The Poké Ball is a spherical device used by Pokémon Trainers to "catch" and store Pokémon in the fictional video game series Pokémon. Many varieties of Poké Balls exist; the regular Poké Ball which is simply called a Poké Ball, The Great Ball, the Ultra Ball, the Master Ball, the Safari Ball, the Park Ball, and many other types of Poké Balls are specially designed by Kurt.
A regular Poké Ball features a red top, white bottom, and a black ring going around the center horizontally. In the middle of the Poké Ball, there is a small, silver button which can be pushed to release or call back a
Pokémon. The Poké Ball is designed to be portable, so when the Poké Ball is palm sized and when the silver button is pushed, it will grow to full size. In the Pokémon games, it is not possible to carry a Pokémon which is not in its Poké Ball, with the exception of Pokémon Yellow, which allowed a Pikachu to follow your character, Pokémon Soul Silver/Heart Gold, which allowed the first Pokémon in your party to follow your character, and in the Sinnoh region games when in the Pal Park.
Although the exact dimensions of the Poké Ball are not known, it's probably around 4-6 centimeters in diameter, although, according to the Pokémon Anime, the button on the center of the Poké Ball can also be pushed to shrink so it is small enough to attach to a belt. This was later reaffirmed in the story mode of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where the Pokemon Trainer character uses the silver button to cause the ball to grow from the size of a billiard ball to a dodgeball.
All Poké Balls (Ball 13 is the bug catching contest ball)
To use a Poké Ball to "catch" a wild Pokémon, a Pokémon trainer will simply throw an unoccupied Poké Ball at the wild Pokémon. The wild Pokémon will then be absorbed into the ball, and will attempt to break free unless it likes the trainer. If the Pokémon has not been weakened enough during the time of catching, it may be able to break free of the Poké Ball (only during the first few moments of its catching, while it's still struggling), which is a good reason to use a stronger Poké Ball over the regular Poké Ball, such as a Great Ball, which is 50% stronger than a regular ball. If the Pokémondoes manage to break free, the Poké Ball used to attempt to catch it will break and is no longer usable. Poké Balls can not be used to catch already caught Pokémon (Pokémon belonging to other trainers). It is also programmed not to catch humans. If the red beam hits something other than a Pokémon, (i.e. rice cake Ash caught) it may, or may not capture it.
Storing Pokémon
Once a Pokémon has been successfully caught in a Poké Ball, it will become loyal to its catcher and will usually obey them. For this reason, a Pokémon can not generally be considered "evil" — a Pokémon is only as evil as the trainer who caught it, however Pokémon can also act evil on their own. It is not known what a Pokémon does whilst inside their Poké Ball, if they do anything at all, although it has been mentioned that the inside of a Poké Ball is "designed to be as comfortable for the Pokémon residing within", although this is not necessarily true. The Pokémon inside may simply be sleeping, or completely unaware of its own existence. Pokémon are, however aware when inside their Poké Ball — by calling their name, the Pokémon will emerge from its Poké Ball almost immediately.
Rarely even, a Pokémon will release itself from the Poké Ball. In one episode of the Pokémon anime, which should not be taken seriously, the inside of a Psyduck's Poké Ball is shown — it simply appears as an empty space consisting of mirrors and circuitry. To release or recall a Pokémon, trainers either say the Pokémon's name ("call it") or push the small button on the Poké Ball. The naming command is usually accompanied with a phrase — such as Go, Eevee or Return, Bulbasaur!. A Poké Ball can only store one Pokémon at a time. For this reason, a trainer may carry as many as six occupied Poké Balls at once — although they may carry up to 999 spare Poké Balls for catching more Pokémon. If more than six Pokémon are caught, the additional ones will be transferred to a PC.
Poké Ball Storage
Due to the Poké Ball's small size, it is hard to imagine how large Pokémon, such as Wailord, or even smaller Pokémon such as Natu manage to fit inside the Poké Ball. Although this has never been made clear officially, when a Pokémon is absorbed into a Poké Ball, their form "shrinks" and turns into energy. It is possible that the Pokémon are simply stored as energy in their Poké Balls, although this, of course, arouses many other questions, such as how they can return to a tangible form.
According to the movie Destiny Deoxys, Poké Balls need exterior energy in order to call or re-call the Pokémon that belongs to that Poké Ball.
Also, in the anime episode Hypno's Naptime, it shows Misty's Psyduck in a gray, round, unroomy looking chamber which is in the Poké Ball.
Even then, when Pokémon are stored inside Poké Balls, they are shown as chips of data when the Pokémon are transferred to Pokémon box, so maybe they are transferred into data.
The regular Poké Ball features a red top, white bottom, and a horizontal black ring circling the ball. This type of Poké Ball is the weakest and the only type typically available at the beginning of the Pokémon games. It is also the one found in the movies.
The Great Ball has a blue top and a white bottom, as well as the horizontal black ring and two red sections. It has a 50% higher chance to successfully catch a Pokémon than a regular Poké Ball.
The Ultra Ball has a 100% higher chance to catch a Pokémon than a regular Poké Ball, and a 50% higher chance than a Great Ball. It has a black and yellow top, often with the yellow forming an "H" on the top of the ball. In Japan, It is called a Hyper Ball, hence the "H" pattern on top.
The Master Ball, the best and rarest ball available in any game. It was originally manufactured by Silph Co. in Saffron City, but only a few were produced before Team Rocket tried to steal them. Since then they have been discontinued. From then on, the few remaining prototypes were only given to accomplished Pokémon researchers. Because of this, only one can be found normally in each game (although it can be won in each generation after the first; it is the grand prize for the Lucky Number show, Lilycove City's Lottery, and at the Jubilife TV station, respectively). It has a two-shade purple top forming two brighter purple circles on the sides of the top, as well as the letter "M" printed on the top. The Master Ball has a 100% chance to catch any Pokémon, no matter what the circumstances and could be described best as "the ball that never fails". You can only get one in every game as an object, and the only way to get more without cheating is winning the Lottery.
Best used to catch Pokémon found via fishing and carries a 50% higher rate of capture than a normal Poké Ball for this purpose. It is characterized by a blue top with a red "V" going up the middle which is decorated by three vertical yellow lines. Ash used this ball to catch his Totodile in episode 38.
Moon Ball
Used to catch Pokémon that can only evolve through use of the Moon Stone such as Clefairy, Jigglypuff, Nidorina and Nidorino. It has a black and blue top, with the blue being on one side of the top and black on the other. In between the two sides of the top half on the front is a yellow crescent moon.
Friend Ball
Friend Ball
About as effective as a standard Poké Ball. However, Pokémon captured by this ball will bond more quickly to their trainers than with any other ball. This ball has a green top decorated with two red dots slanting toward the center button on both sides of the vertical mid-line on the top half and a single red dot near the "top" part of the ball's top half as seen from the front.
Best used on a Pokémon of the opposite gender and same species as the player's Pokémon. It is characterized by a pink top with a white heart going up the middle.
Heavy Ball
The Heavy Ball, one of the many Poké Balls featured in the Gold and Silver games can catch large and heavy Pokémon such as Happiny better then a Poké Ball. It has a dark blue top with lighter blue circles on either side at an angle from the central button, the topmost of which is the largest and the lower-most of which are tiny and almost the same shade of blue as the majority of the top.
Fast Ball
A Poké Ball exclusively in Generation II games. It catches Pokémon which run away quickly and easily such as Pokémon with the Run Away ability or Legendary Pokémon like Raikou and Entei. It is characterized by yellow half-circles on the sides of both the top and bottom halves, with the top half being primarily red and carrying a lightning-bolt yellow mark on the very top.
Park Ball
A type of ball exclusive to National Park's Bug Catching Contest in the Gold, Silver and Crystal version. This ball is never seen on screen, but is described as having a dark green top, with brighter green "wings" spreading from the button out in diagonal angles on both halves, similar to that of a Butterfree, and has two red dots on the top half above the button. It is as effective as a standard Poké Ball. When entering the contest, the player is given a set of twenty Park Balls. In HeartGold and SoulSilver the ball is redesigned to look like a regular Poké Ball with an additional "S" at the top.
The Premier Ball was created for a special event. It is entirely white except for the band around the middle which is red. According to the official Pokémon Colosseum game guide, it has the same catch rate as a regular Poké Ball, "but it looks cooler." It can be obtained by purchasing 10 regular Poké Balls from a shop (for Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, LeafGreen, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, XD, HeartGold, SoulSilver, White, and Black versions only).
Repeat Ball
Best for catching Pokémon that you have caught before. Its distinguishing features consist of a red top similar to a normal Poké Ball, with a gold and continuing series of connected circles starting from the button and ending at the rear of the top half. The open spaces of each circle are colored black.
For every ten turns that pass in a battle with a wild Pokémon, the chances of success for capturing the Pokémon increases. It's starting effectiveness is no better than that of a standard Poké Ball. It has a black, white, and orange top with the sides of the top half being range and what looks like a cooking timer handle of orange pointing toward the button. It has a better catch rate the more turns you fight before using it.
Nest Ball
The Nest Ball operates similar to the Level Ball. The lower the level of the Pokémon you face, the higher the chances of capture. It has a green top with yellow bands that wrap from the sides up around the back before ending in a circle at the top to make a woven nest.
Net Ball
Net Ball
Allow easier capture of Bug and Water Pokémon. It has a light blue top with black bands crossing it in a "net" pattern, often raised above the ball's surface. It has a 75% higher chance to capture bug and water Pokémon, otherwise it is only as useful as a normal Poké Ball.
Dive Ball
Dive Ball
Used to catch Pokémon found on the sea floor. It is best used on or under water. The entire ball is various shades blue except for the black horizontal band around the middle, and a white "cap" on the top of the ball in which the blue forms a gentle "wave" pattern around. It has a capture rate of 75% for Pokémon seen on the sea floor.
As of Generation IV, the Dive Ball is more effective on Pokémon found while surfing. This is because there are no underwater areas in the Sinnoh region.
The fanciest ball made, and the most expensive known. It is designed for luxury as its name suggests. While it is the same as a normal Poké Ball in terms of success rates in general, a Pokémon caught in this ball will form a bond with its trainer more quickly. It is almost entirely black with a gold band around the middle as well as a gold button, and carries rings of red on both halves which themselves are flanked by rings of gold.
Similar to a regular Poké Ball but when you catch a Pokémon with the Heal Ball, the Pokémon's health and stats problems are fully restored. This is more useful if you have at least 1 space empty for that Pokémon, since if it gets sent to PC, then you can get it healed with Nurse Joy.
Quick Ball
Has a higher chance of capturing a Pokémon the earlier it is used in battle. At the beginning of the battle, its catch rate is 4x. This is reduced every five turns the battle carries on, to a minimum catch rate of 1x.
his ball has a 50% higher chance of catching if it is used at night (8pm-4am) or in a cave.
Cherish Ball
It is a Poké Ball only obtainable if you receive a Pokémon at a special event. It is red with a black trim. It has the same catch rate as a normal Poké Ball. It can only be obtained by special events provided by Nintendo World.
Park Ball
This Poké ball is ball that only appears in the Pal Park. It can catch a Pokémon sent through the Pal Park on Route 221 and Fuchsia City. Like the Master ball, it never fails to catch a Pokémon. It can only be used in Pal Park.
The Dream Ball lets you catch Pokémon from the Dream World. The pattern of this ball is similar to Musharana because Musharna's mist is made of dreams. Like the Master ball and Park ball, it never fails to catch a Pokémon. It can only be used in the Dream Forest in the Entralink.
Other Types Of Poké Balls
These include the types of Poké Balls that have appeared in the anime, manga & games.
GS Ball
GS Ball
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 was, before 2008, unknown. In an interview with Masamitsu Hidaka in 2008 by the webmaster of PokéBeach, it was explained that the GS Ball was meant to contain a Celebi that was to be the star of a large arc of the Johto saga. However, it was decided that Celebi would be the star of the fourth movie, so the story arc was viewed as redundant and shelved. The ball was left with Kurt with the hopes that viewers would eventually forget about it. Misty's Psyduck, in one episode, sneaks Ash's GS Ball out and fools around with it while Ash is in the middle of a big trainer battle. Misty sees this, Grabs the GS Ball, angrily says "PSYDUCK! That GS Ball is not a toy!", and puts it back in Ash's bag. The GS might stand for Gold and Silver.
These Poké Balls look like a black and gray ball with a gold strip and a ruby eye in place of the white button. These can capture other Trainer's Pokémon and even those inside their Poké Balls by capturing the actual Poké Ball as well. This ball only appeared in the movie Mew Vs. Mewtwo 150 vs. 151 The Ultimate Battle.
Dark Ball
Only used by Vicious The Iron Masked Marauder, it is black all over with a gray strip, a dark gray button and many dents all over. Any Pokémon caught with this ball become unswervingly loyal to Vicious to the point there they will attack and possibly kill their friends and family. It instantly raises any Pokémon to the highest level. The Dark Ball also installs them with a sinister personality to fit. Vicious used this ball to capture Celebi with his Scizor, Sneasel, and his newly stolen Tyranitar.
Old Ball
This ball was used by Professor Samuel Oak, and is not available in the games. This ball makes its appearance in "Pokémon 4Ever." It is a murky brown color and is possibly a pre-modern-day Poké Ball. The user had to turn a small crank like those on wind-up toys just to get it to work. It was only seen sending out a Pokémon (Samuel's Charmeleon), never catching Pokémon.
Trivia
Poké Balls with different colored bands were not introduced until Generation III.
Poké Balls that were fully colored were not introduced until Generation III as well.
Poké Balls with special abilities and catching attributes were not introduced until Generation II.
The Cherish Ball is the only ball in the game that cannot be obtained legally in-game without using unorthodox methods such as cheating or hacking.
The Dive Ball is the the only ball that had its abilities changed. It was originally used in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald to catch Pokémon underwater, but with lack of underwater routes in later games, it is now used for Pokémon found when using the Surf move.
The GS Ball did appear in Pokémon Crystal, but it appeared as a Key Item, not a Poké Ball or Items and was an event-only Item. It can not be obtained as a ball using unorthodox methods and is used to catch Celebi in the special Celebi event.
Poke Balls that hold special Pokémon in the first season of the anime are usually kept in special balls (such as starters and a Leader's Pokemon.)
Despite the Level Ball and the Nest Ball having different names, appearances and being from different generations, they both do the same job and are the only two Poké Balls that have the same catch rate.
