What it does
Sticky Hold does exactly one thing: opposing moves and abilities can't forcibly remove or swap the carrier's held item.
The moves it blocks: Knock Off, Covet, Thief, Trick, Switcheroo. None of them can take the item from a Sticky Hold carrier. Knock Off is the most common item-removal tool in Champions — it hits a large portion of the field regularly — and Sticky Hold completely shuts that down.
Clarification: Sticky Hold blocks item removal, not item destruction. Incinerate destroys berries regardless.
Who runs it
Hydrapple at ~0% competitive usage. Supersweet Syrup delivers an immediate on-entry evasion drop that affects the game the moment Hydrapple steps in. Sticky Hold only matters if the opponent is specifically threatening to take the item — and even then, most team builds find the proactive value of the other ability more impactful than defensive item retention.
How to use it
The logic for running Sticky Hold: pick a high-value sustained item — Leftovers for consistent HP recovery, Rocky Helmet for chip damage on contact moves — and guarantee it can't be stripped. Against teams with multiple Knock Off users, this removes a common source of resource denial.
Hydrapple's bulk (106 HP, 110 Sp. Def) and Recover mean it often wants to stay in play for extended turns. Leftovers every turn adds up. If the item is what makes the gameplan work, Sticky Hold keeps it in play.
Tips & strategy
Knock Off does less damage when the target has no item (about 1.5× damage multiplier is lost). Against a Sticky Hold carrier, Knock Off deals its reduced base damage from the start — the opponent's Knock Off user loses its power bonus every time it targets the carrier.
Sticky Hold does not prevent item consumption — Hydrapple can still eat its own berry if it has one and the HP threshold is met. It only stops opponents from taking or swapping it.
In most competitive games, the answer to Knock Off pressure isn't ability-based item protection — it's building teams that can function without relying on a single item staying on a specific Pokémon. That's why this ability sits at 0% usage despite being mechanically valid.