After shaking off Brock, Silas headed straight to the training room. While making sure his Pokémon trained hard, he also spent time studying new knowledge to improve himself and Zero.
"Pokémon Abilities are a fascinating concept. The first person to propose this idea was Professor Inuki, a researcher specializing in Pokémon diversity in the Orange Islands.
Later, researchers from different regions collaborated on this subject, leading to an in-depth study of Pokémon Abilities.
Eventually, under the leadership of Professor Oak, they reached a simple definition: every Pokémon possesses a special ability.
In other words, Abilities are unique traits inherent to a Pokémon, determined by its species' characteristics.
Take the Ability Chlorophyll, for example, commonly found in Grass-type Pokémon. Because these Pokémon have a biological structure similar to both plants and animals, they become more active under sunlight. This is why Pokémon with Chlorophyll experience an increase in Speed during sunny weather.
Another example is Cubone, a Pokémon known for its exceptionally tough skull. Due to its strong head structure, it has the Rock Head Ability, which prevents it from taking recoil damage from its own moves.
Through research, scientists discovered that different Pokémon species have varying numbers of Abilities. Some species have only one, while others can have as many as three.
Further comparative analysis revealed an interesting trend: Pokémon species with two or three Abilities tend to have exceptionally outstanding individuals who can possess two Abilities simultaneously—unlike the usual case of a single Ability.
To organize their findings, researchers classified Abilities into three categories: Primary Ability, Secondary Ability, and Hidden Ability.
For Pokémon species with only one Ability, there is no need for further classification, as all members of the species share the same Ability and lack a Hidden Ability.
If a species has both a Primary and a Secondary Ability but lacks a Hidden Ability, then ordinary members of that species will have one of the two standard Abilities.
So far, no Pokémon has been found to possess both its Primary and Secondary Abilities at the same time.
However, if a Pokémon species possesses a Hidden Ability in addition to either a Primary or Secondary Ability, things change.
Note: The keyword is "or," not "and." This means that even if a Pokémon species has only a Primary Ability without a Secondary Ability, it still qualifies as long as it has a Hidden Ability.
Naturally, species that have a Primary, Secondary, and Hidden Ability also fall under this category.
For these Pokémon, exceptionally outstanding individuals will not only possess one of the standard Abilities (Primary or Secondary) but will also have a Hidden Ability.
Take Onix as an example. Its Primary Ability is Rock Head, its Secondary Ability is Sturdy, and its Hidden Ability is Weak Armor.
Ordinary Onix will have either Rock Head or Sturdy. However, exceptionally outstanding individuals will have one of those two standard Abilities along with the Hidden Ability, Weak Armor.
Here, 'exceptionally outstanding' refers to Pokémon with Elite-level potential or higher.
Data shows that, among Pokémon species that possess Hidden Abilities, approximately 50% of Pokémon with Elite Level potential will have a Hidden Ability.
For Pokémon with pseudo-Champion potential, due to limited samples, the estimated probability ranges from 60% to 70%.
Meanwhile, all Pokémon with Champion-level potential without exception have Hidden Abilities.
Conversely, Pokémon below the Elite tier never have Hidden Abilities.
Another discovery was that when Pokémon evolve, their Abilities may change, but there is a pattern to these changes—this is known as Ability Continuity.
Ability Continuity means that if a Pokémon with a Primary Ability evolves, its new Ability will still be the evolved form's Primary Ability, not its Secondary Ability. The same applies to Pokémon with a Secondary Ability.
Take Roggenrola as an example. Its Primary Ability is Sturdy, and its Secondary Ability is Weak Armor. When it evolves into Boldore, its Abilities remain the same.
So, a Sturdy Roggenrola will evolve into a Sturdy Boldore, and a Weak Armor Roggenrola will evolve into a Weak Armor Boldore.
However, when Boldore evolves into Gigalith, its Primary Ability remains Sturdy, but its Secondary Ability changes to Sand Stream.
Therefore, a Roggenrola or Boldore with Sturdy will retain Sturdy upon reaching its final evolution. Meanwhile, those with Weak Armor will have their Ability replaced with Sand Stream upon evolution.
This principle also applies to Hidden Abilities if they change during evolution.
Researchers speculate that Hidden Abilities might have other unique properties, but due to the low sample size, no definitive conclusions have been drawn yet."
After setting down the research papers, Silas muttered to himself, "I see… Combusken's Speed Boost Ability is due to its exceptionally well-developed leg muscles. Since it has Champion-level potential, it was guaranteed to have its Hidden Ability.
As for Pidgeotto and Roggenrola… I guess I just got lucky. I managed to hit that 50% chance, or rather, even among Elite level Pokémon, Pidgeotto and Roggenrola are among the best.
Otherwise, they wouldn't both have Hidden Abilities."
That's right Roggenrola had a Hidden Ability too.
Looking at Zero's data panel, Silas saw Roggenrola's updated information after maturing past its infant stage:
[Roggenrola]
Category: Mantle Pokémon
Type: Rock
Height: 0.5m (average: 0.4m)
Weight: 22kg (average: 18kg)
Ability: Weak Armor (When hit by a physical move, Defense decreases, but Speed increases significantly.)
Hidden Ability: Sand Force (During a sandstorm, Rock, Ground, and Steel-type moves have increased power.)
Moves: Tackle, Sand Attack, Harden, Stealth Rock, Gravity (Egg Move), Wide Guard (Egg Move)
Level: 6 (Beginner)
Potential: Elite-level
Training Method: Due to the Pokémon's unique nature, it should be fed high-energy crystals until evolution (synthesis method detailed below).
Additional Notes: Given Roggenrola's strong Rock-type talent, supplementing its diet with specific special rocks may enhance its outer shell's properties and resistances (further details below: …).
Silas nodded slightly, feeling that he had learned something valuable.
"Once Roggenrola evolves into Gigalith, its Weak Armor Ability will transform into Sand Stream, perfectly complementing Sand Force.
This also proves that this Roggenrola has exceptional talent in Rock-type attributes, which aligns with Zero's assessment."
This realization answered a question that had puzzled Silas for a long time.
After all, this kind of knowledge wasn't publicly available. He had always wondered why Hidden Abilities existed in the first place. Now, it made sense—Hidden Abilities were simply the result of particularly gifted Pokémon displaying stronger traits due to their natural talent.
"Combusken, watch your right leg when you push off—don't relax it too much."
As he was deep in thought, Silas noticed that Combusken was slightly off-form and gave a quick reminder.
This was an important responsibility of a skilled Trainer. Pokémon, like any living creature, could get tired, distracted, or experience emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and excitement. During training, they might lose focus, and that was when a Trainer needed to step in and guide them back on track.