Pokemon abilities are a key part of battling. They supplement the Pokemon holding it, giving it an extra little push to make it more dangerous on the battlefield. However, not every ability serves a better purpose as it should. While some abilities are straightforwardly detrimental such as Regigigas’s Slow Start, this list will not cover that.

This list will look at the abilities that, while potentially useful in a vacuum, are just plain useless when in conjunction with certain Pokemon, whether it’s because they clash with certain types or don’t work in tandem with the right stats.

10 Trapinch, Sheer Force

On most Pokemon, Sheer Force is an incredible ability. While secondary effects are nice, getting guaranteed attack boosts instead are excellent consolations, and they’ve made Pokemon like Conkeldurr and Nidoking offensive powerhouses in their metagames.

But what good does it bring on a Trapinch? Trapinch’s evolutions, Vibrava and Flygon, will always be equipped with Levitate. No matter what ability Trapinch has, it will turn into Levitate, whether it’s Hyper Cutter, Arena Trap, or its hidden ability Sheer Force. Therefore, getting a Trapinch’s hidden ability is practically useless, unless you plan on keeping it unevolved for the Little Cup metagame or something.

9 Pyroar, Moxie

Pyroar is, by every stretch of the imagination, a special attacker. It has 109 Special Attack compared to 68 Attack, and most of its level-up learnset consists of strong special moves like Flamethrower and Overheat.

It’s sad to see, then, that it gets Moxie as a hidden ability. While Moxie is generally great for battling, that’s assuming the Pokemon has a high Attack stat, like Gyarados or Krookodile. It would be pointless to make Pyroar a physical attacker just to make use of Moxie; it’d be too weak to even knock out Pokemon with physical moves. While its regular abilities, Rivalry and Unnerve, are far too situational to be considered good, its hidden ability is hardly any better.

8 Togekiss, Hustle

Its solid hidden ability, Super Luck, aside; if you’re not using Serene Grace on your Togekiss, you’re kind of doing it wrong. If you’re getting this Generation IV Fairy-type or any of its pre-evolutions through regular means such as catching or hatching an egg, hope and pray you get Serene Grace because the other regular ability, Hustle, is terrible for it.

Hustle is unreliable in general, as any reduction to accuracy is never good no matter the consolation you gain from it. What’s even worse for Togekiss specifically is that it’s a special attacker, and said consolation from Hustle’s accuracy loss is a boost to physical moves, which any Trainer in their right mind would not teach to a Togekiss.

7 Ditto, Limber

Ditto’s Imposter is one of the most unique abilities out there, and it can be one of the best when used properly. However, that’s a hidden ability. Its regular ability, Limber, is far less beneficial. That wasn’t exactly the case prior to Generation V when hidden abilities were introduced, but Ditto wasn’t competitively viable at that point.

Limber on any other Pokemon can be quite useful, but now that the ability to instantly Transform exists, there’s no point in toughing it out with a regular ability Ditto. Taking a turn to Transform can be more detrimental than expected. If you plan on using a Ditto for competitive battling, go the extra mile and get one with the hidden ability.

6 Rhyperior & Marowak, Lightning Rod

These two Pokemon are Ground-types that are much better on the physical side than the special side. The Ground-type is immune to the Electric-type. So what ability to you give them? Of course, you give them Lightning Rod: an ability that gives them an immunity they already have and boosts a stat they don’t utilize.

While that might be somewhat useful in a double battle, redirecting an Electric-type attack away from a vulnerable ally, it’s completely useless in a Singles battle, especially for physical attackers. At least it gives Alolan Marowak an extra immunity, but otherwise, Rhyperior and regular Marowak are better off with Solid Rock and Rock Head, respectively.

5 Sableye, Stall

Stall is one of those signature abilities that actually acts as a detriment to the Pokemon rather than a benefit, in the same vein as Regigigas’s Slow Start and Archeops’s Defeatist.

However, what puts Sableye’s Stall on this list and not other signature abilities is that this Dark/Ghost-type isn’t forced to run with Stall; it has other abilities to choose from. Prankster is an excellent hidden ability, and even if you can’t get hidden abilities, Keen Eye is way better than Stall. If you really need a Sableye and the one you catch has Stall, just give it an Ability Capsule or catch another one; there’s no point in using it in that condition.

4 Audino, Klutz

If you need to use an Audino for some reason, it’s equipped with either Healer or Regenerator, which are excellent abilities for its stats and general makeup. Unfortunately, it might also have Klutz, another negative ability similar to Stall. But what puts Audino here and not other Pokemon with the same ability?

The problem with Audino is it has Klutz as a hidden ability. Instead of what could’ve been a strong ability to reward a player for going through the trouble of getting it, Audino has Klutz. If you see a trainer with a Klutz Audino, you know that they wasted a bunch of time getting it.

3 Delibird, Insomnia

Insomnia is a fine ability. While there are certainly better, the assurance that your Pokemon won’t be put to sleep is a decent one. Vital Spirit has the exact same effects and is thus equally as useful. Clearly, you only need one or the other, and that’s usually the case.

The one instance where both abilities are options is with Delibird, which is quite unfortunate considering it’s already a very bad Pokemon to battle with. That extra ability slot could have been for a better ability, but you have to deal with a perpetually subpar Pokemon with tomato-tomahto abilities. Insomnia is a hidden ability too, adding Delibird to the list of Pokemon with pointless hidden abilities.

2 Durant, Truant

Speaking of which, this hidden ability is easily the most pointless and maybe the dumbest one out there. Durant, for whatever reason, has Truant as a hidden ability. Fans have speculated that Game Freak really just did this as a troll. It’s not like it will help Durant out, either; it’s an ability that literally forces you to skip every other turn.

What’s even worse is that its two regularly-acquired abilities, Swarm and Hustle, are OK at best and a bit detrimental at worst. Durant’s a good ability away from standing atop all the Bug/Steel-types in terms of battling capability, but it had the worst ability in the game inadvertently handed out to it.

1 Rotom-Fan, Levitate

Rotom-Fan has one of the most unfortunate abilities for its typing. It’s a Flying-type with Levitate. That’s precisely like a swimmer in a pool dousing themselves with a bottle of water.

Levitate is a completely and utterly useless ability to give a Flying-type from a competitive standpoint. An ability that gives immunity to Ground-type moves should not be given to a Pokemon with a type already immune to Ground-type moves. While it makes sense to give it Levitate since all of Rotom’s other forms have Levitate, it’s unfortunate that Rotom-Fan can’t capitalize on its excellent Electric/Flying-typing with an ability that actually supplements it.

NEXT: Pokemon: 10 Moves That Are More Useful In Double Battles