Item

An item (Japanese: どうぐ tool) is an object in the Pokémon games which the player can pick up, keep in their bag, and use in some manner. They have various uses, including healing, powering up, helping one to catch Pokémon, or to access a new area.

Obtaining items

An item chest from Pokémon Colosseum

Items are obtained in several different ways. They can be given to the player by characters within the game, be bought at a Poké Mart for money, or found by the player throughout the Pokémon world. The latter form of Items are contained within 'Item Balls', a spherical container resembling a Poké Ball. To obtain the item, players move next to it and press A while facing it. In Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, many items are found in treasure chests modeled after Poké Balls. Another method introduced in Generation II is picking berries off a berry tree. In Power Plants, item balls may in fact turn out to be Voltorb or Electrode, in which case talking them will instead initiate a battle with said Pokémon.

Ground Item Images

Generation	Image	Description
I	File:Itemball grby.jpg	A standard item ball from Generation I. The gray color will change depending on the game. It has the same design as a Poké Ball.
II	File:Itemball gsc2.jpg	A standard item ball from Generation II. This is the same basic image as Generation I but with standardized colors to make it look more like a Poké Ball.
III	File:Itemball gen3.jpg	A standard item ball from Generation III. The image has been further altered, making it clearly look like a Poké Ball.
IV	File:PokeBallSpriteSmall.png	A standard item ball from Generation IV is close to being exactly the same as Generation III.

Hidden items

The tuft of grass (highlighted) that gives away some hidden items in FR/LG

Finding items on the ground is not always as easy as seeing it and picking it up. Many items are hidden from view, and can only be obtained by a very lucky chance or, more commonly, through the use of an item finding tool. In Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, some hidden items are revealed by a momentary flash when a player enters a room. This is caused by the light reflecting off the hidden items. In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, some hidden items can be found in visibly different tufts of grass. These are most commonly in Berry Forest, where Berries reoccur in these spots after a certain amount of time.

Recurring items

Recurring items on the ground are quite rare within the Pokémon series. Although multiple items can be bought at Poké Marts, finding items on the ground repeatedly in the same place is almost unheard of. Generation I had no known places where there were recurring items. Generation II introduced berry trees, on which new berries would grow every day; however, there were still no known places of reoccurring items on the ground. Generation III continued the idea of the berry tree in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald but still did not yield any recurring item spots. However, in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, the berry tree was removed and replaced by recurring berries hidden on the ground in Berry Forest. Berries may regenerate every 512 steps. Other areas of recurring items include Treasure Beach, south of One Island. In Generation IV the main recurring item is the Reaper Cloth, Rare Bone, or Stardust found in Turnback Cave after defeating/catching Giratina in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum.

Item types

Since Generation II, Items have been moved into different categories to help with overall organization. These categories are altered slightly with each game, but the common categories consist of:

• General items - Potions, Status Healers, Escape Ropes, Max Repels, Battle Enhancers, Blank Mail, etc.
• TMs & HMs - All move teaching devices, by which Pokémon can learn moves such as Surf, DynamicPunch, and Psychic. HM's cannot be discarded.
• Poké Balls - Different type of balls are all used for capturing Pokémon
• Key items - Special items that players can only obtain once, that either aid the progression of the storyline or traveling. They rarely have anything to do with the player's Pokémon and are mostly specific to the game. These types of item include Tickets, Keys and the popular Bike. Key items can never be discarded, however, certain items will disappear from the player's bag during storyline events.
• Held items - Items that can be held by a Pokémon, then used by them in some way. There are many varieties of these.
• Berries - This is a more recent type of item. It was introduced in Generation II, and expanded upon in Generation III with the creation of many different types of berries.

The preceding basic classification holds true for Generations I through III. However, in Generation IV, items have been arranged into further categories. New categories include Medicine, Battle Items and Mail.

Item storage

Items that are obtained are stored in different places. Initially, when an item is obtained, it is placed in the player's bag, and from Generation II onwards, into a specific pocket of that bag. When a section of the bag becomes full, players will not be able to pick up any other items of that type. To make space, players must store their items within their PC, accessed at a Pokémon Center as <Name>'s PC. In Generation IV, this problem is eliminated, and the player's PC is used for other purposes. The player also has the ability to toss items away: this will delete them from the bag. Key items and HMs cannot be tossed.

Held items

Main article: Held item

Since Generation II, certain items have been able to be held by Pokémon to heal or to enhance their power. Healing items can be used in battle without taking up a turn, but must be natural for them to work. Artificial items such as Potions and Full Heals cannot be used by Pokémon during battle. Held items also have other uses, such as an aid to evolve during trading or battle. Mail was also introduced as a hold item, in which players could send messages with their Pokémon upon trading.

This item article is part of Project ItemDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all items.