GS Ball
The GS Ball is a special and mysterious Poké Ball. It is colored gold and silver and has the letters "GS" inscribed upon it. GS may stand for Gold and Silver, as those were the first two games of Generation II.
In the anime
In the anime, Professor Ivy was the first character to possess the GS Ball. She called upon the help of Professor Oak to study it, but couldn't figure out how to open it or transmit it via PC. Professor Oak asked Ash to go to the Orange Archipelago and get it from Professor Ivy, which he did in Poké Ball Peril. This prompted Ash's participation in the Orange League.
At one point, Ash tried simply calling a Pokémon to be released but this did not work.
When Professor Oak couldn't do anything with it, Ash was once again asked to deliver it to Kurt, a Poké Ball researcher and manufacturer living in Johto's Azalea Town. It presumably still resides there to this day, and its purpose is, as of 2025, unknown.
In Pokémon Crystal
In the Japanese version of Pokémon Crystal, players could use the Pokémon Mobile System to gain a GS Ball as an event item that they could take to Ilex Forest. Using it at the forest's shrine would prompt an encounter where a wild Celebi could be captured. However, no equivalent event was ever offered to players of the English version of the game. Some game-enhancing devices, however, such as the GameShark, can be used to generate the GS Ball right in the player's bag in both languages.
In the Pokémon Special manga
According to the Pokémon Special manga, the GS Ball was created by the Mask of Ice from the feathers of Lugia and Ho-Oh to capture Celebi. Only the feathers of the two Legendary Pokémon could contain Celebi, and prevent their holder from suffering the ill effects of time travel. Gold was able to use his Pichu to destroy it and set Celebi free.
Possible Park Ball Relation
Although it is purely speculation, it is interesting to note the resemblance between the GS Ball and the Park Ball used in the Pal Park. It is possible that the two are somehow related, perhaps the GS Ball was developed into the Park Ball.