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Given that it's a common option on cart formats, its inclusion or exclusion both feel true to the game. There's no guarantee it would make the meta better or worse. But it certainly changes up some strategic elements, and feels impossible to gauge without a full dive into it.
it has not been used on smogon over my years on the site, so i assume there's some validity to it in the game. i see no reason to change it from a competitive pov and there has been no valid reasons presented. generally, you need more than a "it changes things up" to alter the status quo, but an actual reason backed by examples/logic
That's true. The only example would be some players arguing that HDB centralizing, to which it is a possible solution. Now, Smogon maintains a skill-rewarding meta staying as true to cart mechanics as possible. Imagine two servers, one with item clause and one without. Neither is more natural than the other, but if we were to unify the community we would pick the one that emphasizes Smogon values most closely.
I've been an on and off battler since Gen VI, yet AFAIK Item Clause has never been explored in a test to see - you'd think it might happen every few years. Anyway, I can see the reasons against it - just thought it is a cool point of discussion. :)