In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, many new and potentially useful items have been added as held items in the game for players to discover and create strategies with. Of these newer items, several of them interact with the mechanics of the game in more defensive ways, allowing players to count on the strategies that they rely on for their team.
One of these interesting defensive items is known as the Ability Shield, which can be used to ensure certain abilities of Pokemon remain consistent, providing some stability in battle so long as Pokemon remain in possession of their Ability Shield. If players are interested in acquiring one of these items for themselves, here is how they can acquire an Ability Shield for themselves in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.
Ability Shield
The Ability Shield has a niche use as a defensive item in Pokemon battles. The item itself is rather simple, as it prevents the Pokemon that holds the Ability Shield from having its ability changed for any reason. This means that moves such as Skill Swap, which switches the ability of the Pokemon using the move to the ability of its opponent while its opponent will gain the Pokemon’s ability, will fail to activate. This protection also extends to any Pokemon’s ability that would change another Pokemon’s ability, such as Pokemon that spread the ability Mummy through making contact with Pokemon.
This allows the Ability Shield to all but guarantee that an ability will be present throughout the fight, if those abilities are vital to the strategy that players are hoping to use. On top of its use as an ability protector, the Ability Shield also has the benefit of being available from the beginning of the game, requiring no progression or Gym Badges to purchase and utilize, allowing it to be used very early if players want to protect their abilites. It is quite expensive for an early game item, but it is easy to find if players are interested.
Acquiring an Ability Shield
In order to acquire an Ability Shield, players simply have to make it to the largest city in the game, Mesagoza, home of the Academy in the Paldea Region. While they are taking classes, hunting treasure, and taking down Team Star, players will be able to stop by any of the Delibird Presents located on the streets of Mesagoza.
Once players have arrived here, they will be able to purchase an Ability Shield for 20,000 Pokedollars, if they can afford it in the early game. As soon as this is done, players will have the means to the annoying ability changing moves in the game.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.