Pokemon fans come in many forms, casual players, perfect IV breeders, shiny hunters, speedrunners and many more, there’s no limit to how niche of a Pokemon player you can be.
When it comes to catching Pokemon, the typical approach is to lower their health, maybe throw a status effect at them and start throwing balls, hoping for the best.
After years of catching ’em all we’ve seen more Poke Balls than we can count come into the games, all with their own unique catching conditions and benefits.
However, Pokemon players pose a surprising amount of differing opinions when it comes to how and why they use certain Poke Balls. Whether it’s by color coordination, a battle condition that supports the Poke Balls benefit, or using whatever’s left in your backpack after hurling Poke balls at legendaries.
For some, specific Pokemon status comes into play, “Pokedex fodder gets whatever’s most convenient. Stuff I actually want to use tends to get whatever’s most thematically appropriate or Premier/Luxury for favorites.” Premiere Balls are the extra free balls you get from Gen upwards whenever you buy 10 or more Poke Balls, so it’s a chance to show off how much money you’ve made from battles.
Others enjoy the possibility of bragging rights for catching a rare Pokemon in the most basic Poke Ball. “I used to make it a point to catch all my legendaries in regular Pokeballs because I thought it showed some kind of extra skill and not just a massive waste of time.”
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Speaking of legendaries there’s a community bounty out for the ultimate catch in color coordination, “You can’t call yourself the best like no one ever was if you haven’t caught a shiny Rayquaza in a luxury ball.” Both the ball and Pokemon have the same color scheme down to the black with yellow lining.
Some are one ball for all trainers, “I’m the regular Poke Ball on everything guy. I even just re-did a lot of my Living Dex to replace all the Pokemon in non-standard balls.” Though a lenghty task, it makes sense when all Poke Balls eventually will catch their Pokemon.
However, many shared they take a more practical approach, in regards to the amount of Gym badges obtained factoring into which Poke Balls are available to buy. “Pokeballs in the early game, great balls mid-game, ultra balls late-game, master ball for the box legend, maybe sometimes a special one like a dive ball if I feel like it.”
Next time you venture out into the wide world of Pokemon, maybe put more thought into your choice of Poke Ball when trying to catch ’em all.