With an RPG adventure as vast and strategy-based as Pokémon, it's often crucial to possess a nice assortment of useful items during your journey. Powerful items can sometimes prove just as beneficial as having a strong group of potent Pokémon.
With the extensive array of Pokémon games that span 7 generations - and soon to be 8 with the upcoming release of Sword/Shield - there are bound to be some that are ridiculously good, to the point of making you overpowered. Whether it's a stat-booster which can juice up your fighting squad to an insane level, or merely a game-changing item to use while traveling, there is no shortage of items one might call "cheap."
So let's dive right in and take a look at 10 of these items that tend to make your monster-hunting journey too easy.
10 Z-Crystal
A newer item than many featured on our list, the Z-Crystal is sort of the Pokémon-equivalent of steroids. These crystals, from Sun/Moon, can be held by a Pokémon of your choice in order to upgrade offensive moves to "Z-Moves," which are basically juiced-up power attacks that can devastate opponents in battle.
For instance, an Electric-type's usual learnset will be upgraded to Gigavolt Havoc, while a Dragon-type will launch the appropriately-named Devastating Drake. These held items can truly make an impact in battle, as the attacks are extremely deadly if used at the right time, on the right foes.
9 EXP Share
While this item doesn't directly affect your Pokémon during the course of a battle or have any crazy game-changing properties short term, the EXP Share can really make things easy on you in the long haul.
The EXP Share (aka "EXP All" in Gen 1) cuts the earned experience of a monster who fought in your battle in half. But the tradeoff is that all of your Pokémon will share in the XP spoils during each battle. This will cut out much of the leg work of leveling up specific Pokémon in the long term. It also tends to remove an element of strategy when training/grinding, as your need to plot out Pokémon swapping during battles becomes far less pressing. Of course, you'll still need to mind elemental effectiveness, but the fact that all party members will net some XP with each fight negates some of the tactical gameplay.
8 Sacred Ash
There's a good reason you'll have to tangle with the ominous legendary bird Pokémon Ho-Oh to get your hands on this sacred healing powder. It's super impactful, essentially granting you a totally fresh start when your squad has all-but bitten the dust. No matter how many of your monsters have fainted, or how critically low their HP is, one use of this Sacred Ash (outside of battle) will revive, and instantly restore the HP and PP of every one of your Pokémon. For all intents and purposes, this item works as an extra life, which doesn't require you to visit the Pokémon center.
7 Lucky Egg
Introduced in Generation II, the Lucky Egg is similar to the EXP Share as it's a highly useful tool in boosting player efficiency, which can subtly but persistently nudge momentum in your favor as you venture on. Simply having a monster hold onto this item will ultimately make them a killing machine, as the Lucky Egg will grant 150% of the experience they would typically earn in battle.
Pokémon Go increases the potency of this coveted item even more, doubling the XP you'll earn doing anything that would normally notch you these points in the game for 30 minutes. Basically, this item is an XP grinder's dream.
6 Assault Vest
A product of Pokémon X/Y and Sun/Moon, the Assault Vest can be a truly effective held item in battle, particularly for those who favor more of an offensive game. This handy vest grants a whopping 50% boost in special defense to any Pokémon sporting it, instantly making it a defensive powerhouse to all who oppose it.
There are a couple of slight catches - in that this will only protect from special moves, and force the user to only bust out attacks rather than status effects. But still, for the offensively-minded looking to mitigate the damage from powerful special attacks, the Assault Vest is a key momentum turner in battle and can make for some easy wins.
5 Rare Candy
Ah yes, the ultimate shortcut to the typically arduous, time-consuming xp grinding...
Rare Candies save the player a heap of time and effort by a simple push of a button. The original "cheap" item from Red/Blue, the Rare Candy is an item that can quickly turn a Pokémon trainer into a wrecking machine. You can milk even more effectiveness out of these by using a Candy on a fainted Pokémon, as it will revive it and level it up.
While Rare Candies aren't cheap or too easy to obtain, an astute player who's accumulated some decent wealth and built a nice collection of Rare Candies can become overpowered in relation to where they are in the game.
4 Choice Band/Scarf/Specs
These items are a creation of Generation III (Band) and IV (Scarf/Specs), and act as something of a flipside to the Assault Vest. It similarly holds its restrictions, by forcing the player to use a single move - but those who are keen on spamming a particularly powerful attack will find much to love about this overpowered Poké-buff.
The Choice Band can be held by a Pokémon to significantly increase their attack, while the Specs have the same effect for special attacks. Fighters that favor speed should opt for the Scarf, which boosts the speed of a chosen Pokémon by 50%. These items quickly turn tricky Pokémon and trainer battles into pushovers if utilized wisely.
3 Elemental Gems
While a Z-Crystal will offer a super-powered new move, Elemental Gems largely provide this same function for moves your Pokémon already knows. A player who favors exploiting elemental advantages in battle will especially find these items insanely effective. That's because Elemental Gems will instantly boost the strength of a corresponding elemental move by 30%.
While they are limited-use items, a player can simply farm a dust cloud inside the various caves of Pokémon Black and White. Wellspring is recommended in this case, as it contains some weaker, lower-level monsters.
2 Leftovers
While these items might not seem too impactful in the short term (it only restores 1/16th of the user's max HP), they are the ultimate in the war-of-attrition that often occurs during battles. This is because they'll gradually and persistently restore the HP of any Pokémon that holds onto one after each turn. This proves particularly useful for the beefier, tankier Pokémon who are already tough to defeat in battle, as their survivalist nature will reach almost unstoppable heights.
1 Master Ball
We've covered items that primarily turn the tide during battle and can generate some easy victories, but what about the other key aspect of the Pokémon games - actually catching the monsters you'll be adding to your squad?
Well, that's where the Master Ball comes in. This is an item that ensures you'll capture the Pokémon, no matter how ominous or overpowered it might be. Just bust one of these suckers out, and that Mewtwo, Ho-Oh, or Articuno will instantly be yours. While these are highly limited as you might imagine, players of certain Pokémon titles have discovered glitches and exploits to farm for several, even infinite Master Balls, quickly turning your Pokémon journey into a cakewalk.