6th Gen Obtaining a Light Ball (GUIDE)

[Cyclone]

This question has been asked, so I thought I'd put together a quick how-to to help you fine folks find your Light Ball in Pokémon X/Y. For some users, this is a basic strategy, but some do not know about this.

Follow these steps:

1. Go to the Pokémon Center and withdraw any Pokémon (Emolga, Pikachu) with Static as an ability. At the same time, put some Pokémon in your party knowing Thief or able to learn it (only one is needed). I recommend having them be Lv.20 or higher (I'm using a Spoink, Lv.19).
2a. Do this step if your Static user is UNABLE to learn the Thief TM. Go somewhere with Emolga/Pikachu/whatever leading the party. Lose the encounter (i.e. have the Static Pokémon faint). Run away or let something else finish the battle. Do not move the Static Pokémon from the first position or visit the Pokémon Center at this time!
2b. Do this step ONLY if your Static user can learn Thief. These Pokémon include Raichu and Electrike/Manectric (Pikachu is unable to learn Thief). Teach Thief to your Static Pokémon and do not go faint. Additionally, there is no restriction with this step on healing at the Pokémon Center as you don't have to keep the lead Pokémon - the Static user - fainted if that Pokémon is your Thief user.
3. After completing either Step 2a or 2b, head to Route 3 or Santalune Forest (it really does not matter, as you'll see).
4. Get into a wild encounter. There are very high odds (I believe something like 40%) that it will be Pikachu provided the Static user is in the first slot.
5. Use Thief on a wild Pikachu (use other moves on anything else). If a Light Ball is encountered, you will be notified AFTER Pikachu faints but before the victory music. You may also acquire paralysis either way since Thief is a contact move.
6a. If there is no Light Ball from this attempt, repeat Steps 4-5.
6b. If you get a Light Ball, take it from the Pokémon and repeat Steps 4-5 if you want more Light Balls.
7. When you run out of PP for the move, head to the Pokémon Center. If you followed Step 2a, do not talk to the nurse to heal; go to the PC by the counter and deposit your Thief user into any Box, then immediately withdraw it, fully healed and with all moves restored. If you followed Step 2b, just speak to the nurse to heal. After this, return to Step 3.

It has been suggested to put a Frisk Pokémon into the second slot and then use Thief if a Light Ball is encountered. If you are trying to avoid paralysis and don't want to gain experience, or even plan to use moves not causing contact and paralysis, this works just fine. Otherwise, there is no need for a Frisk user as you'll be told immediately if you Thief a Light Ball.

While Light Balls only have a 5% appearance rate, this will supercharge your chances of encountering their holder, Pikachu. Therefore, you can get a lot of them. :) Note I have only searched in Route 3 and have not compared encounter rates between there and the forest.

I plan to share some Pikachu on Wonder Trade with the Light Ball attached once I get a few, or maybe try offering one for a legendary in the GTS. I may cause guilt if I use Wonder Trade. :)

This is confirmed to work. I got my first Light Ball following this guide. Granted, I wrote the guide, too.

EDIT: Updated with info on some Static users who can learn Thief (I'll update again if there are more) and split Step 2 into two sections. Only one need be followed.

 

[HairyLoco]

So, why are we not allowed to heal at the Pokémon Centre?

Edit: Could you also explain step 2 some more? Lose what encounter? Go somewhere as in to Route 3?

 

[Cyclone]

You cannot heal via the nurse because Emolga/Pikachu/whatever other Static Pokémon would also be healed, and the idea is to put a Static user at the front. That is what causes the 40% rate for Pikachu in the two available locations (and the Friend Safari if your 3DS friends have it there, though other Static Pokémon can also appear there, so it's not recommended for that location).

I'll explain Step 2 more. There, done that.

 

[Xander Olivieri]

So, why are we not allowed to heal at the Pokémon Centre?

Edit: Could you also explain step 2 some more? Lose what encounter? Go somewhere as in to Route 3?

Basically you want the Static user to be Fainted. This way they are still in the first slot but the second Pokemon (your thief) is out in battle first.

Its more of an efficiency thing really.

Most efficient way though is to have a Pokemon that can learn Thief with the Frisk Ability. Kinda disappointing to see the most basic ability made for Item hunting to go completely unnoticed and it saves you time as you don't have to waste a Thief since you already know there is no item on them.

Really is simpler.

Party Slot 1: Fainted Encounter heightening Ability (Static/Magnet Pull) holder
Party Slot 2: Frisk holder with Thief, Covet, or Switcheroo.
Route you know the Pokemon is on.

Since first is fainted, Frisk user is sent out. Frisks...Item found use thief/Switcheroo/Covet. No item found run away.




Since its somewhat relevant...might as well post this here as well.

Friend Safari Hidden Ability locator:

Have a Pokemon with Trace: Ralts line for example.

Have the Trace Pokemon lead your party. Have them hold Smoke Orb.
Run in circles in grass and encounter Pokemon.
Trace activates and shows you opponent's ability.
If not Hidden Ability, run (auto success thanks to Smoke Ball) and try again.)

Its handy for those abilities that don't give warning until you trigger them.

 

[HairyLoco]

Basically you want the Static user to be Fainted. This way they are still in the first slot but the second Pokemon (your thief) is out in battle first.

Its more of an efficiency thing really.

Most efficient way though is to have a Pokemon that can learn Thief with the Frisk Ability. Kinda disappointing to see the most basic ability made for Item hunting to go completely unnoticed and it saves you time as you don't have to waste a Thief since you already know there is no item on them.

Really is simpler.

Party Slot 1: Fainted Encounter heightening Ability (Static/Magnet Pull) holder
Party Slot 2: Frisk holder with Thief, Covet, or Switcheroo.
Route you know the Pokemon is on.

Since first is fainted, Frisk user is sent out. Frisks...Item found use thief/Switcheroo/Covet. No item found run away.




Since its somewhat relevant...might as well post this here as well.

Friend Safari Hidden Ability locator:

Have a Pokemon with Trace: Ralts line for example.

Have the Trace Pokemon lead your party. Have them hold Smoke Orb.
Run in circles in grass and encounter Pokemon.
Trace activates and shows you opponent's ability.
If not Hidden Ability, run (auto success thanks to Smoke Ball) and try again.)

Its handy for those abilities that don't give warning until you trigger them.

Thanks, that's cleared up a lot! Very helpful :)
Going to catch myself a Pikachu because I can't stand the thought of my Raichu fainting on purpose D:

 

[prettyboyinthepokemart]

Like you said 5% chance of pikachu holding the light ball. That is ridiculously low even if you encounter a lot of pikachu. 1 out of every 20 will have one. If you change your guide to include a pokemon using compound eyes it raises odds to 20%. thats 1 out of 5. I found light ball the 2nd pikachu i encountered. Even though I had to run from battles, i saved time because i didnt have to use thief on every random battle i got.

Just something to consider.

 

[Cyclone]

Basically you want the Static user to be Fainted. This way they are still in the first slot but the second Pokemon (your thief) is out in battle first.

Its more of an efficiency thing really.

Most efficient way though is to have a Pokemon that can learn Thief with the Frisk Ability. Kinda disappointing to see the most basic ability made for Item hunting to go completely unnoticed and it saves you time as you don't have to waste a Thief since you already know there is no item on them.

Really is simpler.

Actually, a Frisker with Thief still doesn't take into account the Static in the first slot. If the Thief user is a Frisker, that's even better, but you still need Static in the first slot. I am knocking out the Pikachu each time I use Thief anyway, so it really doesn't matter; if you plan to run from any Pikachu without the prize, then Frisk is most useful and what you say is correct, with that Pokémon in the second slot.

Also, my steps do not take into account a Static Pokémon being able to learn Thief (or any similar move like Covet, which I also have, though Thief is the TM and I think the others are not). Pikachu, I have checked, cannot use Thief, while Raichu can (which only works if you evolve Pikachu using a Thunderstone - which BTW is widely available on Route 13 and in caves by smashing rocks in wild encounters - and if you don't want to do that, that's ruled out). Manectric, if you're lucky to have a Static one (otherwise Lightningrod), can also learn Thief. I've added this possibility (and Raichu), and there may be one or two others, but I also know Emplga cannot use Thief (contrary to the anime where Iris' Emolga steals apples before meeting Iris).

Oh, and one last thing. I have four Light Balls now. I'm hanging around Route 3 for a while.

Like you said 5% chance of pikachu holding the light ball. That is ridiculously low even if you encounter a lot of pikachu. 1 out of every 20 will have one. If you change your guide to include a pokemon using compound eyes it raises odds to 20%. thats 1 out of 5. I found light ball the 2nd pikachu i encountered. Even though I had to run from battles, i saved time because i didnt have to use thief on every random battle i got.

I did not consider this. I will take some time to research this in the morning and edit the guide as necessary. Obviously the intent is to cover every single angle I can to help users find Light Balls quickly, so this tidbit is appreciated! I did get four Light Balls on my first run, but absolutely zero on the second, so I'll see what Compoundeyes does tomorrow if I have anything that can use it AND Thief. :) The only concern obviously is that Static won't be the lead Pokémon, causing Pikachu to appear very rarely; I'll see tomorrow!

 

[Azire]

Looks good so far with the helpfulness of the other posters. I will try this after I finish my current breeding projects.

 

[Cyclone]

After some research, I'm omitting Compound Eyes. While the information is as stated, the problem is that ALL Pokémon can appear in the area as normal, and the enhanced appearance of Pikachu is gone. If you DO want to try using a Compound Eyes Pokémon, just be prepared to use Thief, Covet, etc. anytime Pikachu appears; myself, when I did a basic run with nothing special leading, I ran out of attack moves after seeing four Pikachu. I'm sticking with Static.

 

[KillerTyphlosion]

What i did was put a fainted scatterbug with compund eyes in front of my party. This increases the chance that the encounterd pokemon has a hold item. And my second pokemon had static still encountered more than half of the time a pikachu. And lots of the pikachu i cathed/ used thief on had a lightball.

 

[Water Gym Leader]

I always use my fainted static Pokemon and a Pokemon that knows frisk so I don't have to guess and use theft if I don't have to.

 

[Cyclone]

What i did was put a fainted scatterbug with compund eyes in front of my party. This increases the chance that the encounterd pokemon has a hold item. And my second pokemon had static still encountered more than half of the time a pikachu. And lots of the pikachu i cathed/ used thief on had a lightball.

Wait a second. You can actually chain the effects together if they're all fainted? Or does having the ability just on your team increase the held item chances?

I've never heard of chaining Compound Eyes with Static like this; I'll try out Butterfree in the second slot after teaching it Thief! (And if it faints too easily...Spoinik will be in slot 3.)

EDIT: All right, I've tested this. Emolga is still sitting fainted in slot 1 after the OHKO I subjected it to on Route 13. Butterfree (first fighting, now fainted) has been in slot 2. Spoink is now battling again. I have yet to acquire a single Light Ball and, for some reason, I seem to have fewer Pikachu encounters. It's almost like it's choosing between the two fainted abilities, though I'm sure it's only taking Static. I'll swap the two around and head into the forest to see what happens.

 

[Xander Olivieri]

No you cannot chain the effect together. Only the Pokemon in the first slot will have his field ability active if it effects the field. If your first Pokemon has Static and the second has Compound Eyes, the encounter rate for Electric types will increase, but their chances of having an item will not. If Compound Eyes is first, and Static second, the rate of chance for them to have an Item increases, but encounters with Electric types do not.

Again really though, if you want a guide, at least make it as efficient as possible. blindly attacking with Thief to check to see if it has Light Ball wastes time and Power Points, as well as money if you have to buy ethers rather than heal in the PC.

Pumpkaboo and Phantump both learn Thief as well can have the Frisk ability.

Having the first pokemon with Static fainted allows either of them to be second and allows them to come out into battle. Frisk will tell you if there is an item, if there isn't one, then you are wasting your time since the whole point is to hunt for the light ball.

Fainted party member with Static First slot
Frisk/thief Party member Second slot
High electric encounter rate raises the encounter rate of Light Ball as the rare Pokemon holding it are now fairly common.

This is both simple and efficient.

 

[ilias_]

Thanks. It actually works!!!

(I love Pikachu's cry so much!!! I could encounter wild Pikachu all day lol)

 

[Mana1]

If you're lazy, like I am, I just bought a load of quick balls and threw one at every Pikachu I saw. Got a lightball on the third catch. Done.

 

[HairyLoco]

Been encountering Pikachu's for 4 hours straight with only a random passerby trade pause in between.
No Light Ball yet. :(

 

[ilias_]

Been encountering Pikachu's for 4 hours straight with only a random passerby trade pause in between.
No Light Ball yet. :(

Omg, you're not that lucky huh? :) I got 2 lightballs in the first 10 minutes. Do you want one? lol

 

[HairyLoco]

Omg, you're not that lucky huh? :) I got 2 lightballs in the first 10 minutes. Do you want one? lol

Been grinding for hours, it's too late to stop now.. >:)
But thanks for offering. ^^

 

[Cyclone]

Xander, you missed a comment I made in there. I have been using the Pikachu hunting to gain Spoink some experience. In the process, Krokorok also became Krookodile as it was inadvertently close to its evolution (not planned, I'll take it).

Also, the other thing I mentioned: I go to the PC, hit Select to turn the arrow blue, swap Spoink with a PC resident, then swap right back. Fully healed, no Berries used, and paralysis temporarily cured (until the next one in battle), nothing wasted. There is nothing wrong with either your method or my method; it depends on whether you want to knock out every Pikachu along the way for experience or not (if you make the Thief user a "bestie" with five hearts, that's 96 EXP per Lv.5 Pikachu, 72 EXP for a Lv.4 specimen). And I say why not?

Meanwhile, my intention was to train until I got Spoink evolved. I now have a happy, healthy Grumpig. I'm finishing this session, and I already have twelve Light Balls in my possession. My best run is still four from the first 25 Pikachu encounters (Thief's PP is 25), but if I even get one on a run, that is average. Zero is bad luck.

 

[Xander Olivieri]

Xander, you missed a comment I made in there. I have been using the Pikachu hunting to gain Spoink some experience. In the process, Krokorok also became Krookodile as it was inadvertently close to its evolution (not planned, I'll take it).

Also, the other thing I mentioned: I go to the PC, hit Select to turn the arrow blue, swap Spoink with a PC resident, then swap right back. Fully healed, no Berries used, and paralysis temporarily cured (until the next one in battle), nothing wasted. There is nothing wrong with either your method or my method; it depends on whether you want to knock out every Pikachu along the way for experience or not (if you make the Thief user a "bestie" with five hearts, that's 96 EXP per Lv.5 Pikachu, 72 EXP for a Lv.4 specimen). And I say why not?

Meanwhile, my intention was to train until I got Spoink evolved. I now have a happy, healthy Grumpig. I'm finishing this session, and I already have twelve Light Balls in my possession. My best run is still four from the first 25 Pikachu encounters (Thief's PP is 25), but if I even get one on a run, that is average. Zero is bad luck.

You aren't making a guide then. You are just telling people things you want to do. A guide is as its name indicates, a guide to do something in the quickest, most efficient way possible.

Telling people to do all these extra things, waste their time because you have it written as a guide when its just a discussion about how you like to do these extra things is misleading.

If you are saying you want to do a guide, then do it the simplest, most efficient way possible. The only discussions that would then creep up are those having trouble, like the unlucky friend, or people who find even more efficient ways to hunt like the Compound Eyes idea.

Want a guide then its Fainted Static, Frisk Thief and run when you don't get the item to save time.

Want to just discuss different ideas, then don't call it a guide.


Coincidentally, I think this may also help the shiny encounter. Since the encounters are recalculated thanks to the ability, the specified types seem to have a higher shiny encounter rate.

I ran into two shiny Honedges with Magnet Pull than I have Matsuda Method breeding, regular searching...can't chain fish or PokeRadar but I think it follows a similar pattern of increasing encounter rating and decreasing rarity of shiny.


Going to test out Swarm (increases over all encounter rate), Arena Trap/Illuminate (increases encounter rate 200%), and No Guard.