Not as hard as you might think
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are loaded with ways to perfect any monster you choose. Even if you start from scratch, making a high-end Pokemon is easier than you think. That is unless you want to change its Tera-Type, but that’s neither here nor there.
The Ability Capsule is one such handy item. When you use it on a Pokemon that can learn two standard abilities, it will switch which one it knows. For example, if you use it on a Coalossal that knows Steam Engine, it will learn Flame Body instead. This is not to be confused with a Pokemon’s Hidden Ability, as that requires the Ability Patch item to learn. Additionally, the Ability Capsule only works with a Pokemon that already knows its standard ability. If you want a Pokemon to forget its hidden ability, you’ll need an Ability Patch as well.
With that established, the Ability Capsule is fortunately not quite as rare as the Ability Patch. That said, you still shouldn’t expect to find one until you reach postgame.
Where to find an Ability Capsule
The easiest way to get an Ability Capsule is to buy it. Once you finish the final core story path and watch the credits roll, you can purchase the Ability Capsule for 100,000 Pokedollars at select Chansey Supply locations. The easiest location to access is near the center of Mesagoza, but Cascarrafa, Levincia, and Montenevera all contain applicable stores.
That said, buying Ability Capsules is inefficient. If you plan to build Pokemon for high-end content, you’ll likely dump upwards of 500,000 Pokedollars just to get EV boosting items like Calcium and HP Up. 100,000 Pokedollars for an Ability Capsule just isn’t cost effective when you consider that you’ll find a number of these as you farm for even rarer items.
That’s right, Ability Capsules drop from both 5-Star and 6-Star Tera Raid Battles. Tera Raids are the premier method of obtaining valuable Tera Shards or Bottle Caps, which makes them much more efficient to farm for Ability Capsules. Even if it will technically take longer, it still beats grinding for Pokedollars down the line.
The drop rates for this item are similar across 5-Star and 6-Star Raids, with approximately a 9% chance to obtain one per raid. That said, keep in mind that 6-Star Tera Raids can additionally drop the Ability Patch. If you can’t reliably clear 6-Star Raids quite yet, 5-Star Raids are still a great way to get valuable items to power up your Pokemon. Aim for content that matches your power level and hope your teammates cooperate.
