Pokémon Sword and Shield may not be the most difficult games in the long-running franchise. There have been several additions that make the game a little easier and the mechanics less opaque, like the automatic Experience Share or the ability to view a Pokémon's IVs. But you can run into a difficult battle even in the easiest of games, and it's better to be prepared.

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Pokémarts now live inside the Pokémon Center, we guess because it uses the space more efficiently. So you can run in and pick up some groceries whenever you heal your Pokémon. Convenient! But what are the best things to buy, the most essential supplies to see you through your Pokémon journey? Let's take a look.

Updated by Colby Tortorici on January 23rd, 2020: With Pokémon Sword and Shield's two major expansions —The Isle of Armor (June 2020) and The Crown Tundra (Fall 2020)— on the way, it's time to stock up, trainers. There are new areas of the Galar Region coming your way, along with new challenges that you'll be faced with. You'll need even more items if you want to really be the champion of the Galar Region.

15 Potion

Historically the first item you're given in any Pokémon game, the Potion is one of the most generally useful items you can buy. In a game all about battling monsters, it benefits any trainer to have a way of healing their partners mid-battle, or juicing them up in the field without having to run back to a Pokémon Center.

That's precisely the Potion's role. The basic version heals 20 HP, which drops off quickly as your Pokémon level up, but there are improved versions like the Super, Hyper, and Max Potion.

14 Poké Ball

Perhaps the most essential item in any Pokémon game is the Poké Ball. We mean, the game's tagline is "Gotta Catch 'Em All!" and how else do you catch except with the ever-useful Poké Ball. These are probably the first thing any aspiring trainer buys at the beginning of their journey, the better to fill out their roster with new friends and partners.

The basic Poké Ball becomes progressively less reliable as you face off against bigger and badder foes, but never becomes completely obsolete. It's good to have a few in your bag, just in case.

13 Poké Balls In Bulk

If you're going to buy Poké Balls, then buy them in bulk. That's because, for every ten that you buy, you get a free Premier Ball to add to your collection. While this ball isn't extremely valuable or anything like that... it's free. Why would you not want it? This basically comes down to smart purchasing habits. If you're going to buy Poké Balls, just buy in groups of 10 or more. It's cost-effective, and hey, Premier Balls look pretty cool too.

12 Dire Hit

Dire Hits are one of those battle items that most casual players don't really worry themselves about. These items tend to increase the Attack, Defense, Speed, etc. of a Pokémon as long as it doesn't switch out of battle. They can be good for a quick boost before fighting a Gym Leader, even if many people don't spend the cash on them.

The Dire Hit is one of the all around better battle items, as it raises the Pokémon's critical hit ratio by two stages, and in Pokémon Sword and Shield, getting a critical boosts the damage to 1.5 that of a regular hit. Pair that with a Sirfetch'd holding a leek and you'll be a terror.

11 Antidote

Poison is the bane of a new trainer's existence. Sword and Shield don't force you to traverse a dark and deadly forest teeming with poisonous instincts mere minutes after meeting your starter, but you never know what you'll encounter in the Wild Area.

Poison is an especially dangerous status condition because it consistently reduces a Pokémon's health every turn and (barring high affection) can't be spontaneously cured like Sleep or Frozen. The easiest and cheapest way to save your Pokémon is to give them an Antidote, available from every Poké Mart from the beginning of the game.

10 Full Heal

So yeah, Poison is bad, but the other status conditions aren't a walk in the park either. Burn saps health and reduces physical damage dealt, Sleep prevents you from acting, Paralysis lowers your Speed and sometimes completely immobilizes you.

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It's difficult to hold onto the upper hand in a battle if your Pokémon is weakened by any of these conditions. Luckily, there's one handy product that can cover all of your bases. The Full Heal can cure your partner of any of the typical status conditions (Poison, Paralysis, Sleep, Burn, and Freeze) as well as the frustrating confusion condition. Handy!

9 Revive

No matter how good you are at Pokémon, there's always the chance of an unlucky crit or an overpowered move you weren't anticipating. If unforeseen circumstances cause your ace Pokémon to get knocked out of battle, there are some options available to you. The best (though more expensive) choice is the Revive.

Available at Marts for 2000 Pokédollars, it refills a fainted Pokémon's HP halfway. This can be super useful in a pinch, especially during an important battle.

8 Repel

Sometimes you want to get from one place to another without having to fight every ornery Pokémon between you and the next town over. For those of you in this predicament, what you need is a Repel. It's a spray that prevents wild Pokémon of a lower level that the head of your party from spawning for 100 steps.

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This doesn't stop the occasional high level monster from jumping you, but you'll usually outclass anything you find in the wild. Its improved versions, Super and Max Repel, increase the distance to 200 and 250 steps respectively.

7 Poké Doll

But let's say you forgot you Repels and ended up in a battle you were hoping to avoid. Maybe the head of your party is a very slow Pokémon, and you have no hope of escaping before your enemy gets off a devastating hit.

Because of this, it's always good to have some Poké Dolls on hand. These cute little stuffed Clefairy acts as a distraction for the wild Pokémon, giving you a 100% success rate in escaping the battle.

6 Full Restore

Ah, the Full Restore. The bane of any trainer facing the Elite Four, their Pokémon hanging on by a thread, one move away from defeating these powerful trainers. A Full Restore doesn't just completely heal a Pokémon's HP, it also heals any status conditions in the same way a Full Heal would.

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It essentially resets the receiving Pokémon back to 0. So yes, it's very annoying when used by an NPC, but you can also wield that power. Full Restores can be pretty pricey, but all it takes it one to royally mess up your opponent's day.

5 Ultra Ball

The beloved new NPC Ball Guy hands you a lot of unusual Poké Balls over the course of any playthrough, and very few of them are bad. Things like Nest, Dive, and Timer Balls can all be extremely situationally useful and it's nice to have a couple on hand in case that situation arises.

However, none of these balls are as universally useful and reliable as the Ultra Ball. At one tier below the unconquerable Master Ball, an Ultra Ball catches Pokémon at 2x the efficacy of a regular old Poké Ball, and you can buy them for just 800 pokédollars a pop.

4 Quick Ball

Quick Balls are a situational form of Poké Ball that give you a massive 5x catch rate if they're used in the first turn of battle. The 5x catch rate is absolutely insane, and can make catching even legendaries a pretty easy task. Of course, this is set off by the fact that the opposing Pokémon will have all of its HP still, so it isn't as superior as you might hope. Still, Quick Balls are very valuable. They can be found exclusively at the Wyndon PokéMarts.

3 Dusk Ball

Ultra Balls are great, but in Sword and Shield specifically, there is one ball that is better than the rest, and that is the Dusk Ball. The Dusk Ball has an increased catch rate in dark places, such as caves... or, perhaps, a Raid Den?

That's right, Dusk Balls give you a 3x catch rate in raids over a normal Poké Ball. This is almost always going to give you the best chance of catching the Raid Boss, save for moments that a Net Ball might be more applicable. Dusk Balls can be found in central Hammerlocke.

2 Repeat Ball

Repeat Balls might also be a smart move for raids, more specifically, if the Raid Boss that you're facing off against is a Pokémon that you already have. The Repeat Ball will give you a 3.5x catch multiplier in cases like this. 3.5x is one of the highest rates that you can get in the entire game, so it's certainly a good idea to have a few on hand just in case. This late game Poké Ball can be found in Wyndon.

1 Net Ball

As we just mentioned, there are situations where you might want to use a Net Ball over a Dusk Ball. This would be in a situation where the Raid Boss that you're facing off against is a Bug or Water-type Pokémon. In that case, the Net Ball is going to give you a 3.5x multiplier, rather than the 3x multiplier that you're going to get from a Dusk Ball. As you only get one chance to catch Raid Bosses, you want to give yourself the best chance possible. Net Balls can be found in Motosoke.

NEXT: Pokémon Sword & Shield: Every Gym Leader, Ranked