Is there a competitive scenario where the item Sticky Barb is useful?

Question

Question more or less says it all.

Answer 1

Yes, but it's still not very good in comparison to other items a Pokemon can have. A Pokemon with Magic Guard can hold it with no fear of getting hurt by it, and pass it off to any Pokemon attempting to make contact and damage it. The only real instance of this is Clefable, which is bulky enough to take a couple hits. Clefable usually has better item choices, however, and Sticky Barb is very niche.

Weirdly, in the DP era, Smogon recommended Sticky Barb for Kakuna, in order to take physical hits better. But really, why would you use Kakuna in the first place?

Hope I helped!

Comments

Clefable passes of Sticky Barb with Trick almost all the time.

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This is the correct answer. Sticky Barb Clefable isn't as popular now, but it was quite relevant in OU when I was last playing it actively. https://www.smogon.com/stats/2020-09/moveset/gen8ou-1825.txt
It helps Clefable break slow balance cores by removing Leftovers/Heavy Duty Boots and replacing it with an item that damages enemy walls/pivots.

Answer 2

A sticky barb is useful in a competitive scenario if you’re Pokemon has fling and the opponent’s Pokemon isn’t a particularly tanky Pokemon, other wise take something else like will-o-wisp or toxic, hope this helped :)

Comments

What's your point? Is Sticky Barb damage any less effective against tanky Pokemon than burn damage?

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Well toxic does more damage progressively over time, and burn halves the target’s attack and deals damage over time.