IOTW: Itemstravaganza!
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So about how I mentioned that the last Item of the Week ever is coming up. Walp, here it is. The final
IOTW. I'm going to shoot through a number of Items in this Itemstravaganza. 3, 2, 1: Let's get item-ey. (There unfortunately is no better way to turn the word "item" into an adjective, at least to my knowledge.)
Chapter 1: Toxic Orb and Flame Orb, Or: Masochistic Pokémon
You’ve probably seen them. They’re those items that inflict your own pokes with status effects. Flame Orb gives the holder a burn, and Toxic Orb, not surprisingly, inflicts the holder with Toxic. There are, however, a few instances where this can be beneficial.
First among these instances is when your Pokémon has either “Guts” or “Quick Feet” for its ability. Both of these abilities only activate when your Pokémon has a major status condition. Guts gives your Pokémon a 50% attack boost when inflicted, while Quick Feet increases your speed by that same 50%. Be careful with the combo of Flame Orb and Quick Feet, though, because, unlike Guts which negates the stat reduction from burn, Quick Feet does not negate the attack cut that a burn gives your Pokémon. As far as choosing which orb is for you, it depends on what you are going for. Toxic will begin dealing more damage than a burn after three turns, so if you are going to attack and switch out, go for Toxic Orb. If you plan on staying in a while, Flame Orb is a better bet.
The next example applies only to Toxic Orb. Breloom and Dream World Gliscor have the ability “Poison Heal” which increase their health by 12.5% when poisoned, making it way better than leftovers. This can be used in conjunction with fling or trick, so that you give your opponent toxic while still reaping the benefits of your infliction.
Other strategies with Toxic/Flame Orb: Facade, Trick/Fling
Chapter 2: Rocky Helm, Or: Let’s See What Happens When I Punch my Opponent in his Sharp Hat.
Want to punish your opponent for attacking you? Well, Rocky Helm is right for you. If your opponent uses a move that makes contact, (not to be confused as a move that hits. Click here for Bulbapedia’s full list of moves that make contact.) you will deal 1/8 of your opponent's HP as damage..
This can be used in conjunction with a Pokémon with an ability like “Iron Barbs” or “Rough Skin.” That way, you can deal a considerable amount of damage while setting up traps or stat boosts. A great user of this item is Ferrothorn. While he’s setting up spikes and SR, you can still be damaging the opponent.
Other Strategies with Rocky Helm: Encore/Taunt, Baiting a Pokémon that is very low on HP.
Chapter 3: Leftovers, Or: “Are You Going to Eat That Apple Core?”
You are probably wondering why I never did a proper article on Lefties. Honestly, it’s too simple to warrant an entire write-up. It increases your Pokémon’s HP by 1/16th every turn. That’s about it.
For a sweeper this can mean another turn to attack, and for a wall this can mean a few more hits to take before being knocked out.
Other Strategies with Leftovers: It heals you. What more do you want?
Chapter 4: Choice Specs, Or: “Cyclops? That X-Man Got Nothin’ on THESE Shades.”
This item is the same thing as Choice Band, but for Special Attack. For more information, just go to my article on choice band but replace the word “Band” with “Specs,” put “Special” before the word attack…and think of new examples. On second thought, just look it up on Bulbapedia.
There it is folks. The end of Item of the Week. But never fear. I’ll still write for PKMNcast. I’ll be back next week, in fact, with a new topic, but it’s a secret. Until then, it’s been quite a ride, item-ers. (Ugh, that was almost as bad as “item-ey.”)
~Travis
