What is Magic Guard and how does it work in Pokémon?

With hundreds of different Abilities in the Pokémon games, it can be hard to keep track of every single one that exists. This is especially true for rarer Abilities that only a handful of Pokémon have access to. 

Magic Guard, for example, is only shared among three evolutionary lines and one additional Pokémon in the entire series. This means only ten ‘mons have access.

Related: Best Psychic-type Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

To top it off, Magic Guard’s effect isn’t as straightforward as most Abilities. Not to mention it can easily be confused with similar-sounding Abilities like Wonder Guard, Friend Guard, and Magic Bounce. There are a lot of moving parts involved, so we’ll break it down for you.

What does the Magic Guard Ability do in Pokémon?

In its simplest form, Magic Guard protects the Pokémon from taking indirect damage. “Indirect damage” includes damage from weather, burn, poison, entry hazards, and recoil. It also prevents damage from specific moves like Curse (as the target), Mind Blown (as the user), Leech Seed, or High Jump kick if the user misses.

It does not, protect the Pokémon from hitting itself in confusion, reducing its HP with a move like Belly Drum, or fainting from the effects of Perish Song or Destiny Bond.

Related: All Psychic-type Pokémon weaknesses, explained

The tricky part is Magic Guard doesn’t make a Pokémon fully immune to the other effects of damaging status conditions like burn and poison. A burned Pokémon won’t take damage each turn, but its Attack will still be reduced. Meanwhile, a Pokémon can still be poisoned, but they won’t actually take any damage from it. This may come in handy in certain situations where the Pokémon can’t be hindered by sleep or paralysis if it’s already burned or poisoned.

Similarly, Pokémon with Magic Guard can benefit from the power boost of a Life Orb without the drawback of taking damage after attacking.

Which Pokémon get Magic Guard in Scarlet and Violet?

As previously mentioned, only three evolutionary lines and one other Pokémon in the franchise can have Magic Guard as their Ability—the Clefairy evolutionary line, Abra evolutionary line, Solosis evolutionary line, and Sigilyph.

Related: How to change Pokémon abilities in Scarlet and Violet

Unfortunately, none of these Pokémon are available in Scarlet and Violet right now. This will likely change soon when Pokémon Home becomes compatible with the two Gen IX titles. When that happens, players will be able to transfer Clefairy and its Magic Guard friends to the Paldea region from older games.