Overview
The Master Ball is a very rare purple Poké Ball that provides a guaranteed capture (a 100% catch rate) whenever an encounter allows you to select it. Choosing one from the ball menu brings up a confirmation prompt before playing a special catching animation that bypasses the ordinary target ring and curveball challenge.
Because of its scarcity, deciding when to use a Master Ball matters far more than the throw itself: it can secure a prized raid boss when you are down to your last Premier Ball or catch a fleeing wild Legendary Pokémon before it escapes. Using a Master Ball captures the Pokémon exactly as you found it; it does not change its IVs, alter its level, or make it Shiny.
How to get it
Complete research that explicitly awards a Master Ball. Availability and claim windows depend on the research release.
There is no ordinary PokéStop, Gym Photo Disc, or Gift farming method, and it is not sold as a standalone item in the shop.
Reach Trainer level 70 in the current leveling system to receive 1 Master Ball as a level-up reward.
How to use it
Choose the Master Ball from the encounter ball menu and confirm the decision.
Check the Pokémon and encounter before confirming: using the ball consumes it.
Worth knowing
A rare fleeing wild Pokémon or a prized raid catch on its final ball can justify using one.
A guaranteed catch does not improve the Pokémon’s IVs, level, or Shiny status. Those traits already belong to the encounter.
Release and research history
The Master Ball arrived on May 22, 2023, through the final part of Let’s GO! Special Research. Later opportunities have included Timed Investigation: Master Ball, Special Research: Master Ball, Masterwork Research: Catching Wonders, Masterwork Research: Master Ball, and Masterwork Research: A Precious Catch. These were separate releases with their own access conditions; an old research name does not mean that story is currently claimable.
Once you have a Master Ball, save it for an encounter whose loss would matter to you. On a raid encounter, a known perfect-IV CP can help inform the choice, but CP must be matched to the correct species and encounter level. For wild Pokémon, CP alone usually cannot establish perfect IVs.
Special Research: Master Ball was offered as a US$7.99 ticket during the November 2023 Party Up! event to Trainers who had not completed Timed Investigation: Master Ball before the deadline. Later, during the Precious Paths Season (December 2, 2025 to March 3, 2026), Masterwork Research: A Precious Catch was released as another US$7.99 paid research story.
Claiming a research story and finishing it are different deadlines. Let’s GO! had to be obtained by June 1, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. local time. Catching Wonders was released during May 14–19, 2024 and its Masterwork Research does not expire once obtained. A past event page is not an invitation to claim that research now.
The Galarian Expedition event, October 4–11, 2024, offered Masterwork Research: Master Ball for US$7.99, or the local equivalent. Its rewards included one Master Ball, 18,000 XP, 10,000 Stardust, and Pokémon encounters. That Masterwork Research also has no completion deadline after purchase. A purchase supplied research to complete, rather than an immediately usable ball.
Master Ball throws and XP
A Master Ball throw awards a flat 1,000 XP bonus instead of Nice, Great, Excellent, or Curveball throw XP bonuses. You can select the Master Ball in wild encounters, Lure Module and Daily Adventure Incense spawns, Raid Battle bonus challenges, Max Battle encounters, and Team GO Rocket encounters.
Because the catching sequence bypasses the ordinary ring and curveball throw, it is not a way to complete tasks requiring a Nice, Great, Excellent, or Curveball Throw. Check what a task asks for before using a scarce ball merely to finish a catch.
Choosing a Pokémon for your Master Ball
Galarian Articuno, Galarian Zapdos, and Galarian Moltres encountered through Daily Adventure Incense are popular candidates because a standard throw often fails and the bird can flee before you get a second chance. A Master Ball is also well suited for a raid boss you particularly want when you are down to your final Premier Ball. The right choice depends on your own collection goals rather than a universal list of species.
In a raid encounter, you can try the supplied Premier Balls first and switch while at least one attempt remains. Do not throw the last Premier Ball if your plan is to use a Master Ball after another failure: the encounter can end immediately. Verify the species and encounter level before treating a CP value as proof of perfect IVs.
Because capture is already guaranteed, there is no need to use a Razz Berry or Golden Razz Berry to improve your catch rate, though you can still feed a Pinap Berry or Silver Pinap Berry before selecting the Master Ball if you want extra Candy from the catch. Use the Master Ball to secure the capture itself, not to improve appraisal, battle strength, or Shiny odds—those traits are already fixed when you start an encounter.
