Moon Ball
The Moon Ball (Japanese: ムーンボール Moon Ball) is a type of Poké Ball introduced in Generation II. It can be used to catch a wild Pokémon, being more likely to succeed against Pokémon that evolve by using Moon Stone and their evolutionary relatives.
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It is one of Kurt's signature Apricorn Poké Balls, and is made from Yellow Apricorns.
In the core series games
Manual activation
When used from the Bag in a wild encounter, it attempts to catch the wild Pokémon.
The Moon Ball cannot be used in situations in which Poké Balls cannot be used, such as in wild battles with two or more opponents currently present or against a trial Pokémon. If used in a Trainer battle, the opposing Trainer will bat the ball away, wasting the item.
Generation II
In Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, while it is intended to be more effective against Pokémon that evolve by using Moon Stone and their evolutionary relatives, due to a glitch, it always has a 1× catch rate. (Instead, the Moon Ball is more effective against Pokémon that evolve by using a Burn Heal, but there are no such Pokémon.)
Generation IV onward
Starting in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, if the wild Pokémon is part of an evolutionary family that includes a Pokémon who evolves by using a Moon Stone, it has a 4× catch rate modifier; otherwise, it has a 1× modifier. If used on an Ultra Beast, the catch rate modifier is instead always set to 0.1×.
Held item
Fling fails if the user is holding a Moon Ball.
In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver only, Moon Balls cannot be held. This is to prevent them being held by a Pokémon traded to Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, where the item does not exist.
Description
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Acquisition
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Appearance
Artwork
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| Artwork by Ken Sugimori |
Sprites
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| In-battle sprite in Generation II |
Summary sprite from Generations IV and V |
In-battle sprite in Generation IV |
In-battle sprite in Generation V |
Models
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| In-battle model from X, Y, Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon |
Model from Generation VIII |
In the anime
In Going Apricorn!, a Moon Ball appeared in a fantasy during Maizie's explanation about Apricorn Poké Balls.
In Trouble's Brewing, Satsuki was revealed to keep her Jolteon in a Moon Ball.
In the manga
Gold, Silver & Crystal chapter
In Teddiursa's Picnic, a Moon Ball appeared in a fantasy during Maizie's explanation about Apricorn Poké Balls.
In Slugging It Out with Slugma, a Moon Ball was seen amongst Crystal's set of Apricorn Poké Balls.
Trivia
- In Generation II, the Moon Ball's catch rate is mistakenly boosted when used on Pokémon that evolve using a Burn Heal rather than a Moon Stone, so in practice the rate is never boosted. In Generation I, the Moon Stone's index number was 0x0A, but in Generation II, this index corresponds to the Burn Heal (the Moon Stone instead having the index number 0x08)—the Moon Ball's code mistakenly references the Moon Stone's original index number, preventing the Moon Ball's boost from ever applying.
In other languages
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This item article is part of Project ItemDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all items. |