5 best Pokemon Natures for competitive battles, ranked

The Pokemon series introduced Natures in the Generation III games, giving trainers a new way to manage how their Pocket Monsters grow. As creatures level up, they receive certain stat increases based on their Nature. For committed players dedicated to maximizing their beasts for competitive battles, Natures are a small component of a larger training strategy.

Overall, there are 25 different Natures in the Pokemon series as of Generation IX. A total of 20 Natures provide increases and decreases to stat growth, while five don't influence stat gains at all. However, if fans are hoping to dive into the competitive battling landscape, there are certain Natures they may want to prioritize.

Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer

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Ranking the five best Pokemon Natures for competitive battles

5) Careful

Creatures like Goodra can shrug off Special Attacks with a Careful Nature (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Species that focus on Special Attacks in competitive Pokemon battles are widespread, so players can respond by using creatures with the Careful Nature. This Nature boosts a Pocket Monster's Special Defense stat gains while reducing the increases of its Special Attack stat.

The Careful Nature is ideal for defensive walls in competitive team lineups. If a creature needs to take a few hits from an enemy's Special Attacks while trainers set up their combos and strategies, this Nature can be a big help.

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4) Impish

Physical wallers can excel when using the Impish Nature (Image via The Pokemon Company)

While the Careful Nature assists defensive creatures at shrugging off Special Attacks, Impish species do the very same with Physical Attacks. With the Impish Nature, Pocket Monsters will see increased Defense stat gains while their Special Attack grows more slowly. However, for the creatures that benefit from this Nature the most, a dip in their overall Special Attack damage output isn't a deal-breaker.

Like with the Careful Nature, boldness benefits defense-oriented creatures who can stall out a battle to a degree and slow down brawlers who emphasize their Attack stat above all else.

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3) Adamant

Physical Attack-heavy species benefit the most from the Adamant Nature (Image via The Pokemon Company)

In the offensive categories of competitive battles, trainers tend to lean toward using a creature with a high Attack or Special Attack stat. The Adamant Nature helps with the former, increasing a Pocket Monster's Attack stat growth at each level while lowering its Special Attack gains. Fortunately, Physical Attackers won't miss their Special Attack losses all that much.

Adamant is the perfect Nature for creatures who go on the offensive with attacks that make physical contact with the opponent, giving them the ability to brute force their way through their opponent's Defense stat.

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2) Modest

The Modest Nature augments species that prefer Special Attacks (Image via The Pokemon Company)

In the same vein as the Adamant Nature, Modest is all about increasing a Pokemon's firepower. However, compared to Adamant, Modest focuses on increasing the stat growth of a Pocket Monster's Special Attack stat instead of its standard Attack. This boosts the damage output of a creature whenever it uses Special Attacks that hit opponents with things like energy or elemental forces.

As the inverse to Adamant, the Modest Nature reduces the stat growth of a creature's Attack stat. Fortunately, the species that benefit the most from being Modest don't exactly need to use Physical Attacks much anyway.

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1) Jolly/Timid

Speed is king, and Jolly/Timid augment this stat (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Competitive battles can often be decided based on which creature lands its attack first. This is what makes the Speed stat so incredibly important. If trainers aren't using Priority Moves, a high Speed stat can dictate the entire flow of a battle from the beginning until the final blow.

Jolly and Timid Natures both increase the stat growth of Speed, though they fit different creatures based on their slowed stat increases. Specifically, Physical Attackers will want to aim for Timid since it reduces their Attack stat growth. Conversely, Special Attackers should look to Jolly, which will reduce their Attack stat's growth rate.