Battle Points are the currency of post-game Sword & Shield, giving players some key items needed to compete with the best of the best. Unfortunately, not all the items are worth the points, offering some pretty useless items that a naive player could waste their BP on. Mixed in with these duds are some of the best products money can buy, making the process all the more confusing.
One of the crucial components is it being used a lot of the time, something many of the items on the list fall short on. It can be the most effective thing in the game but with such specific requirements needed to activate it, some of these become next to hopeless. That’s why it’s important to research the inventory before buying, making sure trainers aren’t left out on the battlefield with a bag full of blanks.
10 Best – Choice Band
One of the biggest boosts a pokémon can get as far as attack power goes, the Choice Band only allows one move to be used for the benefit of a 50% boost. This is especially useful for the offensive line of pokémon that pack heavy hits, taking some of the most powerful moves and completely overwhelming the enemy.
Even if a secondary move is required, all the player has to do is withdraw the pokémon and send it back out to lock in a separate move. 25 BP is well worth the price, mostly for all those trainers that use a great offence as their defence. It works especially well when a pokémon has a wide range of moves or one battle ender that the player can lean on.
9 Worst – Eject Button
One of the most frustrating items to play against but also a niche button to use, the Eject Button either takes heavy strategizing or acts as an instant retreat for a small benefit. Switching out the pokémon holding it as soon as they’re hit by an attack, players with an Exp. Share will find little use in sending out a weakling for small stat decreases.
Available for 20 BP, in the absence of a mastermind this item ends up being more hassle than benefit. The pokémon that’s chosen to come out instead is usually revenge KO’d unless there’s a serious discrepancy in type or level. The Battle Points are better spent on more generally effective items that only work in a tight niche of gameplay.
8 Best – Bottle Caps
Available for Battle Points and as a reward in the Tower, players will need to gather as many Bottle Caps as they can if they want to compete in the Battle Tower. They’re used in Hyper Training to raise a pokémon’s IV’s, pushing them to their maximum potential without having to breed every time.
The fact that they hand them out when they’re available at the store proves how important they are to a player’s success. The competition will have near-flawless stats and take any chance they can get to claim the upper hand, raising the Bottle Caps importance to the top of the list.
7 Worst – Luminous Moss
Even at the cheaper price of 10 BP, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. The player isn’t going to see the small effects unless they’re battling a Water-type trainer and it’s a one-time use item, meaning trainers will have to constantly replenish their stock.
All that work for a slight Sp. Def boost that doesn’t affect the battle in a significant way, Luminous Moss ends up being a resource drain. The fact that it’s only activated under a Water-type attack only further narrows its use, forcing trainers that want to use it to bring out the Grass and Dragon types to withstand the attack.
6 Best – Life Orb
One of the riskier items to use in battle, if it’s used right then it can become a powerful offensive boost. Only suitable to pokémon that can withstand the health costs, HP tanks will be supercharged with little downside. Costing 25 BP to equip this seesaw of stats, trainers have to closely monitor the health bar when it’s in use.
Discipline is key because pokémon every boosted move will chip off 10 percent of the user’s health, worth it for high damage attacks with the 30% increase. The defence is another important consideration, being able to withstand the attacks with less health in order to make it to the next big hit.
5 Worst – Terrain Extender
While terrain moves are a great help in the 4 types that are currently available, it’s one flaw is that the pokémon has to be on the ground to mean anything. Giving pokémon with levitate or Flying types a big gap in effect, the 3 move extension doesn’t mean much unless players can ground them throughout the battle.
It also gives the player something that isn’t in big demand, it’s not as if the 5 moves isn’t enough for most situations when they’re used effectively. Terrain moves can be very effective with some battle altering effects, extending it for an extra 3 turns is the thing that will rarely show up in battle and end up gathering dust in inventory.
4 Best – Protector
The only way to evolve Rhydon into one of the heaviest Ground-type attackers available, Rhyperior. If players missed the pickup in Circhester Bay on route 9, Hammerlock Pokémon Center will have it available for 10 BP. Giving players a second chance at upgrading the now outdated Rhydon to a competitive player.
The giant has a very unique skill set, with some of the best defensive capabilities in the game. Even the worst type matchups will find it tough to bring down this barrier. On top of that Rhyperior’s attacks can take out most pokémon with ease, including some fan favourites that tend to get overused in the Battle Tower.
3 Worst – Throat Spray
Yet another niche item that doesn’t end up coming in handy, only when the select few sound-based moves are used can the pokémon’s Sp. Att go up by one stage. Unless the trainer has a rockstar forte, sound moves aren’t exactly the most powerful attacks around and can be easily trumped by the long list of 5-star moves available on the roster.
It also suffers from the one use curse that will end up chipping away at the wallet 10 BP at a time. Luckily, most players will stay away from the product unless they happen to enjoy battling with a Loudred. Even the edgiest punk rocker will have to admit defeat and give up the Throat Spray.
2 Best – Weakness Policy
Not only does it increase two of the most important stats in the game, Weakness Policy lets pokémon get their sweet revenge on someone trying to exploit their vulnerabilities. Giving an even bigger return strike than it just took, the player’s pokémon also gets the chance to take out a serious threat in one turn if they select the right move.
Big defence serves well with this item, letting the enemy fall into a false sense of security before surprising them with heavy damage. Both catching the opponent off guard and underprepared is a big advantage in battle, letting pokémon that would usually require some back up to get all the experience for itself.
1 Worst – Air Balloon
Costing 15 BP and is highly susceptible to most attacks, anything that isn’t a Ground-type move will pop the balloon. Allowing those weak to Ground-type attacks to dodge the incoming strikes, it will only save them for 1 turn maximum. Then it’s off to the store again for another 15 BP purchase, leaving them just as vulnerable as the turn before.
While it adds some nice aesthetics to the battle, there couldn’t be a more useless item when it comes to defence. Stalling the inevitable at best, the only way it would enter the useful realm is if players come across a Dugtrio with a full Ground-type moveset.
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