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Held Items Strategy Guide

Comprehensive guide to held items and when to use them for maximum strategic advantage

Author: CensoredHarp
Last updated: June 17, 2026
Held Items Strategy Guide

Introduction

In Polished Crystal, wild Pokémon can sometimes be found holding a common item (item 1, 50%) or a rare item (item 2, 5%). If a Pokémon has the same item in both held-item slots, the probability will be 55%. always item 2 is used for the guaranteed held item.

Having a Pokémon leading your party with the Ability Compound Eyes or Super Luck (or, only in the Regular version, holding an Amulet Coin) will increase the odds of finding a held item on a wild Pokémon to 60% and 20% for item 1 and item 2, respectively.Combining Amulet Coin and one of these abilities will not stack this boost.

Note that as of version 3.2.1 Thief and Pickpocket will automatically place an item in the bag if the user is already holding an item. Trainers’ items will be returned to them if stolen during a battle.

Super Luck Murkrow is extremely handy, learning Thief at Lv. 25. It can be found on Route 38 and Route 39 at night (5%) or by Headbutt Trees a rare tree on most Routes.

In the Regular version, the Amulet Coin method pairs well with Repels and useful Abilities:

Commonly Sought Held Items

List of Wild Held Items

Wild Pokémon can hold items. Common items have a 50% chance to be held, rare items have a 5% chance, and some Pokémon always hold specific items. If the same item appears in both slots, it has a 55% chance (50% + 5%). Use a Pokémon with the Frisk ability to detect held items, or use the move Thief or Covet to steal them.

Found 70 items that can be held by wild Pokémon
ItemHeld By
aspear berry
Aspear Berry
oran berry
Oran Berry
lum berry
Lum Berry
dragon scale
Dragon Scale
king's rock
King's Rock
persim berry
Persim Berry
poison barb
Poison Barb
quick claw
Quick Claw
rawst berry
Rawst Berry
grip claw
Grip Claw
metal coat
Metal Coat
sharp beak
Sharp Beak
sitrus berry
Sitrus Berry
spell tag
Spell Tag
kee berry
Kee Berry
marangaberry
MarangaBerry
nevermeltice
NeverMeltIce
chesto berry
Chesto Berry
electirizer
Electirizer
everstone
Everstone
focus band
Focus Band
hard stone
Hard Stone
lagging tail
Lagging Tail
leppa berry
Leppa Berry
light ball
Light Ball
lucky egg
Lucky Egg
magmarizer
Magmarizer
moon stone
Moon Stone
shed shell
Shed Shell
twistedspoon
TwistedSpoon
big mushroom
Big Mushroom
big pearl
Big Pearl
black sludge
Black Sludge
Muk50%
brightpowder
BrightPowder
gold leaf
Gold Leaf
lansat berry
Lansat Berry
leek
Leek
leftovers
Leftovers
miracle seed
Miracle Seed
mystic water
Mystic Water
nugget
Nugget
oval stone
Oval Stone
pearl
Pearl
pecha berry
Pecha Berry
protector
Protector
silver leaf
Silver Leaf
silverpowder
SilverPowder
smoke ball
Smoke Ball
soft sand
Soft Sand
star piece
Star Piece
stardust
Stardust
thick club
Thick Club
tinymushroom
TinyMushroom
upgrade
Upgrade
wide lens
Wide Lens
amulet coin
Amulet Coin
berry juice
Berry Juice
big root
Big Root
charcoal
Charcoal
Entei100%
dubious disc
Dubious Disc
magnet
Magnet
Raikou100%
metal powder
Metal Powder
moomoo milk
Moomoo Milk
petaya berry
Petaya Berry
Mewtwo100%
pink bow
Pink Bow
quick powder
Quick Powder
razor claw
Razor Claw
razor fang
Razor Fang
sacred ash
Sacred Ash
Ho-Oh100%
starf berry
Starf Berry

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