The Master Ball is finally coming to Pokémon GO. This ball has the ability to be able to capture any Pokémon with a 100% catch rate, meaning that you can now be able to catch some of the hardest Pokémon in the game with ease. While it may be tough to decide what you will want to use your Master Ball on, we will be going through some of the best options to help ease your decision.
To obtain a Master Ball, players must first complete the Let’s GO Special Season Research task. Currently, you may only proceed up to step 4 out of 6. On May 22nd at 10:00 a.m. local time, the last 2 steps will be unlocked for players to complete the task and ultimately unlock this special PokéBall.
Without further ado, let’s dive into some of the best Pokémon you can catch with your newly obtained Master Ball.
Galarian Bird Trio
While it may come as no surprise for some, the Galarian Bird trio are some of the hardest Pokémon in the entire game to catch. For starters, these birds can only appear with the use of the Daily Adventure Incense. Finding one of these birds is a rollercoaster of emotions since it is an exciting feeling to have one of them in your encounter screen, however, they are almost certain to flee immediately after breaking free from the first throw.
With an abysmal catch rate of only 0.3% (without the use of Berries or Ultra Balls) and a 90% flee rate, it may be a wise decision to use a Master Ball on any of these 3 birds. To put that into perspective, a standard Legendary Pokémon has a 2% catch rate which might not sound like a lot but is much higher than catching any of the Galarian Birds.
100% IV Non-Shiny Pokémon
From the official announcement, it’s confirmed that players will be able to have the option of using a Master Ball alongside Premier Balls after a raid. This will be handy when it comes to catching 100% IV Legendary Pokémon. While it may be tempting to instantly launch a Master Ball at a 100% IV Legendary, take a breath and relax first.
Give it your best shot at catching it normally with the use of Golden Razz Berries and hitting Excellent Throws, if that doesn’t work and you are on your last Premier Ball, then without a doubt, use that Master Ball. Think of it as a worst-case scenario situation.
Be sure to pay attention to the CP in the encounter screen and make sure for certain that it is a 100% IV before doing this. There are several helpful infographics that will have the IV spread of each Legendary ‘mon, use them to your own advantage.
Keep in mind that Shiny Legendaries have a 100% catch rate, meaning that you just need to hit the Pokémon with a Premier Ball, that’s why it is optimal to always use a Pinap Berry or Silver Pinap Berry to obtain more guaranteed candy.
Shiny Wild Pokémon ✨
If you manage to find a rare shiny Pokémon you’ve been hunting for or find one out of the blue, depending on the CP, using a Master Ball may be an option. While we would still recommend the ol’ Gold Razz Berry + Excellent Throw combo, if it keeps breaking out and you are worried about it fleeing, you have the option to use a Master Ball.
Rare Regional Pokémon
If you find yourself travelling to a different region and manage to come across a rare Regional exclusive Pokémon with a high CP that is giving you trouble to catch, there is always the backup plan with the Master Ball, think of it as a way to decrease stress levels when it comes to high CP wild rare Pokémon.
Honourable Mentions
Unown
Unowns are without a doubt one of the rarest Pokémon variants to spawn in the wild (apart from event-exclusive ones). Prior to their release in events such as Pokémon GO Fest and in raid events in the past, Unown used to be the ultimate trophy Pokémon and is still incredibly hard to find one in the wild.
Lake Trio ❌
Uxie, Azelf and Mespirit are one of the rare exceptions in which a Legendary Pokémon can spawn in the wild, However, keep in mind that these Pokémon, as rare as they are to find in the wild, cannot flee the encounter screen. Once you find one, they will just take a few balls to catch, which means that using a Master Ball is redundant.
Parting Words
As we can see, the most viable option for the Master Ball is the Galarian Bird trio. Everything else can and should be obtained with Golden Razz Berries with an Excellent throw to increase your odds. With that being said, each trainer has the option to play how they want.
For me personally, I have had far too many Galarian Birds flee on me, and it will be a no-brainer to use it on one of them, preferably a Galarian Moltres since I represent team Valor and would love to be able to have it as my Buddy Pokémon.
What will you catch with your newly obtained Master Ball?
Until next time, Trainers.
–Adam ‘Avrip’
