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Lots of people in our Pokemon general discussion forums submit teams to be rated by their peers. In last week's Pokemusings contest, we asked you what your favorite hold items were for battling. Too many times we've seen people use some horrid hold items. Things like Mystic Water, Twisted Spoon, Charcoal and Arceus plates are almost always the wrong item to use in competitive battles. Any item that boosts one type of move should not be used in a competitive battle, except in extremely rare cases. So what are the "right" items to use? That's what this week's Pokemusings is all about.
Choice Items
This group of items offers massive benefits, with a single detriment. Choice Band, Choice Specs, and Choice Scarf offer an amazing 50 percent boost to Attack, Special Attack, and Speed, respectively. The downside is that the Pokemon using them are restricted to one move. Competitive battles feature a ton of hit-and-run strategies and switching, so this isn't too bad a thing if you've constructed a well-balanced team. Once you've beaten an enemy with a "Choice" Pokemon, you can switch it out for a defensive critter or one that matches up better with your next foe. When your Choice Pokemon switches back in, it can select from any of its four moves (but again, is limited to using that one until it switches out).
Out of the three, Choice Scarf is our favorite item. Giving it to a Pokemon with very good, but not outstanding, Speed is likely to catch your opponent off guard. Heracross and Magmortar are good candidates for Choice Scarf. Their impressive offensive prowess and broad move pools make these Pokemon great sweepers that are slightly lacking in the Speed department. Choice Scarf solves that problem and can let these Pokemon attack first, much to your opponent's chagrin.
