Master Ball

The Master Ball

The Master Ball (Japanese: マスターボール Master Ball) is a variety of Poké Ball introduced in Generation I, and arguably the rarest of all Poké Ball variants. It is unique in the aspect that it is guaranteed to catch any wild Pokémon (with one exception) that it is thrown at. It shares this attribute with the the Park Ball used within Pal Park. However, unlike the Park Ball, the Master Ball can be obtained and used outside of Pal Park.

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 is the button 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.

In the games

The Master Ball has been present in every main series Pokémon game. Usually, only one Master Ball is available to the player per saved game, although from Generation II onwards, additional Master Balls can be won in various lottery drawings, but only if the drawn number exactly matches the ID number of one of the player's Pokémon.

The Master Ball is one of the few items that is not a key item and cannot be sold at shops; however, it can be sold in Generation I, but will sell for $0.

Master Ball locations in the games

Generation	Game(s)	Location	Requirements	Notes
I	Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow	Silph Co.	Talk to the president of Silph Co. after defeating Giovanni.
II	Gold, Silver, and Crystal	New Bark Town	Talk to Professor Elm after earning all eight Johto badges.
II	Gold, Silver, and Crystal	Goldenrod Radio Tower	Match all 5 numbers in the Lucky Channel.
III	Ruby	Magma Hideout	None	Entrance is blocked off after battling Groudon.
III	Sapphire, Emerald	Aqua Hideout	None	Entrance is blocked off after battling KyogreWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc..
III	Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald	Lilycove Department Store	Defeat May or Brendan in front of the Lilycove Department Store, match all 5 numbers in the lottery.
III	Pokémon Colosseum	Agate Village	Receive incomplete email from Eagun in Realgam Tower	Eagun's email is cut off before it can mention the Master Ball.
III	Pokémon XD	Pokémon HQ Lab	Talk to Professor Krane before heading to Citadark Isle
III	FireRed and LeafGreen	Silph Co.	Talk to the president of Silph Co. after defeating Giovanni
IV	Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum	Galactic Veilstone Building	Defeat Cyrus
IV	Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum	Jubilife TV	Earn the Coal Badge, defeat the Galactic Grunts near the northern exit of Jubilife City, match all 5 numbers in the lottery.
IV	HeartGold and SoulSilver	New Bark Town	Talk to Professor Elm after earning all eight Johto badges.
IV	HeartGold and SoulSilver	Goldenrod Radio Tower	Match all 5 numbers in the lottery.
V	Black and White	Souryuu City	Gift from Professor Araragi after earning all eight Isshu badges.	Walk outside the gym to receive it.

In other games

In Pokémon Pinball and Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire

In the two Pokémon Pinball titles, 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.

Pokémon XD

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.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

The Master Ball has not appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series; however, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Poké Ball trophy mentions the Master Ball, identifying it as the strongest variety of Poké Ball.

In the anime

File:Master ball.png

Sullivan's Master Ball

The Master Ball first appeared in Beauty and the Beach, and again in A Hot Water Battle. However, the Master Ball in these episodes was not an actual Master Ball; rather, it was a beach ball owned by Misty, which had been decorated to look like a Master Ball.

An actual Master Ball made its first true appearance in Whiscash and Ash. It was used by a fisherman named Sullivan in a last-ditch attempt to catch Nero, a wild Whiscash that had long eluded him. As the Master Ball is reputed to successfully capture any Pokémon all the time, Sullivan was sure that using the Master Ball would work. This, however, was not the case, as Nero swallowed the Master Ball and disappeared back into the water. At the end of the episode, Nero was seen playing with the Master Ball on its tongue.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Blaine caught Mewtwo using a Master Ball.

In the TCG

The Master Ball first appeared in the Gym Challenge expansion, and in the games the most powerful of the Poké Balls, provides a vastly different effect than the standard. Rather than searching the entire deck, only the top seven cards may be searched. One Pokémon found in these seven can be put into the hand, while the rest must be shuffled back into the deck. The Master Ball has been included in numerous expansions since Gym Challenge.

Trivia

• The Master Ball is always made available before the first encounter with a non-roaming legendary Pokémon.
• The infinite ball glitch is often known as the Master Ball glitch, due to the high useage of Master Balls for this glitch.
• Due to the way catch rates are calculated, the Master Ball has a 1 out of 65536 chance of failing to catch a Pokémon; this event being 8 times less likely than finding a shiny Pokémon in the wild.

Related articles

• Poké Ball

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