Poké Ball: Difference between revisions

===History===

{{main|History of Poké Balls}}

The invention of Poké Balls occurred in the [[Johto]] region, where [[Apricorn]]s grow; these fruit were cut apart and carved out, then fitted with a special device, and used to catch wild Pokémon. Some Trainers still use Poké Balls made from Apricorns, while [[Kurt]], a resident of [[Azalea Town]], still constructs them. [[Pokémon Legends: Arceus]] shows that the first settlers of the [[Sinnoh]] region, back when it was known as the [[Hisui]] region, used pre-modern Poké Balls made of [[Tumblestone]] and Apricorns, with [[Professor Laventon]] claiming they were a more recent invention. According to [[Professor Elm]], before the invention of the Poké Ball, people would [[Walking Pokémon|walk with their Pokémon]].

===Item balls===

{{main|Item#Obtaining items|Item → Obtaining items}}

In both the anime and games, it has been shown that [[item]]s can be contained in Poké Balls, apparently able to be captured in much the same way as a Pokémon. The anime has used this as a gag on several occasions, most notably in ''[[EP025|Primeape Goes Bananas]]'', where {{Ash}} accidentally catches a rice ball when he throws a Poké Ball in an attempt to catch a wild Mankey.

==In the side series games==

===Pokémon Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness===

In {{g|Colosseum}} and {{g|XD: Gale of Darkness}}, a [[Snag Ball]] is not a single, separate type of Poké Ball, but rather any type of existing Poké Ball that has been "unlocked" by the Snag Machine, allowing it to [[snagging|snag]] an already-[[caught Pokémon]] during a {{pkmn|battle}}. While it is ''able'' to be used on any Pokémon, [[Rui]] will only allow [[Wes]] to use it on [[Shadow Pokémon]], while [[Michael]]'s Aura Reader will render the Snag Machine inoperable when a Pokémon other than a Shadow Pokémon is targeted.

It is possible to snag a [[Shadow Pokémon]] even if there are two on the opposing side of the field, unlike catching Pokémon in the core series games.

==In the spin-off games==

[[File:Pester Ball.png|thumb|A Pester Ball]]

In {{g|Snap}}, the [[Pester Ball]]s appear similar to Poké Balls at a glance. However, they are not used to catch Pokémon, and instead will release a Pokémon repellent on contact.

===Pokémon UNITE===

In {{g|UNITE}}, in addition to the regular Poké Balls a Trainer will use to send out their own Pokémon, they use a unique variety of Poké Ball. These Poké Balls are orange, purple, and yellow in colour, with a yellow stripe around in the middle and a white button. The pattern gives the Poké Ball a "U" design. These Poké Balls are used to catch Pokémon in UNITE battles, and appear to have a 100% catch rate. They also determine the amount of points a Trainer's current Pokémon has. A Trainer can throw multiple balls at once.

===Pokémon Pinball series===

{{main|Ball Upgrade (Pinball)}}

In [[Pokémon Pinball]] and [[Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire]], the [[Poké Ball (item)|Poké Ball]], [[Great Ball]], [[Ultra Ball]], and [[Master Ball]] are available.

The bonus points are as follows:

* The [[Great Ball]] multiplies bonus points by ×2.

* The [[Ultra Ball]] multiplies bonus points by ×3.

[[File:Typing Ball.png|thumb|A Typing Ball]]

In [[Learn with Pokémon: Typing Adventure]], the Typing Balls are thrown after one successfully types a Pokémon's name. It has the overall design like that of a normal Poké Ball, only having an additional vertical line at the bottom, resembling the letter "T".

===Super Smash Bros. series===

{{smashWiki|Poké Ball}}

In the {{sbw|Super Smash Bros. series}}, Poké Balls appear as items, which fighters can pick up and throw to release a random Pokémon. These Pokémon will typically attack the opponents of the player who summoned them, but may also have other effects. Starting in ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U'', the Master Ball also appears as an item, which has the same effect as Poké Balls but can only summon {{pkmn2|Legendary}} or [[Mythical Pokémon]] (or {{p|Goldeen}}).

==In the anime==

[[File:Paul Chimchar release.png|thumb|220px|[[Paul]] releasing {{TP|Paul|Chimchar}}]]

===Main series===

====Mechanics====

Poké Balls are able to communicate with a Trainer's [[Pokédex]], as the system updates itself with information on newly-caught Pokémon, and keeps track of how many Pokémon the Trainer has with them. If a Trainer catches a new Pokémon with the full six already with them, the Pokédex will automatically send the newly-caught Pokémon in its Poké Ball to the [[Pokémon Storage System]] that the Trainer is using. As shown in ''[[DP002|Two Degrees of Separation]]'', a Pokémon caught by a Poké Ball is "marked" by it, and thus most Poké Balls thrown at it will have no effect aside from temporarily stunning it. In the games, as well as in ''[[EP073|Bad to the Bone]]'', however, the Trainer of the Pokémon will block a Poké Ball thrown by another, though it is possible that this is more out of courtesy to their Pokémon than to prevent capture outright. In ''[[EP011|Charmander – The Stray Pokémon]]'', Ash was able to catch his {{AP|Charmander}} in a Poké Ball despite his previous ownership by [[Damian|another Trainer]], though it may have lost its "mark" when it abandoned its previous Trainer by refusing to return to its old Poké Ball. Earlier in the same episode, Ash failed to catch the same Charmander while it still held its loyalty, despite its weak condition.

Other wireless capabilities of Poké Balls are shown in ''[[M07|Destiny Deoxys]]'', as when the electricity of the city is down, {{OBP|Rebecca|M07}} claims that the "Poké Ball Management System" was no longer working without power. A similar mechanism is suggested to exist in the games, with the Paradise Protection Protocol issuing a lock signal that disables the use of any Poké Balls that do not have a specific ID.

Should a Pokémon escape a Poké Ball, the device will return to the Trainer, who can attempt once again to catch the Pokémon.

A Poké Ball can contain other objects, as seen when Ash catches a [[rice ball]] inside one.

====Types of Poké Ball====

In ''[[EP013|Mystery at the Lighthouse]]'', it was shown that if a Trainer catches a Pokémon while they already have six on hand, it is automatically sent to the regional {{pkmn|Professor}}. ''[[BW018|Sewaddle and Burgh in Pinwheel Forest]]'' shows a major difference in what happens after a Pokémon is captured. Instead of being automatically sent to the regional Professor, the Poké Ball is sealed and the button becomes red. The Pokémon is kept inactive until it is switched out by another actively in the Trainer's party.

=====Other variants=====

====History====

{{main|History of Poké Balls}}

As mentioned, the generic Poké Ball design is not constant and has been remodeled and altered innumerable times in order to create new Poké Balls that are adapted for specific conditions. For example, it is seen in several anime episodes such as ''[[AG065|Gulpin it Down!]]'' and ''[[AG104|Claydol Big and Tall]]'' that normal Poké Balls have difficulty catching Pokémon which are extremely large or extremely heavy. In the latter episode, it is revealed that ancient civilizations overcame this issue by constructing immense Poké Balls many times the size of the standard model known today, and made from stone instead. Other civilizations such as [[Pokémopolis]] also discovered new technologies that more closely resembled modern Poké Ball technology, such as the [[Pokémopolis#Pokémopolis artifacts|Dark Device]] and the [[Pokémopolis#Pokémopolis artifacts|Unearthly Urn]], which were also adapted for the capture and storage of massive Pokémon but in small containers. However, devices like these became lost to the ages and their roles were subsequently supplanted by Heavy Balls in the modern world.

==In the manga==

In the various [[Pokémon manga]], Poké Balls have been shown to appear differently, as an attempt to explain how a Trainer knows which Pokémon is in which ball, as most Pokémon manga series were, like the anime, developed at a time when the games could not keep track of the ball a Pokémon was contained in.

===The Electric Tale of Pikachu===

In [[The Electric Tale of Pikachu]], the rules are more similar to the anime; however, Poké Balls are numbered on the outside, on the button, so that a Trainer knows which member of their team they are sending into battle. In The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Trainers must obtain a license before they are legally allowed to purchase Poké Balls.

It is also possible for a Pokémon to be placed inside a Poké Ball without it being owned by a Trainer. In ''[[ET11|Days of Gloom and Glory]]'', [[Meowzie]] steals a Poké Ball from a shop and puts her kitten in it so that it will not be hurt by a flood affecting the city.

In ''[[ET04|Haunting My Dreams]]'', a giant Poké Ball named the Enormo Poké Ball-X1 (Japanese: '''ビッグモンスターボールX1''' ''Big Monster Ball-X1'') or EPB-X1 for short, was created to capture the gigantic {{p|Haunter}}, [[Black Fog]]. It was destroyed when the Black Fog used {{m|Explosion}} to free itself after being captured.

===Magical Pokémon Journey===

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==References==