Moon Ball

The Moon Ball (Japanese: ムーンボール Moon Ball) is a type of Poké Ball introduced in Generation II. It can be used to catch a wild Pokémon, being more likely to succeed against Pokémon that evolve by using a Moon Stone.

Moon Ball
ムーンボール
Moon Ball
Bag Moon Ball Sprite.png
Moon Ball
Pokémon Global Link artwork
Introduced in Generation II
Pocket
Generation II Bag Poké Balls pocket icon.png Poké Balls
Generation IV Bag Poké Balls pocket icon.png Poké Balls (HGSS)
Generation V Bag Items pocket icon.png Items (Poké Balls)
Generation VI Bag Items pocket icon.png Items
Generation VII Bag Items pocket icon.png Items
Generation VIII Bag Poké Balls pocket icon.png Poké Balls
Generation IX Bag Poké Balls pocket icon.png Poké Balls

It is one of Kurt's signature Apricorn Poké Balls, and is made from Yellow Apricorns.

In the core series games

Price

Games Cost Sell price
GSC
HGSS
BWB2W2
XYORAS
N/A $150
SMUSUM
SwShBDSP
SV
N/A N/A

Effect

  This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: If the wild Pokémon used Transform, does the Moon Ball check for the original species or the transformed species?

Manual activation

When used from the Bag in a wild encounter, it attempts to catch the wild Pokémon.

The Moon Ball cannot be used in situations in which Poké Balls cannot be used, such as in wild battles with two or more opponents currently present or against a trial Pokémon. If used in a Trainer battle, the opposing Trainer will bat the ball away, wasting the turn (as well as the ball prior to Generation IV).

Generation II

In Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, while it is intended to be more effective against Pokémon that evolve by using Moon Stone and their evolutionary relatives, due to a glitch, it always has a 1× catch rate. (Instead, the Moon Ball is more effective against Pokémon that evolve by using a Burn Heal, but there are no such Pokémon.)

Generation IV

In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, if the wild Pokémon is part of an evolutionary family that includes a Pokémon who evolves by using a Moon Stone, it has a 4× catch rate modifier; otherwise, it has a 1× modifier.

Generation VII onward

If the wild Pokémon is of a species that evolves by using a Moon Stone (no longer including the rest of their evolutionary family), it has a 4× catch rate modifier; otherwise, it has a 1× modifier. If used on an Ultra Beast, the catch rate modifier is instead always set to 410/4096× (~0.1×).

Held item

Fling fails if the user is holding a Moon Ball.

In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver only, Moon Balls cannot be held. This is to prevent them being held by a Pokémon traded to Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, where the item does not exist.

Description

Games Description
GSC A Ball for Moon Stone evolvers.
HGSS
BWB2W2
A Poké Ball for catching Pokémon that evolve using the Moon Stone.
XYORAS
SMUSUMPE
SwShBDSP
A Poké Ball that will make it easier to catch Pokémon that can evolve using a Moon Stone.
SV A somewhat different Poké Ball that is more effective when catching Pokémon that can be evolved using a Moon Stone.

Acquisition

Games Finite methods Repeatable methods
GSC Azalea Town (Ylw Apricorn)
HGSS Azalea Town (Ylw Apricorn)
SMUSUM Heahea CityUSUM, Mount Hokulani
SwSh Circhester Stadium
Event
Wyndon Stadium
SwShIA Cram-o-matic (Yellow Apricorn)
BDSP Event
SV Reward for registering 340 Pokémon in the Paldea Pokédex Porto Marinada auction
Academy Ace Tournament
SVTM Reward for registering 200 Pokémon in the Kitakami Pokédex
SVID Reward for registering 180 Pokémon in the Blueberry Pokédex Item Printer (Poké Ball Lotto)

Distribution

Games Event Language/Region Distribution period
SM Global mission items All July 18 to August 31, 2017
SwSh Poké Times rare Poké Balls All December 20, 2019 to January 15, 2020
The Isle of Armor promotion packs All May 22 to 28, 2020
Japanese Pokemon Scraps 2020 Japanese November 20, 2020 to April 30, 2021
Pokémon Adventure 25 items South Korea April 26 to September 30, 2021
BDSP Apricorn Poké Ball Set All November 19, 2021 to February 28, 2022
As a held item
Games Event Language/Region Distribution period
BDSP Poké Times Trade Meeting Campaign #3 Gible All December 18, 2021

Gallery

Artwork

   
Artwork by
Ken Sugimori
Artwork from
Scarlet and Violet

Sprites

       
In-battle sprite in
Generation II
Summary sprite from
Generations IV and V
In-battle sprite in
Generation IV
In-battle sprite in
Generation V

Models

   
In-battle model from
X, Y, Omega Ruby,
Alpha Sapphire
, Sun, Moon,
Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon
Model from
Generation VIII

In the anime

 
A Moon Ball in the anime

In Going Apricorn!, a Moon Ball appeared in a fantasy during Maizie's explanation about Apricorn Poké Balls.

In Trouble's Brewing, Satsuki was revealed to keep her Jolteon in a Moon Ball.

In the manga

 
A Moon Ball in Pokémon Adventures

Pokémon Adventures

Gold, Silver & Crystal arc

In Teddiursa's Picnic, a Moon Ball appeared in a fantasy during Maizie's explanation about Apricorn Poké Balls.

In Slugging It Out with Slugma, a Moon Ball was seen amongst Crystal's set of Apricorn Poké Balls.

Trivia

  • In Generation II, the Moon Ball's catch rate is mistakenly boosted when used on Pokémon that evolve using a Burn Heal rather than a Moon Stone, so in practice the rate is never boosted. In Generation I, the Moon Stone's index number was 0x0A, but in Generation II, this index corresponds to the Burn Heal (the Moon Stone instead having the index number 0x08)—the Moon Ball's code mistakenly references the Moon Stone's original index number, preventing the Moon Ball's boost from ever applying.
  • Prior to Pokémon Sword and Shield, it was impossible to legitimately observe the Moon Ball's bonus on Munna, as it could not be encountered in the wild in any of the games where Moon Balls could be obtained.

In other languages

Language Title
Chinese Cantonese 月亮球 Yuhtleuhng Kàuh
Mandarin 月亮球 Yuèliàng Qiú
  French Lune Ball
  German Mondball
  Italian Luna Ball
  Korean 문볼 Moon Ball
  Polish Księżycowy Ball
  Portuguese Bola Lua
Spanish   Latin America Bola Luna
  Spain Luna Ball
  Vietnamese Bóng Moon



  This item article is part of Project ItemDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all items.