When it comes to competitive play, however, natures are more than just labels. Instead, natures actually determine a Pokemon’s stats, increasing and decreasing specific attributes depending on the nature that a Pokemon has. Getting the right nature on the right Pokemon helps increase the appropriate stats as such — thus increasing their potency in battle.
In previous mainline Pokemon titles, natures were kind of obscure and didn’t really give much away. But in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, determining what certain natures do is now more convenient. Nevertheless, we at Hotspawn are here to help demystify the very nature of natures in this guide.
How Do Natures Work in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl?
Simply put, natures form a mechanic that increases one of the six primary attributes of a Pokemon, while also decreasing another attribute at the same time. There are a total of 25 natures in the game, with five of them being “neutral” natures. All adjustments to stats through natures are equivalent to 10 percent of the relevant stats.
For example, take a Garchomp with a Jolly nature. Said Garchomp will have 10 percent more Speed, while losing 10 percent of its Special Attack. Meanwhile, a Garchomp with the Adamant nature will have 10 percent more Attack while losing 10 percent of its Special Attack.
All the natures present in the game and their corresponding stats. (Image via Bulbapedia)
Every Pokemon in the game has a nature. Upon their introduction in Generation III, each Pokemon’s nature was determined at random. But as of Generation VIII, it is possible to purposefully determine the nature of Pokemon encountered in the wild, by having a Pokemon with the Synchronize ability in the lead slot upon a wild encounter. Natures are still determined randomly in Generation VIII otherwise.
When it comes to breeding, a Pokemon holding an Everstone will always pass its nature to its offspring. This is especially useful when it comes to breeding Pokemon with a Ditto as one of the parents, as the Ditto can hold a Destiny Knot while the other parent (with the desired nature) holds an Everstone. We touched upon breeding this way in our guide to EVs and IVs, which you can check out here.
How Do Natures Factor Into Competitive Play?
Natures are incredibly important in player versus player battles. Natures allow Pokemon to maximize stats appropriate to their build and moveset, while ensuring that stats that would otherwise be irrelevant to them take the hit instead of something else.
Take the Jolly Garchomp mentioned above, for example. The Jolly nature allows it to maximize its speed in battles. Which in turn allows it to use its moves before slower Pokemon. And since the Jolly nature decreases Special Attack as well, this Garchomp is more suited to becoming a fast physical attacker. Special Attack is the ideal stat to decrease here therefore, as it is completely irrelevant to a physically-inclined Pokemon.
A sample moveset and EV spread for a physically defensive Garchomp, which runs the Jolly nature for extra speed. (Image via Smogon University)
The Adamant Garchomp, on the other hand, sacrifices a bit of Speed for extra Attack. While running this nature certainly won’t allow it to outspeed certain Pokemon, it does hit quite a bit harder as a result. Some Pokemon with priority moves such as Scizor may also benefit from the Adamant nature, as it doesn’t need much Speed to dish out damage this way.
Generally speaking, it is never worth it to run a neutral nature. The increase in a specific attribute is just too good to pass up. Therefore, we recommend avoiding the Hardy, Docile, Serious, Bashful, and Quirky natures when building Pokemon for PvP battles.
How Do You Find A Pokemon’s Nature in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl?
Finding a Pokemon’s nature in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is easy. Simply open a Pokemon’s summary page, then scroll over to the second tab from the left. You’ll see the Pokemon’s nature in plain text there.
If you scroll over to the next tab from there, the stats affected by its nature will show up in red and blue and have arrows next to them. These arrows indicate which stats the Pokemon’s nature increases and decreases, respectively.
And that’s all for natures in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl! It’s a fairly simple topic that doesn’t need much in the way of granular detail, but is incredibly important to getting the most out of your Pokemon in multiplayer battles. Make sure to keep natures in mind when preparing your Pokemon for competitive play, and we guarantee that you’ll see better results than if you simply ignored them.
Stay tuned to Hotspawn for more competitive Pokemon guides in the future.
