Contemplating Abilities (or Their Absence)

This discussion probably might be something that should have been discussed early on in this blog, but now seems to be a good time as any. Since the third generation, the main series of Pokémon games has included the feature of Abilities for every Pokémon. It is certainly a neat feature, one that has helped to shape Pokémon since that point. And yet, it's not a universal feature even today, as it's limited to the main series games and a handful of others. For that reason, I've decided to make a discussion out of it, specifically regarding its (non-)existence.

In fact, this discussion was partially inspired by a question someone posed: "What if Pokémon didn't have Abilities?" To answer the question (in one way), it would be that Pokémon species like Shedinja would never have been conceived, as it can be reasoned that its Ability of Wonder Guard is the crux of its existence; it is hard to justify its existence otherwise, at least in the main series games. Yet the fact of the matter is that it does exist just fine elsewhere, with or without a semblance of the Ability that allows its existence. 

There is one current major Pokémon game in which Abilities do not exist, even at present, and that would be Pokémon Go. In effect, the game becomes a big answer (and another one) to the question above for as long as Abilities are still absent in the game. Even so, the game seems to do well without it, apart from interactions that would be impossible in the main series games due to the Abilities that some Pokémon may possess, and perhaps some main series Trainers would frown on in knowing that they are absent.

It may be admitted that Abilities do make (or have made) the gameplay of the main series Pokémon games more lively and strategic, while at the same time being complex and bothersome - to put it lightly. An Ability like Levitate can become a major hassle for an opponent that does not expect it, or at the least a minor conundrum for those that do expect it. And then, over time, there are Hidden Abilities that require methodical ways to obtain and preserve. The strategic complexity is apparent. 

By now, Abilities are central to the gameplay of the main series Pokémon games as a whole, and it's hard to imagine how Trainers would get by without (knowing) them. At the same time, Abilities seem only essential to the main series, and some other Pokémon games can get by without them (like Pokémon Go, at least the way it has been). There will always be the two sides of the strategic complexity of Abilities, and it may very much depend on how the games and Trainers for those games can work and play well with them.

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