Hey, everybody! It's 0kamii, and today I want to start a different discussion of sorts!
So as we all know, you usual only get one Master Ball per game, and unless you hack the game or get super luck in the lottery in Festival Plaza (or clone items), you really need to do some soul-searching before you ultimately decide to hurl that precious ball. Yet sometimes when we do use it, we're not so sure we should've in the aftermath. And thus, to kick off this discussion, I would like to share three stories of my own where I used my Master Ball, when I'm not so sure I should have!
![[Image: 3221408391_1_15_mpugKELj.png]](https://i.skyrock.net/4044/87314044/pics/3221408391_1_15_mpugKELj.png)
Story 1:
Back in 2014 shortly after the release of Pokemon X and Y, I picked up my copy of X and sped through the game like a madman. The main reason was because I wanted to get to Terminus Cave, therein lied my favorite Gen 6 pokemon, Noibat, and subsequently Noivern. Once I had finally arrived there, I spent a good hour searching for one until I just happened to walk under one of those shadows on the floor. A pokemon dropped down and lo and behold, it was a Noibat. It wasn't even Shiny or anything, but I still panicked because I was so excited at the prospect of getting my favorite new pokemon that I absentminded ran to my bag and hurled that Master Ball at it without thinking. Obviously, I caught it. I still have that Noivern to this day, but still I do Shiny hunting in my X version, and I swear there's going to be a day when I'll need a Master Ball to avoid failing a Shiny, and I won't have it because I wasted it on a Noibat.
![[Image: noibat.png]](http://pokemonforever.com/images/pokeimages/gen6/noibat.png)
Story 2:
The next story I wish to share about regretting using a Master Ball is from 2016, just after the release of Pokemon Sun and Moon. I was finishing a replay of Alpha Sapphire version so I could start Shiny hunting some of the legendaries at the mirage spots and, well I like to catch all my Shinies in Poke Balls. Using other balls is just too easy for me, and this even applies to legendary pokemon. Virtually every Shiny legendary I have is in a Poke Ball, and thus, my dumb 2016 self thought that it was okay to chuck my Master Ball at Deoxys during the Delta Episode. I figured I'd never need it otherwise, because I only ever intended on using Poke Balls. This decision soon came back to ALMOST bite me in the butt. After I played through my Moon version, I went back to Alpha Sapphire and hunted a Shiny Dialga, which finally appeared after 2,304 soft-resets. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but the temporal sauropod just didn't want to stay in the ball! I kept track of its PP, and by the time it got to 10 moves left, I was panicking. I decided that it was time to use the Master Ball, and when I looked through my bag to find it...I remembered I wasted it on Deoxys. Oi. You wouldn't believe how idiotic I felt. Thus, I started throwing Timer Balls at it, and luckily I did manage to catch it in time. But still, I should've saved my Master Ball for that Shiny Dialga. It's my favorite Gen 4 legendary, and it would've deserved a proper perch.
![[Image: deoxys.png]](http://pokemonforever.com/images/pokeimages/gen3/deoxys.png)
< ![[Image: 2483-Shiny-Dialga.png]](http://static.pokemonpets.com/images/monsters-images-300-300/2483-Shiny-Dialga.png)
![[Image: 185?cb=20160909010153]](http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/leonhartimvu/images/b/be/Shiny_Exeggcute_AG.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/185?cb=20160909010153)
→ ![[Image: 6okKar.png]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ggZ8FIuCBh0/WCPzPlRuTUI/AAAAAAAA7uc/EzoGFQs0h3EmqSCiakA2VCS5O91WcdRFACK4B/s1600/6okKar.png)
Well, those are my stories. I'd love to hear stories from all of you, though. Whether you're a Shiny hunter that tossed a Master Ball too soon, or if you were an inexperienced Trainer that didn't understand the value of the Master Ball, I would love to hear when all of you decided to throw your Master Ball unwittingly. I'm hard at work on a new VGC analysis, and I'll have it posted some time this week. No poll today, but I look forward to all the lively discussions we're bound to have. Besides, if it helps out at all, these stories are all pretty funny looking back on it, and I've taken strides not to repeat them in the future. Talk to you all soon, and battle onwards friends!
- 0kamii
So as we all know, you usual only get one Master Ball per game, and unless you hack the game or get super luck in the lottery in Festival Plaza (or clone items), you really need to do some soul-searching before you ultimately decide to hurl that precious ball. Yet sometimes when we do use it, we're not so sure we should've in the aftermath. And thus, to kick off this discussion, I would like to share three stories of my own where I used my Master Ball, when I'm not so sure I should have!
Story 1:
Back in 2014 shortly after the release of Pokemon X and Y, I picked up my copy of X and sped through the game like a madman. The main reason was because I wanted to get to Terminus Cave, therein lied my favorite Gen 6 pokemon, Noibat, and subsequently Noivern. Once I had finally arrived there, I spent a good hour searching for one until I just happened to walk under one of those shadows on the floor. A pokemon dropped down and lo and behold, it was a Noibat. It wasn't even Shiny or anything, but I still panicked because I was so excited at the prospect of getting my favorite new pokemon that I absentminded ran to my bag and hurled that Master Ball at it without thinking. Obviously, I caught it. I still have that Noivern to this day, but still I do Shiny hunting in my X version, and I swear there's going to be a day when I'll need a Master Ball to avoid failing a Shiny, and I won't have it because I wasted it on a Noibat.
Story 2:
The next story I wish to share about regretting using a Master Ball is from 2016, just after the release of Pokemon Sun and Moon. I was finishing a replay of Alpha Sapphire version so I could start Shiny hunting some of the legendaries at the mirage spots and, well I like to catch all my Shinies in Poke Balls. Using other balls is just too easy for me, and this even applies to legendary pokemon. Virtually every Shiny legendary I have is in a Poke Ball, and thus, my dumb 2016 self thought that it was okay to chuck my Master Ball at Deoxys during the Delta Episode. I figured I'd never need it otherwise, because I only ever intended on using Poke Balls. This decision soon came back to ALMOST bite me in the butt. After I played through my Moon version, I went back to Alpha Sapphire and hunted a Shiny Dialga, which finally appeared after 2,304 soft-resets. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but the temporal sauropod just didn't want to stay in the ball! I kept track of its PP, and by the time it got to 10 moves left, I was panicking. I decided that it was time to use the Master Ball, and when I looked through my bag to find it...I remembered I wasted it on Deoxys. Oi. You wouldn't believe how idiotic I felt. Thus, I started throwing Timer Balls at it, and luckily I did manage to catch it in time. But still, I should've saved my Master Ball for that Shiny Dialga. It's my favorite Gen 4 legendary, and it would've deserved a proper perch.
< Story 3:
And finally, the last story I want to share comes from just a few days ago. I was Ally/SOS Chaining for a Shiny Exegcute on Exeggutor Island in my Sun version, and after ten hours of chaining, 337 allies later, the little bugger finally appears. However, things quickly went downhill from there. I stupidly forgot that Spore doesn't work on Grass-Types, so I weakened it enough to catch it without inflicting it with a status condition. Thus, it was free to keep calling for allies, rendering me unable to use a Poke Ball on it. And it did this successfully 35 turns in a row! Which, if you don't know anything about Ally Chaining, that is absurd! The odds of an Exeggcute calling for help is usually 9, that's one of the highest rates in the game. Plus being at 1 HP with an Adrenaline Orb guaranteed that it would call for help each turn, but it did not guarantee that one would show up every turn! Obviously, as with Dialga, I was starting to panic. And then, as the universe does, it called ANOTHER Shiny Exeggcute! Which I was forced to knock out. I did manage to snap a few pcitures though, so I have proof. Then, finally, after another ten turns, it failed to call for help. I didn't want to risk losing my Exeggcute, the one that I'd knocked out a Shiny to catch, so I made the implusive decision to use my Master Ball. I caught it, and I've since evolved it into a gorgeous Shiny Alolan Exeggutor, but if I had simply brought along Thunder Wave instead of Spore, I'd still have my Master Ball for a more desire, more deserving situation.
And finally, the last story I want to share comes from just a few days ago. I was Ally/SOS Chaining for a Shiny Exegcute on Exeggutor Island in my Sun version, and after ten hours of chaining, 337 allies later, the little bugger finally appears. However, things quickly went downhill from there. I stupidly forgot that Spore doesn't work on Grass-Types, so I weakened it enough to catch it without inflicting it with a status condition. Thus, it was free to keep calling for allies, rendering me unable to use a Poke Ball on it. And it did this successfully 35 turns in a row! Which, if you don't know anything about Ally Chaining, that is absurd! The odds of an Exeggcute calling for help is usually 9, that's one of the highest rates in the game. Plus being at 1 HP with an Adrenaline Orb guaranteed that it would call for help each turn, but it did not guarantee that one would show up every turn! Obviously, as with Dialga, I was starting to panic. And then, as the universe does, it called ANOTHER Shiny Exeggcute! Which I was forced to knock out. I did manage to snap a few pcitures though, so I have proof. Then, finally, after another ten turns, it failed to call for help. I didn't want to risk losing my Exeggcute, the one that I'd knocked out a Shiny to catch, so I made the implusive decision to use my Master Ball. I caught it, and I've since evolved it into a gorgeous Shiny Alolan Exeggutor, but if I had simply brought along Thunder Wave instead of Spore, I'd still have my Master Ball for a more desire, more deserving situation.
→ - 0kamii
Amethyst Ωmega - Guild Leader/Founder
