A Pokémon’s nature raises one of its stats by 10% and lowers another by 10%. There are 25 natures in total, and they affect Attack, Defense, Sp. Atk, Sp. Def and Speed, never HP. Five of them (Hardy, Docile, Serious, Bashful and Quirky) raise and lower the same stat, so they do nothing. In every main game since Sword and Shield, including Scarlet and Violet and Pokémon Legends: Z-A, you can fix a bad nature’s stat effect with a Mint.
The chart below shows all 25 at a glance. After that: how to read a Pokémon’s nature, which ones are worth having, and how to get the one you want.
Pokémon nature chart
Find the stat you want boosted on the left, then the stat you can afford to lose along the top. Where they meet is the nature you need. The five neutral natures sit on the diagonal in italics. These values follow Bulbapedia’s Nature article and haven’t changed between generations.
| Raises ↓ / Lowers → | −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 |
Every nature also comes with a liked and a disliked flavor, tied to the same stats: Spicy for Attack, Sour for Defense, Dry for Sp. Atk, Bitter for Sp. Def and Sweet for Speed. A Brave Pokémon, for example, likes Spicy and dislikes Sweet. Flavors matter for a few side mechanics but have nothing to do with battle stats.
How to check the nature of a Pokémon
Open the Pokémon’s summary. The nature is written there by name, and since HeartGold and SoulSilver the games also color the stats it affects: the raised stat shows in red and the lowered one in blue. No color at all means a neutral nature.
That color trick is worth knowing in newer games. If you’ve used a Mint, the summary still shows the original nature’s name, but the red and blue highlights move to match the Mint. So when the name and the colors disagree, trust the colors.
Which natures are best?
The best nature boosts the stat your Pokémon actually attacks or defends with and cuts the one it never uses. For most Pokémon that means sacrificing whichever attacking stat it doesn’t need. Serebii gives the classic example: a special attacker with no physical moves loses nothing by taking Modest, which lowers Attack.
| If your Pokémon is a… | Look for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Physical attacker | Adamant or Jolly | Raise Attack or Speed, drop the unused Sp. Atk |
| Special attacker | Modest or Timid | Raise Sp. Atk or Speed, drop the unused Attack |
| Physical wall | Impish or Bold | Raise Defense, drop whichever attacking stat it skips |
| Special wall | Careful or Calm | Raise Sp. Def, drop whichever attacking stat it skips |
| Slow Pokémon on a Trick Room team | Brave, Quiet, Relaxed or Sassy | Lower Speed on purpose, since slower Pokémon move first under Trick Room |
For a casual playthrough, don’t stress about it. A 10% swing is noticeable in competitive battles and late-game raids, but a story team with a “wrong” nature will still roll through the Elite Four.
The natures people look up most
A handful of natures cause the most head-scratching, usually because they lower Speed or Sp. Def, which looks like a bad trade at first.
Quiet nature
+Sp. Atk, −Speed. Quiet is the go-to for slow special attackers on Trick Room teams. Trick Room flips turn order for five turns so the slowest Pokémon act first, which turns that Speed drop into an advantage. Outside Trick Room, a fast special attacker is better off as Modest.
Bold nature
+Defense, −Attack. Bold suits defensive Pokémon that attack with special moves or don’t attack much at all. If your wall relies on physical moves, take Impish instead.
Sassy nature
+Sp. Def, −Speed. A good pick for slow, bulky Pokémon on Trick Room teams, and for slow walls that use both physical and special moves, so neither attacking stat can be sacrificed. On a Pokémon that wants to outspeed anything, Sassy is a poor fit.
Impish nature
+Defense, −Sp. Atk. Impish is the physical-attacker version of Bold: more Defense, with the loss landing on a stat the Pokémon doesn’t use. It fits physically defensive Pokémon that only carry physical attacks or status moves.
Naive nature
+Speed, −Sp. Def. Naive is for fast mixed attackers that need both Attack and Sp. Atk, so they drop Sp. Def instead. Pure physical attackers should use Jolly, and pure special attackers Timid, since those lower a stat the Pokémon never touches.
Brave nature
+Attack, −Speed. Brave is the Trick Room nature for physical hitters, and it works for very slow attackers that would never outspeed anything anyway. On a normal team, Adamant gives the same Attack boost without the Speed loss.
How to change a Pokémon’s nature with Mints
You can’t change the nature itself, but a Mint changes the stat effect to match a different one, which is all that matters in battle. Mints arrived in Sword and Shield. According to Bulbapedia’s Mint page, they don’t change the nature’s name, its flavors, or what an Everstone passes to an Egg. There are only 21 Mints: Hardy, Docile, Bashful and Quirky don’t have their own because the Serious Mint covers every neutral nature.
Where to get them, as of October 2026:
| Game | Where to get Mints | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sword and Shield | Battle Tower exchange; random rewards for new Battle Tower ranks; daily item spawns in the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra | 50 BP at the Battle Tower |
| Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl | Battle Park | 50 BP |
| Legends: Arceus | Mint Harvest request at the Jubilife Village farm (random types) | ₽10,000 per request |
| Scarlet and Violet | Chansey Supply shops; Academy Ace Tournament prizes; 5★ and 6★ Tera Raid drops; Ogre Oustin’ in Kitakami | ₽20,000 each at Chansey Supply |
| Legends: Z-A | Attack, Defense, Sp. Atk and Sp. Def Mints: an alley between Autumnal Avenue and Rouge Plaza in Rouge Sector 1. Speed Mints: a stand by the water north of Restaurant Le Nah in Vert Sector 6 | Not listed in our sources |
One catch players run into: a Mint doesn’t carry over to Eggs. If you breed from a Pokémon you minted, the baby gets the parent’s real nature, not the minted one.
How to get the nature you want from the start
Breeding with an Everstone is the most reliable way. Synchronize used to be the shortcut, but it doesn’t work the same in every game.
Breeding with an Everstone
Give the parent with the right nature an Everstone and the Egg inherits that nature. Since Black 2 and White 2 it’s guaranteed, and Bulbapedia’s Everstone page confirms the same for Sword and Shield and Scarlet and Violet. If both parents hold one, each has an equal chance of passing its nature. In older games the odds were lower: 50% from Emerald onward, with males allowed to pass it from HeartGold and SoulSilver.
Using Synchronize
Put a Pokémon with the Synchronize ability at the front of your party and wild Pokémon may copy its nature. How well that works depends on the game, per Bulbapedia’s Synchronize page:
- Emerald through Black 2 and White 2: a 50% chance for wild Pokémon to match.
- Sword and Shield: wild Pokémon always match, including wandering ones, but not static legendaries, Max Raid Pokémon or gifts.
- Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: every wild Pokémon in a Pokémon Hideaway matches if you enter with a Synchronize lead.
- Scarlet and Violet: no effect on wild natures at all. GamerJournalist noted at launch that it became a battle-only ability.
In Scarlet and Violet, that leaves Mints and Everstone breeding as your real options.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Pokémon’s nature affect HP?
No. Natures only change Attack, Defense, Sp. Atk, Sp. Def and Speed. HP is never raised or lowered by a nature.
Is Serious a good nature?
Serious is neutral, like Hardy, Docile, Bashful and Quirky, so it has no effect on stats. It’s harmless but wastes the chance at a 10% boost.
Can you change a Pokémon’s nature permanently?
No. A Mint changes the stat effect for that Pokémon, but the nature name stays the same and its Eggs still inherit the original nature.
When were natures added to Pokémon?
Natures first appeared in Generation III, the Ruby and Sapphire era. Pokémon from the Generation I and II Virtual Console games get a nature when transferred, based on their experience points.
Do natures exist in Pokémon Legends: Z-A?
Yes. Legends: Z-A, released on 16 October 2025, has natures and sells Mints in Rouge Sector 1 (Attack, Defense, Sp. Atk and Sp. Def) and Vert Sector 6 (Speed).
What’s the difference between Adamant and Jolly?
Both lower Sp. Atk. Adamant raises Attack for more damage, while Jolly raises Speed so the Pokémon moves first more often.
Featured image: Nintendo / The Pokémon Company
