks they are going to like or dislike. For example, a Pokémon with the Jolly Nature will see a 10% increase in its Speed stat but a 10% decrease in its Special Attack stat. Moreover, since its Nature increases Speed, it will like sweet Berries and Pokéblocks but despise dry flavored ones. This flavor preference means that the Berry or Pokéblock a Pokémon fancies corresponds with the flavor of its raised stat, while the food it dislikes is the flavor of its lowered stat. However, note that the food's taste is only essential when used in battle as they can cause unwanted side effects like confusion if disliked.

A complete and alphabetically ordered overview of every Nature featuring corresponding liked and disliked flavors is located below.

Nature manipulation

In generation 8, Pokémon Sword and Shield saw the introduction of mints that change the effect of a Pokémon's Nature on its stats. Imagine giving your Pokémon a Lonely Mint will effectively override the prior increased and decreased stats and change them to now increase its Attack stat while decreasing its Defense stat. However, the previous liked and disliked flavors will remain the same as those are bound to the Pokémon's Nature.

Mints are buyable at the Battle Tower for 50BP. Additionally, they function as rewards for achieving new ranks at the Battle Tower for the first time in any given playthrough.

Hardy, Docile, Bashful, Quirky, and Serious are Natures that both increase and decrease their respective stat value by 10%. Therefore, they do not offer any advantages, nor do they have drawbacks as they negate each other.

This searchable list is alphabetically ordered and contains all 25 Natures currently implemented in the mainline games. Furthermore, it includes the most and least preferred food flavor of any given nature as well as recommendations for the best and worst stat attributions for team-building purposes.