What does Mold Breaker do in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet? Answered

Chances are, while playing Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, an opponent’s Pokémon will pop out with a message saying they are “[breaking] the mold.” To newcomers, this sounds like random nonsense, but long-time fans will know this is a warning, letting you know the Pokémon in question has the Mold Breaker Ability.

Mold Breaker is a particularly rare Ability and for good reason: it’s one of the most disruptive Abilities in the series. So, here’s a rundown of what it does, which Pokémon have it, and why you should definitely be using it in battle.

What is Mold Breaker’s effect in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

The message doesn’t make it clear, but Mold Breaker’s effect is fairly simple: it negates other Abilities. Specifically, Mold Breaker allows a Pokémon’s moves to bypass the effects of its opponent’s Abilities. Say, for example, you’re facing a Pokémon with the Levitate Ability. Normally, this prevents it from being affected by Ground-type moves but, with Mold Breaker, you can use Ground-type attacks and they’ll hit the target anyway.

Let’s use another example. A Pokémon with Insomnia can’t be put to sleep with moves like Hypnosis and Sleep Powder. If their opponent has Mold Breaker, though, Insomnia simply won’t work. It must be stressed Mold Breaker doesn’t nullify every Ability, but if there’s an Ability that prevents the use of certain moves, Mold Breaker counters it.

Which Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have Mold Breaker?

It shouldn’t be surprising to learn Mold Breaker’s effectiveness makes it one of the rarer Abilities in the Pokémon games. In Scarlet and Violet, there are only 10 Pokémon that possess this Ability. Just a heads up, some of these Pokémon can potentially have another ability besides Mold Breaker, but it’s easy to tell when they do. If they appear in the wild with the “[Pokémon’s name] breaks the mold” message, that’s proof it has it.

• Cranidos (only available with The Indigo Disk DLC—exclusive to Scarlet)
• Rampardos (only obtainable by evolving from Cranidos or from beating Four Star Tera Raid Battles—exclusive to Scarlet)
• Axew
• Fraxure
• Haxorus (only obtainable by evolving from Fraxure or from Five and Six Star Tera Raid Battles)
• Tinkatink
• Tinkatuff
• Tinkaton (only obtainable by evolving Tinkatuff or from Five and Six Star Tera Raid Battles)
• Veluza
• Ogerpon (only obtainable with The Teal Mask DLC and only with the Hearthflame Mask equipped)

There are five other Pokémon that can have Mold Breaker, but only as a Hidden Ability. Hidden Abilities are incredibly rare so catching one of these Pokémon with Mold Breaker requires a lot of luck.

• Drilbur (only obtainable with The Indigo Disk DLC)
• Excadrill (only obtainable with The Indigo Disk DLC)
• Basculin
• Basculegion (only obtainable with The Teal Mask DLC and by evolving from White Striped Basculin)
• Hawlucha

Although they technically don’t have Mold Breaker, you could always try and catch the Legendary Pokémon Reshiram and Zekrom. They have the Abilities Turboblaze and Teravolt respectively and despite the different names, they function exactly like Mold Breaker.