Poké Ball: Difference between revisions

A '''Poké Ball''' (Japanese: '''モンスターボール''' ''Monster Ball'') is a type of [[item]] critical in any {{pkmn|Trainer}}'s quest. It is used for {{pkmn2|captured|capturing}} and storing [[wild Pokémon]]; a {{pkmn|Trainer}} may carry as many Poké Balls and ball variants as he or she desires. However, a Trainer may only carry up to six [[Pokémon]] at a time in their [[party]]. Therefore, if a Trainer owns more than six Pokémon, they may be stored in a [[Pokémon storage system]], and withdrawn or deposited at any [[Pokémon Center]]. There are four different basic levels of Poké Ball, and over a dozen variations on the Poké Ball design throughout the games.

Though the technology behind the workings of a Poké Ball remains unknown, the basic mechanics are fairly simple to understand. In a {{pkmn|battle}}, once the opposing [[wild Pokémon]] has been weakened, the {{pkmn|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 {{pkmn2|captured}}.

As seen in anime episodes like ''[[AG065|Gulpin it Down!]]'' and ''[[AG104|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 or she can throw out one or more of these onto the battlefield, and they will open, releasing their Pokémon quickly. When a Trainer wants to recall their Pokémon, they simply hold up the Poké Ball and point it at their Pokémon, and a beam will come from the Poké Ball's button, converting the Pokémon into energy again and drawing it back in.  If this beam hits a person for any reason, that person will be momentarily stunned. Also, some Pokémon know how to enter and leave their Poké Balls at will, several examples being [[Jessie's Seviper]] (only when {{p|Zangoose}} are involved), [[Jessie's Wobbuffet]], [[May's Skitty]], and more famously, [[Misty's Psyduck]] and [[Brock's Croagunk]]. Also, if a Pokémon is being sent out, but does not wish to exit its Poké Ball, when the flash of light emerges from the Poké Ball, it will make a u-turn back to the open ball, turn red, and re-enter the Poké Ball. This happened in ''[[EP031|Dig Those Diglett!]]'', when [[Gary Oak]] attempted to send out several unnamed Pokémon to battle the wild {{p|Diglett}}. It also happened when {{Ash}} attempted to send out his {{AP|Squirtle}} (though before he threw the ball, {{AP|Pikachu}} yelled something to Squirtle), and when numerous Trainers attempted to send out their Pokémon.

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 their team of six is full, it will be transported to the [[Pokémon storage system]] they are using. They also have the ability to "mark" their captures - as shown in ''[[DP002|Two Degrees of Separation]]'', when Dawn attempts to capture [[Ash's Pikachu]] - so that they cannot be captured by other Poké Balls after captures. This has shown some inconsistency in the series, particularly in older episodes such as in ''[[EP073|Bad to the Bone]]'' when Jessie throws a Poké Ball at [[Otoshi]]'s Doduo which has to be reflected by Otoshi himself, like in the games.

Poké Balls obviously do not always succeed in capturing the Pokémon (except where Master Balls are concerned), but in some cases, it's possible for a Poké Ball to not even come into contact with the wild Pokémon.

*In [[Generation IV]], if in a [[double battle]] with two wild Pokémon and one of the five partners, the player needs to knock out one of the Pokémon before attempting to capture the other. If not, the game does not allow either to be captured, with the message of "It's no good! It's impossible to aim when there are two Pokémon!" This is a contradiction to {{g|Colosseum}} and {{g|XD: Gale of Darkness}}, in which it is possible to snag a Pokémon even when there are two on the opponent's side of the field, although it's possible that the abilities of the [[Snag Machine]] somehow negated this issue.

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 there are no formal {{pkmn|battle}}s with Pokémon in the Safari Zone.

These balls are used to capture and contain wild Pokémon. Most Pokémon must be weakened in some way before they can be captured, but once they're inside a Poké Ball, they enjoy their new home, since Poké Balls contain an environment specially designed for Pokémon comfort. Master Balls are the strongest type.

A Master Ball has been seen in ''[[AG075|Whiscash and Ash]]''. It was used by [[Sullivan]] in his attempt to capture a {{p|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 and escaped back into the water. However, much time prior, a Master Ball sort of appeared, albeit as a beach ball in ''[[EP018|Beauty and the Beach]]'', and after in ''[[EP167|A Hot Water Battle]]''.

Safari Balls were seen in [[EP035]]. 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 {{AP|Tauros}}. They appeared in Safari Balls in ''[[EP065|Showdown at the Po-Ké Corral]]''; however, in all subsequent airings they have been in regular Poké Balls.

If a Poké Ball is used to try to capture a human, the human will get shocked with electricity instead of being captured.

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]]. Twenty Park Balls are provided for this, and the Pokémon can be battled before they are captured. However, while all twenty balls can be used and catch Pokémon before the contest ends, only one Pokémon can be kept for the contest judging.

In ''[[EP161|The Bug Stops Here]]'', {{Ash}} and {{an|Casey}} compete in the Bug-Catching Contest and use Park Balls to capture {{t|Bug}} Pokémon. Ash wins the contest with a {{TP|Casey|Beedrill}}, but gives it to Casey instead.

The custom Apricorn Poké Balls were seen and used a few times during the anime. In ''[[EP143|Going Apricorn!]]'', Ash, [[Misty]], and [[Brock]] receive Fast Balls from Kurt, and by the end of the episode Brock uses his to capture [[Brock's Forretress|a Pineco]]. By the end of the next episode, ''[[EP144|Gettin' The Bugs Out]]'', Ash and Misty receive Lure Balls, and Brock receives a Heavy Ball. In ''[[EP151|The Totodile Duel]]'', both Ash and Misty tried to capture a {{AP|Totodile}} with their Lure Balls, with Ash succeeding. Later, in ''[[EP213|A Corsola Caper!]]'', Misty got a second chance to use her Lure Ball, capturing a {{TP|Misty|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 ''[[AG065|Gulpin It Down!]]'' to capture a giant {{p|Gulpin}}.

In this generation, the type of Ball used to capture a Pokémon was kept track of by the game itself, so that when Trainers sent out their Pokémon, the type of effect could vary. In this way, two Balls with the same effectiveness, such as the Safari Ball and Great Ball, or Poké Ball and Premier Ball, would differ.

In Generation III, the Luxury Ball is rare, second only to the Master Ball; however, it is available for normal purchase in Generation IV. One can be found on the [[Abandoned Ship]], and others can be obtained from winning Master Rank [[Pokémon Contests]]. It is also given in {{v2|FireRed and LeafGreen|s}} by [[Selphy|Lady Selphy]] for showing her the Pokémon she asks for. Taking advantage of being able to track what kind of Ball a Pokémon is in, rather than applying a flat happiness bonus like the Friend Ball did, it heightens the rate at which the [[Happiness]] of the Pokémon captured with it increases.

| Fully heals a captured Pokémon

All of the Generation I and Generation III Poké Balls are also available, though the Dive Ball can only be obtained randomly through the man in [[Solaceon Town]] upon showing him the Pokémon he asks for, or transferred ahead held by a Pokémon via [[Pal Park]]. The Park Ball is used as a temporary containment for show. It is the only Poké Ball (aside from the [[Snag Ball]]) with the ability to override another Poké Ball's "mark" on a Pokémon. After capture, the Pokémon is put into the Poké Ball it was captured in. Whether the Park Ball would work on a regular [[wild Pokémon]] not already captured is not known.

In the [[Pokémon Special]] manga, one can see the miniature of the Pokémon inside the Poké Ball; the type of ball doesn't matter. Already captured Pokémon can be re-captured, as shown when Red re-catches Misty's Gyarados.

In one chapter of this series, Ash suggests to have a large Poké Ball built as a trap to capture a giant Haunter (Black Fog). The plan succeeded, but Haunter used Explosion from inside, destroying the trap in the process.

: Though not a Poké Ball in its own right, this is seen in {{pkmn|Colosseum}} and {{Pokémon XD}}. 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.

: Marked by an eerie eye incorporated into their design, these Poké Balls were created and used by {{an|Mewtwo}} in ''[[Mewtwo Strikes Back]]''. They can be moved around easily with Mewtwo's {{t|Psychic}} powers, and they can capture any Pokémon, including those which have already been captured by a Trainer, and Pokémon which are already inside their Poké Balls. Mewtwo used these to gather Pokémon to be cloned. Mewtwo's Poké Balls do not make the same sound as regular Poké Balls when they open, but otherwise their function is the same. Some Pokémon fans on the Internet refer to them as '''Shadow Balls''', but this is misleading because this type of Poké Ball has nothing to do with [[Shadow Pokémon]]; '''Shadow Ball''' is also the name of {{m|Shadow Ball|a Ghost-type Pokémon move}} first seen in the same movie.

: These were used by [[The Iron Masked Marauder]] in ''[[Celebi: Voice of the Forest]]''. 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, as well as raise them to the highest level. These were used to capture multiple Pokémon, including {{p|Celebi}}. The Poké Balls were quite powerful in the movie as one of them was used to catch a {{p|Tyranitar}} without any problem.  

:The first Pokédex entry given in the anime was for the Poké Ball: "While being trained, a Pokémon usually stays inside its Poké Ball.  However, there are many exceptions. [[Ash's Pikachu|Some Pokémon]] hate being confined. To capture a Pokémon, you ''usually'' have your own Pokémon battle with the other."