An exciting mechanic in Pokémon Sword and Shield is the ability to change the nature of your Pokémon using Minds. You won't be able to do this until later in the game, but it's worth preparing as you play the story.
How to change the nature of a Pokémon into a sword and shield using ticks
Towards the end of the game, you will be able to get Nature Mints in Wyndon. After beating the game, you will have access to the Battle Tower and an NPC who will sell you Minds of Nature. Ticks cost 50 BP, and different Ticks will have different effects on your Pokémon's stats as they level up. It will give a positive or negative weighting to specific stats, affecting how those stats develop as Pokémon level up.
Below you will find a full list of natures and the effect they have on a Pokemon below:
- Adamant: + Attack Speed, -Attack
- Bold: + Defense, -Attack
- Brave: + Attack, -Speed
- Calm: + Special Defense, -Attack
- Beware: + Special Defense, -Special Attack
- Gentile: + Special Defense, -Defense
- Haste: + Speed, -Defense
- Impish: + Defense, -Sp. attack
- Merry: + Speed, -Special Attack
- Lax: + Defense, -Special Defense
- Solitaire: + Attack, -Defense
- Mild: + Special attack, -Defense
- Modest: + Special Attack, -Attack
- Naive: + Speed, -Special Defense
- Bad: + Attack speed, -Defense
- Silent: + Special attack, -Speed
- Skin rash: + Special attack, -Special defense
- Relaxed: + Defense, -Speed
- Sassy: + Special Defense, -Speed
- Severe: All stats are the same
- Shy: + Speed, -Attack
All you need to do is give a Mint with the relevant name from the list above, which affects your Pokemon the way you want. Go to your bag, select the item, then use it on your Pokémon.
While this is a mechanic you can't start playing with until you've finished the story, it's a lot of fun to experience your Pokémon in this way.
