Get hidden abilities for any Pokemon!
When hidden abilities were introduced in Generation 5, they were very well… um, hidden. Either you interacted with a gimmick like the Pokemon Global Link, or you grinded a mechanic like SOS battles and hoped for the best. This may seem like a lot of work, but hidden abilities for certain Pokemon open entire strategies that wouldn’t be possible with their default abilities.
Fortunately, Scarlet & Violet provide ways to get hidden abilities for any Pokemon right out the gate. While there are technically two methods to achieve this, both require interacting with the same content. There is also one rumor which I have yet to confirm myself, but will still mention regardless for those who are curious.
Grind 6-Star Tera Raid Battle for hidden abilities
6-Star Tera Raid Battles are currently the hardest content available in the game, excluding events. We detailed how to unlock these already, but in short, you won’t have access to these until the postgame. This is just as well since you’ll want max level Pokemon to complete these encounters.
The first method of getting Pokemon with hidden abilities is catching the Pokemon you fight in 6-Star Raids. I can’t yet confirm the exact probability of raid Pokemon knowing their hidden ability, but the Pokemon that I have caught so far have had theirs. Catch rates are guaranteed in Tera Raid Battles, so grab any Pokemon you have any remote interest in owning. It’s better to have a Pokemon with its hidden ability than regret that you don’t have it later.
The other method is… well, grind more 6-Star Raids. These encounters have a chance to drop the Ability Patch item, which gives any applicable Pokemon their hidden ability. This is not to be confused with the Ability Capsule, which alternates a Pokemon between its non-hidden abilities (if they are capable of more than 1). These items are rare, so only use them if you are sure you want a specific hidden ability now. The current probability on seeing an Ability Patch drop is 4.55%.
There are conflicting reports that Ability Patches can drop from the Ace Academy Tournament. However, I’m unable to confirm this method myself due to the low drop rate of this item. I’d recommend repeating Ace Academy Tournaments if you are low on Pokedollars since you can earn roughly 100,000 bucks per tournament using the Amulet Coin. However, if you are strictly farming for Ability Patches, I’d recommend Tera Raids for now.
