Master Ball
The Master Ball (Japanese: マスターボール Master Ball) is a type of Poké Ball introduced in Generation I. It can be used to catch a wild Pokémon without fail.
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The Master Ball, like all Poké Balls, is spherical in shape. The top and bottom halves are divided by a horizontal black band, on which the button is found on all Poké Balls. The top half of the Master Ball is purple, with a white letter "M" on the front, with a pink circle on either side. Master Balls are developed by Silph Co.
In the core series games
Price
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Effect
Manual activation
When used from the Bag in a wild encounter, it catches the wild Pokémon without fail (with the exception of the ghost Marowak in Pokémon Tower).
In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, throwing a Master Ball will bypass the Poké Ball throwing mechanic, and will instead show a cutscene of the Master Ball catching the chosen Pokémon. If used on Legendary Pokemon in these games, they will attempt to smack the ball away, but will still be caught anyway.
The Master 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 item.
As a Pokémon's Poké Ball
From Generation VI onward, bred Pokémon inherit their Poké Ball from their parents. However, the Master Ball and Cherish Ball cannot be passed down via breeding; instead, they act as a regular Poké Ball for inheritance purposes.
Held item
Fling will fail if used while holding a Master Ball.
Description
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Acquisition
Distribution
Generation V
The Master Ball was distributed at Pokémon Center stores throughout Japan from November 19 to December 3, 2011. It was also distributed at the Tohoku Pokémon Center individually from February 28 to March 16, 2012 due to the Tohoku Pokémon Center not being open at the time of the initial distribution.
Wonder Card
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Generation VI
A Master Ball was available to players via a serial code. Players who saw Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction in theaters could download a special stage for The Thieves and the 1000 Pokémon. After clearing that special stage players received a serial code to obtain the Master Ball. The serial code could be used to obtain the Master Ball in Japanese region Pokémon X and Y from July 19 to October 15, 2014.
Distribution
In all languages, the distribution text and title are in Japanese, but the Wonder Card uses the Pokémon Movie 2014 type text in the language of the receiving game.
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Cameo appearances
Pokémon Stadium 2
In Pokémon Stadium 2, Master Ball appears in the mini-game Furret's Frolic. It is the largest ball in that mini-game, appearing later than the rest and being worth 5 points.
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
In Pokémon XD, Master Balls are used in the Battle Bingo game. The player starts with two and can gain an extra one from one of the ? spaces.
Pokémon Dream World
A decorative rug themed after the Master Ball could be found in the Hero's Catalogue in the Dream World.
Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
The villainous team leaders in Team Rainbow Rocket keep their Pokémon in Master Balls.
Appearance
Artwork
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| Artwork from Generation I |
Artwork by Ken Sugimori |
Sprites
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| In-battle sprite in Generation II |
Sprite from Furret Frolic's instruction screen in Stadium 2 |
In-battle and Summary sprite from Generation III |
Summary sprite from Colosseum |
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| Summary sprite from XD: Gale of Darkness |
Summary sprite from Generations IV and V |
In-battle sprite in Generation IV |
In-battle sprite in Generation V |
Models
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| Model from Furret Frolic in Stadium 2 |
In-battle model X, Y, Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon |
Model from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U |
Model from Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! |
In spin-off games
Pokémon Pinball series
In Pokémon Pinball and Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, the Poké Ball that serves as the pinball is capable of being upgraded to a Great Ball, an Ultra Ball and a Master Ball. However, this serves solely as a score multiplier, as catching a Pokémon is always guaranteed, even with a regular Poké Ball.
Super Smash Bros. series
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Poké Ball trophy mentions the Master Ball, identifying it as the strongest variety of Poké Ball.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, the Master Ball appears as a throwing item. It functions much like the Poké Ball item, but only summons rare and Legendary Pokémon, Zoroark, or a Goldeen.
Trophy information
NA: These valuable, powerful balls can capture any wild Pokémon. In Smash Bros., hard- to-find Pokémon often pop out of them. You can easily identify a Master Ball by the distinct purple appearance and large M on the top. A Pokémon within a Master Ball may turn the tide of battle.
PAL: A rare type of Poké Ball that never fails to catch a Pokémon. Throw one in this game, and the Mythical or Legendary Pokémon inside will come to your aid. Master Balls are easy to identify due to their purple colour and the large M on them. Use one to quickly turn the tide of any battle!
In the anime
In the main series
In Beauty and the Beach and A Hot Water Battle, Misty has a beach ball that was decorated to look like a Master Ball. This Master Ball beach ball reappeared in the Pikachu short Pikachu's Ice Adventure. In The Song of Jigglypuff, a picture of a Master Ball appeared on a billboard on a building.
In Whiscash and Ash, the fisherman Sullivan attempted to use a Master Ball in a last-ditch attempt to catch Nero, an oversized wild Whiscash that had long eluded him. However, Nero swallowed the Master Ball and disappeared back into the water, not being caught. At the end of the episode, Nero was seen playing with the Master Ball on its tongue.
A Master Ball appeared in Which One ~ Is It?, a Japanese ending theme from the Diamond & Pearl series.
In Pokémon Origins
The Master Ball never made an actual appearance in Pokémon Origins, only appearing in Silph Co. president's secretary's demonstration in File 3: Giovanni. She mentioned that the Master Ball was still in development, and only existed as a prototype. She also told that it was why Team Rocket had taken over their office building; they intended to accelerate the development of the Master Ball and then steal it when it would be completed, making sure they would be the only ones possessing it. After Team Rocket was driven out of the building by Red, it was mentioned that the development of the Master Ball was put on hold for a while.
In the manga
In the movie adaptations
In Mewtwo Strikes Back!, Dr. Fuji attempted to use a Master Ball to catch Mew, but failed.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In And Mewtwo... Three!, Blaine was revealed to be in possession of a Master Ball. Soon afterwards, Red used it to catch Mewtwo for Blaine.
In the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure! manga
In (Violent) Earthquake! Cyrus's Consuming Ambition, Cyrus gave Hareta a Master Ball as a recognition for him having moved his emotions, telling him to bring it with him to Mt. Coronet. In Bonds Connect Across Space-Time..., the Master Ball fell out of Hareta's pocket at the Spear Pillar, and Professor Rowan told him about its capability to catch any Pokémon without fail. In an attempt to stop the battle between Dialga and Palkia, Hareta tried to use the Master Ball to catch Palkia, but Palkia, having total control over space, was able to make itself disappear out of Master Ball's way and then smack it aside.
In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
Red used a Master Ball in The Legendary Pokémon Appears!! to catch Articuno.
In the Pokémon Zensho manga
Satoshi obtained a Master Ball from the Silph Co.'s president in Saffron City as a thanks for rescuing his company from the hands of Team Rocket.
Gallery
Master Ball in Pokémon Adventures
Master Ball in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!
Master Ball in Pokémon Pocket Monsters
Master Ball in Pokémon Zensho
In the TCG
- Main article: Master Ball (Gym Challenge 116)
The Master Ball was introduced as a Trainer card in the Pokémon Trading Card Game in English during the Original Series in the Gym Challenge, and in Japanese during the Original Era in the Extended Sheet 2. It has been reprinted as a Trainer card in the Japanese-exclusive Intro Pack Neo (in the Neo Era), the Japanese-exclusive Pokémon VS expansion (in the VS Era), the English e-Card Series (the Japanese e-Card Era), and the English EX Series (the Japanese ADV Era and PCG Era). It was reprinted as an Ace Spec Item card during the English Black & White Series (the Japanese BW era), in the Plasma Blast expansion in English and the Blastoise + Kyurem-EX Combo Deck in Japanese.
As a Trainer card, this card allowed the player to look at the top 7 cards of their deck and add one Pokémon card from those cards to their hand, then shuffle their deck. As an Ace Spec Item card, this card allows the player to add 1 Pokémon card from their deck to their hand.
The Master Ball was also featured as a card in Pokémon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR!
Trivia
- The Master Ball is present in the game data of Pokémon GO, but is unused.
- The infinite ball glitch is often known as the Master Ball glitch, due to Master Balls commonly being used in this glitch.
In other languages
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This item article is part of Project ItemDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all items. |