Pre-Stage Items in Pokémon Shuffle

Since I decided to explain about items in Pokémon Café Remix that may be used before and during a puzzle, and being that I haven't done the same for its predecessor Pokémon Shuffle, I thought I'd explain exactly the latter. Shuffle may be considered to be on its downturn as Café Remix has gained prominence, but explanation of some things may still be helpful for those who still play. One of those things would be the stage (puzzle) items, though in the case of Shuffle, they are only present before things get started.

For these items, it is possible to group them into three groups and explain them accordingly. The first group is what I call "additives" and covers the items of Moves +5, Time +10, and Exp. Points x1.5. The first two items increase the number of moves (of a move-based stage) or the time limit (of a time-based stage), but the increase is not factored into making a Pokémon easier to catch as they do normally when they remain after completing a stage; completion of stages in the "extra period" given by the items also always gives out a C rank. Thus, the two items only serve to help guarantee stage completion regardless of what happens. The last item is only a simple accessory that ensures Pokémon earn more experience points after a stage is completed, which may in turn be a motivator for that as well. 

Next, there is the "boosters" group. This has the items of Mega Start and Attack Power Up. The former initiates Mega Evolution at the start instead of it being dependent on moves being made. Even with the usage of Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution that have been enhanced with the Mega Speedup enhancement, the item may still be necessary as a "failsafe" and a guarantee, especially for urgent stages where every move counts. Meanwhile, the latter doubles the amount of damage that the opposing Pokémon takes in battle; if in the course of playing a stage the opposing Pokémon only takes about half the damage that it should, then the item is to be considered in the next "item run", which should help get things done and especially if there is no alternative.

Then, the last group is the "removers" group, composed of the remaining two items of Complexity -1 and Disruption Delay. As can be predicted, these items essentially eliminate possible hindrances. In the case of the former, certain Pokémon (or even in some cases rocks or blocks) are taken out, making a stage much easier to complete, though at a heavy coin cost. It follows that this first item has to be used very wisely. The latter item, meanwhile, prevents an opposing Pokémon from adding disruptions for half the duration of the stage, as half the amount of time or the number of moves starting from the beginning; it makes them act as if they're stunned or paralyzed for that duration. Once the duration passes, then one has to deal with the disruptions as normal.

Other relevant properties also apply to the items above. It should be noted that the availability of some of the items are dependent on stage circumstances, as with Moves +5 and Time +10 above and as explained additionally in the previous "item run" post. If no Mega Evolution-capable Pokémon are selected, then the Mega Start won't be available. Non-EX Main Stages as well as Expert Stages also won't have the Attack Power Up item available. All of the items may be accumulated instead of spending coins for any or all of them, but some of the items are more usable than others and the accumulation for specific items is likely to be used up before an item can be stockpiled to a great extent, else avoided entirely with the use of an Item Bundle also as explained before.  

All of the items above in effect require some forethought to know when to use, being only offered before the stage starts. Considerations based on the above likewise also apply to that forethought to avoid over- or under-spending. Regardless, the items above effectively are to be used to (try to) guarantee success of a stage, which may not always come easily or even cheaply in some cases; they remain the hallmark of this Pokémon puzzle game, and their legacy deserves some commemoration even after moving on.

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