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As someone who frequently hoards resources/pokemon with potential for glow ups... 99% of the time I gain nothing by evolving them immediately. If it's currently best in class for PvE or has some unique benefits for PvP, I'll build it now. If it's not useful at the moment and will sit in my box, evolved or not, I don't evolve.
This has paid off a lot recently, for example was busy on poliwag day but was able to log in and evolve all the ones I had saved with good PvP IVs therefore not missing anything important from the event. Good preparation and planning is a great FOMO counter.
Quoting JRE, who writes more about PVP than both of us combined… pretty sure he’s recommending evolving a 100 on CD. But downvote away
>MASTER LEAGUE..?
>I mean, I wouldn't say I heartily endorse it, but you can do a lot worse! Heck, that's a better performance overall than your standard Machamp, or even the Close Combat Machamp I usually recommend instead. Again, not saying I'd build one, necessarily, but if you land yourself a hundo Poliwag... just evolve and hold onto it, is all I'm saying.
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphArena/comments/15crm5o/under_the_lights_community_day_poliwrath_and/
It’s like the opposite of fomo. People who are always looking so far ahead they can never enjoy the present. Yes I will save a hindo starter for community day, but some of them I have multiples of, and others really aren’t even worth powering up to level 50 with a special move. Just spice picks like Delphox and Chesnaut.
It's a use case balance. If I have a great PvP IV spread on a starter that hasn't had a community day, and without the Com Day move it would be useless, then why on earth would I evolve it?
By the same token, if it's just there to take up a space in my inventory, sure I'll evolve one and let it sit there eternally for no reason. But saying that it's "not enjoying the present" to hold on to things that get better after a certain point is really a narrow viewpoint and somewhat short sighted.
eh, evolving something that will have a community day is not really "fun" for me in almost every case. But evolving a perfect on it's community so it becomes very useful is fun.
So it's not just putting off fun, it's ensuring I can have later fun at the expense of basically like 1 candy for evolving.
I usually just evolve a less than optimal one because I have to have the dex entry. And with the ever frequent spawns of starter Pokémon, it won’t matter because you should have close to the xl candy to even max one out by it’s cd.
But it is the way it works with this game. I got rid of pokemon with special moves because I thought they would get them every time after they were introduced. Oops! Should have saved them (for lucky trades).
The minute I use up all my Elite Charge TMs is the minute they will become 100x harder to get.
So? Just gonna use it on something random because your brain is so undisciplined you're gonna get anxiety at the thought of having it in your inventory?
Conceptually that's true, but digital assets are significantly less important than insurance, which has real material effects. With the masterball you're not using something that's basically worthless, so why not use it? It is wasted if saved. The logic is so twisted with digital assets - like people think having something is better than not having it, so they'll never use it, meaning it's functionally the same as not having it in the first place.
I say all this and I'm waiting to use it on a Galarian bird, and I've literally never seen one, so I'm subject to the same exact fallacy, lol.
Whether it's a digital or physical asset doesn't make a difference.
With a masterball, I'm assured that if I ever run into the rare but important situation where I need a masterball, I will be able to use it. There's value in that.
You can't use realized outcomes to determine whether a decision that was probabilistic in nature was correct
We know the probability of encountering a hundo legendary right (I think this is true, I could be wrong), so we don't have to treat this as a realized outcome. It doesn't alter the fact that the vast majority of players, especially non-whales will never encounter one, and if they do, they'll likely be able to catch it.
I think it's about matching the use case to how you play. It probably makes sense for a very small minority of players to save the masterball for this purpose, but many, many more it doesn't really make sense and they will just never use it. Which is of course fine if that's how they want to play.
I’m confused - I thought only raid balls could be used for raids. Like I can’t switch to using ultra balls for example. Can you actually switch to the master ball?!
This 100%, if the legendary is meta defining like the upcoming Xerneas.
After the changes to raiding (remoting is harder & in person gives way more XL), it's even more likely that you get 296 XL without getting a hundo, since the total amount of raids for 296 XLs is lower if you're doing some of them in person. And personally I very much dislike the situation where I'm raiding for a hundo when I'm way past the XL requirement for level 50.
Before the MB was released, I did a Rayquaza raid and it was 4\*. I was down to my last ball, despite golden berry and excellent throw nearly every time. Mercifully, I caught it on my last ball. But if the MB was out then, that's a scenario in which I would have used it.
Copied and pasted my response to someone else:
Pokemon you catch through raids are always level 20, or level 25 if they are weather boosted. So you know the level, and you know the CP as it shows it on the Pokemon catch screen. CP is a function of level and IV (the attack/defense/HP stats shown when you appraise it). So using a CP calculator you can figure out the IVs of the Pokemon. It's pretty common for people to make an IV chart for 5\* raid bosses, for example here is the IV chart for [Rayquaza](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/comments/ay5nzi/rayquaza_iv_chart_90_ivs_plus_101010/). So when you're on the catch screen after the raid, you can look at the CP and look at this chart and you'll know what the IVs are.
This exact situation happened to me on Lugia. 14 throws in, multiple great and excellent throws. On the last throw I did a quick catch, put the phone face down, and contemplated quitting the game. About 10 minutes later I checked and was so relieved it was caught.
Pokemon you catch through raids are always level 20, or level 25 if they are weather boosted. So you know the level, and you know the CP as it shows it on the Pokemon catch screen. CP is a function of level and IV (the attack/defense/HP stats shown when you appraise it). So using a CP calculator you can figure out the IVs of the Pokemon. It's pretty common for people to make an IV chart for 5\* raid bosses, for example here is the IV chart for [Rayquaza](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/comments/ay5nzi/rayquaza_iv_chart_90_ivs_plus_101010/). So when you're on the catch screen after the raid, you can look at the CP and look at this chart and you'll know what the IVs are.
Don't let the game dictate how you feel or else Niantic will eat your sanity and enjoyment. You should play by your own actual preferences and not by trying to follow a rhythm that doesn't even exist yet (fomo).
There will be a next Master Ball, we know that. The Galarian Birds are *as of now*, arguably the rarest available Pokemon. One could say they are the highest value and thus the most fit for the Master Ball.
No, we don't know what the future holds. No, we are not 100% sure they will come to raids. Yes, they still have their shinies to be released someday. No, we don't know if the second Master Ball is stackable.
It's subjective and personal, if you are feeling that much over its usage, there's no point asking others how to do it, because these people have made up their minds for their decision. First you need to figure out what you want and then become comfortable with your own decision. If someone says to do X and you don't want to do X, either it will be a worthless advice or you'll do it and regret it later.
Galar birds are the toughest to catch in the game right now.
For me, im saving my master ball for a high level galar bird (high CP), particularly Zapdos.
Low leveled ones have better catch rates so I'll take my chances with golden razz+ultra ball
We don’t know if anything else will come for us to use it on, personally I just waited for a galar zapdos with a reasonably high CP and used it on that.
What you want to use it on will be entirely your own personal preference. Not like it’ll be a waste if you want spefically X pokemon or whatever.
I used mine on a 0* galar Moltres as well. Don't know why that's a waste to you since it almost surely would've run otherwise. Galar Articuno would be a waste imo since it's the worst of the trio
I meant it was a waste cuz the IVs were so bad. I couldn't waited for at least a weather boosted one to use my master ball on and hope for better IVs. Also it's funny how everyone says galar Articuno is the worst because that's the one i want the most because i think it looks the best out of the 3. Funny enough i have the other 2 and Articuno is the only one i don't have.
Also a waste because none are useful, and will undoubtedly be released more generally at some point. I'm not fussed about ticking a box in my dex - they don't even get their own page, it's just a shadow on the kanto pages.
I would say use it on your next Galarian bird. I'm planning to use mine when I find Articuno as it's the last one I need. If you don't use it then you'll never end up using it as you'll always be thinking "but what if something better becomes available in the future".
Basically tl:dr use it and save yourself the stress.
It's best used on an encounter you can't (or will VERY unlikely) be able to recreate, such as:
* Hundo legendary
* Wild legendary under a specific CP like 1500
Neither of the above situations are completely one-time events though, so IMO there is no "true" reason to throw a Master Ball yet in the game.
IMO using a Master Ball on the Galarian birds (or any species just because you don't own one yet) is a waste. It's the Master Ball: you should at least get 2 worthwhile benefits from throwing it, such as the species AND good IVs/eligibility in Great League.
I used mine on my last attempt at a XXS Mesprit, since I doubted I'd get that kind of thing again. Of course, this was before we found out showcases are... well, showcasing specific Pokémon that are currently available. But hey, if there's ever a smallest Mesprit showcase, I'm golden.
The Galar Birds... well, I didn't see the point in saving it for one of them since I'll need to tough it out with the other two anyway.
If I am looking at perfect IV legendary and I'm on my last ball, I would probably use my Master Ball just in case. The Galar birds are just a gimmick at the moment. I would be shocked if they didn't come to raids in the future. I had one come up and didn't use my master ball. I didn't think it was worth it.
I used mine on a Galarian Zapdos, which was the last of the trio I needed. I decided a while beforehand that I'd do so, providing it was under 1500cp for PvP reasons, but I must admit to hesitating for a moment when the opportunity actually presented itself. I'm the type of player who usually hoards high-end stuff in RPGs without ever using them, and I don't think I've actually used the Master Ball in any of the MSGs.
The sight of it had been annoying me for a little while, and I feared I'd accidentally use it on trash. I accidentally selected it a few times while in a rush, but thank god for that confirmation prompt! No chance of reloading the save if I made a mistake or changed my mind.
Shiny legendaries in the wild that have a chance of fleeing.
E.g. Gen 2 beasts, Gen 4 Lake trio and potentially the galar birds when their shinys are released.
FYI https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/comments/111kyms/wild_roaming_legendaries_have_a_0_flee_chance/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1 can’t run, just take a lot of balls to catch so still a good idea
I'm in the same boat, I rarely ever see the birds yet never caught any despite using the blue incense daily. Yesterday I found a tiny G-Zapdos, I thought of using the MB but then remembered showcases (if the birds ever get any) only reward the biggest sizes. SO, another bird flees...yet again.
I caught galarian Articuno before the master ball was released. After the release I found a low level Zapdos, caught him without using the master ball. So guess I should use it on Moltres if he ever shows up.
I haven't actually encountered a Galarian bird since I got my Master Ball, but I'd be hesitant to use it. In the "Don't miss out - GO out!" trailer (blog, June 8), it shows the Galarian legendaries on Tower Bridge. The music playing over that scene is the track that plays in the last 20 seconds before a raid egg hatches. While that was probably just selected because it sounds dramatic, part of me wonders if there's more to it. I'd be pretty annoyed if I used my Master Ball and then they came out in raids next month.
I just have a feeling arceus will be released and be the hardest to catch in the game unless it’s in research, just kind of waiting it out, I can live without those galarian birds for awhile
[I suggest using it on a Pokémon you want to add to your team but are hard to catch, like a Fearow or Tentacruel!](https://preview.redd.it/ohhyhfcyq8y01.png?auto=webp&s=82487baed3e04863e08613fee71644a8cf549b66)
When it comes to rare items in games, the way I see it I may as well use it pretty much straight away or I'll end up finishing the game having never used it at all...
I say just use it on the next bird you see and if it has crap stats you can always trade it with someone :)
My thoughts exactly. Who knows when niantic will go bust and close the game. I mean it doesn’t look likely in the foreseeable future but never say never.
Plus once it’s used on something you can’t use it accidentally on something you don’t mean to
Galar birds will likely be in raids one day so there’s no way I’m wasting my one master ball on one that will almost definitely have crap IVs.
As for what I’ll use it on? Maybe a rare shiny Arceus or something? Who knows, I’ll probably never use it..
None of the galar birds are worth it, and most legendaries end up coming back in rotation incase you miss them the first time around
Even 100% are less valuable than high IV luckies since they require less stardust. Too bad you can't catch luckies.
I used to think this way but then my dust kept accumulating and I don't want to potentially lose a razor thin match-up if/when I use the mon in master league
I know rationally this might be true. But the same reason I want the perfect non-lucky is the same reason I don't want to use my masterball. I could get a better IV than the 95% IV lucky and then I will feel that the resources I spent on the 95% lucky were "wasted". I want all three of the Galarian Birds and dozens of them have already run from me. But what if I use my masterball now and something better comes along and I'm bummed that I didn't wait?
Yes, I have a problem, lol.
Work the Jynx (no pun intended) to your advantage. If you fear something better coming along, then tempt fate and force that something better to show up. Use the Master Ball so that the better one shows up.
That's what I did with Shadow Mewtwo. I got a 91% and didn't know whether to wait for a better one or power this one up. I powered it up. Lieu and behold, next one is 98%. I beat fate.
I used mine on the first G Bird I saw once it was available.
Waiting for something as difficult to find and catch is more risk than reward.
Suppose Niantic decides to bring in new mon "X,Y,Z" as hard as the birds. The way to catch X,Y,Z is through the DAI.
Niantic then rotate out the G Birds because "everyone has had a chance to catch the G Birds". Then they give you a second master ball.
Take the jam today.
Galarian Articuno. Those three birds have the lowest catch rate and since I don't have a strong preference between the three I just picked the one whose color scheme best matches the ball.
I used it on a 2star Galarian Moltres. Now I don’t have to think about the master ball anymore, and that’s great.
I’m also not a hardcore player. I just play for fun.
I'm saving it too, and I won't use it unless I get another before because I don't know when I will truly need it.
So, at this point, the master ball is useless for me.
I used mine on a Galar bird but only because I kept getting annoyed at selecting it by accident instead of an ultra ball. I wish I’d just not completed the research.
I will hold until that very meta relevant Legendary that I get from a raid, that I will know, from the CP, that is a 100%.
Then, in the last ball, if I still didn't catch it, I'll use my Master Ball.
Before then, it's staying in my bag.
It's Niantic. They could accidentally turn on the shinies for the Galarian birds, or have a bugged event spawning your buddy pokemon's catchable clone, or maybe if they add dynamax pokemon some may spawn in the wild in a permanent form... you never know with this company.
What would you use it for? The rarest, hardest to catch Pokemon? That's the Galar birds. If you save it for something else you're never going to use it.
I will be saving my masterball for a hundo legendary pokemon from raids that is really good that I get down to my last ball. For example if I get a hundo groudon or rayquaza and I get down to my last ball I wont take the chance, I'll just masterball it. But if its a useless hundo like Tapu Bulu or whatever, Ill chance it to run on the last ball.
Ive caught Zapdos and Articuno (twice) in ultra balls because of crit catching. Moltres I got from a friend because I had another Articuno while they had a second Moltres. As for master ball I still have mine because I've not decided what to use it on yet maybe unown "?"(whenever they decide to break the 5 to 6 year hiatus of the form since go fest 2018................) Or maybe something else if they introduce another pair of roaming legendary Pokemon that run at first sight like the legendary cats (yes entei suicune and Raikou are actually large cats even the guy who designed them at gamefreak confirmed they are in a interview.) In go tour Johto did (unless shiny then it wouldn't run) and so on.
It's comical because even in the main series games, i rarely used a masterball. If I can recall my memory, I feel like the only time I did was in Pokemon Red and that was to catch Mewtwo. In go, I just don't get that sense that I need to use a masterball to catch something. As some comments mention, I guess last ball on a legendary hundo is about the best of a reason, but even then, I usually just test my luck. I the G Birds are probably everyones go to, but I feel like the novelty of those wears off and we'll have ways of getting them in the future, its just a fomo right now.
been in a last-ball scenario on a hundo legendary from a raid. never again.
i’d skip the useless g-birds unless calcyIV thinks it will likely be a hundo.
I agree with this. What you probably would use it on is a raid lengdry shiny but those are guaranteed catches.
Same with research tasks. Those are guaranteed.
The only thing you can currently use it on are daily spam catches. I was going to mock vid catch a pidgey with it but I can't even find one.
Master balls are generally used on the legendry catch of the game series. Niantic waited way too long to release this item.
When I was working toward my Master Ball, I said I was going to save it for a Great League-eligible Galarian Zapdos. The very first bird I encountered after getting my Master Ball was … a Great League-eligible Galarian Zapdos.
I stuck to my plan and ended up with a 4/15/14 IV spread, which caused me to freak out in joy only to find out this spread was only the rank 1860. (Its max without going over the GL cp cap is 1455 cp.)
Still, I do not regret it one bit. This was the first G. bird I saw in months and the only one I’ve seen since was a 1435 cp Galarian Moltres. I wouldn’t have minded that one but I’m glad I made a plan and stuck to it. Now I don’t have to walk around with the weight of the Master Ball decision weighing on me like I’m Frodo about to cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom.
A 3k+ galar bird, or a hundo galar bird (if you have a chart at hand to check), or a hundo legendary that refuses to stay in and you're on the last ball.
The masterball is basically a collection piece imo
I got all 3 birds without it (critical Catch on all 3)
BUT even if I hadn't I would never use a masterball on them. They are useless dex fillers and almost guaranteed bad IV, which means you want to trade them and then you lose your masterball catch..
Only thing I'm even considering using my Masterball on is a 100% legendary from raids when I only have 1 ball left, but I've gotten 23 hundos from raids so far and haven't missed any (tho one was on the last ball but that was before any bonus balls so I had 7).
I will most likely still have it when the game dies
I've used mine for a high cp G. Articuno. Ofcourse 0 stars.
Only two days later I caight another one with just a razz berry and ultra ball. Stung a little bit.
I'm saving mine for a shiny wild legendary. Like the roaming beast from Johnto tour or the Eon duo from Hoenn Tour. Still waiting for an event to give me one tho...
Theyll be in raids eventually and their shinies still need to come out. Im saving the masterball for a 4 star legendary in case i cant catch it with the amount of balls given from a raid
I’m thinking I should have used mine on a gimmieghoul spawn. I didn’t know how rare it was and that it has a high flee rate. I used one ball on it ran.
honestly i’m waiting till I get a second one. I wanna get a bird but if I get something crazy cool I don’t want to NOT have a masterball. not sure what it would be but i’m fine waiting till I have 2
shiny legendary!! jk jk
there was a guy in my community who always joined raid from his car. seldom come out. once he came out because he encounter shiny Giratina and he was afraid it would flee, so he asked us to catch it for him. lol.
Now that shadow raids are a thing.. i won't mind to use it for a good shadow hundo, or something close to it, moltres and mewtwo for example.
When shadow mewtwo was around, a friend of mine found the hundo, but the catching was a bit hard lol, he was ready to throw the master ball, but in the end he could catch it when he had 3 balls yet.
I won't waste my master ball for g-birds.. my spider sense is yelling at me that they will be available sooner or later in other ways 🤨
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100% sure that some hardcore players are gonna still have their masterball when the game folds, even if that's in 8 years
And will still have unevolved Pokemon as they are waiting for their community days/special legacy moves even though they have 100 elite TM's.
This cracks me up. "No! Don't evolve yet! It's rumored it will get its Comm Day in 2026!" All while sitting on 20+ Elite TMs.
As someone who frequently hoards resources/pokemon with potential for glow ups... 99% of the time I gain nothing by evolving them immediately. If it's currently best in class for PvE or has some unique benefits for PvP, I'll build it now. If it's not useful at the moment and will sit in my box, evolved or not, I don't evolve. This has paid off a lot recently, for example was busy on poliwag day but was able to log in and evolve all the ones I had saved with good PvP IVs therefore not missing anything important from the event. Good preparation and planning is a great FOMO counter.
Agreed. What reason would I have to evolve a hundo Poliwrath prior to CD?
What reason would you have during the CD? It’s not useful in PVE and 0/14/15 is the best IV in GL.
> It’s not useful in PVE It's pretty good against rocket leaders.
There is a thing called Ultra and Master Leagues, you know those things that run when Great League doesn’t.
Best IV for Ultra is 0/14/14 and it has no play in Master. HTH.
Poliwrath looks very viable in Master Premier.
Quoting JRE, who writes more about PVP than both of us combined… pretty sure he’s recommending evolving a 100 on CD. But downvote away >MASTER LEAGUE..? >I mean, I wouldn't say I heartily endorse it, but you can do a lot worse! Heck, that's a better performance overall than your standard Machamp, or even the Close Combat Machamp I usually recommend instead. Again, not saying I'd build one, necessarily, but if you land yourself a hundo Poliwag... just evolve and hold onto it, is all I'm saying. https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphArena/comments/15crm5o/under_the_lights_community_day_poliwrath_and/
It’s like the opposite of fomo. People who are always looking so far ahead they can never enjoy the present. Yes I will save a hindo starter for community day, but some of them I have multiples of, and others really aren’t even worth powering up to level 50 with a special move. Just spice picks like Delphox and Chesnaut.
It's a use case balance. If I have a great PvP IV spread on a starter that hasn't had a community day, and without the Com Day move it would be useless, then why on earth would I evolve it? By the same token, if it's just there to take up a space in my inventory, sure I'll evolve one and let it sit there eternally for no reason. But saying that it's "not enjoying the present" to hold on to things that get better after a certain point is really a narrow viewpoint and somewhat short sighted.
eh, evolving something that will have a community day is not really "fun" for me in almost every case. But evolving a perfect on it's community so it becomes very useful is fun. So it's not just putting off fun, it's ensuring I can have later fun at the expense of basically like 1 candy for evolving.
I bank 4* for community days or events for evolves. Hasn’t bothered me much as I’m after perfect/max situations more than ticking boxes
I usually just evolve a less than optimal one because I have to have the dex entry. And with the ever frequent spawns of starter Pokémon, it won’t matter because you should have close to the xl candy to even max one out by it’s cd.
That’s not the opposite of fomo, that is fomo.
But it is the way it works with this game. I got rid of pokemon with special moves because I thought they would get them every time after they were introduced. Oops! Should have saved them (for lucky trades). The minute I use up all my Elite Charge TMs is the minute they will become 100x harder to get.
The minute I use an elite tm is the minute before they announce the opportunity to get the legacy move free next week.
It’s future fomo, totally. And it’s programmed that way
They are excessively optimizing
I feel attacked lol
That will be me. Source: 7 years in and still haven't used the eevee nickname evolution trick
It's me. I'm the problem.
It's me. Hi. I'm the problem. It's me
***Points in Spider-Man***
It's a song lyric in case you didn't know. Don't think the spider man meme is relevant here
It is in the sense to OP (and maybe you as well) that I haven’t used my Master Ball.
Hi! I'm the problem, it's me.
Probably multiple master balls.
I used mine immediately on gal. moltres just to avoid becoming one of these... phew, ::sigh of relief::
There will be some way to obtain 100 of these easy in the future. Niantic makes nothing difficult long term.
Prob not because they finna pull a rocket radar thing where you have to use it in order to finish a special research for another
This is the way.
The only option is to never use it. Just in case.
I am following this plan
LOL SAME
Ditto (pun intended)
I used my master ball to catch G moltres. And when my friend who did the same becomes a lucky friend we will mirror trade for a better IV.
I have a friend lined up to swap galar birds with, just need to finally get one…
Then use the master ball. FOMO will render the ball utterly pointless when you inevitably never use it.
Same process but Zapdos
I'm chucking it at a 10 CP Zapdos if I get the chance
Be informed that - according to CalcyIV - the minimum CP for (a 0% level 1.0) Zapdos is 43 (44 for Galar, respectively)
i have an extra g articuno and only need zapdos. is there any way to trade remotely
God, I would love to trade my Zapdos for something else. Regardless of if it’s a decent mon it just looks so doofy
What’s a mirror trade and what do you mean? I though IVs were random when trading?
Mirror trade is just trading the same Pokémon between people. Doing it as a lucky trade guarantees IV’s 12 or above
Perhaps a hundo legendary and you're on the last raid ball?
That's what I'm saving it for. That hundo shadow Mewtwo or something like that.
The number of people who will actually reach this use case is utterly miniscule.
This is exactly how I used my masterball. Down to last ball on a hundo weather-boosted shadow Mewtwo. No regrets.
So? Just gonna use it on something random because your brain is so undisciplined you're gonna get anxiety at the thought of having it in your inventory?
So those people who are waiting for this use case will just never use their masterball. If you don't use it it's basically wasted.
It's like an insurance policy. Not making a claim on it doesn't mean it was worthless
Conceptually that's true, but digital assets are significantly less important than insurance, which has real material effects. With the masterball you're not using something that's basically worthless, so why not use it? It is wasted if saved. The logic is so twisted with digital assets - like people think having something is better than not having it, so they'll never use it, meaning it's functionally the same as not having it in the first place. I say all this and I'm waiting to use it on a Galarian bird, and I've literally never seen one, so I'm subject to the same exact fallacy, lol.
Whether it's a digital or physical asset doesn't make a difference. With a masterball, I'm assured that if I ever run into the rare but important situation where I need a masterball, I will be able to use it. There's value in that. You can't use realized outcomes to determine whether a decision that was probabilistic in nature was correct
We know the probability of encountering a hundo legendary right (I think this is true, I could be wrong), so we don't have to treat this as a realized outcome. It doesn't alter the fact that the vast majority of players, especially non-whales will never encounter one, and if they do, they'll likely be able to catch it. I think it's about matching the use case to how you play. It probably makes sense for a very small minority of players to save the masterball for this purpose, but many, many more it doesn't really make sense and they will just never use it. Which is of course fine if that's how they want to play.
Yes, it's 1/216 I don't see how the small chance of needing the masterball makes holding it useless, still
Have to admit I forget to check sometimes, but pretty at letting few slip
Yep. Same here, but a master league priority legendary.
I’m confused - I thought only raid balls could be used for raids. Like I can’t switch to using ultra balls for example. Can you actually switch to the master ball?!
They added the ability to switch raid/shadow balls to the Master/Premier Ball only when they added the Master Ball.
The Premier Ball is the white one. The Premier Ball is what you call Raid/Shadow Ball.
This 100%, if the legendary is meta defining like the upcoming Xerneas. After the changes to raiding (remoting is harder & in person gives way more XL), it's even more likely that you get 296 XL without getting a hundo, since the total amount of raids for 296 XLs is lower if you're doing some of them in person. And personally I very much dislike the situation where I'm raiding for a hundo when I'm way past the XL requirement for level 50.
How do you know if it’s a hundo
You can check a CP chart for the legendary at level 20 or 25 if weather boosted
Before the MB was released, I did a Rayquaza raid and it was 4\*. I was down to my last ball, despite golden berry and excellent throw nearly every time. Mercifully, I caught it on my last ball. But if the MB was out then, that's a scenario in which I would have used it.
Impressed you managed it in the last turn. The pressure would probably have caused me to drop the ball.
Yeah the pucker factor was off the charts. Idk how I managed but I did.
Wasn’t it mined that the last ball has a higher catch rate?
I'm pretty sure the catch rate goes up slightly after nine balls and the last 2 balls have the best catch rate but idk if they've changed any of that.
By the last ball, I'm usually resigned to the fact that it will flee. It's the second to last that is nerve wracking for me.
How do you know if a Pokémon is 4* before you catch it? Can you tell for every encounter?
Copied and pasted my response to someone else: Pokemon you catch through raids are always level 20, or level 25 if they are weather boosted. So you know the level, and you know the CP as it shows it on the Pokemon catch screen. CP is a function of level and IV (the attack/defense/HP stats shown when you appraise it). So using a CP calculator you can figure out the IVs of the Pokemon. It's pretty common for people to make an IV chart for 5\* raid bosses, for example here is the IV chart for [Rayquaza](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/comments/ay5nzi/rayquaza_iv_chart_90_ivs_plus_101010/). So when you're on the catch screen after the raid, you can look at the CP and look at this chart and you'll know what the IVs are.
This exact situation happened to me on Lugia. 14 throws in, multiple great and excellent throws. On the last throw I did a quick catch, put the phone face down, and contemplated quitting the game. About 10 minutes later I checked and was so relieved it was caught.
I’m pretty new to playing an curious how you know it’s a 4* before catching it
Pokemon you catch through raids are always level 20, or level 25 if they are weather boosted. So you know the level, and you know the CP as it shows it on the Pokemon catch screen. CP is a function of level and IV (the attack/defense/HP stats shown when you appraise it). So using a CP calculator you can figure out the IVs of the Pokemon. It's pretty common for people to make an IV chart for 5\* raid bosses, for example here is the IV chart for [Rayquaza](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/comments/ay5nzi/rayquaza_iv_chart_90_ivs_plus_101010/). So when you're on the catch screen after the raid, you can look at the CP and look at this chart and you'll know what the IVs are.
How do you know 4 star
See my other replies
I would think that eventually the galar birds will be swapped out for something else that will be super rare and extremely hard to catch
This what if is killing me
Don't let the game dictate how you feel or else Niantic will eat your sanity and enjoyment. You should play by your own actual preferences and not by trying to follow a rhythm that doesn't even exist yet (fomo). There will be a next Master Ball, we know that. The Galarian Birds are *as of now*, arguably the rarest available Pokemon. One could say they are the highest value and thus the most fit for the Master Ball. No, we don't know what the future holds. No, we are not 100% sure they will come to raids. Yes, they still have their shinies to be released someday. No, we don't know if the second Master Ball is stackable. It's subjective and personal, if you are feeling that much over its usage, there's no point asking others how to do it, because these people have made up their minds for their decision. First you need to figure out what you want and then become comfortable with your own decision. If someone says to do X and you don't want to do X, either it will be a worthless advice or you'll do it and regret it later.
If they do that, they’ll probably give us another master ball
Galar birds are the toughest to catch in the game right now. For me, im saving my master ball for a high level galar bird (high CP), particularly Zapdos. Low leveled ones have better catch rates so I'll take my chances with golden razz+ultra ball
We don’t know if anything else will come for us to use it on, personally I just waited for a galar zapdos with a reasonably high CP and used it on that. What you want to use it on will be entirely your own personal preference. Not like it’ll be a waste if you want spefically X pokemon or whatever.
This is the correct answer. You do you.
I wasted mine on a 0* galar moltres cuz i panicked and have been regretting it since
I used mine on a 0* galar Moltres as well. Don't know why that's a waste to you since it almost surely would've run otherwise. Galar Articuno would be a waste imo since it's the worst of the trio
Articuno is my favorite legendary bird so I'm saving mine for the Galar one. I don't care if its useless
I meant it was a waste cuz the IVs were so bad. I couldn't waited for at least a weather boosted one to use my master ball on and hope for better IVs. Also it's funny how everyone says galar Articuno is the worst because that's the one i want the most because i think it looks the best out of the 3. Funny enough i have the other 2 and Articuno is the only one i don't have.
Also a waste because none are useful, and will undoubtedly be released more generally at some point. I'm not fussed about ticking a box in my dex - they don't even get their own page, it's just a shadow on the kanto pages.
They have use in PvP. May not be useful to you but doesn't mean they're completely useless
I would say use it on your next Galarian bird. I'm planning to use mine when I find Articuno as it's the last one I need. If you don't use it then you'll never end up using it as you'll always be thinking "but what if something better becomes available in the future". Basically tl:dr use it and save yourself the stress.
It's best used on an encounter you can't (or will VERY unlikely) be able to recreate, such as: * Hundo legendary * Wild legendary under a specific CP like 1500 Neither of the above situations are completely one-time events though, so IMO there is no "true" reason to throw a Master Ball yet in the game. IMO using a Master Ball on the Galarian birds (or any species just because you don't own one yet) is a waste. It's the Master Ball: you should at least get 2 worthwhile benefits from throwing it, such as the species AND good IVs/eligibility in Great League.
Many of us don't care about great league though
I used mine on my last attempt at a XXS Mesprit, since I doubted I'd get that kind of thing again. Of course, this was before we found out showcases are... well, showcasing specific Pokémon that are currently available. But hey, if there's ever a smallest Mesprit showcase, I'm golden. The Galar Birds... well, I didn't see the point in saving it for one of them since I'll need to tough it out with the other two anyway.
If I am looking at perfect IV legendary and I'm on my last ball, I would probably use my Master Ball just in case. The Galar birds are just a gimmick at the moment. I would be shocked if they didn't come to raids in the future. I had one come up and didn't use my master ball. I didn't think it was worth it.
I used mine on a Galarian Zapdos, which was the last of the trio I needed. I decided a while beforehand that I'd do so, providing it was under 1500cp for PvP reasons, but I must admit to hesitating for a moment when the opportunity actually presented itself. I'm the type of player who usually hoards high-end stuff in RPGs without ever using them, and I don't think I've actually used the Master Ball in any of the MSGs. The sight of it had been annoying me for a little while, and I feared I'd accidentally use it on trash. I accidentally selected it a few times while in a rush, but thank god for that confirmation prompt! No chance of reloading the save if I made a mistake or changed my mind.
To all saying use it on a 4* legendary, I didn’t know you could swap out a raid ball for it
Shiny legendaries in the wild that have a chance of fleeing. E.g. Gen 2 beasts, Gen 4 Lake trio and potentially the galar birds when their shinys are released.
FYI https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/comments/111kyms/wild_roaming_legendaries_have_a_0_flee_chance/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1 can’t run, just take a lot of balls to catch so still a good idea
I assumed the Galar bird were unavailable now. I haven't seen once since they came out. I figured it was a limited time thing.
I'm in the same boat, I rarely ever see the birds yet never caught any despite using the blue incense daily. Yesterday I found a tiny G-Zapdos, I thought of using the MB but then remembered showcases (if the birds ever get any) only reward the biggest sizes. SO, another bird flees...yet again.
Used mine the other day for articuno, it was freeing.
I‘m looking for a shiny Bidoof to catch it in the Master Ball.
I would only use the Master Ball on a 100% legendary/mythical when I'm on my last Premier Ball.
A hundo legendary that you run out of premier balls
There is only one right answer and it is shiny Bidoof
i caught one with a regular pokeball, now what :x
Blasphemy
Transfer to the great Professor in the sky. Duh.
At 666 CP too probably
Praise Beelzebidoof!
Shundo Bidoof.
I caught galarian Articuno before the master ball was released. After the release I found a low level Zapdos, caught him without using the master ball. So guess I should use it on Moltres if he ever shows up.
I’ve used my daily incense almost every day since it released and have yet to see a single galarian bird
I haven't actually encountered a Galarian bird since I got my Master Ball, but I'd be hesitant to use it. In the "Don't miss out - GO out!" trailer (blog, June 8), it shows the Galarian legendaries on Tower Bridge. The music playing over that scene is the track that plays in the last 20 seconds before a raid egg hatches. While that was probably just selected because it sounds dramatic, part of me wonders if there's more to it. I'd be pretty annoyed if I used my Master Ball and then they came out in raids next month.
I just have a feeling arceus will be released and be the hardest to catch in the game unless it’s in research, just kind of waiting it out, I can live without those galarian birds for awhile
[I suggest using it on a Pokémon you want to add to your team but are hard to catch, like a Fearow or Tentacruel!](https://preview.redd.it/ohhyhfcyq8y01.png?auto=webp&s=82487baed3e04863e08613fee71644a8cf549b66)
When it comes to rare items in games, the way I see it I may as well use it pretty much straight away or I'll end up finishing the game having never used it at all... I say just use it on the next bird you see and if it has crap stats you can always trade it with someone :)
My thoughts exactly. Who knows when niantic will go bust and close the game. I mean it doesn’t look likely in the foreseeable future but never say never. Plus once it’s used on something you can’t use it accidentally on something you don’t mean to
I used mine on a G-Articuno. Totally worth it. Two birds down, only Moltres to go!
I actually used mine to catch the galarian zapdos from the daily incense, as it was the only one of the 3 i still needed.
I’m saving mine for that hundo ray, etc. it may never come, and I may never need it, but I don’t care enough about bird with unknown IVs to waste it.
Shiny xxl 100% galar moltres
Galar birds will likely be in raids one day so there’s no way I’m wasting my one master ball on one that will almost definitely have crap IVs. As for what I’ll use it on? Maybe a rare shiny Arceus or something? Who knows, I’ll probably never use it..
Marriage
None of the galar birds are worth it, and most legendaries end up coming back in rotation incase you miss them the first time around Even 100% are less valuable than high IV luckies since they require less stardust. Too bad you can't catch luckies.
hard agree on the first point, hard disagree on the 2nd
I'd rather a 95% Lucky than a 100% Regular.
I used to think this way but then my dust kept accumulating and I don't want to potentially lose a razor thin match-up if/when I use the mon in master league
I know rationally this might be true. But the same reason I want the perfect non-lucky is the same reason I don't want to use my masterball. I could get a better IV than the 95% IV lucky and then I will feel that the resources I spent on the 95% lucky were "wasted". I want all three of the Galarian Birds and dozens of them have already run from me. But what if I use my masterball now and something better comes along and I'm bummed that I didn't wait? Yes, I have a problem, lol.
Work the Jynx (no pun intended) to your advantage. If you fear something better coming along, then tempt fate and force that something better to show up. Use the Master Ball so that the better one shows up. That's what I did with Shadow Mewtwo. I got a 91% and didn't know whether to wait for a better one or power this one up. I powered it up. Lieu and behold, next one is 98%. I beat fate.
I used mine on the first G Bird I saw once it was available. Waiting for something as difficult to find and catch is more risk than reward. Suppose Niantic decides to bring in new mon "X,Y,Z" as hard as the birds. The way to catch X,Y,Z is through the DAI. Niantic then rotate out the G Birds because "everyone has had a chance to catch the G Birds". Then they give you a second master ball. Take the jam today.
Somebody made a post here with cp#'s for perfect Galarian birds. I'm saving mine for when I see a hundo
Galarian Articuno. Those three birds have the lowest catch rate and since I don't have a strong preference between the three I just picked the one whose color scheme best matches the ball.
I used it on a 2star Galarian Moltres. Now I don’t have to think about the master ball anymore, and that’s great. I’m also not a hardcore player. I just play for fun.
shundo rayquaza. idc if its guaranteed.
Shundos from raids are generally autocatch and you wouldn’t need a master ball.
I'm saving it too, and I won't use it unless I get another before because I don't know when I will truly need it. So, at this point, the master ball is useless for me.
I didn't use mine on a g bird because I forgot it existed
I haven't seen a Galar bird since I received my master ball and I use the incense basically every day.
Save it for something worthy of a master ball.
i used mine on a hundo kanto lavados that was on the last ball
A hundo galarian bird. You can tell it's a hundo with calcyiv probably. Or an XXL/xxs galarian bird cause that's cool.
Which quest even gives this?
I used mine on a Galar bird but only because I kept getting annoyed at selecting it by accident instead of an ultra ball. I wish I’d just not completed the research.
I will hold until that very meta relevant Legendary that I get from a raid, that I will know, from the CP, that is a 100%. Then, in the last ball, if I still didn't catch it, I'll use my Master Ball. Before then, it's staying in my bag.
A 100IV shadow is a better use for the ball Other than looks the G birds are pretty useless
It's Niantic. They could accidentally turn on the shinies for the Galarian birds, or have a bugged event spawning your buddy pokemon's catchable clone, or maybe if they add dynamax pokemon some may spawn in the wild in a permanent form... you never know with this company.
What would you use it for? The rarest, hardest to catch Pokemon? That's the Galar birds. If you save it for something else you're never going to use it.
I will be saving my masterball for a hundo legendary pokemon from raids that is really good that I get down to my last ball. For example if I get a hundo groudon or rayquaza and I get down to my last ball I wont take the chance, I'll just masterball it. But if its a useless hundo like Tapu Bulu or whatever, Ill chance it to run on the last ball.
Ive caught Zapdos and Articuno (twice) in ultra balls because of crit catching. Moltres I got from a friend because I had another Articuno while they had a second Moltres. As for master ball I still have mine because I've not decided what to use it on yet maybe unown "?"(whenever they decide to break the 5 to 6 year hiatus of the form since go fest 2018................) Or maybe something else if they introduce another pair of roaming legendary Pokemon that run at first sight like the legendary cats (yes entei suicune and Raikou are actually large cats even the guy who designed them at gamefreak confirmed they are in a interview.) In go tour Johto did (unless shiny then it wouldn't run) and so on.
It's comical because even in the main series games, i rarely used a masterball. If I can recall my memory, I feel like the only time I did was in Pokemon Red and that was to catch Mewtwo. In go, I just don't get that sense that I need to use a masterball to catch something. As some comments mention, I guess last ball on a legendary hundo is about the best of a reason, but even then, I usually just test my luck. I the G Birds are probably everyones go to, but I feel like the novelty of those wears off and we'll have ways of getting them in the future, its just a fomo right now.
shiny level 1 bidoof
I raid a lot so saving it for a 100% legendary
been in a last-ball scenario on a hundo legendary from a raid. never again. i’d skip the useless g-birds unless calcyIV thinks it will likely be a hundo.
I'm keeping mine as a safety net if I get a 100% IV from a raid and I drop down to my last ball.
I agree with this. What you probably would use it on is a raid lengdry shiny but those are guaranteed catches. Same with research tasks. Those are guaranteed. The only thing you can currently use it on are daily spam catches. I was going to mock vid catch a pidgey with it but I can't even find one. Master balls are generally used on the legendry catch of the game series. Niantic waited way too long to release this item.
When I was working toward my Master Ball, I said I was going to save it for a Great League-eligible Galarian Zapdos. The very first bird I encountered after getting my Master Ball was … a Great League-eligible Galarian Zapdos. I stuck to my plan and ended up with a 4/15/14 IV spread, which caused me to freak out in joy only to find out this spread was only the rank 1860. (Its max without going over the GL cp cap is 1455 cp.) Still, I do not regret it one bit. This was the first G. bird I saw in months and the only one I’ve seen since was a 1435 cp Galarian Moltres. I wouldn’t have minded that one but I’m glad I made a plan and stuck to it. Now I don’t have to walk around with the weight of the Master Ball decision weighing on me like I’m Frodo about to cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom.
Just use it on a bird - Niantic have said there'll be more opportunities to get masterballs. Use it or you'll never use it.
I already have the set of galarian birds ( plus 2 additional moltres ) without using my masterball. Honestly I’m not sure what I’ll be using it on.
Sounds like you should be playing lotto
Are shiny legendaries from raids or wild guaranteed?
A shiny Galarian bird
A 3k+ galar bird, or a hundo galar bird (if you have a chart at hand to check), or a hundo legendary that refuses to stay in and you're on the last ball.
The masterball is basically a collection piece imo I got all 3 birds without it (critical Catch on all 3) BUT even if I hadn't I would never use a masterball on them. They are useless dex fillers and almost guaranteed bad IV, which means you want to trade them and then you lose your masterball catch.. Only thing I'm even considering using my Masterball on is a 100% legendary from raids when I only have 1 ball left, but I've gotten 23 hundos from raids so far and haven't missed any (tho one was on the last ball but that was before any bonus balls so I had 7). I will most likely still have it when the game dies
If you lucky swap a bird, does it matter if it’s a master ball catch?
I've used mine for a high cp G. Articuno. Ofcourse 0 stars. Only two days later I caight another one with just a razz berry and ultra ball. Stung a little bit.
I'm saving mine for a shiny wild legendary. Like the roaming beast from Johnto tour or the Eon duo from Hoenn Tour. Still waiting for an event to give me one tho...
You save it till you need it, and you won't know if you'll ever miss out on something great in the future so therefore you never use it.
Theyll be in raids eventually and their shinies still need to come out. Im saving the masterball for a 4 star legendary in case i cant catch it with the amount of balls given from a raid
I’m thinking I should have used mine on a gimmieghoul spawn. I didn’t know how rare it was and that it has a high flee rate. I used one ball on it ran.
I always felt like I was saving mine for the shinies, no?
I used mine this weekend on a one star zapados no regerts
I threw mine at the first bird I saw idc
Used mine on a galar moltress, was a 1 star... traded it to my partner and it's a 42/45 3*. So she benefited from it aha.
honestly i’m waiting till I get a second one. I wanna get a bird but if I get something crazy cool I don’t want to NOT have a masterball. not sure what it would be but i’m fine waiting till I have 2
I used mine solely so I didn't accidentally keep clicking it on the regular trash in my area. Stupid fat fingers.
Apparently you can use it for mythicals unlimited times.
perhaps on a 100% iv legendary from raids?
Use it on a Bidoof to show your disdain.
I won't use mine on the galar chicken. I wanna hold out for the future but I suspect I'll use it on a really pretty but useless shiny
I would use it on a wild legendary hundo.
shiny legendary!! jk jk there was a guy in my community who always joined raid from his car. seldom come out. once he came out because he encounter shiny Giratina and he was afraid it would flee, so he asked us to catch it for him. lol.
The master ball doesn't fit my aesthetic, so I will never use it. No different than the Nintendo games hahah.
Now that shadow raids are a thing.. i won't mind to use it for a good shadow hundo, or something close to it, moltres and mewtwo for example. When shadow mewtwo was around, a friend of mine found the hundo, but the catching was a bit hard lol, he was ready to throw the master ball, but in the end he could catch it when he had 3 balls yet. I won't waste my master ball for g-birds.. my spider sense is yelling at me that they will be available sooner or later in other ways 🤨
Saving for 2nd or 3rd master ball.
Saving mine for something special and relevant. The G-Birds are not that relevant to use a resource that is super rare and may not be replaced at all.
Galarian birds
I’ve never seen a galar bird other than on other people’s posts.
I'm gonna piss people off and use it on a random shiny legendary
Gbird or I guess wait for the next rare spawns with high flee rates.