In a Pokemon battle, having any slight edge over one's opponent can mean the difference between sweet victory and bitter defeat. Ignoring the vast amount of uncontrollable factors that can spell tragedy, there is a long list of factors within a trainer's control that they must take into account when building the ultimate team. Some of these factors include EVs, IVs, and movesets, but none are more interesting than choosing which item your Pokemon should hold.
As mysterious as items can be in the Pokemon world, their use is undeniable, whether it be for competitive battle or pushing through the main storyline. Many Pokemon fans have agreed that some items are clearly better than others, however, so this article will be counting down the items that have received a shiny seal of approval.
Updated March 3, 2023, by Jeff Drake: There's no shortage of options when you're trying to decide which items your Pokemon should be holding to maximize their effectiveness in battle. These items cause all manner of effects on the user; most of the time this is beneficial... though not always. Many of the best items give a generous boost to a particular stat, or a type of move or Pokemon. Sometimes items have powers that are more meta, like increasing the amount of experience earned if it's being held.
20 Lum Berry
Status ailments are such a pain in the Bulbasaur. They can turn an easy victory into a more evenly matched melee in seconds. Some status ailments, like Badly Poisoned, are debilitating enough to warrant sacrificing a turn to cure the afflicted Pokemon. This wasted turn could your Pokemon in position for a fainting blow.
The Lum Berry is perfect for these situations. If held, a Lum Berry will cure any status ailment automatically. This leaves the next turn open to perform a finishing move and win the round. This is a great item to have a Pokemon hold if there's nothing it should obviously be holding.
19 Lucky Egg
Every Pokemon trainer has had a party that worked. Nothing could stand in the way of your fearsome five (or six). Then, you discover that one Pokemon you've been hoping to catch and add it to your Pokedex. The only problem is this new Pokemon is half the level of your best.
Lucky Egg is the perfect item for Pokemon that fit the above scenario. When held, this useful item increases the experience earned by the user by 50 percent. This will allow you to level up a new Pokemon quickly, and getting them into the main party much less of a chore.
18 Metronome
The Metronome item increases the power of moves if they are used consecutively. In Generation 4 this bonus was only ten percent; however, from Generation 5 onward this bonus is 20 percent. This bonus tops out at 100 percent, but is reset if another move is used, the Pokemon is switched-out, or the move is unsuccessful.
This counts the uses of moves per turn. So, a move that needs to charge on the first turn before it can deliver a devastating blow to the opponent. Even the turn spent charging adds to the Metronome bonus. This will give these moves a 20 percent boost in damage on the first use.
17 Quick Claw
There are so many slow Pokemon whose only glaring weakness is a prohibitively low Speed rating. Think how great Melmetal or Tyranitar could be if they could occasionally go first in a turn. That's what the Quick Claw does - it gives the Pokemon holding a chance to go before their opponent, regardless of Speed ratings or move priorities.
The Quick Claw isn't, unfortunately, guaranteed to trigger every turn. Since Generation 3, this item gives the holder a 20 percent chance of using their move before the opponent. This percentage is high enough that it is likely to trigger during a prolonged fight, and that might be all that's needed to secure a victory.
16 Wide Lens
Some moves are fantastically powerful. Many moves could be described this way, but come with the drawback of having an accuracy rate below 100%. This always gives that feeling of uncertainty when using them. The chance to miss is low, but sometimes a move seems to miss more than it should.
A great example of this type of move is Hydro Pump. It has an impressive 110 Power rating; however, it also has a 20 percent chance to miss. The Wide Lens, while held, improves the accuracy of moves by 10%. This would make Hydro Pump's accuracy 88 percent. A move with an extremely low accuracy benefits much less from the Wide Lens.
15 Zoom Lens
There is more than one lens item in the Pokemon series; more if you count glasses in general. The Zoom Lens was introduced in Generation 4, obtainable at the Veilstone City Game Corner for 1,000 coins (Fun fact: Veilstone's Game Corner is one of the last instances of slot gambling in Pokemon games).
This item will boost the holder's accuracy by 20 percent against targets that have already performed their action that turn. This means that the Zoom Lens benefits slower Pokemon the most, such as heavy hitters who can take a hit themselves. Stronger attacks that have worse accuracy such as Blizzard will have a better chance of hitting.
14 Air Balloon
This useful item was introduced in Generation 5 and is usually a post-game item that requires Battle Points (BP) to obtain. It makes the Pokemon float in the air and become ungrounded, a very useful item along with the right strategy. It's often paired with Pokemon with a very vulnerable weakness to Ground-type attacks, such as Electric-type Pokemon, to make it invulnerable to Ground-type attacks until it is hit by damaging move which pops the balloon.
Though it may not last long (like a real-life balloon), it can be the key to taking the opponent by surprise and surviving that crucial extra turn in order to strike back.
13 Healing Berries
Pokemon battles can be very unpredictable, for better or for worse, but it's this exciting unknown that keeps you coming back for more. There are five berries in Pokemon that will heal 50 percent of a Pokemon's HP if it reaches below 25 percent. Having an item that can compensate for a big hit is invaluable, but it comes with a small catch. You will have to know their Pokemon inside and out, including what kind of food flavor they prefer and which ones they dislike.
If a Pokemon has a Modest, Timid, Calm, or Bold nature, then eating a Figy berry will cause confusion, as they dislike the Spicy flavor. A total of 20 natures will be affected by eating one of the five berries (Figy, Wiki, Mago, Aguav, and Iapapa). The only natures completely unaffected are ones that have no stat-changing qualities at all: Hardy, Docile, Serious, Bashful, and Quirky.
12 Elemental Gems
Not all items can be gems, but these certainly are. Initially introduced in Generation 5, Gems are a one-time item that boost the damaging power of whatever type it is. There are 18 different Gems, one for each type. Holding a Water Gem, for example, will increase the damage of Hydro Pump once. After that, the Gem is used up (unless used in the Battle Frontier or online battling).
These gems have a catch, however, but not one for in-battle: After Gen 6, only the Normal Gem is obtainable in the main series games, leaving acquisition of all gems to only the Generation 5 games. More surprisingly is the Fairy Gem, which was introduced in Gen 6 but never made obtainable in any way.
11 Sitrus Berry
This classic berry could be considered the "nectar of life," or an upgraded Oran Berry, at least. The Sitrus Berry has been a part of the Pokemon games since Generation 3, when the berry system got a major overhaul (as did many other aspects of the Pokemon games).
Similar to Generation 2's Gold Berry, the Sitrus berry would restore 30 HP when a Pokemon's health went below 50 percent without fainting. As of Generation 4, the Sitrus Berry now heals 25 percent of a Pokemon's max HP upon reaching 50 percent or lower.
10 Scope Lens
The Scope Lens has been around for quite a long time, introduced way back in Generation 2 but only obtainable through Mystery Gift. Later games have the Scope Lens only available through completing challenges and spending their Battle Points.
This item has one benefit and no drawbacks: If held, it will raise the holder's critical-hit ratio by one stage. This can an absolutely life-saving item since critical-hits can change the outcome of a battle on a dime. For Pokemon that evolve through several critical-hits in a single battle like Galarian Farfetch'd, this item is super useful.
9 Expert Belt
The Expert Belt, unlike other items on this list, has no drawbacks whatsoever. Its only effect is boosting the power of the user's super-effective moves by 20 percent. If only we could all have an item that boosts our effectiveness by 20 percent!
This item was introduced in Generation 4, and was first obtainable in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. You could go to an elderly man's house on Route 221, where said man would call out a random number between one and 100. If you show him a Pokemon the same level as that number, he would reward them either a Black Belt, Expert Belt, or Focus Sash.
8 Focus Sash
To succeed in any avenue, one must have focus in their goal. Luckily, in the Pokemon world, there's a specific item to help with that task. The Focus Sash was introduced in Generation 4 and prevents Pokemon from being knocked out in one hit. This means that if the holder's HP is full, they will hang on to life by one HP after a move that would have certainly caused them to faint.
The Focus Sash is great for those glass cannon Pokemon or anyone up against a type disadvantage. It allows for a Pokemon to get its 15 seconds of fame and (hopefully) not die in vain. The item disappears after use, which implies that the Pokemon focused so hard it destroyed the belt in the process. Fascinating!
7 Assault Vest
This practical vest lives up to its name, offering a 50 percent increase to the wearer's Special Defense to protect them from deadly attacks. The drawback of an Assault Vest is that it prevents the Pokemon holding it from choosing status moves such as Toxic or Thunder Wave.
This makes the Assault Vest the perfect item for sweepers and heavy hitters such as the above Tyranitar, Azumarill, or even Suicune. The best way to use items that come with drawbacks is to pair the item with a Pokemon that is scarcely impacted by the negative effect.
6 Eviolite
The Eviolite is an item introduced in Generation 5 that raises a Pokemon's Defense and Special Defense by 50 percent, but only if they have not fully evolved. The Eviolite would, therefore, increase the stats of Ivysaur, but not of Venusaur. If a Chansey were to hold an Eviolite, it would outclass its very own evolution, Blissey.
The Eviolite is excellent for competitive battling that specifically prioritizes unevolved Pokemon, or Pokemon considered to be of a "lower tier," and is also great for playing through the main storyline. Players of the Generation 5 games can find an Eviolite as early as Castelia City, making it extremely helpful.
5 Leftovers
Leftovers is such a useful item in battle (perhaps too useful, in some players' eyes). Introduced in Generation 2, Leftovers was both obtainable from wild Snorlax and the Celadon City Restaurant and restores the holder's HP by 1/16th at the end of each turn in battle. This effect is useful in tons of different situations, from helping a sweeper survive a second hit to keeping a tank bulky and untouchable.
Considering its effects are determined via factor and not a solid number, it helps each Pokemon the same, though it would do better on Pokemon with lots of HP, such as Wigglytuff or Wailord. We'll never complain again about leftovers for dinner!
4 Life Orb
The Life Orb is one of the series' bigger gambles that can have a big payoff if used right. Holding this item will increase the Pokemon's attacks by about 30 percent, but will also cause the holder to take damage equal to 10% of its maximum HP each turn. This item allows more overall power than the Expert Belt and works on moves regardless of their super effectiveness, but comes at the cost of constant, self-inflicted damage.
The Life Orb was introduced in Generation 4, found both in Stark Mountain and the Ruins of Alph. In most subsequent games, you can only obtain the Life Orb by spending Battle Points (BP) at certain battle challenges.
3 Choice Scarf
The Choice Scarf is part of a trio of amazing items that get used constantly in competitive battling, and for good reason. The holder's Speed will increase by 50 percent when held, but they will only be permitted to use the first move they select until switched out.
All three "choice" items were introduced in Generation 3, the same Generation that brought Abilities, Hoenn Pokemon, and Double Battles. For Pokemon who need that extra boost of Speed in order to dominate on the battlefield, the Choice Scarf is the perfect item for them. Garchomp is a very popular choice to pair this item with, considering its 130 base Attack and 102 base Speed.
2 Choice Specs
If variety is the spice of life, then choice is the hand that sprinkles it. Both the Choice Specs and the Choice Band function identically, with the only difference being the stat they impact.
The Choice Specs will boost the holding Pokemon's Special Attack stat by 50 percent, but will only permit the use of the first move selected until the Pokemon faints or is withdrawn. This is the sacrifice one must make for such ultimate power, otherwise, the Specs would simply be too powerful to ever be fair.
1 Choice Band
The Choice Band has the same drawback as the previous entry while increasing the user's Attack stat by 50 percent. In this instance, your first choice is very important. Pokemon with big advantages in Attack (such as Azumarill with Huge Power) can utilize the Choice Band to sweep entire teams who aren't prepared.
Out of every type in the Pokemon game, the most common highest stat for a type is Attack. The Fighting, Poison, Ground, Bug, Grass, Ice, Dragon, and Dark types all have Attack as their highest stat on average, making Choice Band perhaps the most important held item there is to hold.