Stamina

Stamina is a defensive ability introduced in Generation 7 that provides immediate bulk enhancement whenever the Pokemon takes damage from an attack. Each time the Pokemon is hit by a damaging move, its Defense stat increases by one stage, allowing it to become progressively more resistant to physical attacks throughout the battle. This creates a snowball effect where Pokemon with Stamina become increasingly difficult to take down with physical moves as the battle progresses.

The ability activates on any damaging move that successfully hits the Pokemon, regardless of the attack's type or whether it's a physical or special move. However, the Defense boost only helps against physical attacks, making Stamina Pokemon still vulnerable to special attackers. The ability won't trigger from indirect damage sources like entry hazards, weather, or status conditions, only from direct move-based damage.

In competitive play, Stamina finds its niche on bulky Pokemon like Mudsdale, which can leverage the Defense boosts to become nearly impenetrable walls against physical threats. Archaludon, with its Steel/Dragon typing, can also make excellent use of Stamina's defensive scaling, particularly when paired with recovery moves or defensive support. The ability works best on Pokemon that can survive multiple hits and capitalize on the accumulated Defense boosts, making it particularly valuable in longer battles where the Pokemon can stack multiple stages of the boost.