Age 32
Male
United Kingdom
Seen 3 Weeks Ago
Posted December 13th, 2022
505 posts
8.2 Years
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?
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.
Age 41
Male
UK
Seen July 9th, 2021
Posted November 20th, 2019
750 posts
8.6 Years
I tend to use my master ball for the games main legendary and thats it really. I generally prefer catching in luxury balls though.
Pokemon Breeder (2000+ Eggs and counting)
3DS Living National Pokedex: 807/807
Main Series : Gen 1: R/B/Y/Y-VC, Gen 4: SS, Gen 5: W/B2, Gen 6: X/Y/OR Gen 7: Su/Mo/USu
2DS XL Friend code: 3325 - 8383 - 2146 IGN: Nick

LilyGardy

The Flowering Pokemon

Female
Celadon Gym
Seen 2 Days Ago
Posted January 28th, 2023
4,476 posts
7.8 Years
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.
Currently playing - Omega Ruby Grass Monotype
Age 32
Male
United Kingdom
Seen 3 Weeks Ago
Posted December 13th, 2022
505 posts
8.2 Years
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

Pokécommunity's Licensed Tree Exorcist

Female
Far Lands
Seen May 28th, 2019
Posted August 25th, 2018
1,839 posts
13.4 Years
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.

I support:

R.I.P Isaac J. Southerland Jr.
1946 - 2017

khaozz

Peace sells, but who's buying?

Male
Seen November 26th, 2018
Posted November 26th, 2018
3,199 posts
9.8 Years
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.

Name: Shadow
Adopt one yourself! @Pokémon Orphanage

"The circumstances of ones' birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are."
-Mewtwo


Male
Obscure cities, that are dark.
Seen July 4th, 2016
Posted July 4th, 2016
611 posts
8.5 Years
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?
When it dawns that Keats' idea of 'negative capability' is basically reducible to the public perception of Lucario.


mew_nani

Pokécommunity's Licensed Tree Exorcist

Female
Far Lands
Seen May 28th, 2019
Posted August 25th, 2018
1,839 posts
13.4 Years
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.

I support:

R.I.P Isaac J. Southerland Jr.
1946 - 2017
Female
Seen April 18th, 2022
Posted April 18th, 2022
532 posts
12.7 Years
I've never used my Master Ball because I think they're the worst looking PokeBall of them all. Truly hideous.
rip lady diana
people's princess
gone but never forgotten

Sheep

She/Her
Australia
Seen 4 Hours Ago
Posted 15 Hours Ago
39,267 posts
16.6 Years
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

Changing Seasons~

Age 24
Non-binary
Mewni~
Seen September 30th, 2021
Posted March 4th, 2018
6,454 posts
9.6 Years
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
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Discord

Melody

Banned

Female
Cuddling those close to me
Seen March 4th, 2018
Posted March 2nd, 2018
6,459 posts
18.6 Years
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

Seen February 5th, 2023
Posted July 31st, 2020
1,415 posts
14.7 Years
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).
Diamond FC: 1504 2172 1147
White FC: 1721 2860 5156
3DS XL FC (X): 2466-2669-5197

Qibli

Motorcycle Dragon

Non-binary
Seen 3 Days Ago
Posted 2 Weeks Ago
1,794 posts
9.8 Years
I have the habit of using [b]masterball[b] 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.
Post Sig coming soon.
♥Pair: Starrywindy♥ |

BakingBluePotatoe

The Red Death Alchemist

Age 28
Female
Catatonia
Seen March 28th, 2016
Posted February 12th, 2016
2,279 posts
15.8 Years
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.

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Potato Buddy

Male
Junkertown
Seen April 17th, 2018
Posted December 1st, 2017
261 posts
9.3 Years
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

Bad at Good Games

Male
That one non-spanish country surrounded by other spanish ones
Seen July 22nd, 2021
Posted July 16th, 2019
363 posts
7.5 Years
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.

Currently playing Pokémon Blaze Black/SoulSilver
Next up are Pokemon LeafGreen, VoltWhite 2, probably X, then either US or UM.
Seen April 5th, 2017
Posted July 2nd, 2016
71 posts
9.4 Years
I haven't used a Master Ball in ages! I just like having all my Pokemon in regular Poke Balls. It makes me feel better inside. Also I think the Master Ball looks ugly.

I think the last time I used a Master ball was for catching Giratina in Pokemon Platinum, when I first played it. That thing was a pain to catch!

Hikamaru

Age 30
Female
Australia
Seen January 24th, 2019
Posted September 4th, 2018
50,214 posts
12.2 Years
I often used mine on a legendary mascot, but in Alpha Sapphire I decided to catch Kyogre the hard way and left my Master Ball for Deoxys.
Gone forever for personal reasons.
Visit my Tumblr page if you wish to contact me.

http://daikenkki.tumblr.com/

Keiran

[b]Rock Solid[/b]

Age 31
New Jersey
Seen March 14th, 2022
Posted July 25th, 2018
2,441 posts
12.1 Years
I only use it on Mewtwo because it looks ugly on any other Pokemon.
Mod of Trade Corner| Pair | Trainer Information

When kings upon the main have clung to pride
And held themselves as masters of the sea
I've held them down beneath the crushing tide
Till they have learned that no one masters me
Male
Seen November 5th, 2016
Posted March 18th, 2016
12 posts
9.9 Years
The only time I used a Master Ball was when I restarted an Emerald file to do a Nuzlocke and caught the Rayquaza for the hell of it. Any other time I just want some challenge from the encounter because really, legendaries are mostly just trophies. And for Deoxys, referring to flight's post above mine, Steven's shiny Metagross with Hold Back was plenty of help in most of the postgame legend hunt.

Eden

Right you are, Ken!

Age 29
Female
Flavortown, USA
Seen July 12th, 2019
Posted September 30th, 2017
248 posts
8 Years
With the exception of White 2, Omega Ruby and Y, I only used my Master Ball on roaming legends. On White 2 I actually used it on a Metang and on Y I didn't use it at all. On Omega Ruby I ended up using it on Deoxys (like almost everyone else.)