When it comes to Pokemon, the Master Ball is nearly as iconic as Pikachu. In a game series that changes so much from generation to generation, it’s one of the few constants. We have an evil team set on committing animal rights abuses, a hot professor directing us on our adventure, and a single Master Ball that will catch any Pokemon in the game. Not even Pikachu is in as many main series games as the Master Ball, and the yellow rat is Game Freak’s most recognisable mascot.
Where you get your Master Ball differs from game to game. Sometimes you find it discarded on the floor in some grimy corner of a secret lair, sometimes the aforementioned hot professor gives it to you. But its job is identical in every game: catch a Pokemon, without fail. Playground rumours used to suggest that there was an infinitesimally small chance of it failing due to a coding error, but like the truck Mew, that’s simply not true. The Master Ball catches one Pokemon, and then you cannot get another without overwriting your save or winning the lottery.
The Master Ball came to Pokemon Go a couple of months ago. I wondered at the time whether it was a ploy to get disenfranchised players back on board after a systematic gutting of the Remote Raid system that saw many communities, including my own, die out. It felt too soon for that, though, too quick a turnaround to be rectifying a mistake. The Master Ball was a planned addition to the mobile game, which just so happened to arrive at the perfect time to restore a modicum of goodwill.
Rather than beating the Pokemon League, an entity that doesn’t exist in Pokemon Go’s augmented universe, you just have to complete some simple research tasks to get the Master Ball in Pokemon Go. The ease with which you can access the ball doesn’t detract from its power, however. This might be the only Master Ball you ever get in Pokemon Go, and it weighs heavy in your inventory. Many players are using them on the incredibly elusive Galarian birds, which so often flee after just a glimpse, but I’m saving mine further. I get the feeling that the birds will be distributed by other means eventually – maybe at Go Tour: Galar in 2028 – and there might be a more important beast to capture in the meantime.
This is where Pokemon Go encounters a problem. In a game of constant grinding, where you can battle each Legendary countless times for a chance of improved stats, where Pokemon are completely disposable, and where you’re actively encouraged to catch hundreds of the rarest Pokemon in order to make them more powerful. You need to catch 36 Rayquaza in order to max one to level 40. It’ll take untold encounters, easily in the three digits, if you want to power it up to level 50, due to the rarity of XL candy and the harsh exchange rate from regular candies.
When I’ve caught 34 Rayquaza already, why do I need a Master Ball? There’s no Pokemon rare enough that players would use their Master Ball on it in this game, and besides, you can only use Premier Balls to catch these Raid Legendaries rather than your own stash. That’s why players are using them on the easily-fleeing birds, and that’s why I’m holding tight for now.
The one exception to this rule is Mythical Pokemon. Bar Meltan, these are solely available through Special Research missions, and can never flee. Keep missing your throws? Fine, Shaymin will wait. It’s why I’m so certain I’ll be able to catch my shiny Mew when I eventually end up in Guyana. These Special Research encounters end in a lovely throw-off against the Mythical, with a bespoke background and everything. There’s no risk, the Pokemon won’t flee, and you’ll never run out of balls as your missed throws don’t take anything from your inventory.
This is how players worked out the Master Ball loophole. If Mythicals – again, Meltan excepted – don’t deplete your ball stocks even when caught, can you use your Master Ball on one and still have it in your inventory? All it would take would be one player to test the theory, potentially wasting their Master Ball in doing so.
Some players have used their Master Balls on Bidoof, so it’s safe to say there was someone willing to use theirs in the name of science. And as it turns out, the loophole works. You can catch a Mythical in a Master Ball and still have it ready to use for something else. Heck, you can probably use it on multiple Mythicals, spreading the love to Mew, Shaymin, and Zygarde equally.
The effect does little. Mythicals don’t tend to be very good in Go Battle League, Pokemon Go’s PvP system, and you’d only see the Master Ball for a fraction of a second as you sent your monster out to fight. There is a little icon at the bottom of the Pokemon’s stats page, and that’s really all there is to it. But it means a lot.
Does this exploit take away from the Master Ball’s power? Not for me. It’s still rare, and the loophole only works on Mythicals, powerful Pokemon that deserve to be housed in such a prestigious item. If the loophole allowed you to catch Pidgey and Pikachu with ruthless effectiveness, I’d feel differently, but as it is, the ball’s use is still majorly limited. If nothing else, I’m excited to watch that excellent catching animation time and time again.