Poke Ball

Core series

• D P
  • • Pt
  Notes: HG SSAlso: B W

• The strength of a Poké Ball is determined by how much it raises a wild Pokémon 's catch rate , and may in fact vary depending on the conditions of the battle. Poké Balls limit the power of Pokémon contained inside, taming them, though they do not cause the Pokémon inside to always obey the Trainer.
• Main article: History of Poké Balls
• The invention of Poké Balls occurred in the Johto region, where Apricorns grow; these fruits were cut apart and carved out, then fitted with a special device, and used to catch wild Pokémon. Some Trainers still use Poké Balls made from Apricorns, while Kurt , a resident of Azalea Town , still constructs them. Pokémon Legends: Arceus shows that the first settlers of the Sinnoh region, back when it was known as the Hisui region, used pre-modern Poké Balls made of Tumblestone and Apricorns, with Professor Laventon claiming they were a more recent invention. According to Professor Elm , before the invention of the Poké Ball, people would walk with their Pokémon .
• In the games, in the Memory Link event A New Light , Drayden claims that Poké Balls did not exist during his childhood.
• Modern Poké Balls are not normally made from Apricorns, with the exception of specialist Poké Balls such as the Moon Ball . Modern Poké Balls are manufactured by Silph Co. , the Devon Corporation , and the Kalos Poké Ball Factory .
• Though the technology behind a Poké Ball remains unknown and has evolved through the centuries to accommodate the diverse requirements of their creators, the basic mechanics are simple enough to understand and tend to remain constant: in a Pokémon battle , once an opposing wild Pokémon has been weakened, the Pokémon Trainer can throw a Poké Ball at it. When a Poké Ball hits the Pokémon, as long as it is not deflected, the Poké Ball will open, cause the Pokémon to shrink, store it inside, and close. A Pokémon in this state is given a chance to struggle to attempt to break free from the ball and escape, instantly growing back in size if successful. Should a Pokémon escape a Poké Ball, the device is destroyed in the games, unlike in the animated series. A Pokémon that does not escape the Ball will be caught . Pokémon Legends: Arceus elaborates a bit on how the Pokémon are contained in a Poké Ball, with Professor Laventon explaining that Pokémon have the ability to reduce their size to miniscule, and Poké Balls take advantage of this to contain them.
• Poké Balls are specifically constructed for Pokémon capture, transport, and training. As well as being physically difficult to escape from, due to sealing tightly shut as soon as a Pokémon enters one, the environment of a Poké Ball is designed to be attractive to Pokémon also; according to Lucian of the Sinnoh Elite Four , weakened Pokémon instinctively curl up tight in an attempt to heal themselves, an action that the environment of the Poké Ball encourages. Although it is not known how a caught Pokémon perceives its time inside of its Ball, the device is said to create an environment that is "incredibly comfortable for Pokémon." [ 1 ] Junichi Masuda compared the interior of a Poké Ball to "a high-end suite room in a fancy hotel.” [ 2 ] All of these factors strongly discourage Pokémon from escaping their Balls. In the manga, Bugsy refers to his "capture net" as being the net that is supposedly inside a Poké Ball, but visible and already deployed. According to Kurt, this invisible net captures and physically stores a Pokémon.
• However, in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet , the protagonist's Koraidon S / Miraidon V repeatedly shows that it can enter and leave its Poké Ball as it wishes.
• When a Trainer Dynamaxes or Gigantamaxes a Pokémon, the Poké Ball expands to the size of an association football .
• In some games, a Ball Capsule can be used in combination with Stickers to create special effects when the Pokémon is sent out.
• See also: Catch rate
• In some scenarios, a Poké Ball can miss the wild Pokémon completely (in contrast to breaking if the Poké Ball does not successfully capture the Pokémon):
• In the Generation I games, it was possible for a ball to miss the Pokémon when the likelihood of catching the Pokémon in question was particularly low—rather than the ball throwing animation playing and the ball wiggling zero times, a message would come up stating "You missed the Pok é mon !". In the Generation I games and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen , the ghosts in Lavender Town 's Pokémon Tower dodge any ball thrown at them before being unmasked by the Silph Scope . The Marowak ghost will dodge all Poké Balls even if it is unmasked. In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! , Pokémon Legends: Arceus outside of battle, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A , Poké Balls are thrown manually, and the player must aim properly to hit the Pokémon. In Legends: Arceus, Heavy Ball and Feather Ball items have noticeably different throwing distances and trajectories compared to the standard variations. In Legends: Z-A, the player's Poké Balls that were thrown and missed can be retrieved by a lost Poké Ball collector , located outside each Pokémon Center .
• In other scenarios, it is simply not possible to use Poké Balls in the first place:
• In the Generation I and II core series games, if both the player's party and their current Box are full, the player cannot throw a Poké Ball. In non- Legends core series games, in wild battles the player cannot throw a Poké Ball if there are multiple opponents—such as in wild Double Battles , Horde Encounters , or SOS Battles —with the game claiming that it's impossible to aim. This is not the case in Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Pokémon Legends: Z-A . From Pokémon Diamond and Pearl onward, it is not possible to throw a Poké Ball if the opposing Pokémon is in the semi-invulnerable turn of a move (such as Fly or Dig ). Starting in Generation V , in Double and Triple Battles , it is not possible to issue a command to one Pokémon and then throw a Poké Ball as the second Pokémon's turn. However, it is still possible to throw a Poké Ball if one Pokémon is in the middle of a two-turn move. In Black 2 and White 2 , Ghetsis uses his cane to control a wild Kyurem and orders it to attack the player . The cane also emits signals that disrupt the use of empty Poké Balls, preventing Kyurem from being captured during the climax. In Sun, Moon , Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon , the player is forbidden from throwing Poké Balls at wild Pokémon in a trial site until the trial has been cleared. In Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon, a signal that prevents the use of empty Poké Balls is broadcast throughout Aether Paradise to protect the Pokémon living there. This prevents the player from capturing the wild Nihilego that attacks them on their first visit to the facility. In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, the player cannot use a Poké Ball on a Necrozma that has fused with a Solgaleo or Lunala . In Pokémon Sword and Shield , the player cannot catch a Pokémon whose level is above the limit the player's current Badges can allow. Such Pokémon is described as "very strong-looking". In The Crown Tundra expansion, the player cannot catch Spectrier or Glastrier during the encounter with it in the village because "It won't let its guard down!" In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl , the player cannot catch the Origin Forme Giratina encountered inside the Distortion Room in Ramanas Park . In Pokémon Legends: Arceus , the player cannot catch certain Pokémon, including noble Pokémon and Arceus . In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet , the player cannot throw a Poké Ball at a wild Tera Pokémon until it is sufficiently weakened, breaking through its transformation.
• Starting in Generation III , each owned Pokémon's data stores the index number of the type of Poké Ball used to catch it or received in. An owned Pokémon's Poké Ball cannot be legitimately changed and is displayed in the Pokémon's summary screen.
• There are special cases in how Poké Ball are assigned when obtaining Pokémon:
• Bred Pokémon: Prior to Generation VI, all hatched Pokémon are in a standard Poké Ball . In Generation VI , a bred Pokémon will be in the same Poké Ball as its mother. Pokémon bred from a male or gender-unknown Pokémon and Ditto will hatch in a standard Poké Ball. Since Generation VII , in addition to inheriting its mother's Poké Ball, a bred Pokémon can now inherit the non-Ditto parent's Poké Ball if bred with Ditto. If two Pokémon of the same species in different balls (regardless of their form ) are bred, the resulting offspring will have an equal chance to inherit either parent's Poké Ball. In all generations, Master Ball , Cherish Ball , and Strange Ball cannot be inherited. If an offspring would inherit one of these balls, they will be in a standard Poké Ball instead. Pokémon transferred from another game: Despite transferring Pokémon from Gen III to IV games in Pal Park involves catching them with Park Balls , they retain their original Poké Ball and index number from Gen III games instead of being reassigned to Park Balls. Pokémon from Pokéwalker transferred to HeartGold or SoulSilver are contained in standard Poké Balls. Pokémon from Pokémon Dream Radar to Black 2 or White 2 are contained in Dream Balls . Pokémon transferred from Virtual Console versions of Gen I and II games to Pokémon Bank via Poké Transporter are in standard Poké Balls, because Gen I and II games do not keep track of Pokémon's Poké Ball. Shedinja if obtained from evolving Nincada : In Gen III, Shedinja copies its parent Nincada's ball. Since Gen IV, obtaining Shedinja additionally requires owning a standard Poké Ball in inventory, which is consumed upon evolution. The resulting Shedinja will then be in the standard Poké Ball. In Diamond, Pearl , and Platinum only, evolving Shedinja in any Apricorn Balls or the Sport Ball (which, in Gen IV, are only coded to exist in HeartGold and SoulSilver ) will copy the ball to Shedinja without reassigning it to have a standard Poké Ball. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, as Nincada is only found in the Bug Catching Contest which only permits Sport Balls, only Sport Balls can be legitimately copied to Shedinja in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum this way. In Pokémon Sword and Shield , if the player has at least one standard Poké Ball, Great Ball , or Ultra Ball , cooking curry may attract a wild Pokémon that requests to join the player without a battle. If accepted, one Poké Ball is consumed to contain the Pokémon, prioritizing the first available type in the order of standard Poké Ball>Great Ball>Ultra Ball. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, catching Calyrex in its Ice Rider or Shadow Rider forms will assign the ball used to both Calyrex and its steed ( Glastrier or Spectrier , respectively).
• If a Pokémon is traded to a game that does not support its Poké Ball:
• Pokémon from HeartGold and SoulSilver caught in Apricorn Balls or a Sport Ball will be displayed in a standard Poké Ball in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl , and Platinum . The original Poké Ball data is preserved and will be correctly displayed again when traded back to HeartGold or SoulSilver or transferred to Generation V . Pokémon originating from Legends: Arceus transferred to Pokémon Sword and Shield will have their ball converted into a standard Poké Ball, with their original ball data being stored in Pokémon HOME 's server. Pokémon originating from Pokémon Legends: Arceus which are then transferred into another game (and vice versa for those caught outside Legends: Arceus and then transferred in) will be displayed in Strange Balls while in a game where the Pokémon's ball is not programmed into the game, but will still retain its original index number.
• From Generation III onward, each variety of Poké Ball has a unique animation when it catches or sends out a Pokémon, except in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! and Pokémon Legends: Arceus . Fling will fail if the user is holding any type of Poké Ball.
• In the Pokémon games so far, there have been 34 (38 if the Hisuian Poké Ball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, and Heavy Ball are considered distinct from their modern-day counterparts) different varieties of Poké Balls, all differing from each other in some way, whether it be an increased ability to catch a Pokémon from the wild or an effect which occurs only after the Pokémon has been caught.
• Every Poké Ball (except the Beast Ball and Master Ball) has a 0.1× catch rate modifier when attempting to catch an Ultra Beast .
• In Pokémon Red, Blue , Yellow , FireRed, and LeafGreen , Professor Oak mentions that his Parcel contains a custom Poké Ball. However, this is not said in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! . The GS Ball is an event item that appears only in Pokémon Crystal , where it was part of a giveaway on the Mobile System GB for Japanese games, similar to event items given out via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and Nintendo Network from Generation IV onward. It was not used to catch any Pokémon and was placed in the Key Items pocket. If given to Kurt for inspection, it will activate an event where the player can catch a Celebi in Ilex Forest . When transferring Pokémon via Poké Transfer , a blue Poké Ball is used to catch the Pokémon in the minigame. They are shot using a bow. In the Timegate Traveler Series featured in Pokéstar Studios , the future is ruled by Bug-type Pokémon that capture wild humans in Human Balls (Japanese: ヒューマンボール Human Ball ) instead of the other way around. They have no visual difference to Poké Balls. In Pokémon Sun, Moon , Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon , the Ride Pager contains a special Poké Ball used to release the summoned Ride Pokémon. In Pokémon Sword and Shield , the Dynamax Band allows Trainers to increase the size of Poké Balls, making them look like giant Premier Balls . When a Pokémon is Dynamaxed (including Gigantamaxing ) with a Dynamax Band, the Trainer returns their active Pokémon to its Poké Ball, then turns the Poké Ball into a giant Poké Ball. This giant Poké Ball is then thrown, sending out the Dynamax Pokémon. In Max Raid Battles and Dynamax Adventures , when the wild Dynamax Pokémon is defeated, the Trainer turns an empty Poké Ball into a giant Poké Ball, then throws it at the wild Dynamax Pokémon in an attempt to catch it.
• "Ah! This is the custom POKé BALL I ordered! Thank you!" The GS Ball The Ride Pager Poké Ball Concept art of a giant Poké Ball for Dynamax by Ken Sugimori [ 3 ]
• In the games, certain Poké Balls appear off-color due to palette limitations. They are most likely intended to be standard Poké Balls rather than variations.
• In Generation I , Poké Balls thrown in battle:
• All types of Poké Ball (on the Super Game Boy , or non-Japanese Pokémon Yellow on the Game Boy Color ) All types of Poké Ball ( Pokémon Green or Blue on the Game Boy Color) All types of Poké Ball ( Pokémon Red on the Game Boy Color) All types of Poké Ball (Japanese Pokémon Yellow on the Game Boy Color)
• In Generation II , Poké Balls thrown in battle:
• Poké Ball and Love Ball Great Ball , Fast Ball , and Lure Ball Ultra Ball and Friend Ball Master Ball Heavy Ball , Moon Ball , and Park Ball
• In Generation I (on the Super Game Boy , or non-Japanese Pokémon Yellow on the Game Boy Color ) and Generation II, all types of Poké Ball change into the color palette of the wild Pokémon when it is successfully caught:
• In Generation I games played on the Super Game Boy , as well non-Japanese Pokémon Yellow on the Game Boy Color , the overworld has a single color palette applied to the entire screen, with different color palettes depending on the current location of the player:
• In Generation I games played on the Game Boy Color , including specifically the Japanese version of Pokémon Yellow , the objects and characters on screen have color palettes applied externally by the game device instead of using color palettes from internal game data:
• The trade animation displays the generic black Poké Ball in Generation I (on the Super Game Boy , or non-Japanese Pokémon Yellow on the Game Boy Color ) or red Poké Ball in Generation II :
• In the Generations from I to III , several Trainer sprites have off-color Poké Balls. They often reuse the same colors seen elsewhere in the sprites such as the character's hair or clothes:
• Main article: Item → Obtaining items
• Items contained in Poké Balls have been present from the very first games, with many items that are found on the field being found in Poké Balls in conspicuous locations. These items are sometimes important, and usually will be among the required items for pickup along the way. Sometimes, even Poké Ball variants can be found in item balls, though it may be that the item ball itself is supposed to represent the item that is found (whenever or not it's a Poké Ball). Many other items, however, are hidden, and are not in item balls, instead being directly on the field, and can be found more easily using an Itemfinder or Dowsing Machine .
• Voltorb , Electrode , Foongus , Amoonguss , and Galarian Stunfisk appear as item balls in the overworld, but attack when interacted with (or if at close range for Galarian Stunfisk), except the Foongus in Accumula Town . In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! , fake item balls appear upside down.
• Poké Balls are often featured in the icons for Pokémon games, which are used on the home screens for the Nintendo DS , 3DS , Switch , and mobile devices.