View source for Strange Ball

{{ItemInfobox/head
|name=Strange Ball
|jname=ストレンジボール
|jtrans=Strange Ball
|art=Bag Strange Ball SV Sprite
|caption=Artwork from {{g|Scarlet and Violet}}
|sprite=Strange Ball HOME
|gen=VIII
|colorscheme=Poké Balls}}
{{ItemInfobox/BagRow|VIII|Poké Balls|group=Satchel}}
{{ItemInfobox/BagRowBottom|IX|Poké Balls}}
|}

The '''Strange Ball''' (Japanese: '''ストレンジボール''' ''Strange Ball'') is a placeholder [[Poké Ball]] introduced in {{g|Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl}}. It is used to represent the Poké Balls of Pokémon when they were caught in a Poké Ball that does not exist in the current game.

==In the core series games==
Starting in {{g|Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl}}, Pokémon caught in Poké Balls that are unavailable in that game instead display a Strange Ball as their Poké Ball.
* In {{g|Legends: Arceus}}, Pokémon caught in any Poké Ball other than one of the Hisuian Poké Balls are displayed as being caught in a Strange Ball.
* In {{pkmn|Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl|Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl}}, {{pkmn|Scarlet and Violet|Scarlet, Violet}}, {{pkmn|Legends: Z-A}}, and {{pkmn|Champions}}, Pokémon caught in any Hisuian Poké Balls are displayed as being caught in a Strange Ball.

{{g|Sword and Shield}} do not feature Strange Balls; Pokémon caught in Hisuian Poké Balls are displayed in standard {{i|Poké Ball}}s instead, with [[Pokémon HOME]] storing the original ball server-side. When returned to HOME, these Pokémon will regain their original balls.

In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the Strange Ball does not exist as an actual item, only as a graphic displayed for Pokémon with a ball ID value that doesn't match any ball found in the game. The Strange Ball was made an [[item]] in {{g|Legends: Arceus}} and remains an item in subsequent games.

===Effect===
====Manual activation====
=====Legends: Arceus=====
The Strange Ball [[List of unobtainable items|cannot be legitimately obtained]] as an item, so it cannot normally be used. If it were to be obtained by [[cheating|hacking]], when used from the [[satchel]] in a {{pkmn2|wild}} encounter, it would attempt to catch the wild Pokémon with the same catch rate as a typical {{hi|Poké Ball|Hisuian Poké Ball}} (0.75×).

Unlike other Poké Balls in Legends: Arceus, the Strange Ball cannot be thrown by the player in the overworld, as it only appears in the satchel menu, but not in the throwable item menu in the lower-right of the screen. It is only usable if selected from the satchel menu during a battle.

=====Scarlet and Violet=====
The Strange Ball [[List of unobtainable items|cannot be legitimately obtained]] as an item, so it cannot normally be used. If it were to be obtained by [[cheating|hacking]], when used against a {{pkmn2|wild}} encounter, it would attempt to catch the wild Pokémon with the same catch rate as a typical {{i|Poké Ball}} (1×).

====As a Pokémon's Poké Ball====
From [[Generation VI]] onward, [[Pokémon breeding|bred]] Pokémon inherit their Poké Ball from their parents. However, any offspring that would inherit a Strange Ball, [[Master Ball]], or [[Cherish Ball]] will instead be contained in a {{i|Poké Ball|standard Poké Ball}}.

===Description===
{{movedesc|Poké Balls}}
{{movedescentry|{{gameabbrev8|LA}}|ー<br>ー<br>ー}}
{{movedescentry|{{gameabbrev9|SVZA}}|-<br>-<br>-}}
|}
|}

===Acquisition===
The Strange Ball cannot be obtained in any game.

==Gallery==
===Sprites===
{| style="margin:auto; text-align:center; {{roundy|20px}} border: 2px solid #{{Poké Balls color dark}}; background: #{{Poké Balls color}}; font-size: 80%"
|-
|style="{{roundy|80px}} border: 2px solid #{{Poké Balls color dark}}; background: #{{Poké Balls color light}}"| [[File:Bag Strange Ball LA Sprite.png|100px]]
|style="{{roundy|80px}} border: 2px solid #{{Poké Balls color dark}}; background: #{{Poké Balls color light}}"| [[File:Bag Strange Ball ZA Sprite.png|100px]]
|style="{{roundy|80px}} border: 2px solid #{{Poké Balls color dark}}; background: #{{Poké Balls color light}}"| [[File:Strange Ball summary LA.png]]
|-
| Artwork from<br>{{color2|000|Pokémon Legends: Arceus|Legends: Arceus}}
| Artwork from<br>{{color2|000|Pokémon Legends: Z-A|Legends: Z-A}}
| Summary sprite from<br>{{color2|000|Pokémon Legends: Arceus|Legends: Arceus}}
|}

==Trivia==
* The Strange Ball and [[Park Ball]] are the only Poké Balls that cannot be a Pokémon's own Poké Ball, due to Pokémon displayed in Strange Balls retaining their original Poké Ball's [[index number]].
* The Park Ball, [[Cherish Ball]], and Strange Ball are the only Poké Balls in the core series games that have never been obtainable in any core series game.

==In other languages==
{{langtable|color={{Poké Balls color light}}|bordercolor={{Poké Balls color dark}}
|zh_yue=奇異球 ''{{tt|Kèihyih Kàuh|Strange Ball}}''
|zh_cmn=奇異球 / 奇异球 ''{{tt|Qíyì Qiú|Strange Ball}}
|fr=Étrange Ball
|de=Rätselball
|it=Strange Ball
|ko=스트레인지볼 ''Strange Ball''
|es_la=Extrañabola
|es_eu=Extraña Ball
}}

==Related articles==
* [[Faraway place]]
* [[Distant land]]
{{-}}
{{Poké Balls}}
{{Project ItemDex notice}}

[[Category:Poké Balls]]
[[Category:Unreleased items]]

[[de:Rätselball]]
[[es:Extrañabola/Extraña Ball]]
[[fr:Étrange Ball]]
[[it:Strange Ball]]
[[ja:ストレンジボール]]
[[zh:奇异球（道具）]]