Master Ball

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Sugimori art of the Master Ball

The Master Ball (Japanese: マスターボール Master Ball) is a variety of Poké Ball introduced in Generation I, and arguably the rarest of all Poké Ball variants. It is unique in the aspect that it is guaranteed to catch any wild Pokémon (with the exception of the ghost Marowak and Kyurem while it is under Ghetsis's control) that it is thrown at. It shares this attribute with the Park and Dream Ball used within Pal Park and the Entralink, respectively. However, unlike these Poké Balls, the Master Ball can be obtained and used outside of these specific areas.

The Master Ball, like all Poké Balls, is spherical in shape. The top and bottom halves are divided by a horizontal black band, on which is the button found on all Poké Balls. The top half of the Master Ball is purple, with a white letter "M" on the front, with a pink circle on either side.

Master Balls are developed by Silph Co.

In the games

The Master Ball has been present in every main series Pokémon game. Usually, only one Master Ball is available to the player per saved game, although from Generation II onwards (except Generation V), additional Master Balls can be won in Lucky Channel and Pokémon Lottery Corner drawings, but only if the drawn number exactly matches the ID number of one of the player's Pokémon.

The Master Ball is the only item that cannot be sold that is neither a key item, an HM, or a TM. In Generations I and II it can be "sold", but for $0.

Master Ball locations

Generation Game(s) Location Requirements Notes
I Red, Blue, and Yellow Silph Co. Talk to the president of Silph Co. after defeating Giovanni.
II Gold, Silver, and Crystal New Bark Town Talk to Professor Elm after earning all eight Johto Badges.
II Gold, Silver, and Crystal Goldenrod Radio Tower Match all 5 numbers in the Lucky Channel.
III Ruby Magma Hideout None Entrance is blocked off after battling Groudon.
III Sapphire, Emerald Aqua Hideout None Entrance is blocked off after battling KyogreS.
III Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald Lilycove Department Store Match all 5 numbers in the Pokémon Lottery Corner.
III Pokémon Colosseum Agate Village Receive and read incomplete email from Eagun in Realgam Tower Eagun's email is cut off before it can mention the Master Ball; Eagun will not give the Master Ball if the player has received the email but not read it.
III Pokémon XD Pokémon HQ Lab Talk to Professor Krane before heading to Citadark Isle
III FireRed and LeafGreen Silph Co. Talk to the president of Silph Co. after defeating Giovanni
IV Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum Galactic Veilstone Building Defeat Cyrus
IV Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum Jubilife TV Match all 5 numbers in the Pokémon Lottery Corner.
IV HeartGold and SoulSilver New Bark Town Talk to Professor Elm after earning all eight Johto Badges.
IV HeartGold and SoulSilver Goldenrod Radio Tower Match all 5 numbers in the Pokémon Lottery Corner.
V Black and White Opelucid City Meet Professor Juniper in town after earning all eight Unova Badges.
V Black and White Castelia City Pokémon Center Talk to a man after the player has outsider Pokémon with at least 50 different original Trainers. The man will no longer give out gifts after the Master Ball.
V Black 2 and White 2 Mistralton City Meet Professor Juniper for the first time in town.
V Black 2 and White 2 Plasma Frigate Defeat Colress after entering the Hall of Fame.
V Black 2 and White 2 Join Avenue Grand prize from Raffle Shops. The higher the shop's rank, the higher the chance of getting a rare prize.

Distribution

Bulbanews
Bulbanews has an article related to this subject:

The Master Ball was distributed at Pokémon Center stores throughout Japan. It was also distributed at the Tohoku Pokémon Center individually due to it not being built at the time of the initial distribution.

Game Version Duration
Sapporo, Tokyo, Yokohama,
Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka
Tohoku
Japanese November 19 to December 3, 2011 February 28 to March 16, 2012


Wonder Card

マスターボール プレゼント
いよいよ 646しゅるいの ポケモンの
じょうほうが あきらかに!
マスターボールを うけとって
まだつかまえていない ポケモンを
てにいれるための ぼうけんに でよう!


*ふしぎなカード
Bag Master Ball Sprite.png
マスターボール プレゼント
ポケモンを あそんでくれて
ありがとう!
おくりものは ポケモンセンタ-にいる
はいたついんから うけとってね!


Cameo appearances

Pokémon Stadium 2

Master Ball as seen during the Stadium 2's mini-game
The sprite from Stadium 2 mini-game's instructions

In Pokémon Stadium 2, Master Ball appears in the mini-game Furret's Frolic. It's the biggest ball in that mini-game, appearing later than rest and being worth 5 points.

Pokémon XD

In Pokémon XD, Master Balls are used in the Battle Bingo game. The player starts with two and can gain an extra one from one of the ? spaces.

Pokémon Dream World

A Master Ball-themed rug from the Dream World

A decorative rug themed after the Master Ball can be found within the Game Data for the Dream World, however, it has not yet been released to the public.

Appearance

Master Ball battle II.png Master Ball III.png Master Ball Master Ball summary IV.png Master Ball battle IV.png FrontTopBack (upside-down) Dream Master Ball Sprite.png
Appearance in-battle in Generation II Appearance in-battle and on the Status screen in
Generation III
Bag sprite from FireRed and LeafGreen onwards Pokémon's summary sprite from Generation IV onwards Appearance in-battle in Generation IV Front, top and upside-down back (respectively) in-battle in Generation V Appearance in the Dream World

Flavor text

050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: XD and Colo info needed
Games Description
A Ball that captures any wild Pokémon without fail.
The best Ball. It never misses.
RSE The best ball that catches a Pokémon without fail.
FRLG The best Ball with the ultimate performance. It will catch any wild Pokémon without fail.

The best Ball with the ultimate level of performance. It will catch any wild Pokémon without fail.


In the spin-off games

In Pokémon Pinball and Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire

In the two Pokémon Pinball titles, the Poké Ball that serves as the pinball is capable of being upgraded to a Great Ball, an Ultra Ball and a Master Ball. However, this serves solely as a score multiplier, as catching a Pokémon is always guaranteed, even with a regular Poké Ball.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

The Master Ball has not appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series; however, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Poké Ball trophy mentions the Master Ball, identifying it as the strongest variety of Poké Ball.

In the anime

Sullivan's Master Ball

The Master Ball first appeared in Beauty and the Beach, and again in A Hot Water Battle. However, the Master Ball in these episodes was not an actual Master Ball; rather, it was a beach ball owned by Misty, which had been decorated to look like a Master Ball. Another Master Ball appeared in The Song of Jigglypuff; again, this was not an actual Master Ball, but on a billboard on a building.

An actual Master Ball made its only true appearance in Whiscash and Ash. It was used by a fisherman named Sullivan in a last-ditch attempt to catch Nero, an oversized wild Whiscash that had long eluded him. As the Master Ball is reputed to successfully catch any wild Pokémon without fail, Sullivan was sure that using the Master Ball would work. This, however, was not the case, as Nero unexpectedly swallowed the Master Ball and disappeared back into the water. At the end of the episode, Nero was seen playing with the Master Ball on its tongue.

In the manga

Master Ball in Pokémon Adventures

Pokémon Adventures

Red used his Pika to capture Mewtwo for Blaine with a Master Ball.

In the TCG

The following is a list of cards named Master Ball.

Master Ball
Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.
Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Card Type English
Expansion
Rarity # Japanese
Expansion
Rarity #
Master Ball T       Extended Sheet 2 Uncommon  
      Red Deck
Green Deck
   
Gym Challenge   116/132 Yamabuki City Gym    
      Chikorita Half Deck
Totodile Half Deck
  21
22
      Pokémon VS Common 141/141
Expedition Base Set Uncommon 143/165 Base Expansion Pack Uncommon 061/128
      Latias Half Deck
Latios Half Deck
   
EX Deoxys Uncommon 88/107 Deoxys Constructed Starter Deck   012/015
      Rayquaza Constructed Starter Deck   012/015
      PLAY Promotional cards   018/PLAY
EX Delta Species Uncommon 99/113 Holon Research Tower Water Quarter Deck   009/015
      Mew Quarter Deck   008/015
EX Power Keepers Uncommon 78/108 World Champions Pack Uncommon 089/108
 


Trivia

  • The infinite ball glitch is often known as the Master Ball glitch, due to Master Balls commonly being used in this glitch.
  • Foongus and Amoonguss, both of whom have designs based on the Poké Ball, are colored similarly to the Master Ball in their Shiny forms.


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