The competitive scene in Pokemon is, as ever, thriving. Whether you're building a team made for singles or doubles, you need to do a lot of research into what Pokemon perform well, what moves are great to have, and which items your party members should be holding.
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The Choice Band is one of these items. It's a classic of the franchise that was introduced all the way back in the third generation with Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. It's back in Pokemon Sword and Shield and can be the vital item that turns your Pokemon into a monster of damage — but it's important to know how to use it.
What The Choice Band Does
The Choice Band is a held item that vastly increases the holder's Attack. This makes it great for physical attackers who have no business using special attacks.
The drawback of the Choice Band, however, is that once the holder has used an attack, it can only use that attack until it faints or is switched out for another Pokemon. To illustrate, if you give a Choice Band to a Machoke and have it use Cross Chop, don't be surprised when your foe swaps in a Ghost-type Pokemon and you find you cannot use a different move.
Note that there are also Choice Specs (which do the exact same thing but for Special Attack) and Choice Scarves (which don't increase Attack or Special Attack, but increase a Pokemon's Speed instead).
Where To Find The Choice Band In Pokemon Sword And Shield
There are two places in which you can find a Choice Band in the region of Galar. The first is on Route 2 — once you have acquired the Rotom Bike and can travel across water, you can head into the river of Route 2 and search for items. To the east, you can find a little bit of land to travel on that has the Choice Band waiting for you.
The second place to find a Choice Band is the Battle Tower. This item (along with Choice Specs and Choice Scarves) can be purchased at the left-hand BP Shop for 25BP each. To earn BP you must take part in the Battle Tower challenge and beat trainers.
Choice Band Strategies
The Attack bonus that the Choice Band grants is big enough for most players to work around the item's limitations and take them into account when building a Pokemon. To that end, here are some things to keep in mind and consider when using a Choice Band:
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Avoid status moves whenever possible as you would be locked into using them upon a single-use.
- An exception to this would be Trick, which would force the Choice Band and its limitations upon your current foe. This is especially effective against special attackers who would not gain any benefit from the Choice Band.
- Kit your Pokemon out with four different attack types. This makes it so that you should have a useable move no matter which Pokemon you switch in on.
- Keep your Choice Band user back for the majority of the battle. The more you can weaken your foe's roster of Pokemon, the easier it will be for your Choice Band user to sweep them up with its strong attacks regardless of type.
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