A Poké Ball (Japanese: モンスターボール Monster Ball) is a type of item critical in any trainer's quest. It is used for capturing and storing wild Pokémon; a trainer may carry as many Poké Balls and ball variants as they desire. However, a trainer may only carry up to 6 Pokémon at a time. Therefore, if a trainer owns more than 6 Pokémon, they may be stored in a Pokémon storage system, and withdrawn or deposited at any Pokémon Center. There are 4 different basic levels of Poké Ball, and over a dozen variations on the Poké Ball design throughout the games.

A Poké Ball's strength is determined by how much it raises a wild Pokémon's catch rate. Many Poké Balls' strengths change based on certain conditions.

Types of Poké Ball

Generation I Poké Balls

In the Games

Image	Name	Catch rate	Buy	Sell
	File:PokeBallSpriteSmall.png Poké Ball	1×	File:Pokébuck sign.gif200	File:Pokébuck sign.gif100
	File:GreatBallSpriteSmall.png Great Ball	1.5×	File:Pokébuck sign.gif600	File:Pokébuck sign.gif300
	File:SafariBallSpriteSmall.png Safari Ball	1.5×	-	-
	File:UltraBallSpriteSmall.png Ultra Ball	2×	File:Pokébuck sign.gif1200	File:Pokébuck sign.gif600
	File:MasterBallSpriteSmall.png Master Ball	-1	-	-
1: Master Balls always catch the wild Pokémon.

These Poké Balls were first introduced in Generation I and have appeared in each game since, with the exception of the Safari Ball which did not appear in the second Generation of games.

The Poké Ball is considered the most basic and universal form of Ball. Nearly every Poké Mart carries it or one of its two upgrades, the Great Ball and Ultra Ball. The only known place where these three Balls are not plentiful is Orre, due to its lack of wild Pokémon. With the discovery of PokéSpots, however, they are becoming more commonly available in this region as well.

The Master Ball is the final and best upgrade of the Poké Ball, as well as the most rare. It was developed by Silph Co., but only a few were created before Team Rocket invaded and the project was discontinued. Master Balls are now given only to esteemed Pokémon researchers. Because of this, only one can be found in each game (except in Generation II, where it is the grand prize for the Lucky Number show). Its value is unknown since Poké Marts will refuse to buy it.

The Safari Ball is the only one of the original Poké Ball forms that is not considered one of the basic Poké Ball types. When playing a game in the Safari Zone, thirty of these will be provided to capture Pokémon with. If the game ends before all thirty are used, the remainder are returned when leaving the Safari Zone. It is as strong as a Great Ball, but catching Pokémon is often more difficult with it due to the fact that you do not formally battle Pokémon in the Safari Zone.

Super Smash Brothers

Normal Poké Balls are also an item in the Super Smash Brothers series. When thrown, on top of doing a small amount of damage to any opposing character they may hit, they release a randomly selected Pokémon.

In the Anime

Beyond any doubt, the original Poké Ball is the most commonly used type of Ball in the anime. The vast majority of Pokémon are stored in regular Poké Balls, to the point that large collections of Poké Balls can see with no variations among them. Even Ash's Pikachu, which spends all of its time out of its Poké Ball, is shown to have a regular Poké Ball with a little lightning bolt drawn on it in Pokémon, I Choose You!. On the other hand, the Great Ball and Ultra Ball upgrades are not seen at all.

A Master Ball has been seen in Whiscash and Ash. It was used by Sullivan in his attempt to capture a Whiscash. However, despite the fact that the Master Ball cannot be escaped from, he did not catch the Whiscash; instead, the Pokémon swallowed it whole.

Safari Balls were seen in The Legend of Dratini. In this episode, Ash received thirty with which he could capture Safari Zone Pokémon. However, despite his best efforts to catch other Pokémon, he ended up using all thirty to capture a herd of Tauros.

Generation II Poké Balls

In the Games

The Park Ball is much like the Safari Ball absent in the Generation II games, including being equal to a Great Ball in strength. It is used in the National Park during their Bug-Catching Contest. Thirty Park Balls are provided for this, and the Pokémon can be battled before they are captured. However, while all thirty balls can be used and catch Pokémon before the contest ends, only one Pokémon can be kept for the contest judging.

Most of the Poké Balls available in Generation II, however, are the custom Poké Balls crafted by Kurt. This Poké Ball expert can be found in Azalea Town, and once per day he will craft an Apricorn into a special Poké Ball based on its color. Because of the much larger variety of Poké Balls available, Generation II was the first generation to introduce an item pack with a separate pocket for Poké Balls.

In the Anime

In The Bug Stops Here, Ash and Casey compete in the Bug-Catching Contest and use Park Balls to capture Bug Pokémon. Ash wins the contest with a Beedrill, but gives it to Casey instead.

The custom Apricorn Poké Balls were seen and used a few times during the anime. In Goin' Apricorn, Ash, Misty, and Brock receive Fast Balls from Kurt, and by the end of the episode Brock uses his to capture a Pineco. By the end of the next episode, Gettin' The Bugs Out, Ash and Misty receive Lure Balls, and Brock receives a Heavy Ball. In The Totodile Duel, both Ash and Misty tried to capture a Totodile with their Lure Balls, with Ash succeeding. Later, in A Corsola Caper, Misty got a second chance to use her Lure Ball, capturing a Corsola with it. The other two Fast Balls and the Heavy Ball were not seen or mentioned again, but a different Heavy Ball was used in Gulpin It Down! to capture a giant Gulpin.

Generation III Poké Balls

In the Games

Image	Name	Catch rate	Buy	Sell
	File:LuxuryBallSpriteSmall.png Luxury Ball	1×	-	File:Pokébuck sign.gif500
	File:PremierBallSpriteSmall.png Premier Ball	1×	-	File:Pokébuck sign.gif100
	File:NetBallSpriteSmall.png Net Ball	If wild Pokémon is a Bug-type or Water-type, 3×.	File:Pokébuck sign.gif1000	File:Pokébuck sign.gif500
	File:DiveBallSpriteSmall.png Dive Ball	If battling underwater, 3.5×.	File:Pokébuck sign.gif1000	File:Pokébuck sign.gif500
	File:NestBallSpriteSmall.png Nest Ball	If the wild Pokémon is: Between level 1 and level 19, 3×; Between level 20 and level 29, 2×; Above level 30, 1×.	File:Pokébuck sign.gif1000	File:Pokébuck sign.gif500
	File:RepeatBallSpriteSmall.png Repeat Ball	If one of the wild Pokémon's species has been caught before, 3×.	File:Pokébuck sign.gif1000	File:Pokébuck sign.gif500
	File:TimerBallSpriteSmall.png Timer Ball	If the number of turns that have passed is: Between 1 and 9, 1×; Between 10 and 19, 2×; Between 20 and 29, 3×; More than 30, 4×.	File:Pokébuck sign.gif1000	File:Pokébuck sign.gif500

All of the third generation Poké Balls were developed by the Devon Corporation.

The Luxury Ball is rare, second only to the Master Ball. One can be found on the Abandoned Ship, and others can be obtained from winning Pokémon Contests. It heightens the rate at which the Happiness of the Pokémon captured with it increases.

The Premier Ball is given with every purchase of ten Poké Balls. However, it is not different from regular Poké Balls in any manner except appearance.

The Net Ball and Dive Ball can only be purchased at the Poké Mart in Mossdeep City. This is likely due to the city's high affiliation with the Water type.

The Nest Ball can only be purchased at the Poké Mart in Verdanturf Town.

The Repeat Ball and Timer Ball can be purchased in Rustboro City after defeating the Elite Four.

Other Poké Balls

These Poké Balls are too unusual to fit in with other groups of Poké Balls, and some are so unusual that it is questionable if they even qualify as Poké Balls. Most of these have separate articles, which describe their unique properties in greater detail.

In the Games

Pester Balls

Seen in Pokémon Snap, this unusual Poké Ball cannot catch Pokémon. Instead, it releases an irritating gas.

GS Ball

Seen in Pokémon Crystal, this Poké Ball cannot catch Pokémon. Instead, it is a special item that can be used to make Celebi appear in the Ilex Forest.

Snag Balls

Though not a Poké Ball in its own right, this is seen in Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness. It is a ball that has been modified using the Snag Machine. It is capable of snagging a captured Pokémon during a Pokémon battle as if it were wild.

In the Anime

Pre-Poké Ball Objects

There are multiple artifacts and antiques which have similar properties to modern Poké Balls but are not technically the same thing - some, in fact, are not even balls. These range from unusual artifacts found in the ancient city of Pokémopolis which contain Giant Pokémon inside (seen in The Ancient Puzzle of Pokémopolis) to antique Poké Balls which look similar to their modern-day equivalents but have an altered design and are made from a more fragile material (seen in Just Waiting on a Friend). Given that these were made before the development of the technology used in modern Poké Balls, the workings behind these objects are a mystery. There in one in Pokemon 4Ever when Sammy uses an PokeBall with a kind of lock (obviously old time Pokeball by Ash's look) to call out his Charmeleon.

Solid Gold Poké Balls

There are not actually any solid gold Poké Balls in the Pokémon world. However, the idea is often used to fool greedy criminals like Brody in The Ribbon Cup Caper or gullible consumers like James in Battle Aboard the St. Anne.

Mewtwo Balls

Official name unknown. Marked by an eerie eye incorporated into their design, these Poké Balls were created and used by Mewtwo in Mewtwo Strikes Back. They can be moved around easily with Mewtwo's Psychic powers, and they can capture any Pokémon, including those which are already inside other Poké Balls. Mewtwo used these to gather Pokémon to be cloned.

GS Ball

This was in the possession of Professor Ivy, who gave it to Ash, who in turn gave it to Kurt to study. Despite this, its purpose is completely unknown, since it was never mentioned again after being given to Kurt, and has most likely been forgotten. There is a large amount of fan speculation as to what purpose it holds.

Dark Balls

These were used by Vicious in Pokémon 4Ever. Presumably technology of Team Rocket, these Poké Balls will take over the mind of any Pokémon caught by them, making them turn into mindless servants of whoever caught them. These were used to capture multiple Pokémon, including Celebi.

Mechanics

Though the technology behind the workings of a Poké Ball remains unknown, the basic mechanics are fairly simple to understand. In a battle, once the opposing wild Pokémon has been weakened, the trainer will throw a Poké Ball at it. Assuming the Poké Ball hits it and is not dodged or hit back to the trainer, the Poké Ball will open, convert the wild Pokémon to an energy form, pull the energy into its hollow center, and then close. The wild Pokémon will then be given the chance to struggle to try and escape the Poké Ball. If it escapes, in the anime, the Poké Ball flies back towards the trainer, while in the games, the Poké Ball bursts open and cannot be reused. If it does not escape, the wild Pokémon will be captured.

As seen in anime episodes like Gulpin it Down! and Claydol Big and Tall, normal Poké Balls have difficulty capturing extremely large and heavy Pokémon, to the point that the Pokémon will not even be taken entirely into the Poké Ball. The latter of these episodes shows how ancient civilizations overcame this issue: to capture and hold a very large Pokémon, they constructed a very large Poké Ball out of stone. However, giant stone Poké Balls are nearly impossible to use, so with the advancement of technology a better solution came in the form of Heavy Balls.

Besides capturing new Pokémon, Poké Balls are also used to store captured Pokémon. A trainer can have six Poké Balls with Pokémon in them at one time. When starting a battle, he can throw out one or more of these onto the battlefield, and it will open, releasing his Pokémon quickly. When a trainer wants to recall his Pokémon, he simply holds up the Poké Ball and points it at his Pokémon, and a beam will come from the Poké Ball's button, converting the Pokémon into energy again and drawing it back in. Also, some Pokémon know how to enter and leave their Poké Balls at will.

Poké Balls are not always at full size. Tapping the button on the front can convert it from full size, about the same size as a baseball, to a miniature size, about the same size as a ping-pong ball. This smaller size is more useful for storage, being small enough to carry in pockets or on belts.

Poké Balls presumably can communicate with a trainer's Pokédex, since the system updates itself with new captured Pokémon information, and keeps track of how many full Poké Balls the trainer has on-hand. If the trainer catches a new Pokémon while his team of six is full, it will be transported to the Pokémon storage system he is using.

References

• Fritz, Chris. Pokémon Forever GBC Poké Ball information.
• Fritz, Chris. Pokémon Forever GBA Poké Ball information.