A held item refers to an item with a specific effect if held by a Pokémon. Held items were introduced in Generation II.
Description
Although a Pokémon can carry most types of items, many have no effect, but those that do have an effect are called held items. Certain items such as key items cannot be held by a Pokémon at all.
A held item affects either its user or even an opponent's Pokémon. A wild Pokémon sometimes has a held item, as do certain Pokémon owned by a Pokémon Trainer, especially the more powerful Pokémon.
Certain moves and Abilities are affected by whether a Pokémon is holding an item.
Types
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Berry | These can be obtained from berry trees. If a Pokémon is holding a berry, it decides when to use them in battle only. |
| Evolution item | Certain species of Pokémon evolve under certain conditions while holding items such as Evolutionary Stones. |
| Incense | Pokémon holding an Incense while in a Pokémon Day Care can breed certain species of Pokémon that they cannot otherwise. |
| Letter | These allow the player to create a personalized message that they can send to another Pokémon Trainer by giving a Pokémon the item and then trading to the trainer. Pokémon cannot be deposited into the Pokémon Storage System if they are holding a letter. |
| Mega Stone | These allow certain species of Pokémon to Mega Evolve. |
| Power item | These improve a certain effort value |
| Scarf | A Scarf increases one of the Pokémon's conditions |
| Stat-enhancing item | They increase a certain stat of the Pokémon holding it. Certain Berries fall under this category. |
| Type-enhancing item | They enhance the moves of a certain type by a given percentage; examples of such items include Plates and Gems. |
| Z-Crystal | These allow certain Pokémon to perform Z-Moves. |
Appearances
Core series
Although Pokémon cannot carry items in Generation I, they may have a held item when traded over to a Generation II game through the Time Capsule.
Anime
Held items are very rare in Pokémon the Series, although in later seasons, there are Pokémon that hold a Mega Stone, allowing them to become their Mega Evolution, or a Z-Crystal, which upgrades their moves to Z-Moves.
Trading Card Game
In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, there are certain trading cards with a held item. They have a permanent effect, similarly to Poké-Bodies, and cannot be consumed, unlike in the core series. In the Mysterious Treasures expansion, the items are Berries, while in Secret Wonders, they are Evolutionary Stones.
The more direct counterpart of held items are Pokémon Tools, which can be applied to certain Pokémon cards for certain effects.