Does anyone else still use the Master Ball?

Arjay · Feb 9, 2016

I hardly use it anymore because I find most of the Legendaries in Gen 6 are fairly straightforward to catch.

I think I read somewhere that they were made easier to catch because the game progression requires you to do so. But for me the Master Ball has been rendered obsolete and redundant in the modern games.

I saved my Master Ball in X for Xerneas and in AS for Rayquaza, then caught Xerneas with an Ultra Ball after 3 tries and with his health in the yellow, and Rayquaza I ended up catching with a Great Ball. Then immediately after Rayquaza the Deoxys battle started up and I thought HOLY **** DEOXYS I'M GLAD I SAVED MY MASTER BALL ASDFGJZXSVCBGETFUHGRWHTNL!!!!!!111. Turns out, I caught it first time with a cheeky Quick Ball.

Spoiler:

Now in most playthroughs of X/Y/OR/AS I end up post game with a Master Ball still in my bag and nothing worthwhile catching with it. Admittedly, I sometimes use it on Deoxys because it's just less hassle to get it over with.

Does anyone else still use their Master Ball and if so, what did you use it on?

pkmin3033 · Feb 9, 2016

I've had this awful habit of hoarding Master Balls since Gen III. After the fiasco with roaming Legendary dogs in Gen II, my mother and I devised a strategy to hoard them across games and only use them on Legendaries we didn't have a copy of elsewhere, so we could use them on the roamers if we needed to and save ourselves several hours of frustration. The stockpile of Master Balls just kept on growing.

I'd always try and catch the Legendaries without using it first anyway, but I have very little patience for RNGs. Catch rates have always irritated me.

Oblox · Feb 9, 2016

I tend to use my master ball for the games main legendary and thats it really. I generally prefer catching in luxury balls though.

Hiatus · Feb 9, 2016

I do, but only to capture roaming legendaries. Some of them could be quite difficult, and I feel it's better to not go through with any of the trouble and catch them straightforward.

LilyGardy · Feb 9, 2016

I do but I don't use them for Mascot Legendaries.

In X I used it on Zapdos even though it was stationary. In the same game I caught Zygarde with a Heal Ball.

In Alpha Sapphire I used my Master Ball on a Shiny Female Ralts which is now a Gardevoir. I was worried it would Teleport away otherwise.

White 2 gives you two Master Balls. One during the story and one after defeating Colress in the Post Game. So far I haven't used either.

Arjay · Feb 9, 2016

Actually, yeah roaming Legendaries is a good point. I would use it for the roaming Legendaries in previous generations. But the first time I encountered Moltres in X I didn't know it would flee instantly so my initial excitement and gladness that I still had my Master Ball was quickly followed by confusion, realisation and frustration. In that order. {XD}

mew_nani · Feb 9, 2016

I... think I still have a Master Ball in my copy of Y. It's one of those things that's just too awesome to use; I keep thinking there will be something else later down the road I'll need it for and I just never use it. The only games I do use it are Pokemon Red and Blue, and that's because you can get as many as you want if you know what you're doing.

khaozz · Feb 9, 2016

I use my Master Ball on Mewtwo, since it matches Mewtwo really well. It even has the M on it. Otherwise, I usually never use it unless I find a Shiny.

illumine · Feb 10, 2016

You don't have to avoid using a Master Ball, it's not necessarily looked down upon. I mean, an Ultra Ball is alright, but just because its name sounds snazzy, you shouldn't always trust it.

That said, it's true that legendaries have become increasingly decentred and slightly anonymous as the series had progressed (do you ever wonder if people here might actually have a problem with saying 'legendary'? Perhaps this is why they like Mew.), as for instance with the first series having a fairly straightforward structure with Mewtwo being important, and then the legendary birds, then the next one just having two legendaries which were separated considerably, and then the 'dogs' as they were known, but pretty much just an assortment like that of other Pokémon, and finally a slight superfluity of them over the recent games. As such using such a thing might not seem to go far enough in being clearly related to the Pokémon captured. It might seem to make things slightly unnecessary, so it seems reasonable to catch them normally, but usually if you felt they were important enough to catch manually, then you might just use a Master Ball. But if you insist, I'm sure there's a ghost somewhere that would like to discuss this 'not using a Master Ball' trend?

mew_nani · Feb 10, 2016

illumine said:
You don't have to avoid using a Master Ball, it's not necessarily looked down upon. I mean, an Ultra Ball is alright, but just because its name sounds snazzy, you shouldn't always trust it.

That said, it's true that legendaries have become increasingly decentred and slightly anonymous as the series had progressed (do you ever wonder if people here might actually have a problem with saying 'legendary'? Perhaps this is why they like Mew.), as for instance with the first series having a fairly straightforward structure with Mewtwo being important, and then the legendary birds, then the next one just having two legendaries which were separated considerably, and then the 'dogs' as they were known, but pretty much just an assortment like that of other Pokémon, and finally a slight superfluity of them over the recent games. As such using such a thing might not seem to go far enough in being clearly related to the Pokémon captured. It might seem to make things slightly unnecessary, so it seems reasonable to catch them normally, but usually if you felt they were important enough to catch manually, then you might just use a Master Ball. But if you insist, I'm sure there's a ghost somewhere that would like to discuss this 'not using a Master Ball' trend?

I think it's less "there's too many legendaries" and more "I CAN'T use this what if I run into a Raikou and it's shiny and has perfect IVs and AUGH!" Master Balls fall into the same catagory as Megalixirs and Sacred Ash; it's really awesome, but there's only a few of them. As a result, a lot of people, including myself, just plain can't use them out of fear we might need it later if we do. The main exception to this are roaming legendaries because they're a pain to catch but even there you're hosed because there's usually more than one of them.

Princess Diana · Feb 10, 2016

I've never used my Master Ball because I think they're the worst looking PokeBall of them all. Truly hideous.

Kikaito plush · Feb 10, 2016

I only used it on roaming legends as they are an pain to catch.

Sheep · Feb 10, 2016

I end up saving it thinking I'll use it for a more important battle.. and then that never happens lol. That and I like catching legendaries with other Poké Balls since a Master Ball is pretty cheap and doesn't look as good (imo, picky picky). They'll just end up gathering dust unless it's for a roamer since I haaate dealing with those. Too many bad experiences with those legendary dogs. x.x

Dedenne1 · Feb 10, 2016

I keep it for an emergency and half the time i dont even use it i mean the roaming pokemon i never had a problem with except thundurus..... but besides that not much of a problem besides rayquaza that was one of those emergencies ahah

Melody · Feb 11, 2016

Generally I'm one to not believe in wasting the noble Master Ball on a common pokemon normally. However I have found myself in situations where I was forced to encounter legendaries before naturally receiving the Master Ball...so when that happens I may use it on something that's likely to escape. But typically speaking; I don't aim for 100% completion of the game without the aid of cheats...so unless I have infinite money and items it's not a big deal what I use the Master Ball on if all the decent legendary Pokemon are captured and no roaming ones exist to be caught.

Imperator161 · Feb 11, 2016

I don't generally use my master ball these days, as it tends to be unnecessary. I do like to use master balls for roaming Pokemon, though. Actually, I think I used my master ball on a stationary legendary in AS for the first time in years (Kyogre, because I wanted to reset for good IVs at the time of the cutscene [without trying to faint it and come back], and I got really sick of the low catch rate mixed with the cut scenes over and over again after a while).

Drayton · Feb 12, 2016

I have the habit of using masterball on any mascots and not saving things like roaming dogs because I knew the catching would be beneficial and master-ball saving on certain legendary.

BakingBluePotatoe · Feb 12, 2016

I hoard them all away for the odd chance htat I run into a shiny that might teleport/self destruct or something. or a Roamer, if the game in question has one.

Evyl · Feb 13, 2016

On the first playthrough, I reserve it for the mascot, usually. If it has a decreased catch rate to something silly, I'll throw Premier or PokeBalls until I get it.
Like when I can't be bothered to try and catch the mascot and I need to catch it for story, I just Master Ball away.

Xherdan · Feb 13, 2016

The only Pokemon i have ever used a Master Ball in was Giratina, in Platinum, in the Distortion World. Of course, the Lake Trio made me spend over 100 Ultra balls, but still. Giratina takes the cake, it's just too hard to catch.

Does anyone else still use the Master Ball?

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