Stone Plate
Effect: Holder's Rock-type moves deal
1.3x damage and the holder takes
0.5x damage from physical attacks. The item breaks if it is hit by a neutral or super-effective contact move or any Fighting-type attack.
Flavor: Keeping with the general consistency of increasing damage based on the type of plate, this also adds a bit of dimension to it.
Competitive: Played right, it can take your attacking Pokémon to impressive new levels. Played wrong, and you lose your attack and defensive boosts to the first priority move your enemy throws at you. Playing it safe would be key here, it's an item that a few Pokémon might rely on to survive, but you don't even need
Knock Off to get rid of it.
Arceus would find it the most beneficial, to the point where it may even become broken: a plate held by Arceus can't be removed, so Arceus' defensive and offensive power could be difficult to push through in its Rock form.
Hard Stone
Effect: Holder's moves that boost
Defense have their effect
doubled.
Harden instantly raises the user's defense to
+3. If the move
Rollout is used after a Hard Stone-boosted Harden, it deals
3x damage instead of 2x. (Single use)
Flavor: It's an unbreakable stone, it seems fitting to boost defensive power.
Competitive: Potentially lethal on Pokémon with moves such as
Coil and
Bulk Up, but only if used at precisely the right moment, as it disappears after the boosting move is used. Also useful for
Cosmic Power users that want that large burst of
Defense right away.
Rollout has the potential to be an incredibly powerful force if you can't get in the way of its momentum in time, but can be walled by any resistant Pokémon with a protecting move. Users of the move
Cotton Guard would also find themselves near-impervious to physical attacks after use, but their
Special Defense would still be vulnerable.
Obviously potentially broken, but you guys can be the judge of that. I think the effect suits the item well, however, even if it has to be toned down.
Rock Incense
Effect: Applies the effects of
Stealth Rock to the opponent's team when the holder enters battle. The effect is not affected by abilities such as
Magic Bounce or the move
Magic Coat, but the holder can only use status moves while it is being held. This item cannot be switched away by
Trick or
Switcheroo, it can be removed by
Knock Off, however.
Flavor: It's a jar full of scented rocks, it'd be easy to throw them all over the opponent's side of the playing field.
Competitive: Putting this Pokémon into play ensures that the opponent gets a healthy layer of rocks. However, the Pokémon you give this item to becomes Taunt bait. You could easily switch into a
Magic Bounce user with a
Relic Vase to make any user of this item (except for one with
Mold Breaker/
Turboblaze/
Teravolt) redundant, and the inability to use direct attacking moves makes it impossible for the holder to provide offensive pressure while still being able to set free unblockable hazards. Users of
Baton Pass and/or stat-boosting moves would be able to use this item to potentially reset the momentum of the match if they're brought in against the right foe.
Protector
Effect: Holder's
Defense is increased to
1.5x, but its
Speed is reduced to
0.5x. If the holder is a Rhyperior, its
Defense is increased to
2x.
Flavor: A simple physical Assault Vest effect couldn't be placed on a more deserving item. That said, the actual text of the item states that it is "extremely stiff and heavy." It made sense to forgo the disabling of status moves to opt for a cut to speed.
Competitive: Will provide any Pokémon with the ability
Regenerator with a very useful
Defense buff, as well as not limiting their movepool to attacks only. The speed cut would also provide utilisers of the move
U-turn (Mienshao, Tornadus-Therian) with the opportunity to preserve momentum, provided the opponent has over 50~60 base
Speed.
Rhyperior, with this being its evolutionary item, would be that much closer to literally being a tank. Slow, able to sponge almost any physical hit, with brutal attacking force. However, it would still be incredibly weak to any Grass- or Water-type special attack, which would make it particularly easy to revenge, even by slow special attackers.
Lagging Tail
Effect: Holder's tail-based moves have their effect or base power
doubled. Additionally, any moves with a priority of
3 or lower have their priority set to
-8. This item cannot be removed by
Switcheroo,
Trick,
Fling or
Knock Off.
Flavor: A slow, heavy tail should only be carried if it can provide you with phenomenal power.
Competitive:
Aqua Tail's base power becomes
180.
Iron Tail's becomes
200. Dragon Tail?
120 base power and a forced switch.
Tail Glow instantly raises your
Special Attack to
+6. This item is not to be taken lightly, but also requires a lot of support to utilise well. This item forces you to play carefully, as any
Dragon Tail,
Whirlwind or
Roar user will be able to phase you before you are able to even attack with your insanely powerful moves or
4x Special Attack. You also open yourself up to very easy revenge kills, provided you don't attempt to set up on a Pokémon that can knock you out in 2 hits. Like all of the moves on this list, smart play is key, with the rewards being incredible for those who utilise them well, and the drawbacks being lethal if not.
