Determining which Held Item to use in Pokemon games is a major factor in winning competitive battles and doing well in PvE, much more of a factor than most give it credit for. There are a lot of options, with the amount growing every game, so it can be a bit overwhelming. In general, though, there are some Held Items that find a lot more use by the player base than others.

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Whether it's a Tera Raid, a tough Gym Leader, or just trying to climb up to the competitive ladder, the Held Item for each Pokemon in a Pokemon game is a big part of the experience. Regardless of their purpose, trainers should be on the lookout for the best Held Items.

Updated May 29th, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter: Updating this list felt especially apt at the moment, with the addicting roguelike fangame, Pokerogue, currently constantly occupying a spot in most Pokemon fans' minds. Getting offered a Held Item in this fan game is an incredible feeling, but Held Items in just about every Pokemon game, spinoff or not, are hugely impactful on the battles their effects are triggered in. In fact, in top competitive Pokemon play, a lot of the time it comes down to the Held Items just as much as it comes down to the Pokemon selections themselves that determine who wins or loses. So, with that in mind, let's gloss over the hundreds of Held Items introduced across all the generations of Pokemon and talk about the ones that are the absolute best to use.

25 Air Balloon

Introduced in Generation V

First up is a Held Item that isn't talked about all that often, the Air Balloon. Depending on the game, the Air Balloon might not be worth the investment, as outside of online battles it's typically a one-time-use item. However, for those incredibly important battles or to really get one over on your friend, the Air Balloon does wonders.

Sending out a Pokemon that's typically weak to Ground-type moves and looking at the expression on your friend's face as their Earthquake doesn't work is truly a whole new level of satisfying. However, the Pokemon sent out better be able to one-hit KO their opponent, or that Balloon is probably getting popped on the very next turn. In general, the Air Balloon is good, but not entirely 'great', but in certain games where this isn't a one-time use item, it's pretty incredible.

24 Custap Berry

Introduced in Generation IV

Honestly, a lot of the Berries are pretty great, and people who are addicted to Pokerogue at the moment are finding this out. However, among all of the Berry options, one that is commonly slept on that shouldn't be is the Custap Berry.

How often in the more difficult Pokemon games or even fan games does your Pokemon just barely survive an attack, but you know you aren't fast enough to get another attack out before you're killed? It happens all the time. In these circumstances, a Custap Berry is a literal lifesaver. Granted, it's a Berry, so it'll be eaten by the Pokemon to gain the effect, but even a single Custap Berry is enough to completely change the course of a battle.

23 Ability Shield

Introduced in Generation IX

Moving on to one of the newest Held Items to be introduced into Pokemon, the Ability Shield. Ability Shield is a bit difficult to understand at a glance but to boil it down as much as possible, the wielder of this item can't have their Ability changed in any way. Additionally, if a move is used against it that would normally ignore the Ability of the wielder, the move won't do anything.

Again, it's a bit of a confusing concept, but just know that it makes for some truly devious builds with Pokemon like Grafaiai or it can just make it a lot safer to use sweeper Pokemon without worrying about getting stopped or shut down.

22 Focus Sash

Introduced in Generation IV

Focus Sash is likely one of the easier Held Items to understand on here as it does one simple thing, keep the Pokemon alive for at least one hit. If a move would normally KO a Pokemon from full health, Focus Sash prevents that from happening and the holder will survive with 1 HP instead.

As one could imagine, this is a fantastic basic counter to pure team sweepers in competitive, as it gives the opponent at least one chance to stop a Pokemon that is decimating their team with one-hit KOs one after another. Of course, it should be mentioned that this is another consumable Held Item, but once again that doesn't really matter in online PvP matches, though out of all of the consumable Held Items this is often the one that fans get the most confused about whether it gets 'used up' or not.

21 Bright Powder

Introduced in Generation II

This next Held Item is another deceptive one, because, at first glance, it doesn't seem like much. But, just think about all the times that a move with even 90 Accuracy misses compared to one with 100 percent accuracy. Even something like Stone Edge almost feels ridiculous with how much it missed given that the move has an 8/10 chance to hit. All this to say that being able to minus another 8 percent from the Accuracy of all moves has a pretty big impact overall.

Even 100 percent accuracy moves have a chance to miss with this equipped, and players will notice that they're just not hitting as often as they should be when fighting a Pokemon holding this item, and they'll often get (rightfully) frustrated.

20 Weakness Policy

Introduced in Generation VI

The next Held Item, Weakness Policy, is a real high-risk, high-reward sort of item to use. It's worth paying special attention to the fact that after Weakness Policy is triggered, it is 'consumed' and the Pokemon that was holding it will now be without a Held Item for the rest of the battle.

Again, in PvE, this means the player will have to acquire another Weakness Policy, but in competitive, it just reappears on the Pokemon after the battle. Weakness Policy is an item that usually works best on bulkier Pokemon that typically survive at least one hit or Pokemon with innate survival-based Abilities such as Sturdy.

19 Amulet Coin

Introduced in Generation II

For many these days, the main story mode of a mainline Pokemon game is pretty easygoing. Developers are kind enough to give players access to a wide array of TMs, items, and Potions, without requiring them to shell out their hard-earned Pokedollars. But as new Pokemon games have come out, they've introduced more things to spend in-game currency on such as clothes, cooking ingredients, and more.

Thankfully, grinding money isn't particularly difficult, especially if players can get their hands on an Amulet Coin. This fancy Held Item will double the amount of currency a player receives after winning any battle. Sure, it has zero utility whatsoever from a competitive standpoint, but not everything has to have a competitive application.

18 Cleanse Tag

Introduced in Generation II

Another PvE-centric item, but one that players who have spent way too much on Repels find immense value in. The Cleanse Tag is an item that was introduced in the second generation of Pokemon, and it has one simple function, it reduces the encounter rate of bumping into Wild Pokemon.

Again, this is useless in competitive matches or PvP, but a lifesaver for anyone backtracking through areas or running around in caves. Just keep in mind, Cleanse Tag needs to be held by the Pokemon at the front of the party in order to work, though that wasn't always the case

17 Destiny Knot

Introduced in Generation IV

This next item is pretty basic in terms of its combat function. Destiny Knot is an item that causes both the Pokemon holding it and the Pokemon who used an infatuation-inflicting move on them to become infatuated with each other. And, before the sixth generation of games, this was all the item did. After that, however, Destiny Knot became a crucial tool for Trainers looking to get their 'perfect' spread of IVs.

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If a Pokemon is holding the Destiny Knot and is used as part of a breeding pair, its child will inherit five IVs, making it much 'easier' to get a Pokemon that features 6 perfect IV values to make EV grinding much less painful. This is only worth relying on for the players that plan to get really into the stats of their Pokemon team and/or compete in competitive play, otherwise the main effect of this Held Item is pretty forgettable.

16 Eject Button

Introduced in Generation V

A lot of the best Held Items on here follow a trend of either boosting a Pokemon's stats or unlocking some latent abilities. There are some other items, however, that serve a very specific function for a very specific type of Pokemon build.

A great example of this is the Eject Button, a seemingly inconspicuous Held Item that can set up some interesting situations if used correctly. Any Pokemon holding the Eject Button will be immediately switched out during battle if they're hit by an attack. On paper that might not sound like much, but there are a lot of ways to use this to create some incredibly advantageous situations. Just remember, the Eject Button is consumed when its effect takes place (outside of online battles, of course), so players will need to buy and replace it each time it goes off.

15 Iron Ball

Introduced in Generation IV

Some available moves and items in Pokemon come with some sort of trade-off. For many, the debuff that these things provide is simply not worth the trouble but there are some Held Items that are, quite literally, only worse to have equipped. One of these items is Iron Ball, as it halves the holder's Speed and (if they're a Flying-type or have Levitate) it makes them susceptible to grounded moves like Earthquake.

If used properly, Iron Ball is an item that players will burden their opponents with instead of burdening themselves. By using moves like Switcheroo or Trick, players can switch their Held Item with their opponents. In the right situation, this can completely ruin the opponent's gameplan for that Pokemon, or even their gameplan for the battle overall. It has a very niche use, but in that niche, it's one of the best at its job.

14 Safety Goggles

Introduced in Generation VI

This next item is one of the rare examples of a Held Item that has much more utility in PvP play than in PvE. Safety Goggles are an item that, when held, stop the Pokemon from taking any weather-based damage and make them immune to any moves that use powder or spores such as Stun Spore, Cotton Spore, Sleep Powder, and more.

Now, in PvE, players will only encounter enemy Trainers that use these types of moves every so often, but in PvP it's a different story. The move Spore, in particular, is used a lot in online battles and just one powerful Pokemon running these Safety Goggles can completely counter their entire build. And again, in something like Pokerogue, both Spore and Weather moves come up pretty often too.

13 Terrain Extender

Introduced in Generation VII

The various types of Terrain introduced in this generation are summoned to alter the battlefield, thereby boosting the power of specific attacking types. In high tiers of play, Terrain plays a vital role in many team compositions, and Pokemon that gain the ability to summon Terrain passively are important pieces of the team. However, summoned Terrain only sticks around for five turns normally, which can be pretty restricting

Fortunately, the Terrain Extender helps to alleviate that problem. The Terrain Extender increases the number of turns that Terrain lasts from 5 turns to 8. Pokemon that are built to set up Terrain, like many of the different Tapu-type Pokemon or regional variants of Pokemon in the Alola Region, benefit tremendously from this item in being useful.

12 Light Clay

Introduced in Generation IV

Reflect and Light Screen are moves that have been a part of the IP since the days of Pokemon Red and Blue. These moves reduce the damage dealt by the opponent's Physical or Special Attack for a certain number of turns, depending on which screen was used. The effect is a field effect, and all Pokemon on one side benefit from it.

Light Clay, like the Terrain Extender, increases the duration of Reflect, Light Screen, and also Aurora Veil by three turns. Pokemon that set up screens need this item to really shine in general, since attacks like Brick Break, or more recently Hyper Drill, can plow right through those screens anyway.

11 Choice Items

All Introduced in Generation III

The three Choice Items, believe it or not, are the bread and butter of competitive play. Each of these items has a particular niche for a handful of Pokemon, and they help bring much weaker Pokemon into the realm of viability. Their usefulness cannot be overstated in the realm of competitive and casual play, though it does make using the Pokemon holding them a bit 'one-note'.

Choice Items lock a Pokemon into only using one attack but greatly increase a particular stat depending on the item. The Choice Band increases Attack, the Choice Specs increases Sp. Attack, and the Choice Scarf increases Speed. They're essentially the items that all the glass-cannon Pokemon use to wipe the entire enemy team on their own. And, they even work in some specific builds, such as when Ditto uses Choice Scarf and transforms, it can pick one of its opponent's moves to use before being 'locked' to that move, and because of the Speed buff from the Scarf it'll usually go before the Pokemon it took the form of.

10 Heavy-Duty Boots

Introduced in Generation VIII

Like terrain and screens, entry hazards have been a part of Pokemon for some time, starting with Spikes in the second generation. However, with the addition of Stealth Rocks and Toxic Spikes in the fourth generation, entry hazards became something every trainer has to at least be ready for. Certain Pokemon had their viability completely nuked due to their weakness to Stealth Rocks, and it altered the metagame in a huge way.

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9 Rocky Helmet

Introduced in Generation V

Rocky Helmet is probably one of the more popular competitive Held Items on here, simply due to the fact that it's helpful in almost any situation. Basically, when a Pokemon wearing a Rocky Helmet is attacked with a move that would make physical contact with them, their attacker takes damage equal to one-sixth of its maximum HP. Take note of the fact that it's maximum HP, not current HP, so a Blissey who has 700 HP and triggers Rocky Helmet will take roughly 116 damage. And, if the attack happens to be one that hits multiple times, Rocky Helmet triggers with each hit.

This item is the frustrating lynchpin of tanky teams, as all the enemy has to do is keep themselves alive and their opponent will KO their own Pokemon just by attacking.

8 Lucky Egg

Introduced in Generation II

Lucky Eggs aren’t useful for PvP situations, but they have tremendous use in PvE, at least from a leveling standpoint. When a Pokemon is holding a Lucky Egg they receive 150 percent of the experience they normally would, which leads to some easy power-leveling.

This saves a tremendous amount of time spent grinding overall and can help prevent Pokemon games from feeling 'tedious' and 'grindy' too quickly. Unfortunately, they’re hard to come by; generally speaking, a Lucky Egg is found on a wild Chansey, Happiny, Pelipper, and Blissey in most games, though in more recent titles like Scarlet and Violet, it's a reward just for defeating 5 of the Gyms.

7 Expert Belt

Introduced in Generation IV

Even the most casual gamer understands the inherent sort of rock, paper, and scissors gameplay the Type system in Pokemon is built on. Fire beats grass because the grass is flammable, water beats fire because it puts out fire, and rock beats flying because well... never mind.

In any case, Expert Belt enhances the damage these super-effective attacks will inflict by a whole 20 percent. This item really shines when used against Pokemon who are four times weak to a certain type, which tends to be a lot of the Grass-type plant Pokemon.

6 Zoom Lens

Introduced in Generation IV

Many of the most powerful attacks in the game come with horrible accuracy. Whether it's Horn Drill or Fissure, moves that only have a 30 percent chance to hit but will absolutely always KO the opponent on-hit, or a more 'basic' move like Thunder which has higher damage than normal but only 70 percent accuracy.

Zoom Lens takes this default accuracy and increases it by 20 percent, but only against opponents that have already used their turn. This means that Zoom Lens should always be on a Pokemon with low speed or something similar, as the item is basically useless otherwise. Still, this percentage increase is a huge buff, especially for certain builds that revolve around one move landing before the rest of the combination can take place.