USELESS Items In Competitive Pokemon...

[@StickMaster500]

It's funny that Focus Band exists while also Bright Powder existing at the same time as they essentially have the same effect in terms of survivability

[@MoxieBoosted]

I legit couldn't in good faith include Bright Powder cause it's legit useful in tournament

[@ParasocialCatgirl]

Focus Band still causes you to take damage, unlike the Bright Powder.

[@poppyfrancis7338]

I think this is a good example of how you do something being just as important as the effective end result.

[@lordmudkip7344]

Focus Band allows you to survive moves that bypass accuracy checks, so it's actually much better if you ignore all other downsides

[@ethanjones8041]

Bright powder stacks with abilities like sand veil/snow cloak. Focus band doesnt stack with stuff like sturdy unless you get the 10% chance which then negates sturdy unless you’ve already taken damage. Just doesn’t function the same way

[@laslosermcuseless1574]

There was a octillery named octain that held on with focus band three times in an row. This was on a Japanese show called pokemon Sunday so it was pretty well known in Japan given that it happened on TV. That octillery was later given out as an event pokemon and had a unique model in the wii ware games

[@classarank7youtubeherokeyb63]

I had my gen IV tower run ruined by a ryperior holding a focus band... Twice. It's the one forgettable item that has been imprinted into my brain forever.

[@ShockInazuma]

Can confirm. The Octillery was also given the nickname “Golgotillery” and was included in a three part series. It was also distributed via D/P (tmk) along with a Tropius and Whiscash that were part of the same series.

[@MineNick11]

Metronome actually resets upon the move failing. So you need to play around every protect.

[@kyrie6910]

Subroost Kyurem actually used metronome at some points😊

[@sablesalt]

​@@kyrie6910not actually, it was only used during a time metronome didn't reset on protect due to emulation issues

[@kyrie6910]

Which still counts in my books. I used it for a bit to some success, though I still used leftovers more commonly.@@sablesalt

[@jul1us787]

@@sablesalt that still counts, kyrie6910 used it a bit before to some succes

[@ConnorMcSchrosch]

Unless your name is urshifu

[@Apterygidae]

8:58 it’s pretty funny to say the Float Stone is a worse Air Balloon because in the TCG, the Air Balloon is actually a literal worse version of Float Stone

[@AceAviations2]

As someone who played around with Keldeo EX and Float Stone on TCGO in the past, Float Stone is actually very good.

[@GlobalDigitalEmpire]

Another note on Metronome that makes it unviable (especially in VGC) is that Protect will reset the boosts

[@iwa9691]

in the metagame of Smogon Doubles OU it was actually fringe viable on Zygarde 50%, since there were positions for it to just click TArrows for 5 turns straight. It might have seen similar success except idt Zygarde 50% has ever been a meta part of any VGC format.

[@jetnyan2348]

i use it on normceus in dubers and it works fairly well as i really couldnt think of a better item

[@Zwijger]

He literally says that in the video.

[@GlobalDigitalEmpire]

​@@Zwijgerno he mentions protect only in the context of the user switching moves not that your opponents would use it and stop the stacking from metronome.

[@eddiec9756]

This was always something I enjoyed doing in Gen's 3-6 where I would just look at all the fancy items at the battle tower facilities and just be mesmerized by the sprite art because they were "battle items" that couldn't be found in the overworld.

[@FusselTeddy0707]

Big Root Yveltal was one fun set I ran back in USUM. It was pretty funny recovering 97.5% of the damage it dealt with Oblivion Wing.

[@Xpwnxage]

Oblivion Wing sounds so badass

[@hosni4064]

@@Xpwnxage if it helps, the Japanese name is Death Wing

[@nicolaistuhlmuller8718]

Even then with Sharp Beak you would've recovered almost the same amount but also dealt a lot more damage on top.

[@titouanboulanger6877]

It’s Death Wing in french too, which makes it sound like « mortal /deadly » Mort-Aile VS mortel

[@FusselTeddy0707]

@@nicolaistuhlmuller8718 sure on an offensive set, but my Yveltal was defensively oriented. Let's assume 100 damage. With my Big Root set I recover 97 HP, while with a Sharp Beak I would have "only" recovered 90 HP. Those 7 HP can be pretty crucial living next turn. It's the same as optimising for Grassy Terrain Recovery

[@ethandavis2373]

I, too, occasionally indulge in pondering my sticky barb

[@Gamingrunes]

Why not also use trick or item switching moves with posion barb free poison on enemy

[@shirshobanerjee7751]

Sticky barb is funnier (Also it gives consistent damage on pokemon immune to poison or burn)

[@nunyabusiness3957]

Ability SHield can also prevent Mold Breaker Haxorus from sweeping through Unaware pokemon like Clodsire and Quagsire with it's boosts, where Mold Breaker would usually ignore Unaware.

[@gator-tater9827]

Not really a situation that comes up in VGC though

[@Endershock1678]

@@gator-tater9827 It's barely a situation that comes up in singles. It really only comes up in lower tiers of play.

[@anamariaprotasio4340]

Só é útil em casos únicos cinderace não se boosta assim

[@ricardoribeiro2742]

@revolverjesus98 which one gets the screech?

[@ricardoribeiro2742]

@revolverjesus98 magic bounce only activates once? And if mirror armor reflects, the pokemon who got magic bounce gets the status?

[@TheDunsparceGames]

the ability shield also blocks the effects of neutralizing gas as well, so in the pure hackmons metagame where anything can use any ability the ability shield is basically mandatory on anything not using neutralizing gas

[@Grimor9]

As someone who mainly plays singles, the starf berry has some minor potential. You can use it with pokemon with gluttony and recycle (like the elemental monkies) to possibly create an awkward moody-esque snowball effect. Still, you would be much better using berries you can actually play around with like liechi or petaya

[@ericwu6571]

vapicuno made a team featuring it on endeavor swellow back in ADV

[@baxterbruce9827]

A ×2 boost to anything can be amazing with an even somewhat balanced team, when combined with Baton Pass, but we keep banning that, don't we?

[@ashblossomandjoyoussprung.9917]

Ripen Appletun with Recycle?

[@gator-tater9827]

I miss the classic SubPetaya Empoleon sets from back in the day; those were so much fun to play

[@mortmortington240]

its pretty decent in adv where bpass is viable

[@EllipticalReasoning]

With regard to competitive singles, starf berry has a niche in some of the lower tiers along with harvest (ability to restore consumed berries) and recovery, and in some generations sticky barb clefable has been a stall staple. Its a really nasty trick to take an enemy item AND put that enemy mon on a clock, no matter it's type.

[@Moss_Dude]

A use I found for the utility umbrella is for when you have a pokemon that relies on synthesis, morning sun, or moonlight to heal. Rain will reduce it to a mere 25%, and the utility umbrella protects you from that. Also, I think it made hurricane miss me in the rain once?

[@asierrv]

I used it on umbreon to reduce getting 2 shot in sun/rain while being able to heal. That was in draft format, but it did work

[@Brambrew]

I was gonna say, Black Sludge is still a nice option for poison types and is a mischievous surprise if you use Trick. But admittedly it's more of a gimmicky item and doesn't see as much competitive meta viability anymore.

[@isnanesavant]

Bisharp go crazy wit it

[@Brambrew]

@@isnanesavant Haha yeah Bisharp go brrrrr

[@tysondennis1016]

I run it without Tera.

[@tbone6032]

It was better than leftovers for poison types last gen. It will be better for them again next gen when Tera is gone

[@Brambrew]

@@tbone6032 True. Momentary hiccup for Black Sludge, is all.

[@Musasensei1674]

i love how everyone just missed the sweet home alabama reference at 8:50 ,more like bro sis relation

[@beanwuzhear]

Gotta say, the funny script and your line delivery + the editor having fun with visual gags (DON'T EAT THE ROCK) make for a very enjoyable and hilarious video. Great stuff, hope to see more videos with this style!

[@Nmoment-uv6jc]

0:28 switcheroo bread is a legit strat. Never let them know your next move

[@korokcorrosion4633]

I actually brought an Apicot Berry Oinkologne to Hartford Regionals and it was super good. Stuff Checks for +2 defense and +1 SpDef from the apicot berry saved me in a handful of games. Don't ask what my record was though... I don't want to talk about it.

[@ShiningScarlet]

What was your record

[@UncalibratedAimbot]

@@ShiningScarletX and 6

[@skullguy4863]

What's that record

[@theschnozzler]

What was your record?

[@maarkeel04]

what was ur record

[@NowiRiley]

I feel the Utility Umbrella is better used as a hinderance item tricked onto the opponent rather than holding it yourself. For example if you're facing a sun team and their Torkoal relies on sun to survive a Rapid Strike Urshifu's water attack- if it was tricked to hold the Umbrella it would still take the full attack's damage (as the Umbrella neutralizes the sun's weakening effect on that water move). Not only that but you could also have a Utility Umbrella and then trick it onto your opponent's Chlorophyll/Swift Swim Pokemon to suddenly slow them down. Although in both cases just changing the weather yourself is way more consistent and a much better answer.

[@milesr1709]

‘Do not eat the rock’ got a much bigger laugh out of me than I’d be willing to admit to my parents lmao

[@jameswarhammer2637]

The starf berry is actually very underrated, i recently heard about a team based on it in gen 3 OU which uses a swellow to sub down to the activation range for the berry then it can either endeavor to effectively trade or baton pass to whatever mon needs the boost (so with a modern team you could pass def or sp.def bonus to like a cresselia, pass offensive boosts to a flutter or palafin and mabey pass speed to a brute bonet with booster for a really fast spore)

[@sassafrassanid5718]

Based Jimothy Cool viewer

[@silverjay2240]

this is in ou singles, the video this is on is for vgc

[@PorkShark]

Metronome is actually good in Tera Raids cuz you don't want to be locked to a single move or lose HP with every attack

[@mastermewtwo5503]

Most Tera Raid strategies involve some buffing move, then hitting with attacks. Sometimes more specific tactics for the really high tiered ones. If you're using Metronome to buff an attack you want to spam, you might as well use Choice Band to get an immediate 1.5x boost.

[@Pokemonfan2500]

​@mastermewtwo5503 Metronome is actually better because then you're not locked into one move in a raid battle especially if you want to use recover but you used Thunder Punch with choice band

[@Skalvern]

Got some niche uses for some items for you. Sticky Barb has a use for Tatsugiri who would use endure to live an ally clicking uturn/volt switch. This would bring out Dozo and the Tatsugiri holding the Barb will take damage at then end of turn in order to bring out the Coestar Flamigo. Utility Umbrella Amoonguss would allow it to dodge Hurricane in Rain as Hurricane would have its normal accuracy. Note Birghtpowder would not allow Amoonguss to dodge as Hurricane has perfect accuracy in rain otherwise. Float Stone can allow some pokemon to be lifted with sky drop where they would of been too heavy previously. Yea thats all with that. No mention on Ring Target? mind you the best use i found for it was a better "Bread" for Poltergeist as it would allow you to hit normal types with the move.

[@benjamincharlton1388]

Im using the barb strat, it is the funniest thing ever

[@Eltipoquevisteayer]

Focus band could be interesting with diminishing chances 90% at 90-100% health 5% at 1-5% health And everything in between

[@notapear]

Then it just becomes a better focus sash because it doesn't get shut down by hazards.

[@dropthehatantonycraft7516]

@@notapearMake the Sash work all the time at 75%+

[@nousername191]

@@notapear Not necessarily. Never underestimate a 5% chance of something screwing you over in Pokemon. I'd rather have the 100% of Focus Sash than a chance of it failing even at full health.

[@notapear]

@@nousername191 yeah. Tell that to gholdengo that makes your focus sash work 0% of the time due to the spikes that are on the field at all times due to ceaseless edge.

[@Endershock1678]

⁠​⁠@@notapear IDK about you, but I and many other players have easily lost to 5%. Sure it might be better in the hazard littered singles, but it would be worse in the hazard less VGC.

[@tictacctical3030]

Just wanna say that your videos are SO addicting to watch, great job man

[@MoxieBoosted]

Tysm!

[@MrDoggieBiscuits]

*Addictive

[@Krazykarlton]

A video on priority moves would be pretty cool

[@Krazykarlton]

And that’s be positive and negative btw. I think there’s a lot of cool stuff that isn’t too much talked about.

[@justineberlein5916]

You mean those things that everyone keeps trying to use on my Farigiraf?

[@kevinfloresjaramillo7009]

You mean those moves people do when the Psychic Terrain isn't active?

[@Krazykarlton]

@@kevinfloresjaramillo7009 I mean they click them when it’s active too tbh

[@tysondennis1016]

I’ve got an idea for a gimmick item: The Sticky Stone. -The opponent cannot remove it by any means. -However, the user can still Fling it, or give it to an opponent with Trick. Uses: -Foiling Choice Scarf Trick sets. -Nerfing Acrobatics and Unburden sets. -Allowing an opponent to get hit by a boosted-power Knock Off multiple times. -Making an opponent vulnerable to Poltergeist. -Leaving the opponent with an item that’s conditionally useful, while keeping their unconditionally useful item. Inspiration: -I was inspired by how Mail was used to foil Trick Scarves, so I decided to make an item like that. A very niche and gimmicky item, but it gets results.

[@furiouscorgi6614]

iirc, the Knock Off boost only applies if an item is removed, see Mega Stones and Z-Crystals

[@yungmuney5903]

Why would there be a knock off boost if its not knocking anything off?

[@CoffeeHype7356]

9:18 DO NOT EAT THE ROCK

[@megamudkip5913]

It's interesting how they use focus band in pokemon unite, where in that game, when your hp is low, you recover hp to like, a quarter, which can help with escaping since you can avoid more moments where you almost get to safety but get snipped because you were left with low hp.

[@ratspew932]

Now that I think about it this is literally a sitrus berry

[@bluebaron6811]

A bit late, but back in 2014, my uncle brought a Heracross holding Heracronite to an event. The catch was that he didn't Mega Evolve it. At the time, my area had lots of annoying Scarf/Band Trick users. My uncle knew that if a Pokémon held a Mega Stone, it couldn't be removed in any sort of way. So he ran a Moxie set with Megahorn, Brick Break, Substitute, and Rock Blast (just incase he wanted to go Mega as a do-or-die effort.) He didn't get a good placement, but I loved seeing him think outside the box.

[@munchrai6396]

Yeah, I used to do that a lot with Guts Heracross just because status absorbing is really useful

[@Sgt_Viper000]

Funny enough, I did actually find a use for the Tactical Umbrella back in Gen 8. During the Gmax Venusaur/Drought era, I ran a Prankster Meowsic that had the umbrella and trick. I would trick the umbrella onto the Venusaur, thus completely shutting down Chlorophyll and also removing the black sludge (which I would then pass to its partner who would choke to death). It was incredibly fun, and I think I might try it again this gen with Protosynthesis mons who aren't running booster energy.

[@ethanjones8041]

Ring target. What happened there?? “The holder's type immunities granted solely by its typing are negated.” Means the holder can be hit by a poison move if it’s a steel type or hit by a ground type if the holder is flying. I cant see how this can be used defensively at all and offensively it only works if you trick it onto something then hit that same target with a move it was previously immune to. Imagine if it was reversed and allowed the holder to hit a target regardless of its type immunity. Could use it on something like garchomp to hit flutter mane with dragon claw or corviknight with earthquake which would both be very relevant.

[@bigsammichthoughts]

In actual defense of Big Root, last I checked it’s effect boosted the HP regain of Aqua Ring, so certain mons (Araquanid with Leech Life, for example) could hypothetically get a lot of recovery off of it. Still probably not worth using though

[@nicolaistuhlmuller8718]

Even the full package of Ingrain, Leech Seed and Giga Drain is less efficient than Leftovers.

[@estherstreet4582]

I feel like big root is more useful in the campaign than in comp, the increased HP gain saves a lot of headaches on a grass type with leech seed/absorb but it's nothing special in competitive.

[@skeleman5883]

I actually do remember liking sticky barb as a sorta niche damaging option in prankster trick plays. Since holding a sticky barb is not a status effect it allows you to do the damage over time thing without getting countered by abilities like poison heal or moves like facade that would benefit from you handing over one of the status effect orbs.

[@FaliggetFTW]

The focus band is the older sibling of the focus sash, not the other way around.

[@That_One_Gaming_Guy]

Common, bro. Bread allows you to make a tasty sandwich, which gives you the energy your body needs to beat your opponents. It's too overpowered, my guy.

[@NEOthefriendlyYoutuber]

Shell bell: so does this mean I’m useful everyone: Technically yes but actually no

[@pixelperfectgaming1996]

kinda surprised no one thought to talk about the old ring target battle item (which basically makes the type holding it have no immunities) putting it on a pokemon with trick or switcheroo is super niche and gimmicky but it exists

[@robertthompson6851]

Yeah its funny to give a non-Tera corv one then begin lambasting it with earth powers and sludge bombs, but for the most part I use it to make ghosts vulnerable to false swipe while shiny hunting

[@josephpapisan9491]

Back in Gen 6 doubles/triples, I had a Confagrigus/Slaking combo where I gave Confag a Ring target so Slaking could hit it with Power Up Punch, netting +1 atk and Mummy at the same time.

[@pixelperfectgaming1996]

@@josephpapisan9491 you sir are genuinely disgusting for that sick ass combo lmao I'm glad I never faced that cuz you would've done the same with regigigas

[@gust20xx32]

@@josephpapisan9491 That was a pretty cool strategy! Triple battles were awesome, I miss them.

[@gust20xx32]

In Gen 6, in team I used a lot, there was a pokemon equiped with Ring Target, Trick/Switcheroo in its moveset, and Prankster as the ability (Meowstic in UU, Klefki in OU), so it could trick the item into opponents. It was very funny to see the choice banded Haxorus in this same team ocasionally hit Skarmories with Earthquakes and Gardevoirs with Outrage the turn they switch in

[@soopnoudle]

9:40 Thanks actually? I was gonna run Big Root on my Eelektross, but since we only got attacking moves, a Shell Bell (which would act similar to leftovers in this case) would actually be way better

[@jorgecisneros4005]

I used once gonlan berry. It was in doubles (not VGC, but I think it could be used in VGC). It was equiped in a pokemon with fling, for using it with your ally, a simple ability swoobat with weakness pollicy. In the first turn, the other pokemon used fling with swoobat and swoobat used calm mind, so in one turn, the swoobat was +4 attack, +2 defense, +6 special attack and +2 special defence, and then, spam stored power.

[@luisfernandez5048]

Imagine a TCG only player being telled that the float stone is the nichest meme ever created and a videogame only player being telled how float stone is cracked stuff that you should carry on if the format allows it. A Pokémon moment indeed.

[@coolgray6497]

focus band is the fissure of held items. it'll never work most of the time, but its pretty hype when it does

[@DrakoNotDraco]

I used to run Neutralizing Gas Weezing with Ability Shield Prankster Tornadus to set up tail wind while my weezing taunts other pranksters

[@munchrai6396]

I do like Grip Claw on Altaria so it can get more Fire Spin Turns to setup Perish Song, but that's more of a testament to just how few good Perish trapping options available in singles. Does pair really nicely type wise with Flutter mane

[@Nichrysalis]

I know this is a VGC video, but the metronome item is the solo meta in raids if you have a mon that has a health stealing move. Makes you so much better at surviving than with shell bell.

[@ronnygeis895]

Ring Target is funny, because you have to trick it onto an enemy for it to benefit you, then its job becomes to help you KO exactly one of the opponent's pokemon, at which point the Target goes down with that pokemon. Seems silly unless you desparately need to support a choice sweeper that relies on ground/normal/fighting moves or something

[@howlhades0001]

8:34 He did not just use the lavos copypasta 😂.

[@ogeid772]

Ability Shield could be a decent niche pick if/when Weezing returns

[@gebis8515]

It is actually heavily used in Smogon’s Pure Hackmons meta game for this reason. Since you can hack your Pokémon however you wish in that meta, gen 8 was overrun with Neutralising Gas on extremely powerful mons. In gen 9 though, basically everything runs the Ability Shield as their item to protect themselves from Neutralising Gas.

[@nathanblackburn1193]

The Sticky Barb could be pretty good if it worked like a status effect so even if your opponent has an item it still applies and it was like a one time use item instead. Focus Band feels like it was designed for single player at least prior to gen 9 as having a pokemon use a Focus Sash in single player used the item up meaning you'd have to get a second one and a third then a fourth and so on. I'm curious about the Ring Target, it seems too troublesome to use even with Trick or Switcheroo

[@radishhat5736]

Ring target has a tiny niche if you wanted to use population bomb on a friendly annihilape to buff ragefist in doubles. but before that ehh...? its neat to have i guess.

[@tysonvienneau1830]

Your binding band strat reminds me of my sand team in SS where I used a G-max Coalossal, tossed out Ttar (or Gigalith when Ttar was banned) and pretty much watch the enemy melt by just existing

[@tysondennis1016]

If someone wins because of multiple Focus Band activations, I will post the “Unfortunate doesn’t begin to describe my series” speech.

[@PJOZeus]

Luminous Moss is probably more focused around switching into a water attack, but still, spd is far less valuable than any sort of damage buff

[@notapear]

"You're not gonna get hit by water type moves all that often." Oopsie scald's coming back.

[@jonathangillooly9361]

The only time I’ve used a metronome on a pokemon was to stack its boost with fury cutter to power it up faster.

[@a-s-greig]

It's fun to use with Rollout, Outrage, or Thrash too.

[@TheForgottenTainted]

The one thing most held items have use in is Fling

[@galelululu]

I know this isn’t a vgc thing but I know a guy who used Grip Claw Ledian in gen 6 singles to trap a passive Pokémon like ferrothorn with grip claw Infestation, Encore lock them, then SD up to max and BP into a Mega Pinsir who could Sub up and just break with return + feint lol . mind you the grip claw turns made the difference there because you could SD for a whole encore and then encore again lol

[@DemiIsNotHere]

I feel like utily umbrella was created to fuck primal groudon... in a game without primal groudon.

[@mr.lonkman4644]

How dare you slander the absolutely OP item that is bread

[@TwilightChomperEnthusiast]

Klutz: Finally, a worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary!

[@TLTheLegend]

i actually used Binding Band Whirlpool Volcanion on a rain team in singles to trap and remove Water-types It was very funny when it beat a Toxapex

[@silvercomics3517]

Shout out to heavy duty boots: one of the best items ever added to Pokemon that is completely useless in vgc.

[@EllipticalReasoning]

For real. 6-boots teams aren't uncommon in the higher levels of the smogon ladder, but I've never seen the item used in VGC.

[@kpthezealous]

Palossand with luminous moss and shore up makes for a bulky pokemon, that's pretty much the only use i see it for, and that's if your opponent has surf and not hydro pump

[@BawanaBeast]

I remember the Def and spDef berries being very niche in singles, it'd be for Harvest Synthesis/Gigadrain Exeggutor.

[@haydeniskander5306]

Skeledirge makes FANTASTIC use of Metronome in Tera Raids alongside Torch Song.

[@ShadowShaBoink]

I genuinely thought that the sticky barb on the thumbnail was Xurkitree's head

[@ConnorMcSchrosch]

As a draft player I have seen and used quiet a few of those before. What's also funny is that there is a niche where enigma berry is actually the item of choice. You may say sitrus/pinch berrys/lefties or weakness policy will always outclass it, however if you run a bulky set up psychic type like cosmic power/stored power/body press mew, odds are your opponent will use knock off after which enigma berry will still heal you, something none of the other berrys or lefties will do

[@SleepySage]

I dig the visual gags and how they aren't super pompous and that they don't overstay the welcome.

[@thedrurose]

I remember a gastrodon surf team with a driftblim that had the moss that got unburden boost…it was interesting

[@chettiarsirusraj9501]

The Utility umbrella is likely referring to people who have Sunlight/Water allergies making the people who hold the umbrella capable of doing their everyday things but since these people get sick if they get into contact with Sunlight/Water due to their allergies their reduced movements and activity potential options the umbrellas added effect of halving the fire/water attacks while the other effect is in play also makes some sense.

[@MennydorgesERArchive]

I used binding band with Tangrowth and Alomomola (infestation and whirlpool) back in gen 6/7 ou, basically it gives passive mons a way to be threatening, especially if you have protect like alo Sticky barb as well, on trick clefable, basically consider it a stall disruptor when you use stall teams, even stuff like toxapex with regen will find the damage troublesome

[@redacculous]

My only "fix" for the defensive Berries would make them a bit broken, being to maximise their respective Defense. Obviously, these changes won't apply to other stat Berries, but for the defenses, it's for the sake of you actually being able to tank a hit...also, Stored Power with these hypothetical buffed Berries could prove monstrous-

[@joshuawalters5173]

I can imagine a world where using stuff cheeks/ Fling on an ally and giving them maxed out defense and special defense is the meta

[@CharlotteMimic]

1:30 hey, i didnt know they added the Blue Tearstone Ring to pokemon!

[@luandossantosgrili]

Corsola with Big Root + aqua ring + ingrain + recover + head smash + hustle. Fun.

[@karisasani7006]

2:16 If only there was an ability that would cause these berries to activate at a higher percent making the stat buff more worth it... Gluttony anyone?

[@eightteentwo]

8:04 My OCD kicked in here. The focus band is a much less successful OLDER brother to the focus sash, debuting in Gen III.

[@nickpfaffenbach3505]

Ability shield is perfect for neutralizing gas teams. It is fun

[@aspiringwayfarer]

I used the Ability Shield in the Tera Raid Typhlosion! My Daschbun had the ability Well Baked Body, was Tera Normal, and holding an ability Shield. Typhlosion couldn’t hit mean with any fire or ghost moves, so just earthquake hit me. Then I used Work Up, Helping Hand, Snarl, and Crunch. It worked really well! Took a while, but I barely took any damage. The ability shield was clutch because Typhlosion was trying to suppress my ability but couldn’t for the whole raid battle.

[@rodimusunicronus2089]

I could see ability shield being used on neutralising gas weezing team , to protect it from anyone else attempt to change its ability to something else, crippling their partner slacking and gigas

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

4:59 Metronome Echoed Voice

[@cblang8115]

I think the halved normal type damage berry fits here

[@remington238]

8:49 what's up with enamorus and her brother

[@andleepfarooqui7874]

Absorb Bulb is also nice on rain with Ludicolo and Surf (VGC15) so i can see Luminous Moss playing a similar role

[@kennystyles9690]

I will say in singles sticky barb can be used to shut down unburden acro sets, so if thats something you're weak too its worth considering. Sticky barb trick gholdengo is actually pretty good cause whatever item you steal, gholdengo probably makes good use of it

[@Sawrock]

My favorite thing to do with Ability Shield is to give it to a Pokémon with Sticky Hold. It may be less optimal than some other choices, but being immune to item changes and ability changes combined can be a little funny.

[@doomknightsepulchure]

Jimothy Cool had a video where he explained how Starf Berry featured in a very unconventional Gen 3 OU strategy kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6LZhqmHnLuHpck (Starf Berry strat at 5:53) It required an incredible amount of commitment at teambuilder because the trick was to baton pass the starf boost to whoever could use the random boost the best. If bpass is a requirement for using this item effectively, I doubt it will ever make a comeback unfortunately

[@JustaGuy_Gaming]

Rarest item used in Competitive, no item. Seriously a team with no held items would probably be the biggest gimick team ever.

[@Commander_Appo]

Technically, this is a loop. The steak can get so well done that it causes the start of a new secret

[@hdckighfkvhvgmk]

Me when i switch in my trusty sticky barb holder into an actobatics user:

[@airtempest8945]

2:04 These also got powercrept by the Kee and Maranga Berries from Gen 6 are just better because they activate just as long as you get hit by the respective type instead of at a low HP Threshold. Maranga Berry is also hilariously a straight up better version of Luminous Moss as well since it's Luminous Moss but for all types lol.

[@mettatonex7221]

I was sure the Ring Target would pop up. The Ring Target will negate the immunities of the holder, so if an Aegislash held the Ring Target, then suddenly you can hit it with Normal, Fighting, and Poison attacks. I believe the thought process here was to pair it with Trick or Switcheroo so that the target will then have its immunities ignored, and maybe I can see it coming up in left field strategies. I mean, it's not like Lucario is going to catch Gengar on holding Ring Target with a Close Combat while Gengar goes for the Trick to let Lucario be hit with Toxic, but how much is a strategy like this going to accomplish?

[@Chaunwilkerson]

I unironically used it back in swsh so my regieleki could surprise kill ground types. It was especially funny knocking out landorus with a super effective thunderbolt.

[@mettatonex7221]

@@Chaunwilkerson But they'll know what you're up to the moment you Trick the Ring Target onto them. It doesn't have that surprise element by the time you try to hit it.

[@Chaunwilkerson]

@@mettatonex7221 It does if your name is regieleki and and your partner has prankster.

[@mechatec2992]

Every time I see *that* long post, I always stop to read it in a fancy, melodramatic way. It gets a kick outta me each time

[@leaffinite2001]

Some of these have niches in singles but most of them really do make me think gamefreaks strategy for making good items is to just make everything possible and let us sort the good stuff out

[@wishfulwaffle4801]

They just don't wanna overhaul the Meta too much. If all of the items they make are super fucking niche, they can't destroy the meta

[@northdakotagamer]

I did some shenanigans with Teatime and Ripen, Starf Berry, Recycle Appletun in gen 8 doubles. Really slow, but it’s pretty funny when you get the boost you need and save your skin

[@Regiultima]

I find it funny you call the Focus Band the younger sibling when in fact it was the Focus Band that was created before the Focus Sash.

[@Super_Top_Secret_Area]

Focus Band is the older sibling, it's been around since Gen 2. Which really makes it look like Focus Sash is the more popular younger sibling, while Focus Band is the weird older sibling who likes to troll people.

[@SirMexicanYCP]

I actually used to use the Absorb Bulb as a rain strategy dedicated to spamming surf. The holder was usually a Ludicolo, since it can take water hits like a champ.

[@DanielMendez18103]

Utility Umbrella should be changed to ignore all weather penalties, like there's an ability that already does that and a lot of abilities are made items, so it would make sense for it to be like that

[@risingtoastcheesecake4730]

I like how all the timestamps are normal and then there's just "star fairy"

[@itsukizy]

“the blender” is my favourite moxie video

[@zinzolin14]

Imagine holding a rock that instantly makes you 50% lighter