Safety first - early opinions on Safety Goggles

We've gotten some cool new items in X&Y, but one that tends to be talked about less is Safety Goggles. For anyone who is unaware, or just hasn't bothered picking up a pair from the Battle Maison, Safety Goggles are a hold item that essentially function like the Overcoat ability, protecting your pokemon from weather damage and powder moves. To be honest, Safety Goggles don't seem very useful at first. Dodging weather damage is nice, but most of the time you're better off using a different item. However, there is one key point about Safety Goggles that shouldn't be overlooked - they have wonderful Trick Room, and to a lesser extent Tailwind, utility.

The main use for Trick Room utility comes in the form of Amoonguss protection. Traditionally, Amoonguss has been a relatively good check to Trick Room. It can Spore a pokemon that is trying to set up Trick Room or spam Spore once the Trick Room is up. With Safety Goggles you can prevent Spore from effecting one of your pokemon. Which is pretty good, considering most dedicated Trick Room teams I've played in the past tended to carry at least one Lum Berry pokemon in order to deal with Amoonguss. The added bonus here is that Safety Goggles also let the pokemon holding them ignore Rage Powder, which can be crucial when if you're under the time limit of Trick Room. This is also the utility of Safety Goggles in Tailwind, where your time limit is even lower.

My personal favorite use of Safety Goggles is on pokemon that set up Trick Room. Some of my favorite combinations include:

Reuniclus! The squishy fellow occasionally is seen using the Overcoat ability, but I like to give him Safety Goggles. This way he's still immune to weather and powders, but also get Magic Guard or Regenerator.

Aromatisse. Aromatisse is pretty efficient at setting up Trick Room with Safety Goggles and Aroma Veil, preventing both Spore and Taunt.

Chandalure. While I don't think Safety Googles are a superior option for Chandalure, it's pretty cool being immune to Spore and Fake Out.

But hey, there's one other ghost that deserves a mention in this post...

SHEDINJA!!!

Aw yeah, with Safety Goggles Shedinja is prepare for weather of all kinds! No more will sand or hail be finishing it off. You can even Soak it <if you're into that gimmick> and Shedinja will be ready for a beach party. Look out everyone, Shedinja is here to play.

~Harrison