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Focus Sash
If the holder has max HP, Focus Sash guarantees they survive any attack with 1 HP. If the holder is not at full health, the item will not activate. If the holder takes damage, but does not activate Focus Sash, and then recovers off this damage to return to 100% HP, Focus Sash can still activate. Focus Sash will allow the holder to survive all hits of a multi-hit move like Fury Attack, provided the holder is at 100% health on the first hit. Also allows the holder to survive all hits of Triple Kick. Focus Sash prevents the holder from OHKOing itself in its confusion. Does not protect against Doom Desire or Future Sight. Does not protect the holder from OHKOing itself from recoil damage. One-time use.
Focus Sash is generally used to keep Pokemon alive, and give you a second chance. The item is usually found on Pokemon that are to be used very early in the game, such as leads and quick sweepers. With the ever-looming threat of Stealth Rock, Sandstorm, Hail, Spikes, or status taking away some health, all of which would then make Focus Sash useless, it should not be saved for lategame. It is also helpful to use on a Pokemon that has a lot of frailty, in order to ensure they don't lose to sudden priority or a faster sweeper.
Focus Sash can give any Pokemon a second chance, extremely helpful when you accidently misread a situation or just don't create enough damage for one hit. Unlike its cousin, Focus Band, it will always work, as long as you are at full health when hit. Focus Sash is a very handy item for Pokemon that need one turn to boost their stats. With it, you will not have to rely on moves such as Substitute or Endure. Focus Sash has also created a new wave of Pokemon, called "Suicide Leads". These Pokemon will Stealth Rock as soon as possible, surviving hits thanks to their Focus Sash. The next turn, they will Explode, Taunt, or simply attack until they are eventually brought down.
Although it has some advantages, Focus Sash has many immediate downsides. With Stealth Rock up, Focus Sash automatically becomes useless, unless you can Rapid Spin it away. Sandstorm and Hail can also negate Focus Sash, as can status. It also provides a loss in power. For example, a Lucario with Focus Sash can Swords Dance to get +2 Attack. However, with an item such as Life Orb, that Lucario could get two Swords Dance and a 30% boost to go along with it.
Focus Sash should generally remain only on leads, unless you are fully confident in spinning away Stealth Rock, as well as avoiding weather.
Expert Belt
When the holder uses an attack that is super effective on the target, the damage is increased by 20%.
Expert Belt is used to provide a 20% boost for Super effective attacks. While a downgrade from Life Orb's 30% boost to all attacks, Expert Belt does not give any recoil damage, which in turn, makes it somewhat of a guessing game for the opponent.
Expert Belt is a great bluff item as if correctly used, it can convince your opponent that you are using Choice Band, Lum Berry, ect. It provides an excellent quick boost in power and gives no recoil, an immediate bonus. Expert Belt also fits very well on many Pokemon that would use Life Orb anyway, as most of their attacks would be used as Super effective hits.
The loss in power can be devastating though, especially considering you may not get any at all. And if it's not boosting any power, it is mainly a useless item for that turn, as you could have been using Leftovers for recovery or Life Orb for more power. If it is Tricked away, it also puts you at another disadvantage, revealing any bluff that you had tried to pull.
Expert Belt should be used on Pokemon that have a very diverse movepool. This way, it can hopefully work every turn, instead of rarely working and becoming a useless item.
Lum Berry
Cures freeze, sleep, poison, paralysis, burn, and confusion. Activates when the holder is afflicted with a status, or when a Pokemon acquires a Lum berry (through Trick, Recycle, ect.) while afflicted with a status. If a Pokémon is suffering from both confusion and one of the major status ailments at the time it acquires a Lum Berry, it will be cured of both conditions. This item is consumed after use.
Lum Berry is generally used on Pokemon that wish to avoid status, such as sweepers that rely on stat boosts, or even just a high Speed stat. It can also be useful on defensive Pokemon that use Rest, curing their status ailment, instead of putting them at a disadvantage.
Lum Berry heals any status, including two at the same time. It is very helpful for sweepers, allowing them to freely set up while testing to see if the opponent has planned on using any status moves. If so, Lum Berry will heal them, and allow the sweeper to destroy the opposing Pokemon. As mentioned above, Lum Berry will heal Pokemon that use Rest. It is especially helpful on bulky Ghost-types that are relied on for blocking Rapid Spin. They can use Rest if their HP gets too low and immediately wake up to continue to block it.
Lum Berry is a one time use item, making it somewhat useless if you are confronted by a status move while switching in. Lum Berry also doesn't give any power support, except for perhaps and extra turn to set up. If you rely on using status moves and Lum Berry is Tricked to the opponent, your opponent is then able to receive a free turn to set up on you.
Lum Berry works extremely well on Pokemon with Outrage as well, considering that status is sometimes rare to face. This way, Lum Berry will still be put to use as well as allow you to continue sweeping.
Choice Band
Attack is boosted by 50% but the user is restricted to one move until they switch out.
If the holder of this item uses Sleep Talk, it will select a random move for the first turn, and receive the boost as usual, but all subsequent uses of Sleep Talk or the move chosen by Sleep Talk will fail until the holder switches out.
In Diamond/Pearl, if the holder is brought in from a Pokémon that used U-turn to initiate the switch, and the holder has U-turn, it must use U-turn as its next move. If the holder doesn't have U-turn, it can freely select a move. However; in Platinum, if the holder is brought in from a Pokémon that used U-turn to initiate the switch they can freely select any move, even if the holder has U-turn.
Baton Pass counts as a switch as far as this item is concerned, and thus resets the move into which the holder is locked to no move.
Choice Band is generally used for an immediate boost in Attack, and is the most powerful item to do it with. Choice Band is mostly used on more bulky Pokemon, as they will constantly switch out and take hits. The reason is that Choice Band locks the user into one attack, which an opponent will generally try to capitalize on. Fast and frail Pokemon can attempt to use Choice Band as well, as they usually have the Speed and Attack to do it reasonably well.
On a quick offensive team, Choice Band can provide some immediate power and force even more switches. It can also power ups moves enough to break through tough defensive cores such as Skarmory and Blissey. The boost in power will also give very few Pokemon opportunities to switch in, making it less of a big deal of being locked into one move. Choice Band also provides more power than two consecutive turns of an Expert Belt boost would, proving its effectiveness,
While it does provide a lot of power, Choice Band has a very bad side effect. Locking the user into one attack can be asking for a death wish, giving many sweepers a free turn to set up, especially if they are immune to the attack. Defensive Pokemon also enjoy the lock in effect of Choice Band, taking the time to set up entry hazards. Also, other moves such as Dragon Dance or Swords Dance will actually provide just as much or more power as Choice Band, but gives the user a freedom of moves. If Choice Band is Tricked onto another Choiced Pokemon, the user will still be locked into Trick.
Choice Band is usually best used on bulkier Pokemon who can take more hits. It should also be saved for much later in the game than other items, as it could be too easy to set up on early in the game. Choice Band does raise Attack 1.5x, which provides more than enough power to make up the drawback. As mentioned early, its damage output is greater than two consecutive turns of Expert Belt working.
Choice Specs
Special Attack is boosted by 50% but the user is restricted to one move until they switch out.
If the holder of this item uses Sleep Talk, it will select a random move for the first turn, and receive the boost as usual, but all subsequent uses of Sleep Talk or the move chosen by Sleep Talk will fail until the holder switches out.
In Diamond/Pearl, if the holder is brought in from a Pokémon that used U-turn to initiate the switch, and the holder has U-turn, it must use U-turn as its next move. If the holder doesn't have U-turn, it can freely select a move. However; in Platinum, if the holder is brought in from a Pokémon that used U-turn to initiate the switch they can freely select any move, even if the holder has U-turn.
Baton Pass counts as a switch as far as this item is concerned, and thus resets the move into which the holder is locked to no move.
Choice Specs is generally used for an immediate boost in Attack, and is the most powerful item to do it with. Choice Specs is mostly used on more bulky Pokemon, as they will constantly switch out and take hits. The reason is that Choice Specs locks the user into one attack, which an opponent will generally try to capitalize on. Fast and frail Pokemon can attempt to use Choice Specs as well, as they usually have the Speed and Special Attack to do it reasonably well.
On a quick offensive team, Choice Specs can provide some immediate power and force even more switches. It can also power ups moves enough to break through tough defensive cores such as Skarmory and Cresselia. The boost in power will also give very few Pokemon opportunities to switch in, making it less of a big deal of being locked into one move. Choice Specs also provides more power than two consecutive turns of an Expert Belt boost would, proving its effectiveness,
While it does provide a lot of power, Choice Specs has a very bad side effect. Locking the user into one attack can be asking for a death wish, giving many sweepers a free turn to set up, especially if they are immune to the attack. Defensive Pokemon also enjoy the lock in effect of Choice Specs, taking the time to set up entry hazards. Also, other moves such as Calm Mind or Nasty Plot will actually provide just as much or more power as Choice Band, but gives the user a freedom of moves. If Choice Specs is Tricked onto another Choiced Pokemon, the user will still be locked into Trick.
Choice Specs is usually best used on bulkier Pokemon who can take more hits. It should also be saved for much later in the game than other items, as it could be too easy to set up on early in the game. Choice Specs does raise Special Attack 1.5x, which provides more than enough power to make up the drawback. As mentioned early, its damage output is greater than two consecutive turns of Expert Belt working.
Choice Scarf
Speed is boosted by 50% but the user is restricted to one move until they switch out.
If the holder of this item uses Sleep Talk, it will select a random move for the first turn, and receive the boost as usual, but all subsequent uses of Sleep Talk or the move chosen by Sleep Talk will fail until the holder switches out.
In Diamond/Pearl, if the holder is brought in from a Pokémon that used U-turn to initiate the switch, and the holder has U-turn, it must use U-turn as its next move. If the holder doesn't have U-turn, it can freely select a move. However; in Platinum, if the holder is brought in from a Pokémon that used U-turn to initiate the switch they can freely select any move, even if the holder has U-turn.
Baton Pass counts as a switch as far as this item is concerned, and thus resets the move into which the holder is locked to no move
Choice Scarf is generally used on Pokemon to boost their Speed and revenge kill much faster sweepers. It is preferred on stronger Pokemon that usually have counters that rely on outspeeding it. Choice Scarf does not boost Attack or Special Attack in any way, making it somewhat harder to effectively use.
Choice Scarf is a great item to use for revenge killing, the act of outspeeding and fainting a Pokemon after they have fainted one of yours. Choice Scarf also helps much slower Pokemon that lack Speed but have excellent Attack or Special Attack. Choice Scarf also gives Pokemon a chance to defeat fast set up sweepers if they were given an opportunity to set up.
Unfortunately, using Choice Scarf, you will be locked in one attack with no boost in power. For this reason, attacks that have many immunities or resistances should be avoided, while powerful attacks that can hit many Pokemon reasonably well are ideal. However, many Pokemon will take the time to set up on you, especially when you can not hit as hard as possible. Moves such as Dragon Dance or Agility will actually provide as much or more Speed than Choice Scarf. Also, if you attempt to Trick Choice Scarf on another Choiced Pokemon, you will still be locked into Trick.
Choice Scarf should generally be used for lategame where you can see which moves would be most effective in helping to take down an opponent's team. It should also be used on Pokemon that are either generally fast that could use more Speed to take down stat boosting Pokemon, as well as slow Pokemon who have high attacking stats.