[Theory] The button, the size, the confusing pokéball

[moon]

The button on the pokéball. What does it really do? I find this vexing me. I wrote a text about a girl making the pokeballs go large from their miniature size by pressing the button, but can't it also have something to do with when a pokemon is called out or captured? I remember seeing Ash pressing the button now and then in the anime, but I never understood its true function O.o

Anybody knows how the pokeball really works? With the button and size, especially now, not the usual "what does the pokeball look like on the inside" discussion.

 

[IggyKoopa]

The canon is really inconsistent about it from what I've seen, so it's really up to each person to decide how it works for the purposes of fanfiction and stuff. In my opinion, when I write about it:

- Press the button while it's small, and it becomes large
- Press the button while it's large, and it releases the Pokémon
- It automatically becomes small when a Pokémon is recalled (I don't remember that ever actually happening, but it makes sense to me)
- Double-tap the button while it's large to make it small (yeah, I completely made that up, but hey, how else are you gonna do it)

 

[Wicked3DS]

The canon is really inconsistent about it from what I've seen, so it's really up to each person to decide how it works for the purposes of fanfiction and stuff. In my opinion, when I write about it:

- Press the button while it's small, and it becomes large
- Press the button while it's large, and it releases the Pokémon
- It automatically becomes small when a Pokémon is recalled (I don't remember that ever actually happening, but it makes sense to me)
- Double-tap the button while it's large to make it small (yeah, I completely made that up, but hey, how else are you gonna do it)

I think everything you said is right, and I even think what you made up makes sense. The thing is, I'm pretty sure I've seen Ash press the button to make the Pokéball smaller when he was switching out too, so it doesn't make much sense. Does the Pokéball know what context he's pressing the button for when it is large? It's very confusing.

 

[stp]

I'm pretty sure that the button changes the Poke Ball between large and small just by pressing it once, according to Bulbapedia.