No Guard

Gen IV
Effect

Moves used by or against this Pokémon never miss. One-hit KO moves are unaffected. Moves affected by this ability can hit Pokémon during the preparation turn of moves like Dig or Fly. Overworld: If the lead Pokémon has this ability, the wild encounter rate is doubled.

GenerationGen IV
Pokemon10
Hidden Ability Holders4
Game Descriptions
Gen IVEnsures the Pokémon and its foe’s attacks land.
Gen VEnsures attacks by or against the Pokémon land.
Gen VIEnsures attacks by or against the Pokémon land.
Gen VIIThe Pokémon employs no-guard tactics to ensure incoming and outgoing attacks always land.
Gen VIIIThe Pokémon employs no-guard tactics to ensure incoming and outgoing attacks always land.
Gen IXThe Pokémon employs no-guard tactics to ensure incoming and outgoing attacks always land.

No Guard in Battle

No Guard causes all moves used by and against the Pokemon to bypass accuracy checks entirely, introduced in Generation IV. Both the user's attacks and incoming attacks are guaranteed to hit, creating a high-risk, high-reward dynamic where powerful but inaccurate moves become reliable at the cost of never being able to dodge anything.

The guaranteed hit effect extends to Pokemon during semi-invulnerable turns of moves like Dig, Fly, Dive, and Phantom Force -- a No Guard user can strike targets that are normally untargetable. One-hit KO moves (Sheer Cold, Fissure, etc.) are explicitly unaffected by No Guard and still use their normal accuracy. A notable Platinum-era glitch caused moves to have a (100 minus accuracy)% chance of hitting through Protect and Detect, though this was fixed in later generations. As an overworld effect, having a No Guard Pokemon in the lead slot doubles wild encounter rates.

No Guard is found on 8 Pokemon, with Machamp being its most iconic user. The combination of No Guard with Dynamic Punch (normally 50% accuracy, causes confusion) creates a 100% accurate confusing STAB move -- one of the most feared offensive tools in competitive play. Golurk and Honedge line also benefit significantly, using it to land otherwise unreliable moves like Stone Edge without ever missing.

Pokemon With No Guard (10)

#NameTypeOther AbilitiesHidden?HPAtkDefSpASpDSpeTotal
#066MachopMachopRegular708050353535305
#067MachokeMachokeRegular8010070506045405
#068MachampMachampRegular9013080658555505
#588KarrablastKarrablastHA507545404560315
#622GolettGolettHA597450355035303
#623GolurkGolurkHA8912480558055483
#679HonedgeHonedge
Regular4580100353728325
#680DoubladeDoublade
Regular59110150454935448
#745Lycanroc (Midnight)Lycanroc (Midnight)HA8511575557582487
#10073Pidgeot MegaPidgeot Mega
Regular83808013580121579

Effect Changes

VersionChange Description
PlatinumDue to a glitch, moves affected by this ability have a (100 - accuracy)% chance to hit through Detect or Protect.

FAQ