Parental Bond is Mega KangaskhanMega KangaskhanmegaHits twice with every move — the second hit deals 25% bonus damage, turning every attack into two separate damage rolls.Click to read more →’s signature ability. Every damaging move the holder uses hits twice: the first hit at full power, the second hit at 1/4 power. The combined effective power is 1.25× the printed BP.
Why it’s strong
The second hit isn’t just damage — it’s a second chance to trigger every secondary effect:
- Burn / freeze / paralysis chance rolls twice
- FlinchFlinchmechanicA Pokémon that flinches is forced to skip its turn — it was startled before it could act.Click to read more → chance (e.g. Iron Head, Rock SlideRock SlidemoveA Rock-type spread move with 75 base power and a 30% flinch chance on each target it hits.Click to read more →) rolls twice
- Boost-on-hit items (Throat Spray, Weakness Policy) trigger twice if both hits connect
- Sturdy breaks on the first hit, then the second hit lands the KO
The most notorious combo is Power-Up Punch — a Fighting move that boosts Attack on hit. With Parental Bond, it boosts twice per use, ramping Mega Kangaskhan into a snowballing physical attacker very quickly.
How damage actually scales
Each hit is calculated independently, including type effectiveness, weakness multipliers, and crits. A 100 BP move becomes effectively a 100 + 25 = 125 BP attack across both hits.
Counterplay
- Substitute absorbs the first hit; the second hit chunks the Sub but the Pokémon behind survives.
- Wide Guard / Quick Guard still block both hits if the move qualifies.
- IntimidateIntimidateabilityWhen this Pokémon enters the battlefield, the opposing Pokémon's Attack stat drops by one stage.Click to read more → chains drop Kangaskhan’s Attack faster than a single hit would imply, since two hits per turn aren’t extra Attack drops.