Natures in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, explained

You can change your Pokémon’s nature, which will give it a nice boost in a specific stat, in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, just like in the games that came before it.

Since there’s no breeding in Legends: Z-A, you’ll need to use mints to change the natures of your caught Pokémon, but mints are pretty accessible (as long as you have money), so there’s no need to worry too much about it.

Below we go into detail how natures work, noting which natures increase and decrease which stats, and explain how to change your Pokémon’s nature in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

How do natures work in Pokémon Legends: Z-A?

Natures work the same way as they do in previous games.

Each nature boosts one stat while decreasing another. So if you have an Adamant Heracross, it will gain more Attack stats and less Special Attack as it levels up. If your Heracross is Modest, it’ll do the opposite, increasing its Special Attack and lowering its Attack (and you should consider changing its nature). There are a few natures that technically boost and decrease the same stat, effectively canceling the buff/debuff, and thus having no real effect.

You can see a table of the various natures and what they do below.

You can see the nature of your Pokémon on its summary menu, and the page with stats will actually have arrows showing what stats are getting buffed and which are getting debuffed.

How to change natures in Pokémon Legends: Z-A

To change natures, you’ll need to use mints on your Pokémon. There are mints for almost every nature in the game, with a few exceptions. There’s no mint for Hardy, Docile, Bashful, or Quirky natures. If you want to give your Pokémon a nature that has no increasing or decreasing effects, you can give it a Serious Mint.

To use a mint, open your satchel, scroll over to the “other items” tab, select the mint you want to use, and choose “use this item” on whichever Pokémon you want. This will change its nature and shuffle its stats around.

You can find mints on the ground as sparkling items and get them as rewards for some side missions. You can also buy mints for $20,000 each from the various mint vendors scattered around the city. You can tell they’re a mint seller because they will have herbs and flowers on display at their stand.

Looking for more on Pokémon Legends: Z-A? We have a beginner’s guide to help you get started, as well as a type advantage chart, if you’re having a hard time remembering what’s good against what. We also have guides on how to find other early game Pokémon to help you on your journey, like the Kalos starters, the Kanto starters, and even an early spot to find Eevee. If you’re seeking out even more, we have an interactive map of Lumiose City, too.

We also have guides on special evolutions that require more than just leveling up, like Inkay and Malamar, and a list of when you can unlock all of the Mega Stones you’ll need to Mega Evolve.