Move of the Week - Covet

Heeeyyyy guys, it's me! Kenny! I bet you already knew that! Anyway, I'm here to talk about a move. What, you think you've got a better move to write about? Well hey, if you knew this edition's MOTW, Covet, you might just be able to take this writing position from me! N-no wait, I wasn't serious. Please don't go try and learn that. I would be very sad if you did. 

So, enough of my joking around, let's get onto the details. Covet is a Normal-Type move in the Physical category, and sports a PP of 40 (Max 64), Base Power of 60, and an Accuracy of 100%. Now if Covet just did damage, it wouldn't really be that great of a move. But, my friends, this Normal-Type attack does more! If the user of Covet is not holding an item, and its target is, the user takes the foe's item! Wow, talk about a potential game-changer! Competitive battlers know that, at times, a held item can make a or break a battle. If that foe's prized item were to be taken away however, it could potentially become quite a bit less threatening (no, I'm definitely not saying that this is always the case). And hey, it's not like most items are specific to a single Pokémon, so while you're stealing your foe's item, you could also potentially be giving your own Pokémon a boost! Also, note that consumption of an item will happen BEFORE the item-stealing effect of Covet takes place. For example, if Covet would potentially One-Hit-KO your opponent, and your opponent is holding a Focus Sash, the Focus Sash will activate BEFORE Covet attempts to steal the item. This means that, unfortunately for you, you would not get the item. If a consumable item is NOT consumed however, Covet will steal it! Also note that certain forme-changing items cannot be stolen if held by the Pokémon that changes forme from said item (such as a Giratina holding a Griseous Orb.

Now, I bet some of you are wondering if you get to keep those items you stole. Unfortunately for you, most of the time you cannot keep what your Pokémon has stole via covet. If you are fighting another human player, or a computer-played Trainer, you will not be able to keep the item. It will be returned once the battle is over. If you so happen to be engaged in a battle with a wild Pokémon however, that item is all yours my friend!

Now's the time to talk strategy, but I basically already said most of what I wanted to say. First off, make sure your Pokémon with Covet is not holding an item (or is holding an item that you plan to get rid of), as the item-stealing effect of Covet will not activate. If you can successfully predict how your opponent might play, you could potentially ruin their setup if it is one that heavily, or even moderately relies on an item. If you're going to use Covet, I would assume that you aren't using it for its mediocre 60 Power. That being said, remember that Normal Types will get STAB from Covet, making it a little more powerful! There also aren't a ton of Pokémon capable of learning this move however, so your pick of the litter is rather limited. It can still work though!

Well, that's it for this edition of Move of the Week! I hope you learned a thing or two, I know that I always do! Stay strong, Trainers!