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Poké Balls

Poké Balls are items that are critical to a Trainer's quest, used for catching and storing Pokémon. Poké Balls can be obtained through several different ways, such as: spinning Photo Discs at PokéStops and Gyms, leveling up, completing research tasks, opening Gifts or purchasing them in the Shop (in this case only regular ones).

There are six varieties of Poké Balls:

Regular Poké Balls are the most common and have the lowest success rate in term of capturing Pokémon. The rate increases with the Great Ball and above.

Poké Ball reserves can be viewed on the item bag page White Button Bag.

Usage[]

When encountering a Pokémon in the wild, players can attempt to catch it by holding down on the Poké Ball, sliding upwards, and letting go to launch it towards the Pokémon.

The catch rate of a thrown Poké Ball can be influenced by:

  • Throwing a curveball. Curveballs can be achieved by first holding down on the Poké Ball, then spinning it.
  • Landing the Poké Ball inside of the target indicator. While holding the Poké Ball, the indicator will continuously shrink. The indicator will stop shrinking immediately after the Poké Ball is thrown. The smaller the indicator, the greater the catch rate bonus. The bonus scales linearly with circle's size, and after certain thresholds are crossed, the throw will be denoted as Nice, Great, or Excellent.
  • Selecting a better type of Poké Ball, such as a or .

Types[]

Poké Ball[]

Poké Ball
Details
Also referred to as Regular ones.

Poké Ball is the most-common, lowest-tier device for capturing wild Pokémon. 50 is given upon starting an account. This kind of Poké Ball is a reward for leveling up from levels 2 to 11.

In-game description
A device for capturing wild Pokémon. It's thrown like a ball at a Pokémon, comfortably encapsulating its target.

Great Ball[]

Great Ball
Details

Great Ball is a high-performance Poké Ball that increases Trainer's chance of capturing a Pokémon by 50%.

Great Balls are unlocked once the player hits Level 12 (however, it is possible to obtain them from certain Special Research tasks prior). Upon leveling to 12, the player receives 20 free Great Balls and they become available via spinning Photo Discs. This kind of Poké Ball is a reward for leveling up from levels 12 to 19.

In-game description
A good, high-performance Poké Ball that provides a higher catch rate than a standard Poké Ball.

Ultra Ball[]

Ultra Ball
Details

Ultra Ball is a very high-performance Poké Ball that doubles the Trainer's chance of capturing a Pokémon.

Ultra Balls are unlocked once the player hits Level 20. Upon leveling to 20, the player receives 20 free Ultra Balls and they become available via spinning Photo Discs. This kind of Poké Ball is a reward for leveling up from levels 20 to 40.

In-game description
An ultra-high performance Poké Ball that provides a higher Pokémon catch rate than a Great Ball.

Master Ball[]

Master Ball
Details

Master Ball is a type of Poké Ball that can catch a Pokémon without fail. Upon throwing one, a special cutscene plays. It was released through the 5th part of Let's GO! Special Research on May 22nd, 2023.[1]

Unlike other Poké Ball types, the Master Ball can be used during encounters that normally only use Premier Balls, such as after Raid Battles or Team GO Rocket battles.

Master Balls have been obtainable through the following Special Research/Timed Research:

In-game description
The best Poké Ball with the ultimate level of performance. With it, you will catch any wild Pokémon without fail.

Premier Ball[]

Premier Ball
Details

Premier Ball is a special type of Poké Ball given and used only for capturing a Raid Boss in a Bonus Challenge after defeating it in a Raid Battle, or a Shadow Pokémon after defeating a Team GO Rocket member. Any remaining Premier Balls after the catch attempt are discarded. The capture rate of this type of Poké Ball is normally the same as a normal Poké Ball (see below).

Based on various factors (see below; the factors have changed with updates), a Trainer will receive a variable number of Premier Balls. These are used to capture the rewarded Raid Boss/Shadow Pokémon, once the battle has been cleared.[2]

Premier Ball catch rates:

  • Normal: x1 (The normal catch rate is the same as a basic Poké Ball)
  • Raid, pity: x1.5-2 (After a certain number of Premier Balls are thrown attempting to catch a Legendary Raid Pokémon, it gains additional multipliers, eventually being equal to a Great or Ultra Ball. The exact numbers are currently under research by The Silph Road, but it appears that from the 8-10th throw it is equal to an Ultra Ball.)
  • Raid, Shiny: 100%, aka Master Ball (When encountering a shiny raid boss Pokémon, the Premier Ball will appear shiny, similar to a disco ball, indicating that the throw will be a 100% catch rate.)
  • Shadow, Giovanni: 100%, aka Master Ball (When catching a Legendary Shadow Pokémon from Giovanni it has 100% catch rate.)

Reward Factors: Raid (8-24 possible, 6-16 in Mega Raids)

  • Boss Defeated: +6
  • Damage: +0-6 (How much damage you contributed)
  • Friend: +0-4 (The highest friendship level you shared with any raid member)
  • Speed: +2-8 (Percentage of time remaining the raid timer; except in Mega Raids where Speed rewards Mega Energy instead)
    • 0-25% remaining: +2
    • 25-50% remaining: +3
    • 50-75% remaining: +4
    • 75-90% remaining: +6
    • 90-100% remaining: +8

Reward Factors: Shadow (3-13 possible)

  • Grunt Defeated: +2
  • Pokémon Remaining: +1-3 (How many of your team did not get KO'd in the fight)
  • Hero: +0-4 (Your Hero Medal rank)
  • Purifier: +0-4 (Your Purifier Medal rank)

In-game description
A somewhat rare Poké Ball made to commemorate a special occasion of some sort.

Beast Ball[]

Beast Ball
Details

Beast Ball is a special type of Poké Ball given and used only for capturing Ultra Beasts during special encounters. Like Premier Balls, any remaining after the catch attempt are discarded.

Beast Balls have been given for special encounters at the following Events:

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Never miss with the Master Ball—coming soon to Pokémon GO!. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2023-05-17.
  2. Raid Battles. Niantic Support. Retrieved on 2017-06-19.

External Links[]


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