Summary
- Choosing the right Held Item in Pokemon is crucial for competitive success and PvE efficiency.
- Some often overlooked Held Items, like the Custap Berry, can be game-changers in battles.
- Popular choices like the Air Balloon and Focus Sash offer strategic advantages worth considering.
Determining which Held Item to use in Pokemon games is a major factor in winning competitive battles and doing well in PvE, much more of a factor than most give it credit for. There are a lot of options, with the amount growing every game, so it can be a bit overwhelming. In general, though, there are some Held Items that are found to be used more by the player base than others.
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Whether it's a Tera Raid, a tough Gym Leader, or just trying to climb up to the competitive ladder, the Held Item for each Pokemon in a Pokemon game is a big part of the experience. Regardless of their purpose, trainers should be on the lookout for the best Held Items.
Updated September 20th, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter: The 'meta' of Pokemon competitive battles is always changing. The Pokemon Company isn't exactly in the habit of updating their games with constant balance adjustments, but between new generations, a lot of small changes are typically introduced. This, on top of all the new Pokemon introduced in new generations, usually causes the 'viability' of a lot of Held Items to change. However, the best Held Items almost always stay near the top, regardless of the changes. With that in mind, why don't we take an in-depth look at all the Held Items available across the Pokemon franchise, and talk about some of the most universally beloved and strongest Held Item options out there?
27 Booster Energy
Introduced in Generation IX
|
Name |
Single Use? |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Booster Energy |
Yes |
Activates the effects of Abilities like Protosynthesis or Quark Drive despite Harsh Sunlight or Electric Terrain not being active. |
Booster Energy is a newer Held Item, which should be obvious by the fact that Paradox Pokemon are the only ones who can hold it. However, despite being usable by a small subset of Pokemon, this item is pretty fantastic. It allows Quark Drive Pokemon like Iron Treads, Iron Thorns, Iron Valiant, and Iron Moth to get the absurd benefits of the ability (+30 percent to one random stat, not including HP, and +50 percent if Speed is chosen) without even having to go through the work of setting up Electric Terrain.
And, considering how powerful Paradox Pokemon tend to be by default, this almost feels like overkill. And for those who are wondering, Protosynthesis is essentially just the ancient Paradox Pokemon variant of Quark Drive, as they have the exact same effect with the only difference being what actually activates the ability. As a final little benefit, it's also worth noting that, while Booster Energy is technically 'used' when activated in battle, it's only used up for the battle itself, and the item doesn't actually disappear, with it 'refreshing' after the battle is over.
26 Toxic Orb
Introduced in Generation IV
|
Name |
Single Use? |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Toxic Orb |
No |
At the end of the turn, the Toxic Orb badly poisons its holder. |
The viability of both Toxic Orb and Burn Orb has seesawed back and forth over the years as the damage of these status effects has changed. Originally, the damage dealt by the Toxic poison would only start outpacing Burn's damage after the 4th turn, making Toxic Orb the best choice for Pokemon with the Guts ability.
However, in recent generations, Burn's damage per turn has been adjusted, making either Orb a viable option. Regardless of which Orb is used, the strategy is the same, which is to let it activate and then absolutely decimate the opponent's team due to the +50 percent Attack buff Guts grants to Pokemon suffering from a status condition. Typically this combo is used on Pokemon like Conkeldurr, Ursaluna, Luxray, and Machamp, but with this combo even the weaker Pokemon with Guts become absolute powerhouses.
25 Air Balloon
Introduced in Generation V
|
Name |
Single Use? |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Air Balloon |
Yes |
Makes the holder 'ungrounded' meaning they become immune to Ground moves as well as a couple of other effects, and when they're hit by any other move, the Balloon is popped and the effect is lost for the rest of that battle. |
First up is a Held Item that isn't talked about all that often, the Air Balloon. Depending on the game, the Air Balloon might not be worth the investment, as outside of online battles it's typically a one-time-use item. However, for those incredibly important battles or to really get one over on your friend, the Air Balloon does wonders.
Sending out a Pokemon that's typically weak to Ground-type moves and looking at the expression on your friend's face as their Earthquake doesn't work is truly a whole new level of satisfying. However, the Pokemon sent out better be able to one-hit KO their opponent, or that Balloon is probably getting popped on the very next turn. In general, the Air Balloon is good, but not entirely 'great', but in certain games where this isn't a one-time use item, it's pretty incredible.
24 Custap Berry
Introduced in Generation IV
|
Name |
Single Use? |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Custap Berry |
Yes |
When below 25 percent health, the Holder will move first in its priority bracket against its opponent. |
Honestly, a lot of the Berries are pretty great, and people who are addicted to Pokerogue at the moment are finding this out. However, among all of the Berry options, one that is commonly slept on that shouldn't be is the Custap Berry.
How often in the more difficult Pokemon games or even fan games does your Pokemon just barely survive an attack, but you know you aren't fast enough to get another attack out before you're killed? It happens all the time. In these circumstances, a Custap Berry is a literal lifesaver. Granted, it's a Berry, so it'll be eaten by the Pokemon to gain the effect, but even a single Custap Berry is enough to completely change the course of a battle.
23 Ability Shield
Introduced in Generation IX
|
Name |
Single Use? |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Ability Shield |
No |
Prevents the holder from having its Ability changed, suppressed, or nullified in any way. Also protects them from effects that would typically ignore Abilities altogether. |
Moving on to one of the newest Held Items to be introduced into Pokemon, the Ability Shield. Ability Shield is a bit difficult to understand at a glance but to boil it down as much as possible, the wielder of this item can't have their Ability changed in any way. Additionally, if a move is used against it that would normally ignore the Ability of the wielder, the move won't do anything.
Again, it's a bit of a confusing concept, but just know that it makes for some truly devious builds with Pokemon like Grafaiai or it can just make it a lot safer to use sweeper Pokemon without worrying about getting stopped or shut down.
22 Focus Sash
Introduced in Generation IV
|
Name |
Single Use? |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Focus Sash |
Yes |
If the holder had full HP when hit by a move that would typically cause them to faint, they are instead be reduced to 1 HP. |
Focus Sash is likely one of the easier Held Items to understand on here as it does one simple thing, keep the Pokemon alive for at least one hit. If a move would normally KO a Pokemon from full health, Focus Sash prevents that from happening and the holder will survive with 1 HP instead.
As one could imagine, this is a fantastic basic counter to pure team sweepers in competitive, as it gives the opponent at least one chance to stop a Pokemon that is decimating their team with one-hit KOs one after another. Of course, it should be mentioned that this is another consumable Held Item, but once again that doesn't really matter in online PvP matches, though out of all of the consumable Held Items this is often the one that fans get the most confused about whether it gets 'used up' or not.
21 Bright Powder
Introduced in Generation II
|
Name |
Single Use? |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Bright Powder |
No |
Any moves targeting the holder of this item gain an additional 8 percent chance to miss. |
This next Held Item is another deceptive one, because, at first glance, it doesn't seem like much. But, just think about all the times that a move with even 90 Accuracy misses compared to one with 100 percent accuracy. Even something like Stone Edge almost feels ridiculous with how much it missed given that the move has an 8/10 chance to hit. All this to say that being able to minus another 8 percent from the Accuracy of all moves has a pretty big impact overall.
Even 100 percent accuracy moves have a chance to miss with this equipped, and players will notice that they're just not hitting as often as they should be when fighting a Pokemon holding this item, and they'll often get (rightfully) frustrated.
20 Weakness Policy
Introduced in Generation VI
|
Name |
Single Use? |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Weakness Policy |
Yes |
If the holder is hit by a Super-Effective move, the Weakness Policy is consumed, and the holder's Attack and Special Attack stats are both raised by 2 stages each. |
The next Held Item, Weakness Policy, is a real high-risk, high-reward sort of item to use. It's worth paying special attention to the fact that after Weakness Policy is triggered, it is 'consumed' and the Pokemon that was holding it will now be without a Held Item for the rest of the battle.
Again, in PvE, this means the player will have to acquire another Weakness Policy, but in competitive, it just reappears on the Pokemon after the battle. Weakness Policy is an item that usually works best on bulkier Pokemon that typically survive at least one hit or Pokemon with innate survival-based Abilities such as Sturdy.
19 Amulet Coin
Introduced in Generation II
|
Name |
Single Use? |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Amulet Coin |
No |
Doubles the amount of Prize Money gained from a battle as long as the holder participates in said battle. Also doubles the number of coins picked up from moves like Pay Day, G-Max Gold Rush, or Make it Rain. |
For many these days, the main story mode of a mainline Pokemon game is pretty easygoing. Developers are kind enough to give players access to a wide array of TMs, items, and Potions, without requiring them to shell out their hard-earned Pokedollars. But as new Pokemon games have come out, they've introduced more things to spend in-game currency on such as clothes, cooking ingredients, and more.
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Thankfully, grinding money isn't particularly difficult, especially if players can get their hands on an Amulet Coin. This fancy Held Item will double the amount of currency a player receives after winning any battle. Sure, it has zero utility whatsoever from a competitive standpoint, but not everything has to have a competitive application.
18 Cleanse Tag
Introduced in Generation II
|
Name |
Single Use? |
Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Cleanse Tag |
No |
When held by the first Pokemon in your party, the Cleanse Tag halves the encounter rate of Wild Pokemon. |
Another PvE-centric item, but one that players who have spent way too much on Repels find immense value in. The Cleanse Tag is an item that was introduced in the second generation of Pokemon, and it has one simple function, it reduces the encounter rate of bumping into Wild Pokemon.
Again, this is useless in competitive matches or PvP, but a lifesaver for anyone backtracking through areas or running around in caves. Just keep in mind, Cleanse Tag needs to be held by the Pokemon at the front of the party in order to work, though that wasn't always the case