Picking up on it
Pokemon abilities vary wildly in their usefulness, but one of the most beneficial is undoubtedly Pick Up. Unlike most abilities, Pick Up does not affect combat in any way. Instead, it offers a 1 in 10 chance that a pokemon with the ability will gain an item after a battle ends. The pokemon with Pick Up doesn't even need to participate in battles in order to get items using this ability - as long as they're sitting in your active party, they still have the opportunity to scrounge something up.
Most of what you'll get through Pick Up are healing potions and status curing items. Nothing super special, but they are useful. And hey, who's going to argue with free stuff? What really makes Pick Up awesome, though, are the times when your picker-upper pokes turn up with some very rare items. Rare Candies, stat-boosting vitamins, even TMs and evolution stones - with a bit of luck, Pick Up can secure all of these rare and expensive goodies for you.
So how do you get the goods? First, you'll need to catch some Pokes with the ability. You can actually do this pretty early on in the game. After getting Rock Smash, you'll have access to Route 205, where wild Pachirisu can be found in abundance. Pachirisu are squirrel-like electric-type pokes. Wild Pachirisu have either Run Away or Pick Up as their ability, but unfortunately, you won't be able to tell which they have until you've caught one. Keep trying until you've got one with Pick Up. Wild Aipom also have a chance of having Pick Up as their special ability, though they're considerably harder to come across than Pachirisu.
Once you've caught a poke with the ability, put them in your party, and check their status whenever you finish a battle to see if they're holding an item or not. (Using the Poketch makes this considerably easier.) It's up to you whether or not you want to stick the Pick Up poke in battle or just have it scrounge on the sidelines. One thing to keep in mind is that the level of the poke with Pick Up affects both the quality of the items you'll pick up and the frequency with which you'll get better goods. The higher the poke's level, the more frequently you're going to wind up with Rare Candies and Max Revives.
Remember, a poke needs its hands free for Pick Up to work, so if you want to use the ability, don't give the critter any items or berries to hold. Also, be sure and check after battle frequently to see if the poke is holding an item for you - if they snag something and you don't un-equip it, they won't be able to Pick Up anything else until you remove the goods from their possession.
If you're just going out for a stroll to gain levels or try and catch wild pokemon, it's a good idea to take a poke with Pick Up with you to reap some extra benefit. If you want to start a massive scavenger hunt for rare items, you can set out with a party containing multiple Pick Up pokes and see what you wind up with.
Once you've caught a poke with the ability, put them in your party, and check their status whenever you finish a battle to see if they're holding an item or not. (Using the Poketch makes this considerably easier.) It's up to you whether or not you want to stick the Pick Up poke in battle or just have it scrounge on the sidelines. One thing to keep in mind is that the level of the poke with Pick Up affects both the quality of the items you'll pick up and the frequency with which you'll get better goods. The higher the poke's level, the more frequently you're going to wind up with Rare Candies and Max Revives.
Remember, a poke needs its hands free for Pick Up to work, so if you want to use the ability, don't give the critter any items or berries to hold. Also, be sure and check after battle frequently to see if the poke is holding an item for you - if they snag something and you don't un-equip it, they won't be able to Pick Up anything else until you remove the goods from their possession.
If you're just going out for a stroll to gain levels or try and catch wild pokemon, it's a good idea to take a poke with Pick Up with you to reap some extra benefit. If you want to start a massive scavenger hunt for rare items, you can set out with a party containing multiple Pick Up pokes and see what you wind up with.
