Gotta Review 'Em All - Abilities [Generation VII]

Welcome to another episode of me talking a lot about each and every aspect of the franchise known as Pokemon! This is another 'ability' one, and I feel like it's gone a bit less exciting ever since Generation VI onwards made almost every ability unique to the Pokemon species? It does make each individual Pokemon interesting, and no one can deny that, but it does make each individual ability so unique and situational, I guess? I kind of miss the days where we had some completely random ones like 'Tangled Feet' or 'Rivalry' or whatever. 

And... since I've already talked in-depth about every single one of these Pokemon when I reviewed their home generations, it really is just kind of a repeat of what I've said most of the time? Anyway...

We'll start off with some of my favourite 'signature' abilities and gimmicks, first!

• Wimp Out (Nigegoshi/Back Off) / Emergency Exit (Kiki Kaihi/Crisis Prevention) Framing is everything, and 'Wimp Out' and 'Emergency Exit' both do the same thing. The signature abilities of Wimpod and Golisopod respectively, these abilities basically force an escape when the HP drops below half, and the flavour of the abilities being named as such is that, well, despite having evolved into a big, strong, badass isopod-samurai Golisopod, it's still a wimp at heart. It's just... gotten a bit better at framing its weakness. 
• Disguise (Bakenokawa/Disguise) Mimikyu's ability involves the creepy ghost-puppet that it uses as a shroud, and Disguise basically frames the event going on as the adversary hitting the doll-head and 'killing' that doll head instead of Mimikyu's core body, which is hidden in the Pikachu-doll's body. This is shown gloriously as the head just lolling around to the side like a broken neck, an effect that is as morbid as it is cute. 
• Innards Out (Tobidasu Nakami/Flying Innards) I actually really wish this one did a bit more than what it does. 'Innards Out' more or less functions similarly to a variation of Drifblim's 'Aftermath', where upon the Pokemon with the ability being defeated, they would deal damage to the opponent that defeats him. Innards Out deals as much damage as the remaining HP, and it's based on some sea cucumber's ability to literally expunge and expel part of their digestive system to deter predators. It's really a shame that they didn't actually do more with it effects-wise, but I appreciate that they need to show at least a bit ofrestraint with this one. 

• Schooling (Gyogun/School of Fish) I don't remember if it was Generation VI or VII that normalized abilities as the reason that certain Pokemon could transform, but Wishiwashi's 'Schooling' is tied to its ability, where at above level 20, and at above 25% HP, Wishiwashi will summon the rest of its school to form its big-ass 'giant fish formed out of a bunch of small fish' form. I guess it's a way to really lock down and explain why certain transformations happen, which... gets a bit weird because some older Pokemon like Deoxys, Rotom and Cherrim don't have their transformations really explained. 
• Shields Down (Rimitto Shirudo/Limit Shield) An ability of Minior that allows it to go back and forth between 'meteor form' and 'core form', basically any time Minior is below health, it will switch to its Core Form, which swaps its defensive and offensive stats. It's way less dramatic than Wishiwashi, but it's definitely a cute little form change ability. 
• Power Construct (Suwamu Chenji/Swarm Change) Likewise, this is the ability of Zygarde to call for aid once its HP is low enough, summoning the rest of the itty-bitty worm-cells in the land to transform into a giant 100% gundam mode. It's an interesting handwave why the Zygarde from Generation VI can't transform into 100% mode -- it simply doesn't have this ability. I do like the flavour of this one, too. 
• Battle Bond (Kizuna Henge/Bond Transformation) Right, I guess this counts as a form change, too. Whenever a Greninja with Battle Bond beats up an enemy, it becomes Ash-Greninja and essentially gains a bunch of stat boosts that would kind of equal a Mega Evolution. I really do wonder if this was intended to bleed into a future gimmick in subsequent generations before it proved so immensely unpopular with the fandom? 

• Steelworker (Hagane Tsukai/Steel Tamer) One of my all-time favourite abilities, and one that inspired me a lot when I did my fanmade region a while back on this blog, is 'Steelworker'. Now Dhelmise is a Grass/Ghost Pokemon because it's the algae possessing the anchor. But it's still using an anchor, and thanks to the ability 'Steelworker', Dhelmise ends up getting STAB for Steel-type moves without being Steel-type itself. And I find this genius from a design standpoint... it fits the flavour, again, because Dhelmise is the plant. But it also basically allows for a 'triple-typed' Pokemon without being too broken or escalating the power creep too much. It's something that I've always wondered if something similar could've been applied to some older Pokemon like Lugia or Flygon that really felt like they could've had an extra type tacked onto them. 
• Tangling Hair (Kari Hea/Curly Hair) Tangling Hair, or Curly Hair in the Japanese, is the signature ability of the Alolan Diglett line. I absolutely love the idea of this, that they're using the hair-shaped geological formations to continually tagle up the enemy and reduce their speed every time they make contact with them. 
• Corrosion (Fushoku/Corrosion) Oh, I love this. Corrosion is originally the Salandit line's signature ability, allowing its Poison-type attacks to poison the enemy even if they're Steel-type or Poison-type. This is framed by the fact that Salandit and Salazzle spit burning poison, and however the hell that works in real life, in fiction it just means that it can 'burn' through the innate immunity of Steel-types. The recent games gave Corrosion to the Glimmet line, which also makes sense because they're weird poisonous crystal-flower monsters whose nature of their poison is probably weird enough to break through that Steelix's hide!
• Water Bubble (Suiho/Water Bubble) Another very cool ability, this one the signature ability of the Dewpider line. This represents the big water bubble they carry around as reverse-scuba suits, and this basically acts as an 'armour' against Fire-type moves, reducing the damage from them and preventing burn. I like this! 

• Comatose (Zettai Nemuri/Sure Sleeper) This one is Komala's signature ability, and... I like it for the simple fact that it's so creative. Without being reflected as an actual status, Comatose makes sure that Komala is always asleep, allowing it to use moves tied to sleep at any time (like Sleep Talk and Snore), but is always vulnerable to attacks like Dream Eater and Wake-Up Slap. 
• Water Compaction (Mizu Gatame/Water Fortification) The Sandygast line's signature ability is another one I really like. This is another one that feels right being a signature ability, because the idea is that sand that gets wet is compacted together. In fact, you do need a bit of water to make sandcastles in a beach. The ability doesn't quite make Sandygast and Palossand immune to water... which makes sense, because enough water and all sandcastles will be dissolved. But it's enough to boost its Defense stats when hit with a Water-type move. Cute!
• Soul-Heart (Soru Hato/Soul Heart) This is what made Magearna cool in my books. They can't say -- or show -- that Magearna is basically powered by the dead souls of the Pokemon around her, but Soul Heart's ability effect really does highlight this -- Magearna gets Special Attack buffs as the Pokemon around her faints. That's some Full Metal Alchemist shit going on right there!

• Stamina (Jikyuryoku/Stamina Power) This is the signature ability of the Mudbray line, and only recently given to Archaludon. And it increases Defense when Mudbray is hit by an attack, which... I'm really not sure what the flavour is? I guess the idea is when you whip a horse, its stamina allows it to keep going? One of the many abilities on this list where it didn't really need to be a signature ability, I feel.
• Merciless (Hitodenashi/Miscreant) This one is the Mareanie line's signature ability, that increases the critical hit rate whenever the opponent is poisoned. It fits with Mareanie's own, well, very mean personality, but I also feel like this is a perfect example of an ability that could've been very easily also be given to other 'mean' Poison-types, y'know?  
• Berserk (Gyakujo/Frenzy) Drampa's signature ability, which boosts its Special Attack after taking a hit that reduces the HP below half. This is at least given out to another Pokemon, Galarian Moltres, down the line. Kind of thematic for Drampa's personality, but, again, it feels like an ability that could've been given to way more Pokemon out there. It's cute, though. 
• Triage (Hiringu Shifuto/Healing Shift) Comfey's signature ability, giving it priority when using healing moves. Again, it's thematic to Comfey... but it's really strange that no other Pokemon tied with healing moves ever receive this move. It's not like the concept of triaging or a 'shift' for medics is exclusive only to Comfey's concept, and excludes Pokemon like Blissey and Audino!

• Long Reach (Enkaku/Distant) The hidden ability and the signature ability of the Rowlet line, Long Reach represents their archery ability and allows them to unleash 'contact' moves like Brave Bird or Steel Wing without actually making contact with the target. Very cool thematically, even if it is very situational. 
• Liquid Voice (Uruoi Boisu/Moist Voice) The Popplio line's signature, hidden ability is probably the coolest, with 'Liquid Voice' turning all the voice-based attacks (basically all the Soundproof moves) into Water-type moves, which is simultaneously useful in combat, and also something that feels so thematic with Primarina's whole deal of being a water-typed opera singer. 
• And... it's weird that the Litten line got nothing. Their hidden ability is just Intimidate? 
• Electric Surge (Ereki Meika/Elec Maker), Psychic Surge (Saiko Meika/Psycho Maker), Misty Surge (Misuto Meika/Mist Maker) and Grassy Surge (Gurasu Meika/Grass Maker) are all the abilities of the four Tapus, and they are able to instantly cast their respective Terrain move upon entering the battlefield. It's pretty much similar to the Terrain equivalent of Drought or Drizzle, and... I don't have much to say about them. Like those two abilities, I do like that they're made a bit more available to non-legendaries, even as hidden abilities -- so far, Pincurchin has Electric Surge; Indeedee has Psychic Surge; Galarian Weezing has Misty Surge; and the Grookey line has Grassy Surge. 

• Slush Rush (Yuki Kaki/Snow Removal) Just to show that I'm not just complaining, I do appreciate it when certain abilities are incorporated into other Pokemon. Slush Rush was originally exclusive to Alolan Sandshrew's line, but later on was made available to a bunch of Ice-types like the Galarian fossils, Beartric and Cetitan. The idea is that they get faster in hail... interestingly, the original Japanese name implies that they can remove the snow? 
• Surge Surfer (Safu Teru/Surf Tail) The signature ability of Alolan Raichu, this one boosts Raichu's speed in Electric Terrain. Generation VII did try to make a bunch of terrain synergy work, but I really don't think it caught on as much as they wanted it to. 
• Queenly Majesty (Jo'o no Igen/The Queen's Majesty) Tsareena's signature ability, I kind of like this one. It's like a variation of Pressure or Intimidate, where Tsareena's sheer regal outlook prevents priority moves from being used against her. Again, despite some of my ranting about the fake uniqueness of these abilities, most of them do a really good job at fitting the Pokemon they're attached to. 
• Dancer (Odoriko/Dancer) The signature ability of Oricorio... this one doesn't actually allow its transformation, but allows Oricorio to immediately copy a friendly ally's 'dancing move', which is another subset of moves. I like any ability that identifies a bunch of moves based on the flavour. It's really just kind of a shame that Oricorio's stats are kind of too weak to make full use of this (double Quiver Dance/Dragon Dance would've otherwise been badass) but the flavour is nice.  

• Galvanize (Ereki Sukin/Elec Skin) The latest in the type-ize (or 'skin' in the original Japanese) family of moves is Galvanize, which obviously turns Normal-type moves into Electric-type moves. This one is exclusive to Alolan Geodude's line, which... eh? S'neat, I guess. I do feel this one is kinda random. 
• Stakeout (Harikomi/Stakeout) Originally the signature ability of the Yungoos line, this one basically deals bonus damage to a target that has just switched out. With how aggressive and alert the Yungoos line is portrayed in the game, I do feel like this is a pretty appropriate ability for them. It's also not particularly game-breaking, and very understandably, many other Pokemon down the line like Thievul, Maschiff and Tarountula get this ability. 
• Battery (Batteri/Battery) Oh, this one is weird. This powers up special moves. And only Charjabug has it. Note that I didn't say 'Grubbin line', because Grubbin and Vikavolt lose access to this. Only Charjabug, the form that is a battery, has this ability. It's so weird. I kind of like the fact that this one random beetle pupa has its unique ability. 

• Fluffy (Mofumofu/Fluffy) This one used to be the signature ability of the Stufful line, before the Wooloo and Greavard lines got access to it. I thought this one was cool! The idea is that the teddy bear stuffing is so thick for Bewear that it can block half the damage from direct contact moves, but it's extra vulnerable from Fire-types. It's got a flammable fluffy armour! I like that. 
• Dazzling (Bibiddo Bodi/Vivid Body) Dazzling, or its original Japanese name 'Vivid Body', is meant to represent those 'flashy' surprises by animals like butterflies and tropical fishes where they shock a predator with a wild showcase of colour, eyespots or even bioluminescence. In Pokemon, it translates to priority moves failing when used against Bruxish, the only Pokemon with this ability. Not much to really say here. 
• Receiver (Reshiba/Receiver) Ehhh. It's Passimian's signature ability. And I get it, the rugby monkey receives a 'pass' of the abilities from its defeated allies. I just don't find it as cool or as funny as they intended it to be. 
• Power of Alchemy (Kagaku no Chikara/Power of Chemistry) Power of Alchemy does the same thing as Receiver, but it's the POWER OF CHEMISTRY AND ALCHEMY that does it, which is far cooler than a monkey receiving a coconut. This is the hidden and signature ability of Alolan Grimer, and there's a lost-in-translation gag where it's a reference to the one NPC that always says "the power of science is incredible" near the beginning towns of games, normally translated to "technology is incredible!" in English. Anyway, Grimer and Muk using their unstable, malleable body and alchemistry to transform their bodies to mimic other abilities makes way more sense than some bad sports allegory. 

And we'll close this off with our usual barrage of random legendary abilities. 

• Beast Boost (Bisuto Busuto/Beast Boost) Beast Boost is the ability shared by almost all the Ultra Beasts, and I loved how this was the point of contention on whether Necrozma should be considered an Ultra Beast or not -- it doesn't have Beast Boost, and thus really did seem like it's acclimatized to Alola or something. Beast Boost plays into the idea that all of these Ultra Beasts are hyper-efficient and very specialized at what they do, with insane stat distributions, and upon defeating enemies, Beast Boost would increase the Ultra Beast's most proficient stat. It's kind of like Moxie, but modified for each unique Ultra Beast.
• RKS System (AR Shisutemu/AR System) Whether it's the original Japanese or the translated English, Silvally's signature ability is a giant reference to Arceus, since it does exactly the same thing, changing Silvally's type and the type of its signature move depending on the memory attached. In Japanese it's the "AR" System, taking the first two letters of Arceus's name, whereas RKS, when you say the letters out loud (ar-kay-ass) is how you pronounce Arceus. Maybe! The English dub is very inconsistent!

• Full Metal Body (Metaru Purotekuto/Metal Protect) Basically 'Clear Body', but flavoured for Solgaleo. This prevents his stats from being lowered. 
• Shadow Shield (Fantomu Gado/Phantom Guard) Basically 'Multiscale', flavoured for Lunala. It takes less damage if its HP is full. Not really much to say, though I do like that the two have defensive abilities. I guess having a day/night gimmick built into abilities would be a bit too much? 
• Prism Armor (Purizumu Ama/Prism Armour) Again, basically 'Filter', but flavoured for Necrozma and the two fused Necrozma forms. It reduces damage from supereffective moves. Since Necrozma himself kind of turns into a chunk of equippable armour, it kind of makes sense? 
• Neuroforce (Burein Fosu/Brain Force) And finally, when Necrozma transforms into Ultra Necrozma, its Neuroforce (or "Brain Force" in Japanese) powers up its super-effective moves. Which is... okay? I really don't have much to say about this particular ability. A lot of the abilities for the Alolan cover trio feel a fair bit more mundane... though I will admit that I've never been the most excited about the Solgaleo/Lunala/Necrozma trio.