Defeatist

Gen V
Effect

This Pokémon's Attack and Special Attack are halved when it has half its HP or less.

GenerationGen V
Pokemon2
Hidden Ability Holders0
Game Descriptions
Gen VLowers stats when HP becomes half or less.
Gen VILowers stats when HP becomes half or less.
Gen VIIHalves the Pokémon’s Attack and Sp. Atk stats when its HP becomes half or less.
Gen VIIIHalves the Pokémon’s Attack and Sp. Atk stats when its HP becomes half or less.

Defeatist in Battle

Defeatist halves both the Pokemon's Attack and Special Attack when its HP drops to 50% or below. This severe penalty makes the Pokemon significantly less threatening once it takes substantial damage, effectively cutting its offensive output in half at the worst possible moment.

The stat reduction is applied as a multiplier during damage calculation and is not a stat stage change, meaning it cannot be cleared by Haze or boosted past with stat-raising moves. The penalty activates and deactivates dynamically — if the Pokemon is healed above 50% HP, its full offensive stats are immediately restored.

Defeatist is the signature ability of Archeops (and its pre-evolution Archen), the Rock/Flying-type fossil Pokemon introduced in Generation V. Archeops has exceptional base stats with 140 Attack and 112 Special Attack, but Defeatist is a deliberate drawback to balance this power. Strategies to work around it include Focus Sash, keeping Archeops at high HP, or pairing it with Skill Swap to remove the ability.

Pokemon With Defeatist (2)

# ▲NameTypeOther AbilitiesHidden?HPAtkDefSpASpDSpeTotal
#566ArchenArchen
rockflying
–
Regular5511245744570401
#567ArcheopsArcheops
rockflying
–
Regular751406511265110567

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