Top 10 Worst PokéBalls

The 10 least useful Poke Balls
📽️Subscribe here! bit.ly/mandjtv_sub
👕Merch store! mandjtvmerch.com/
🎮Gameplay Channel MandJTV Plays! bit.ly/mandjtv_plays
💸Patreon for exclusive videos! / johnmichaelandco
📱 TikTok! bit.ly/mandjtv_tiktok
📸Instagram! bit.ly/mandjtv_insta
👽Reddit! bit.ly/mandjtv_reddit
Pokemon videos about new Pokemon games, retro Pokemon games, or just Pokemon in general!
Edited by KeeLoker! / keeloker
Mytey subscribe animation by Spoody: / @_judepayne_
#Pokemon

[@Ninja_Geek]

Ironically, the one game the Repeat Ball would be most useful in, Pokémon Legends Arceus, doesn't have it. It's the one game where catching several of the same species is actually part of the story.

[@45TRANSFORMERSFAN]

Which is understandable. The game would have been so much easier (and probably more boring) if the Repeat Ball was added

[@vhfgamer]

@@45TRANSFORMERSFAN They could have unlocked it at the end of the game.

[@5ashll303]

@@45TRANSFORMERSFANI mean to be fair catching in legends is already not too hard. But I think the main reason we didn’t get one was then wanting to stick to the basic balls as well as the new utility ones

[@jaceb3106]

I’ve used more Repeat Balls than ever in the Blueberry Academy for the challenges tbh

[@HackerDragon9999]

Legends Arkoos*

[@M1lesFl4mePr0]

‘The Heal Ball is spectacularly terrible!’ - MandJTV, 2024 (immediate flashbacks to 11-year-old me playing Pokémon White who wasted a Master Ball on a Bouffalant & used a Heal Ball to catch freaking Zekrom)

[@patrickzalatoris3206]

I remember first getting it, and thought, "Why would I ever use this, I could just go to the pokemon center to heal the pokemon I caught, use a regular pokeball, and not have it stuck in that goofy looking thing!"

[@miikaroos3809]

To be fair, Reshiram and Zekrom are extremely easy to catch in BW.

[@RodimusMinor1987]

We have all wasted our MB on a none legendary Pokémon when we were kids

[@Gamebuilder2000]

@@patrickzalatoris3206 but the pink looks nice soooo

[@helixsol7171]

​@@patrickzalatoris3206 Nah, fam, this ball came in clutch for me because I had a bad habit of refusing to go to a Pokémon center unless I absolutely had to, so I didn't want to have to worry about a freshly caught Pokémon being low on health if it was added to my starting team instead of being sent to the box where the health is fully restored regardless.

[@TheFoxInABox]

A nice update to the Loveball would be that it works on pokemon that have compatible egg groups with your own pokemon. It wouldn't work on most legendaries, but carrying around a Ditto in your party would actually be cracked.

[@maygirl1595]

OMG YES

[@SkyEcho751]

I had just thought that the Love Ball could do the same as the Dream Ball, but with Charm status. Perhaps have both, if it's either part of the same egg group, it gets a 4x modifier, and if the target is charmed, it gets an additional 4x modifier, making it a 8x if you charm a same egg group pokemon. It would not be 'as good' against the genderless pokemon, but it would work against 90% of the dex with proper work.

[@TheFoxInABox]

@@SkyEcho751 Love it! Attract is underused anyway!

[@caiusdrakegaming8087]

@@TheFoxInABox That's... because Attract only works on opposite gender pokemon. A factor the Love Ball already takes into account for its catch multiplier. So ironically all that's changing is that it's a compatible egg group instead of being the same pokemon.

[@Matpit18]

The best use that I’ve seen for a love ball is people putting a ring into an irl replica of it and using it to propose to their partner

[@tripler2833]

Now that is a genius idea

[@ricochet0928]

Fun fact: I used to read "Luxury ball" as "Luxray ball" and wondered for the longest tine why they made a ball for Luxray specifically- 💀

[@kyradreamer4769]

You ever seen a shiny luxray in one of those? They *were* made for them. On a more serious note, during one of my playthroughs of scarlet, I found the luxury ball out by the klawf titan area and encountered a full odds shiny shinx right after and managed to catch him in that lol. And this was the very beginning of that run too, I was very pleased.

[@Asksalot_VeryCool]

​@@kyradreamer4769guess it really IS the "Luxray" ball.

[@HandfulofComments]

Fancy balls

[@maryrose3918]

I thought I same thing when I was getting used to Pokemon

[@josephswan7254]

If any pokemon deserves its own pokeball, it’s Luxray.

[@limiteds4]

I had this weird dream where grunty boi our beloved was replaced by a gnome. I don’t feel safe.

[@TheTarekDude]

That’s way better then my dreams I once had a dream that grunty boy was fired and had to work for officer Jenny That was terrifying

[@farmingfly]

HAHAHA IM GNOMEY BOI!!!!

[@TheTarekDude]

@@farmingflyAhhhhhhh

[@Highlander48]

I had a dream where grunty boi was a gym leader and was a *gulp* bird type gym leader

[@BobSherman-qu5xb]

I am so sorry for your loss 😔

[@Brimikyu]

When trying to capture the extra Miraidon, he was jumping out of every ball. I didn't wanna use my master on it, so in frustration I was like, "I see you want a ball that matches your aesthetic a bit, HERE!" and I threw a heal ball. He stayed. I absolutely BURST out laughing that of all the balls I used, that was the one he wanted. I named him Morondon for that xD

[@maygirl1595]

I love the nickname 😂😂😂

[@tydshiin5783]

koraidon or Miraidon? Because Koraidon fits the warm tones of the healball imo

[@pikasheep]

MORONDON AAHAHAHSJDODINW. But also the Master Ball does fit Miraidon's aesthetic

[@caiusdrakegaming8087]

@@tydshiin5783 Miraidon. They flat out said it in the first sentence XD

[@CorsairAB]

A well fitting nickname perhaps.

[@cmndrkool321]

Fun Pokeball fact: The Heavy Ball is completely useless on Gastly and Haunter. The modifiers make it impossible catch them.

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

Only in SM. In GSC, HGSS, USUM, and onward, the floor is 1, so while it becomes *really freakin' hard* to do, it's possible.

[@katelynsmith61]

I think the “L” on the Level Ball is a downward arrow to represent the Pokémon’s low level.

[@ARandomEliatrope]

could also be the V in leVel

[@Gabe4223.]

You could be onto something

[@bidoof367]

@@ARandomEliatrope it could also be an e in lEvEl but they messed it up really bad

[@LuigiTheMetal64]

It also does not look like the "レ re" Katakana either.

[@aaronfraire9073]

I always thought it was a V, but I like your idea better.

[@ArielSubotzky]

11:35 "as tenth of a good" Funniest thing I've heard in a while

[@JacobMead-ph1cx]

“you heard that correctly” 💀

[@KevinArellano69]

Not the funniest thing I have heard recently, I have been dying watching some guy that I won't name drop.

[@kaimanthelizardwizard1248]

When the blooper is so funny you leave it in the final cut

[@jonathanmarks3112]

Top 10 moments 2024?

[@patrickormerod3472]

Decimated

[@MarcusMapua]

I figured the reasoning behind the Dive Ball rating was because of his tragic past with Dive Balls in trying to fish & catch Shiny Primal Kyogre against John in their "First To Catch A Shiny With Every PokeBall Wins" video

[@timelordacaelus5959]

You bring up aesthetics in this video a lot, and it got me thinking: I'm surprised there hasn't been some sort of ball customization in the games yet. Something like a shop service in game to alter the appearance of your pokeballs, either to give yourself a signature set, or to aesthetically fit whatever you've caught in them. I remember in a previous generation - I think 4? - we could put visual effects on our pokeballs, yet we still cant just customize the look of the ball?

[@MK_mon]

yea idk if that feature got added in later gens after 6 but there should at least had been an option to replace the regular pokeball with any pokeball except masterball

[@davidevans2863]

It would have to be very limited in scope such as choosing from preselected styling then customising colours and effects as there is a design philosophy called TTP or time till p*nis, if you give somebody the option to draw or design eventually that is what gets drawn.

[@wa_akii6873]

YESYESYESYESYES A MILLION TIMES YES!!! We should have reskins for pokeballs. It would probably have to be customizeable via choosing options bc of various concerns of what could be put on it but it would still be amazing!!!

[@littlemimikyu2341]

I wish you noted that when talking about the Moon Ball that in Gen 2, the Moon Ball only works on Pokemon that only evolve using a BURN HEAL. The fact that Game Freak messed up that hard when coding the Moon Ball is hilarious. 😂

[@insulttothehumanrace3807]

He did bring up text explaining that glitch, but it would have been nice for it to get a mention. Still small potatoes compared to how its intended use was for such a small pool of Pokemon as for putting it on the list.

[@BioniclesaurKing4t2]

In their defense, the Gen 2 Burn Heal had the same item ID number as the Gen 1 Moon Stone, they just forgot they shuffled the items around at some point when they were programming stuff.

[@desktop-ini]

Hah! You better have BURN HEAL!

[@mysticfox9718]

I remember in one of Jaiden Animation’s Pokémon Nuzlocke video. The two player nuzlocke with Jacob. That when she googled Palkia’s weakness it said Fairy and Salamence 😆. I don’t know if it was Game Freak who wrote that? 🤷‍♀️. But it was funny 😆

[@CrystalGreymon]

​@@mysticfox9718 The Salamence bit came from competitive play. Salamence is rarely not good.

[@BreezyCat128]

The Love Ball may be functionally the most useless, but it’s still my favorite pokeball because it’s adorable. Plus, I’ve seen posts online of people proposing to their partners (who are also fans of Pokemon) with the ring in a love ball, which is super cute! :D

[@Svithi.N.98]

Love ball should be changed to have increased catch rate if used on opposite gender pokemon regardless of the species making it actually useful. Maybe reduce the modifier a bit. (personally i thought that's how it always worked until today...😅)

[@jjtino19]

@@Svithi.N.98I think so too, considering how the move attract works in the games.

[@HotPocketM]

@@Svithi.N.98 It should be used increased if it's opposite gender but in the same breed group But I guess not alot of people are going to know what Pokémon is in each egg group

[@brytonjames6496]

You can use the love ball for finding a mate for your shiny lucario

[@CrystalGreymon]

​@@Svithi.N.98If they want it to be limiting, rather than species being the limitation, they should have it so it works on anything that Pokémon can breed with. Ignoring the Ditto Egg Group because that doesn't come across as very limiting.

[@justicetaylor3050]

The heal ball made me imagine a game that outright forces it's use case. "Pokemon Heal Ball Only" a post apocalypse version where poke centers and healing items are virtually all gone, and pokemon don't heal up in the box. Maybe a pokemon rouge like.

[@TwoHeadedMeerkat]

I think a cool buff for the Heal Ball would be to give it a fantastic catch-rate, maybe 4x, or even 4.5x, but only if the target is weakened and/or statused, and if it fails, it will instantly heal the target back to full. High-risk, high-reward kinda deal

[@AlicornGaia]

Does it heal back the pp too? Even then, it kinda becomes: Used struggle three times so it faints on struggle 4? Chuck a heal ball! Either it gets caught or it allows more struggle attempts.

[@TwoHeadedMeerkat]

@@AlicornGaia Even then, that'd be real nice to have. There's very few feelings worse than losing an encounter because it struggled itself to death

[@thedragonslayergamer8498]

My brother caught Yvaltal in a dive ball. It been a running joke, every time I encounter a legendary, I’ll use dive balls as a last resort, and they typically work!

[@haters3327]

I used a dive ball on chi yu on the same occasion except I did it as a quick ball replacement

[@adams0123]

I once caught G Moltres in a dive ball.

[@sauravtank8389]

i caught xerneas with 1 quick ball on the first time in pokemon x 🤭🤭

[@kylehumbert5735]

Dive ball Regirock. All I had left was dive balls

[@adams0123]

I also once caught a Groudon with a Pokeball. Wouldn't go in any of the others but liked the basic Pokeball. Which is insane on its own but when you realise the color combo works, made it extra cool.

[@lennyface8195]

7:29 Michael: "Trying to catch an early route pokemon with a level ball is like trying to kill a bug with a bazooka." Me: *_"I use buckshot, but you do you."_*

[@ultrawhitebread]

Both are good. Source: the Ministry of Truth. Now go spread some Managed Democracy!

[@alejandro_rodriguez_99]

Me meanwhile giving a bazooka to a kid to kill cockroaches in Earthbound (the kid also repaired the Bazooka)

[@TheRealBlazingDiamond]

Well, hey, the Bug-A-Salt sold well for a reason

[@keebs5780]

To bat for the Lure Ball, I mostly agree, but you did make the point that its easiest to get in Johto. In GSC Johto, the Net and Dive balls did not exist, so the Lure Ball has an actual use case.

[@darkdream4938]

when I was younger and playing through HeartGold, I caught Entei with a Love Ball. The same happened in Pokémon Shield, while catching a male Lapras in a Raid Battle, and I was using a male Toxicitry. Those funny instances made it become my favourite Pokéball!

[@AhmedHussain-ju6xd]

new player: "why should I buy ten pokeballs to get a premier ball, just get a great ball" old players: "Just do it"

[@inv_hana]

MUST HAVE A MULTIPLE OF TEN

[@TheKabuto90]

At this point it's just instinctual to buy in sets of 10, not even something I have to actively think about

[@Alexs23743]

Isn't the new player glad that since Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee, they can now buy 10 of ANY ball to get a Premier Ball? ^^

[@fadhilmulyono9230]

the Repeat Ball is also useful when trying to catch a Pokemon you want to use for battling but the first one you caught had a wrong nature (e.g. Adamant on a mostly special attacker, Modest on a mostly physical attacker, etc)

[@carlhirsch1179]

It is also great when you want to complete the unown dex

[@zikeibradley3472]

Or if you want to catch a legendary you already transferred from another game

[@Eva_the_Eevee]

Or shiny hunting a pokemon

[@boredbird_]

use a mint!

[@sanelu949]

@@boredbird_certain nature related berries don't work with mints iirc, which is only relevant for competitive strats

[@joshpohlner8716]

The heal ball actually came in really useful for me once. I was playing PokéMMO with two of my mates and we had a rule where we couldn't spend any money. All Pokéballs we used had been scrounged from bins, the floor or given to us directly by NPCs. We were at the desert route in Unova, and I had two or three Pokémon all of which were very low on health or had fainted, and I knew that the chances of me escaping every wild encounter on my way back to the Pokémon centre were very low, and I would most likely have lost regardless of whether I tried to run from every wild encounter or whether I tried to fight the rivals on the way to the next city. I also didn't have any revives or potions so healing on my own was out of the question. I decided to try and catch a Pokémon using a heal ball, since I had enough health to battle one Pokémon and if I could catch it first try, I would survive and have an insurance Pokémon. I ended up doing so with a Darumaka or a Sandile, both of which became valuable members of my team, and helped me to survive that route

[@AzraelThanatos]

Repeat Ball is also a major thing for competitive and going for things like rarer abilities... Also, Love Ball has other effects, or at least used to have it where the pokemon's starting friendship/love level which is useful for some of the pokemon that evolve with it

[@TheRedSmarty]

10:00 Though the Lure Ball was broken in Scarlet/Violet at launch, the bug was fixed at some point between versions 1.1.0 and 3.0.0 so it now has a 4x multiplier on Pokémon directly in the water.

[@aromanticfranziskavonkarma]

Has there _ever_ been a game where all of the apricorn balls worked as intended the entire life of the game?

[@MaidenOfAir]

@@aromanticfranziskavonkarmaNope! Maybe gen 10

[@awesomelink2347]

@@aromanticfranziskavonkarma USUM

[@silversalamence10]

I remember intentionally refusing to use Beast Balls on Ultra Beasts because I wanted to challenge myself... and respect the characteristics of the Ultra Beasts themselves.

[@Cicada2204]

I used a beast ball on a shiny trevenent.

[@wonthangsoop]

Heal ball: Don't worry! I'm gonna heal your newly caught pokemon friend so it's ready to party with the rest of your team! Every player in existence: It's not that deep fam..

[@dannyakadfate6771]

13:19 Actually the Moon Ball is even worse. Since it works ONLY on Pokémon that evolves via Moon Stone. So it would only work for Nidorino, Nidorina, Clefairy, Jigglypuff, Skitty and Munna. For their (pre-) evolutions it would be just a regular Poké Ball.

[@fadhilmulyono9230]

Munna can only have the boosted catch rate in Sw/Sh, while Skitty can only have the boosted catch rate in BD/SP. This is because these two Pokemon are not obtainable in any other games where the Apricorn Balls are available

[@Tree13433]

The best will always be the quick ball bc it’s Mikey’s channel colors and it’s easy to get the battle over with

[@darkcraftgaming497]

🎉:D

[@JustRandomLights]

Indeed

[@davidstratton696]

I’ve never had a quick ball work. To me it kinda sucks. Timer ball is way better. U can actually reduce the hp and give them a status condition.

[@Dawg347]

@@davidstratton696that is understandable, however there’s always a chance of a stray crit fainting a shiny Pokémon. And nobody wants that

[@_T1mo]

​@@Dawg347laughs in false swipe

[@641mamaluigi]

As for heal ball in scarlet & violet works decently here as Pokémon DO NOT get healed when they get sent to a box, heck even when you trade them they’re still just as injured as when you’ve caught it.

[@ericsevareid5072]

everytime you heal at the pokémon center it heals your party *and* your pc boxes

[@Venemofthe888]

They didn't heal in the box in sword and shield either I think

[@fadhilmulyono9230]

This applies to every Pokémon game released on the Switch that have Heal Balls and can access the boxes anywhere

[@daltoncarverxc]

The Love Ball should have had an 8x catch rate for any Pokémon in the same egg group as your active Pokemon. It wouldn’t have made it great, but it would at least be usable.

[@fadhilmulyono9230]

for me, it should be 8x catch rate for any Pokemon of the opposite gender from your active Pokemon

[@HackerDragon9999]

Ditto being in every egg group:

[@sugarcubegirl8292]

14:58 I use them for ascetics as I am a fairy type master! and they are more accessible than dream balls 😅

[@Orange-ti4bh]

Ikr even tho they kinda suck they’re still my fav

[@angelsartandgaming]

Same. I'll die on the Heal Ball Hill. They're useless Pokeballs but they're MY useless Pokeballs.

[@LordRemiem]

Fun fact: I was sure the Masterball applied a multiplier so high it skyrocketed the catch chance over the cap of 1 but... no, they went for the smart solution of bypassing the formula entirely 😊

[@sarahquinn6849]

I can only imagine that if it did work that way in gen 1 we could have easily had a 1 in 256 style glitch for the master ball, and that would be just such a kick in the teeth whenever it happened

[@skeleman5883]

From what I recall it used to work like that but nowadays, yeah it just bypasses the check.

[@s0lsticefr4]

I don't think that's the case: In the first 2 generations, the games use an algorithm (if, else, alongside some calculations) instead of a formula in gen 3+. This means that the first check is whenever the ball being used is a master ball as other balls acts differently. When making the formula for gen 3, they probably kept this check since it is the easiest way of doing it.

[@skeleman5883]

@s0lsticefr4 Okay, I double checked, it never could fail, but used to be a common misconception that it could in certain generations

[@cesargpfis]

​@@skeleman5883The thing is, for coding reasons, it does have a multiplier associated to it (a very high one, but not infinite), which is the misconception came from. But yeah, it has always just bypassed the formula.

[@princeraven4949]

A good thing with healballs would be for nuzlockes, it heals the pokemon just caught if one of your pokemon faints during the run through a large area. The ability to swap out a dead pokemon to the box and bring in a fully healed new pokemon, even as fodder, is an amazing ability

[@MK_mon]

but the fact that nintendo doesn't like nuzlockes to be happening kinda nullifies it on their side

[@shockthetoast]

​@@MK_mon The Pokémon Company stated that they didn't have an issue with normal Nuzlockes. They had an issue with people doing Nuzlockes randomizers, but it was the randomizers/modified ROMs they were objecting to.

[@MK_mon]

@@shockthetoast I mean that's what the pokemon company said after nintendo released the statement to cover themselves up after they got heavily trolled for either not realizing nuzlockes aren't necessarily randomizers or questioning something as stupid as a fan made rule that doesn't cause harm in any way and either way what I said that for was that nintendo and game freak apparently consider nuzlockes to be gory and hence they would never like to promote it

[@Shrikeswind]

Use case for the Love Ball: Shiny hunting low-BR Pokemon. While hunting, either bring two opposite-gendered Pokemon of the species you want, or just catch from the standards you run into while hunting. When you get the shiny, you do all the set up with your Sleep Swiper, then switch in Casanova and enjoy that literally guaranteed catch. Remember, Quick Ball is still taking into account health and status, so for a BR 25 Pokemon like Skarmory or Arctibax, you're looking at a 25% chance to catch with the Quick Ball, while it is, again, literally guaranteed with the Love Ball. While there _are_ Pokemon with rates low enough for this strategy to fail on, literally every single Pokemon with a low enough BR to be asleep at 1 HP and still dodge an 8x catch rate is either genderless or not found in the wild.

[@NerdySetsokam]

MandJTV: Heal ball is second to worse pokéball. Me: *proceeds to catch Pokémon with a heal ball*

[@13CrystalHeart]

I remember catching Raikou in a Gen2 Fast Ball, which would only have boosted odds with three select species, none of which were Raikou. Probably one of the luckiest catches that I've made.

[@Pokochi6699]

Doesn't that ball work on fleeing pokemon ? or was it just wonky in gen 2 ?

[@stinos24]

My luckiest catch is a ditto in a beast ball. (I was a child and didn’t know anything about pokéballs)

[@druidt8949]

​@@Pokochi6699Wonky in Gen 2. Because of a coding error, it only works on 3 pokemon (Grimer, Tangela and Magnemite). It completely ignores all other Pokemon it should have a boosted catch rate against

[@13CrystalHeart]

@@Pokochi6699 It was wonky in Gen2. It was intended to be good against all Pokemon that could flee, but due to a glitch, it was only effective on Magnemite, Grimer, and Tangela. (It was supposed to check three tables, Pokémon that have a 10% flee rate, those that have a 50% flee rate, and those that always flee. It only checked the 10%.)

[@carlhirsch1179]

​@@Pokochi6699it is supposed to but a glitch changes the pokemon it works on

[@vomitshot2896]

the heal ball description makes it sound WAY better than it actually is (i thought it healed pokemon after every battle CAUSE IT NEVER SPESIFIED i thought the heal ball was like equally good as an ultra ball until now cause it is missleading)

[@shadenox8164]

I think that one is on you, not the description.

[@DemiCape]

Yeah I think you simply read the description wrong.

[@DemiCape]

I always thought it just healed the pokemon after catching it. Which is why I never used it because I could just heal in pokemon center.

[@joseguadalupemartineztorre9702]

I thought the Heal Ball healed the Pokemon used to capture the other. Like if I have Party Pokemon out with near 0 PPs and Low HP while trying to catch Specific Pokemon, the Heal Ball would heal my Party Pokemon after a successful catch on something that I don't have yet but wasn't looking for. Like a quick Full Restore+ Max Elixir for those long stretches of searching

[@noicon85]

I think the other thing about the heal balls is, if I'm not mistaken, the pokemon will be healed automatically if transferred to your pc starting in Gen 2. So if you catch a pokemon and don't put it in your party right then it will heal anyway.

[@jamesmiller9018]

Mike buddy you forgot one. The Premier Ball. Not the most useful as it's just a regular PokeBall and it costs 2,000 to get one since you need to buy 10 balls to get it.

[@shockthetoast]

If you just want premier balls for the aesthetics, then you can sell the 10 pokeballs and get 1,000 back. So it would only cost 1,000. If you wanted to keep the pokeballs anyways, then it's free.

[@harrisontownsend910]

Yeah, it's a buy 10 get the 11th free deal, so even though it doesn't have any modifiers, a free pokeball is a free pokeball.

[@LilZumi281]

Idea on how to buff the Love Ball: Reduce the catch rate from 8x to 6x Change the requirements of getting the boost from same species and opposite gender to any Pokémon in the same egg group as your active mon.

[@addison_v_ertisement1678]

"Idea on how to buff it" *immediately nerfs it*

[@TheLastSane1]

@@addison_v_ertisement1678 Making it usable at all would be a huge buff. It could have a x16 catch rate, no one is going to use it due to the incredibly niche conditions that its catch rate would apply. Otherwise its just a normal pokeball but pink. So yeah x6 is still very high and egg group makes the amount of catchable pokemon skyrocket.

[@Alex_192.]

FINALLY THE LOVE BALL IS NO LONGER HOMOPHOBIC

[@HackerDragon9999]

Very good

[@gzs6885]

how would it work with ditto

[@ShineDark]

I think it’d be fun if the games introduced a mechanic where you can switch what kind of Poké ball your Pokémon is in after you catch them. That way, you can have whatever aesthetic on the ball you want.

[@error9778]

I hope they don’t do that so my decades of suffering to catch pokemon in thematic but ultimately worthless pokeballs doesn’t go to waste.

[@haters3327]

As long as it doesn't allow it on master balls then it should be fine

[@aguy2735]

Some rom hacks do this and it is nice sometimes

[@modelomegatyler]

@@error9778imagine not wanting something nice but ultimately pointless just because you want others to suffer like you have.

[@miikaroos3809]

​@@error9778 Agreed. The games are easy enough already.

[@__-be1gk]

"It's not a challenge you can get better at, you're just making yourself less lucky!" So every single challenge in Pokemon

[@AuraKnight8]

3:30 that’s why I always use a repeat ball to catch more of the same Pokémon I would like to have including what you mentioned about it.

[@esthersmith8317]

I hope they add a feature where you can change the design of the pokeball after you catch a pokemon with it, like for example catching a clefa with a quick ball but then changing it to a more fitting ball like a love ball

[@miikaroos3809]

Nah. Let's leave at least some challenge in modern games.

[@enderwalkgang]

How it that a challah ​@@miikaroos3809

[@casualchaofan5364]

That only challenges those who want specific pokemon in specific pokebals. Otherwise, it's entirely useless. @@miikaroos3809

[@maxthullen6408]

It’s crazy because Coromon (a surprisingly good Pokémon like game) already has this feature

[@harrisontownsend910]

​@miikaroos3809 that wouldn't change the difficulty. The difficult part of catching the pokemon is over, so there's no harm as long as this feature is balanced right.

[@jameskeeling5278]

No "Greetings Pokéfans" Something doesn't feel right...

[@netheriteingot6044]

“Repeat Ball is not worth the money” Competitive Players: “Say that again. I dare you.”

[@ItsJustTrevor]

Unrelated, but the Timer Ball is genuinely underrated. I actually found it to be really helpful with catching hard to get Pokemon like Munchlax on a GBA ROM hack that I've been addicted to recently (Sword and Shield Ultimate GBA)

[@j_the_kid]

"as tenth of a good" literally had me crying of laughter 😂😂😂 I love it when Mike gets so mad he loses his grip on the English language.

[@AceAviations2]

Another case for the Repeat Ball, in OR/AS when hunting for Hidden Abilities, considering that the DexNav works better if you've already caught said species, which means it works in that situation. Also the Net Ball is apparently even better than the Dive Ball and can apply to pretty much ANY Pokémon, apparently using the move Soak to turn it into a Water Type is enough to get the boosted catch rate.

[@nousername191]

Ain't no way soak works...... Wow, just wow.

[@helixsol7171]

Soak coming in clutch

[@TaLeng2023]

I haven't crossed my mind that it take into consideration type changes during the battle.

[@nousername191]

@@TaLeng2023honestly, I had assumed that it wouldn't work. I'm still stunned to hear that it does.

[@inv_hana]

Who has soak alr?

[@ladyphantoms6716]

Today was also a good lesson in what certain catch rates are. I knew some balls increased catching chances, but this was a good breakdown on HOW the catch rates worked. Learned something new

[@Spiney09]

Oh my gosh, the ultra beast 0.1 thing makes so much sense. I played Sun and Moon with the challenge of only using pokeballs. When I got to the ultra beasts, that challenge remained. I caught all of them in default pokeballs and it was a nightmare.

[@genkaiba15]

Mikey: Bugs don't tend to be on the water... Surskit: Am I a joke to y- Mikey: YES.

[@AydenOnPawz]

Isn't surskit also water?

[@ultraomenmurat9937]

​@@AydenOnPawzit do be like that sometimes

[@metayoshi1712]

Dewpider Wimpod I think Net Ball stacks on them to where it has 100% catch rate no matter what.

[@AydenOnPawz]

@@metayoshi1712 aren't both of those also water types?

[@E-102GammaMKII]

​@@metayoshi1712 If it doesn't, it SHOULD.

[@ekgguy727]

The only case I could see the love ball being practical is ensuring a catch on pokemon with specific gender evolutions (ie. Combee, Salandit, Snorunt, Ralts). But even then, the difficulty with such mons is their encounter rates, not so much the difficulty of the catch itself.

[@castironpan7967]

Shiny Salazzle in a love ball sounds epic to be fair

[@ReptilianTeaDrinker]

@@castironpan7967 YES! lol

[@brianlance8263]

Eevee. If you start with a female Eevee, you have a seven in eight chance of having the opposite gender show up.

[@alishac5540]

@@castironpan7967 I kept a male Salandit on hand just so I could use a Love Ball when I ever found a shiny female Salandit. I swapped that male out for a shiny male when I found it first before a shiny female. I've even got a screenshot of the two shinies in battle staring at each other like Romeo and Juliet. lol

[@Dessert_And_Tea]

Now that I think of it, I caught a Lapras with a Beast Ball in Sword and Shield. Wow, I must've been really lucky.

[@Arak_Drakoniz]

I love the beast ball for its aesthetics and my proudest catch is Kyurem in US/UM. Black Kyurem coming out of a beast ball is the coolest thing ever.

[@apocrypha5363]

They should introduce a Pokémon that evolves with a Burn Heal, just as an Easter egg for those who know.

[@Midnight-hz3ep]

A fire type that’s constantly on fire until you use the burn heal, at which point it is an extinguished version. Another grass/fire type, resembling a campfire?

[@luisfradique2031]

It would be funny, not gonna happen

[@TheRealBlazingDiamond]

​@@Midnight-hz3epAbility: Forest Fire -Inflicts Burning status effect whenever this Pokémon is in play.

[@fadhilmulyono9230]

it was a coding error, not intentional. I think the developers forgot to change the ID for the Moon Stone because they assigned the ID for Burn Heal in Gen 2 which is the same ID for Moon Stone in Gen 1

[@apocrypha5363]

@@fadhilmulyono9230 yep, but I think it would be cool if they referenced that coding error in a fun way that only the big fans would get. ☺️

[@NicholePV]

I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear you use the phrase, “could not care less” correctly in the intro, thank you lol

[@TheQuashingoftheTub]

T'was cathartic.

[@rvmaika5815]

You know how I’d rework the Heal and Love Balls? The Heal Ball would get an increased catch modifier if the target has a status condition for it to heal, and the Love Ball would work on any Pokemon with a compatible Egg Group to your active Pokemon.

[@jakohara6789]

This video was far more helpful than I initially thought going in, thanks Mikey

[@JCXP123]

The apricorn pokeballs are sooo specific sometimes it's hilarious 😂 I will say that I actually used a love ball when I found a shiny female mudkip in SV

[@Svithi.N.98]

I liked using these special apricorn balls in SV for 7* raids since capture is guaranteed. Makes it feel special

[@TheKabuto90]

Really ALL of the apricorn balls, except maybe friend, should have been on here. For being one of the defining features of the johto games they are absolutely worthless outside of aesthetics. Heavy is an easy pick for the absolute worst just for being hard to obtain and absolutely worthless for 99% of players whether casual or otherwise, this on top of black being one of the rarer apricorns to even find.

[@kpopgamingstudios]

I used the Friend Ball for Ogerpon. 😊

[@diostaku2]

I actually tried to use the Beast Ball to catch the other Miraidon because I thought it would look cool on it, but I gave up after 3 months of trying. In the end I used it with Terapagos and I really feel like it fits him perfectly.☺

[@Svithi.N.98]

used the Masterball on miraidon just because the colours fit with it perfectly. 😅😂

[@Svithi.N.98]

Beast ball definitely suits terapagos. Many ppl i saw playing the indigo disk decided to use the beast ball for it.

[@diostaku2]

@@Svithi.N.98 Yeah, I also ended up using the Master Ball because of that, I mean, since Mewtwo there hasn't been a legendary that better suited the aesthetics of that pokeball. I just wanted to be more original, even if I only ended up wasting time.

[@OriginalGameteer]

​@@Svithi.N.98 I remember I used a Dream Ball for my Terrapagos As a nod to the common Paradox mon theory

[@CorynSilver]

Repeat Ball is one of the few balls I actually use for its utility and genuinely like the design of. I typically catch my shinies in Premeir Balls, but as someone who hates the design of the Quick Ball, the Repeat Ball is always my happy go-to for a random catch

[@rictusetdragon]

Something that makes the apicorn balls even worse, is that the modifier isn't on the total catch rate, but on the pokémon catch rate. Meaning that if the pokémon has already the maximum catch rate already (of 255), using a apicorn ball or a regular pokéball is the same. That's why apicorn ball boosts are so outrageous.

[@mangocad189]

The heal ball was eye opening, back when I was younger I used it for everything, especially legendaries since until today I thought that it got boosted catch rates on unhealthy Pokémon (low HP + status) so I’d always paralyze and then get a legendary low and throw heal balls which usually caught it very fast. But now that I know that all it does is heal, I guess I was lucky

[@insulttothehumanrace3807]

Against many of the Legendaries, you probably were just very lucky. But that would be an interesting way to change the Heal Ball's function too. It would make it a cool contrast to the Quick Ball. (Quick Ball only works right at the start of an encounter; your changed Heal Ball would only work after a lot of effort to weaken the target)

[@solaris9426]

I remember the "missed the Pokemon" mechanic in Gen 1, which was just Gen 1's version of capturing the Pokemon and it immediately breaking out, which is extremely common on hard-to-catch Pokemon like the Legendaries.

[@veteranJMacfan]

I hated this so much... I experienced this with the legendary birds and you had to inflict them with some sort of status to make the ball even reach it.

[@tarndarckblack318]

I still remember the joy i had capturing necrozma on moon with a beast ball without reloading the game, best moments of my pokemon play throughs by far

[@teddiesigma1446]

I’d love to see a video talking about your favorite pokeballs for aesthetics- color, style, opening animation etc

[@hondaaccord1399]

This list brings up a good point about balls: They're super cool looking, but almost completely screw people over if they're going for aesthetics but the balls don't work against what ball the catcher thinks matches the mon. Basically, GameFREAK needs to add a ball swapping function.

[@miikaroos3809]

No, they don't. The games are too easy already. Leave at least a little challenge in them.

[@hondaaccord1399]

@@miikaroos3809 What are you talking about?

[@miikaroos3809]

​@@hondaaccord1399 We can already change almost everything about our Pokémon these days, so let's not overdo it. I don't want to be able to swap their Balls after capture, because it would take all the fun out of it. Hell, I fear that some day we might actually be able to change their genders or turn regular Pokémon into shinies.

[@hondaaccord1399]

@@miikaroos3809 okay, but what takes the fun away from the people who want to do all that work the hard way? Like. Seriously, what makes it bad?

[@TheRealBlazingDiamond]

​@@hondaaccord1399well, at that point, how can you tell who went through the effort to use a good looking ball on a Pokémon? Plus, it would mean that you'd never use the Luxury Ball in battle, because you can just swap it, making it's give-and-take function just a straight upgrade.

[@lebulbizarreduquebec8941]

Mikey thrash talking fictional balls is so captivating

[@NovumDoesObservation]

I had to laugh at the Breloom B-Roll because Mikey managed to miss a huge upgrade you can get in the DLC because of the preconceived notion that the BP stuff is purely cosmetic (throwing style, clubroom music, etc) and to get the starters in the wild. Like, you can upgrade the "focus" function to show the gender, potential marks, and even if it's oddly sized! Seeing him battling Breloom after Breloom when he could have just upgraded and ran around just looking at them instead is hilarious to me. I love this video. I can imagine Mikey as an IRL Pokemon Professor, simultaneously humorous and educational, answering questions and providing insight on topics I've never considered until he talks about it.

[@TheBigHerman007]

I love the Repeat Ball in S&V because it's so easy to see things like IVs, nature's, and abilities right after you catch them I just farm a dozen or so of a pokemon I want on my team until I get one I like. But in older games I agree it felt very situational

[@GZebra-bg1vw]

7:30 Blastoise was like “want to repeat that”

[@generalwd40]

The Heal Ball, is only good in challenge when you play without heal, except the few mandatory ones.

[@dreamfirefight9456]

Or nuzlockes.

[@JayceCH.]

The Heal Ball is good in dungeons in old games. Better than Pokeball.

[@Shinotheblackcat]

The funny thing about the nest ball is that I've used it to catch Rayquaza in oras(because the color scheme matches)

[@morrigankasa570]

Repeat Ball is useful for breeding certain pokemon. Ever since breeding was introduced in Gen 2 I always try to only use Pokemon in battle that I got/bred at lvl 5 or less (exception being Legendaries/Mythicals).

[@HackerDragon9999]

3:37 The repeat ball could be VERY useful for catching all the Eeveelutions, since you need eight Eevees and Eevees are very hard to catch. Too bad I only play Legends Arkoos XD

[@thememeguy2195]

I remember catching an Azelf with a repeat ball because i thought it was the same pokemon as Uxie, which i had previously caught.

[@Neon_Henchman]

I kinda love the 1x Pokéballs like the Heal Ball, just because it gives me more options for Aesthetics, because I like to challenge myself with the base Catch Rate, and so the Beast Ball being the worst for common Pokémons sounds to be up my alley even if it's not pleasing to look at.

[@logicfoxgaming1411]

14:08 that “three headed dragon” meme is goofy fanart of “King Ghidorah” from “Godzilla: King of The Monsters.” For some reason, they decided to give each of Ghidorah’s heads a personality whereas in past depictions they acted as a whole. Because of this, the left head (which has been named Kevin) is sometimes seen doing its own thing, hence the goofy art.

[@mcknightmareb4u494]

I swear to god, the reason they made Necrozma's catchrate 255 (the highest it can be) in Ultra Sun and Moon is so people could use the Beast Ball on it

[@addison_v_ertisement1678]

Why would they?

[@mcknightmareb4u494]

@@addison_v_ertisement1678 Because Necrozma is kind of an Ultra Beast but not really, so a lot of people might want to catch in a Beast Ball

[@JermTheWerm123]

I do wish the Beast Ball had the same catch rate as a Pokéball when you’re using it on a regular Pokémon. It still wouldn’t be great, but a lot better than the 1/10 catch rate it has now.

[@johndesenhista4381]

I will never forget when i was playing Omega Ruby (i was a big noob at the time), and i manage to get to fight Groudon, i threw 2 Ultra balls, didnt work, the for no reason i threw a Dive Ball, and he decided to stay on it, the ground pokemon with fire moves, fire aesthetic, red colour decided to stay on the "water poke ball"

[@GiratinaofFury]

Some ideas that could make some of these balls more viable. Nest Ball - Boosted catch rate if the Pokemon is of the same egg group as the Pokemon fighting it, regardless of gender or species. Lure Ball - Boosted catch rate if the Pokemon was attracted by moves like Sweet Scent, or by items like Honey (assuming these become field options again in the future). Moon Ball - Boosted catch rate at night, dependent on Lunar cycle. Heal Ball - No boosted catch rate, but will have a chance of curing status effects when outside of battle. Love Ball - Boosted catch rate if the Pokemon is of a different gender to the Pokemon fighting it, regardless of species.

[@francishong7948]

This video finally taught me how each modifier actually works after I spent decades catching merely based on color coordination and not caring the slightest bit about efficiency

[@crimsoneagle8755]

I will never not hear “Gotta catch the mall,” like you’re in need of last-minute Christmas gifts.

[@joooja]

I love that it switched between the dive ball and repeat ball thumbnails, very cool

[@pitbullseatkids2682]

Thank you for explaining the dive ball, I honestly thought it worked on all water types regardless.

[@Aghul]

Me, petting my shiny Umbreon that I went out of my way for to catch in a Moonball: "...I see your arguments and have elected to ignore them."

[@PedroHenrique-mk5zi]

0:16 Hey, that's me. Always thought people cared WAY too much about which pokemon goes in each ball

[@JCXP123]

I only care if it's a shiny 😅 If there isn't one that matches colour scheme, it has to go in a premier ball or a luxury ball 😂 But obv that's just me so you do you ^-^

[@spin6872]

Amen bro

[@TSLstudio2010]

Same I prefer the normal pokeball 😂

[@frankcaggiano8282]

99% of the time it's gotta be a premier ball for me.

[@dawnsbuneary]

Me too. All I care about is catching the pokemon.

[@user-ts9wl2js3e]

Michael: Lure Balls are useless. Me: *awkwardly looks at the Palkia I caught in one*

[@Springtime.92]

Love your videos man. Just an idea I had that I’d love to see a video of (and haven’t seen from you or any other poketuber), how about a video on the unused Elite Four types? I think it would be sick to see a potential lineup of Normal, Electric, Grass, and Fairy Elite Four members. I know Lacey technically counts for Fairy, but the BB elite four doesn’t strike me as “official”, ya know? Anyway keep up the awesome content man. I appreciate your work.

[@SuperGamefreak18]

The nest and level balls have one niche use that rare occasion when illegal level Pokémon exists like the Salamance you could find in the alola games

[@deepseamuse]

I was going to say that usually special balls like these aren't available early enough to really take advantage of that... but apparently the nest ball is one of the few that is. With the unfortunate exceptions of FRLG and HGSS (imagine having something that benefits from low levels in the post game, god), it's generally accessible by the third gym, which isn't too bad. Heck, it's available in Alola right before you can encounter that underleveled salamence!

[@user-jd5zt4of8q]

@@deepseamuse Alola also has the highly annoying wild Beldums with 3% catch rate...

[@twobladedswordsandmauls2120]

​@@user-jd5zt4of8q You are giving Beldum too much credit. While it has a catch rate of 3, that is out of 255. This means it has a catch rate of 1.6%, not 3%.

[@user-jd5zt4of8q]

@@twobladedswordsandmauls2120 true LOL - the comment was written at 2 AM and I was very sleepy

[@nightlightdragon1032]

A quick mention with the heal ball I wanna say, if you are deep in a dungeon and wanna use that pokemon, most players have an abundance of potions so unless the person doesnt want to waste a potion then that makes the heal ball even more useless.

[@tarotreadingsbysteven8545]

Quick, ultra, dusk, net, dive and timer balls are always my go to's for a first time play through adding repeat once I've completed the Pokedex or the majority of it

[@polocatfan]

important note that wasn't brought up. Starting in Gen 8 the Pokémon Storage System doesn't heal Pokémon sent to it, so the heal ball technically was buffed in Gen 8.

[@lololrestrix7654]

fun fact: the heavy ball is the only pokeball that (in a certain context) can never work at catching a pokemon. due to a glitch in sun and moon specifically, the heavy ball will always fair to catch a pokemon whose weight is less than 100 kgs and whose catch rate is equal to or less than 20. this means that is was impossible to catch beldum and the guardian deities in heavy balls.

[@insulttothehumanrace3807]

This is not due to a glitch, but due to the weird way Heavy Ball works... Unlike other balls, Heavy Ball does not have a multiplier. Instead, it adds a flat number to the catch rate, and whatever that value is depends on the Pokemon's weight. Pokemon weighing less than 220 lb/100 kg actually had a - 20 add-on, making Pokemon with an already low catch rate (like Beldum, which is JUST under that weight limit) have a negative catch rate, thus being completely impossible to capture with a Heavy Ball.

[@Ralphlovesanddoesballet]

Mikey knows his balls very well 💀 Edit: OMG THIS IS THE FASTEST IVE EVER GOTTEN LIKES.

[@Bored_Story]

Very true

[@thet-rexguy2167]

🤨

[@my-lady-greensleeves5831]

LMAO

[@a_ropegirl140]

?

[@westonshorts912]

He wishes he knew drowzees

[@kalejuice5701]

The explanation for moon ball blew my mind, because I always associated it with Teddiursa (note they *both* have a yellow waning crescent symbol). So not only is this how I learned that Teddiursa doesn't evolve via moon stone, but the moon ball (which was introduced that same generation) wasn't even implemented with it in mind. WHAT?!

[@ZoeLycan]

I love the aesthetics of the Nest Ball & Safari Ball. I really wish there was a cosmetic option to change the look of the ball of your Pokémon. (Keeping the info of the original ball)