The Choice Band has long been a favorite item for players, and it is sure to remain a popular choice in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. The item offers a boost to offenses without any kind of setup, allowing mediocre Pokemon to become offensive threats and strong Pokemon to threaten sweeps.
The “Choice” held items all have the same general use. Choice Band, Choice Scarf, and Choice Specs all boost one stat, but lock Pokemon into repeating the first move it uses. It’s a tricky handicap to handle, but it’s one that many Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players are willing to take on for a free stat boost.
The trouble is that while some important held items can be purchased early on in the game from stores, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players can’t get a Choice Band until the late-game. Many players won’t even notice the item becoming available.
How to Get Choice Band in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
Players can purchase Choice Band from Delibird Presents in Mesagoza. The item is available in all three of the store’s locations in Mesagoza, but costs a whopping $100,000. Choice Scarf and Choice Specs are also available at these shops for the same price.
While there are many items available at Delibird Presents, Choice Band isn’t available until after the completion of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s final mission. This means that the item will only be usable by players in the Pokemon Scarlet & Violet post-game, Tera Raid battles, and multiplayer battling.
The item isn’t recommended for Tera Raid battles, as stat boosts and Terastallization are both extremely powerful. Still, Choice Band remains powerful to the point where players will want to seek it out for trainer battles against both NPC and real-life opponents.
Best Choice Band Pokemon
Dragonite, Palafin, Dragapult, and Meowscarada are among the best Choice Band users in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. The common denominator among all these Pokemon is that they all hit hard and have the capability of attacking before opponents.
Dragonite and Palafin both have powerful priority moves in Extreme Speed and Jet Punch, respectively. Meowscarada and Dragapult are two of the fastest Pokemon available in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. In both cases, having a Choice Band allows players to hit opponents hard and potentially knock them out before they can return fire.
Bulky Pokemon can also make use of Choice Band as well, though it may not be as reliable. Azumarill, Tyranitar, and Baxcalibur are all solid Choice Band users as they can potentially tank a hit and then return fire.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.