Summary
The original Poke Ball standsas one of the single most iconic video game items of all time. It’s up there with Mario’s mushroom, the Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda, the Energy Sword from Halo and Sonic’s rings, among others, as easily recognizable objects that carry loads of nostalgia.
That said, over the years, the Poke Ball has evolved from its simplistic red and white origins. There is, of course, the Ultra Ball, which is an even better version of the Poke Ball, as well as the Master Ball, which has a zero fail rate. Elsewhere, there are some lesser known varieties, like the Beast Ball or Cherish Ball.
In many ways, there is a Poke Ball for nearly every situation. Yet, somehow, there’s always room for more. And that’s exactly what a pair ofPokémonfans did with their concepts for six unique Poke Balls. The balls range from offering a big boost to beginner players down to a special surprise on your real-life birthday. Above all, they’d fit right in any new Pokémon entry.
Introducing The Beginner Ball, Gold Ball, Magnet Ball, Dubious Ball, Chain Ball And Birthday Ball
Over on the official Pokémon subreddit, u/AxoKnight6 along with u/bradybee999 put together six unique Poke Balls, complete with a description of their effects, along with a conceptual design. First off, there’s the Beginner Ball, which sports a design similar to that of the base Poke Ball. As the name implies, it’s meant to help new or young gamers in their quest to catch them all by offering a 8x catch rate on Pokémon under level 10.
The Gold Ball is sleek, shiny and expensive. That ball, in particular, increases the amount of money you earn from battles, a nice bump on your journey. The Magnet Ball has been designed to help catch steel and electric Pokémon with a 3.5x catch rate. Assuming you’re successful, your Pokémon will be housed in a steel-colored dome.
Elsewhere, there is the Dubious Ball, which takes some cues from Nintendo’s Wario by being the opposite of the Master Ball. Heck, it even has an upside down M in its design. Whereas the Master Ball has a zero fail rate, the Dubious Ball simply has a high catch rate. The twist is, if it’s unsuccessful, the Pokémon will automatically faint, providing a unique risk-reward scenario. On the flip side, the Chain Ball produces a higher catch rate the more it’s utilized, offering up to a 8x rate.
Perhaps the best idea is the Birthday Ball. In the concept, the Birthday Ball is given to you on your birthday and has a perfect catch rate, but only on your birthday. It’s a unique kind of in-game present that also offers a massive reward, assuming you have a Pokémon ready to catch. Otherwise, you’ll be rolling the dice.
Lots of fan concepts come and go, but these Poke Ball ideas have some genuine heft to them. Their designs are on par with other real-life Poke Balls, and their use cases are exactly the kind of cheeky and helpful level of assistance that other Poke Balls provide. Well done.
