Pokémon Held Items Guide: Best Items and When to Use Them

Pokémon held items are one of the easiest ways to make a Pokémon stronger, and one of the most overlooked. The right item can let a Pokémon survive a hit it otherwise wouldn't, outspeed a threat, or heal itself every turn. The wrong item, or no item, leaves free power on the table.

This guide covers the most useful held items in the game, what each one does, and which kinds of Pokémon benefit from them most.

How Held Items Work

Since Generation 2, every Pokémon can hold one item. Some items work passively for the whole battle, like an item that boosts a stat. Others activate once under specific conditions and are then used up, like most Berries.

A few rules to keep in mind:

• A Pokémon can only hold one item at a time.
• Moves like Knock Off can remove an opponent's item. Knock Off also does extra damage to a target that is holding a removable item, which makes it one of the most popular moves in competitive play.
• Moves like Trick and Switcheroo swap items between the user and the target.
• In official competitive formats, an Item Clause prevents two Pokémon on the same team from holding the same item.

Offensive Items

Choice Band, Choice Specs, and Choice Scarf

The three Choice items give a big 1.5× boost to one stat:

• Choice Band boosts Attack.
• Choice Specs boosts Special Attack.
• Choice Scarf boosts Speed.

The catch is that the holder is locked into the first move it uses until it switches out. If you choose the wrong move, you either keep using it or spend a turn switching.

Choice items work best on Pokémon with strong attacks and a good reason to switch often. A Choice Scarf is especially useful on a strong attacker with slightly too little Speed, letting it outspeed threats it normally couldn't. Choice items are also a popular target for Trick. Locking a defensive Pokémon into a single move can ruin its strategy.

Life Orb

Life Orb boosts the power of all the holder's moves by about 30%, without locking it into one move. In exchange, the holder loses 10% of its maximum HP each time it hits with an attack. Life Orb is ideal for fast attackers that need flexibility and expect to knock out opponents quickly, before the recoil adds up.

Expert Belt and Type-Boosting Items

Expert Belt boosts super-effective moves by 20%. It suits Pokémon with wide move coverage, since they will often have a super-effective option.

Type-boosting items like Charcoal (Fire), Mystic Water (Water), and Magnet (Electric) boost moves of one type by 20%. They are weaker than Life Orb but have no drawback, which makes them a solid choice for a Pokémon that relies on one main attack.

Weakness Policy

Weakness Policy activates when the holder is hit by a super-effective move. It raises both Attack and Special Attack by two stages, doubling them. It is used up after one activation.

It works best on bulky Pokémon that can survive a super-effective hit and then strike back hard. It is especially popular in doubles formats, where a teammate can sometimes trigger it on purpose with a weak super-effective move.

Defensive Items

Leftovers

Leftovers restores 1/16 of the holder's maximum HP at the end of every turn. It is never used up, so over a long battle it adds up to a lot of healing. It is the standard item for defensive Pokémon that stay in battle for many turns.

Black Sludge works the same way for Poison-type Pokémon. Any other Pokémon holding it loses HP each turn instead, which makes it a fun item to Trick onto an opponent.

Assault Vest

Assault Vest boosts Special Defense by 50%, but the holder can only use damaging moves. It can't use status moves like Protect or Toxic.

It is great for bulky Pokémon that attack rather than support, giving them the durability to take special hits while dealing damage back.

Eviolite

Eviolite boosts Defense and Special Defense by 50%, but only for Pokémon that can still evolve. That makes some not-fully-evolved Pokémon surprisingly good defensive picks. Some of them become harder to knock out than their fully evolved forms.

Rocky Helmet

Rocky Helmet damages any Pokémon that hits the holder with a contact move, taking 1/6 of the attacker's maximum HP. On a physically bulky Pokémon, it punishes opponents for every physical attack.

Heavy-Duty Boots

Introduced in Pokémon Sword and Shield, Heavy-Duty Boots protect the holder from all entry hazard damage, such as Stealth Rock and Spikes. This is extremely valuable for Pokémon weak to Rock, which can lose a quarter or even half of their HP to Stealth Rock every time they switch in.

One-Time Items

Focus Sash

If the holder is at full HP, Focus Sash lets it survive any single hit that would knock it out, leaving it with 1 HP. It is then used up.

It is perfect for fragile Pokémon that need to get one move off, like setting up entry hazards or using a powerful attack before going down.

Sitrus Berry and Lum Berry

Sitrus Berry restores 1/4 of the holder's maximum HP once its HP drops to half or below. It is a simple, reliable item for many Pokémon.

Lum Berry cures any status condition, including sleep, paralysis, burn, and poison, the first time the holder is affected. It is a strong choice for Pokémon that use stat-boosting moves, because a single status condition can ruin their plan.

Support Items

Light Clay extends Reflect and Light Screen from five turns to eight. It is a must-have for Pokémon whose job is to set up screens for their team.

How to Pick the Right Item

When choosing an item for a Pokémon, ask a few questions:

1. What is this Pokémon's role? Attackers want boosting items. Defensive Pokémon want healing or durability.
2. How long will it stay in battle? Long-lasting Pokémon get the most from Leftovers. Pokémon that hit hard and go down quickly get more from Life Orb or Focus Sash.
3. Does it switch often? Choice items are much better on Pokémon that switch in and out regularly.
4. What does the rest of the team need? With the Item Clause in effect, give each item to the Pokémon that benefits most.

Final Thoughts

Items are one of the simplest upgrades you can give your team, and they often decide close battles. Once you know your Pokémon's role and its stats, the right item usually becomes clear.

Use the Pokémon pages on Pokemondatabase.com to check base stats and move options, then pick the item that brings out the best in each team member.

Related Pokémon Guides

• Pokémon Type Chart Guide: how type matchups, STAB and immunities work
• Pokémon Stats, IVs, EVs and Natures: how base stats, IVs, EVs and natures build a stronger Pokémon
• Pokémon Status Conditions Guide: what burn, paralysis, poison, sleep and freeze do
• Pokémon Weather and Terrain Guide: how weather and terrain change a battle
• Pokémon Abilities Guide: the best abilities and how they shape matchups
• How to Build a Competitive Pokémon Team: a step-by-step team building process

Looking something up? Browse the full Pokémon pages, type pages, move pages, item pages, ability pages and location pages on Pokemondatabase.com.