IOTW: Macho Brace

An odd item to focus on in terms of battle uses, I know, but stick with me. We're going to look at the advantages of the Macho Brace, and not even the ones regarding EV training ones.

Macho Brace's most common use is for speeding up EV training, because it doubles the EVs that the holder earns. What I'm going to focus on in this article is what most consider its negative side effect, that it halves the holder's speed.

"TRAVIS I AM NEVER READING YOUR ARTICLES AGAIN HOW DARE YOU RECCOMMEND THIS ITEM!!1!" 

If you are thinking the above, follow these steps:

1. Get over yourself.
2. Think about things before using caps lock. 

Have you calmed down a bit? Good. Let's take a look at some instances when an item that halves your speed can be useful.

Part 1: Trick-a-roo! Or: Lulz outsped by Bronzong

You're probably familiar with the move "Trick." It switches whatever item you have with your opponent's. Put on a Macho Brace and your opponent's sweeper is crippled. In the metagame, where speed means the difference between sweeping an entire team to being KO'd without dealing any damage, this can make the Macho Brace/Tick combo a devastating blow for a sweeper.

Part 2: Gyro Ball, Or: Donphan? I'm a DonFAN!

Gyro Ball's power is dependant upon the speed of the user compared with the speed of the target. Specifically, it is more powerful the slower you are in relation to your opponent. Even Gyro Ball users that aren't that slow can now beef up the strenghth of Gyro Ball if you throw the Macho Brace on there. This makes for a good combo for Pokémon like Donphan, Typhlosion, and Hitmontop who have high power, access to Gyro Ball, but aren't quite slow enough to make it worth it without the Macho Brace

Part 3: Trick Room, Or: When has a room ever made a slow person fast? I still don't get that move name.

This one is pretty self-explanitory. You have a slow Pokémon because of Macho Brace. You use Trick Room. Now you are faster than everything else. Boom.

And we're out. Later, Poképeople.