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Is there a way to tell which Pokemon in a horde has a different ability than the others?

Here is my dilemma: I've come across a horde of 4 Tauros and 1 Miltank. I get 2 notifications on my screen about Tauros' ability Intimidate. So that leaves me 2 out of the 4 Tauros that might have their hidden ability. But how do I know which one to capture?

I have noticed in different horde battles that the Pokemon may be facing in different directions, does that give any indication of their abilities? Does anything show up by their name/hp bar when an ability is triggered? Or is it all a guessing game?

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    Note that Tauros has two non-hidden abilities (Intimidate and Anger Point), so it's possible none of the Tauros in the horde have the species' hidden ability (Sheer Force).
    – jwodder
    Commented Jan 20, 2014 at 3:58

1 Answer 1

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Use a Skill swapping/changing move on each Pokemon of the horde in turn until you find one with the ability you want.

For example,

  • Skill Swap - Swaps yours and the opposing Pokemon's Abilities
  • Worry Seed - Sets the opposing Pokemon's Ability to Insomnia
  • Entrainment - Sets the opposing Pokemon's Ability to your ability (unlike Skill Swap, it doesn't change yours).

Their Ability will briefly flash up on the screen (before changing to the new Ability), allowing you to tell which ability it carries normally. Don't worry, their ability will revert to the original at the end of the battle.

As for some Pokemon that have access to these moves:

  • Sylveon learns Skill Swap on level 25, Carbink/Solosis on level 40
  • Budew learns Worry Seed on level 16, Pumpkaboo on level 11.
  • Pancham/Pangoro learn Entrainment on level 42/45 respectively,
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    This is probably the most reliable and general method to look for hidden abilities. For some specific cases, there may be better methods. For instance, when looking for a Gligar with Immunity, you may use Poison Gas, instead. For Entrainment, consider Durant. It learns the move at level 46, and is commonly available between levels 44 and 46. It has good Speed and Defense, as well as a Steel typing.
    – afsantos
    Commented Jan 31, 2014 at 21:56

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