Pokemon Sword & Shield: The Best Poke Balls, Ranked

There are a lot of Poke Balls that the player can acquire and use in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokemon Sword & Shield. Many have ideal conditions or circumstances that make them more effective while others are useful regardless of what’s going on. The best ones have a high catch rate and ideal scenarios that pop up frequently, but some can be surprisingl🍌y effective in some🦩 odd corner cases.

For players who want to fill out their Pokedex, it’s going to take a lot of capturing (which takes a lot of time and resources). To minimize the grind, frustration, and cost, it’s important to know which Poke Balls are best and when it's best to use them.

Updated August 19, 2022, by Gabrielle Huston: Pokemon live in Poke Balls at our sides, so may as well splurge for the very best ones! We've highlighted the advantage of every Poke Ball type here and indicated how you can get them in-game.

14 Love Ball

One Love Ball sitting in the grass in Pokemon Sword & Shield

Advantage	Improved catch rate if the Pokemon is the opposite sex as your Pokemon (especially ♓if it is the same species as your Pokemon)
How To Get It	Received the first time you speak to the Ball Guy in the Ballonlea Gym Chance of receiving it when you defeat the Pokemon League (excluding the first time you do it) 1% chance of receiving it when placing four Pink Apricorns in the Cram-o-matic

For non-legendaries, the Love Ball is a powerful option for those wanting something as effective as it is aesthetic. Gender is mostly useless in Pokemon besides breeding, but those wanting a colorful pink ball are benefited for catching Pokemon of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the opposite gender to the one they have in play.

This means it won’t work for genderless Pokemon (like legendaries), but nearly any other Pokemon you encounter will be able to get a b🌜oost from this. Those wishing to Shiny Hunt in the fields of Galar will surely f🅺ind success with it if they have at least one of each gender in their team.

13 Heavy Ball ꧃

Someone holding a Heavy Ball in the Pokemon anime

Advantage	Improved catch rate for heavy Po𓂃kemon; Pokemon are divided into weight🐎 classes and the heaviest Pokemon get the very best catch rate
How To Get It	Received the first time you speak to the Ball Guy in the Stow-on-Side Gym Chance of receiving it when you defeat the Pokemon League (excluding the first time you do it) 1% chance of receiving it when placing four Black Apricorns in the Cram-o-matic

While somewhat situational, the Heavy Ball is important to consider when you’re going after legendaries. Many of these Pokemon have 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:incredibly high weights due to their size, and the Heavy Ball thankfully accomplishes this through a higher rat�💧�e depending on the user’s heaviness.

An important warning is that this doesn’t apply to Gigantamax Pokemon, as their weight is te♛chnically unknown; the science behind them♋ still being a slight mystery in Galar. Nonetheless, it’s a great tool for some of the hardest opponents in the game, particularly the five Regis you can find within the Crown Tundra.

12 ♐ Level 🦩Ball

Advantage	Improved catch rate for Pokemon who a𓂃re lower level t🎀han your Pokemon
How To Get It	Received the first time you speak to the Ball Guy in the Hammerlocke Gym Chance of receiving it when you defeat the Pokemon League (excluding the first time you do it) 1% chance of receiving it when placing four Red Apricorns in the Cram-o-matic

One of the much rarer balls to find in Galar is the Level Ball, which has a much higher capture rate if yo▨ur Pokemon is substantially higher than the target. This will essentially give the same rates as an Ultra Ball if you’re higher in any amount, but being double or more the target’s level will raise it exponentially.

Since most Gigantamax Pokemon are around level 60-70, this means you can get a bonus with this particular rare ball just by using any 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:higher-level Pokemon. As a visual bonus, its rare gold coloring will only add to the premium status of whatever Pokemon you catch with it.

11 Nest Ball

Advantage	Improved catch rate for Pokemon who are lower level than𒐪 you♛r Pokemon
How To Get It	Purchased from the Motostoke Poke Mart for 1000 Poke Coins Purchased in the Wild Area for 50 Watts 24.7% chance of receiving it when placing four Red Apricorns in the Cram-o-matic

The Nest Ball is remarkably similar to the Level Ball, in that its catch rate improves based on the level of the Pokemon you’re fighting against. Unlike the Level Ball, though, this is much easier to take advantage of, as it simply grants a boost against any Pokemon🐷 below Level 30 that increases based on how far it is below that threshold.

This means it can be slightly more limited, but it also means you can easily catch many 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:weaker Pokemon early in the game without needing to damage them. For those who don’t want to kill every Pokemon as they hunt for a𒁏 Shiny or Marked Wooloo in the first routes of the game, this ball can be a great asset to a fast catching process.

10 ꦑ Safari Ball

Red from the Pokemon Origins anime with a Safari Ball

Advantage	Improved catch rate for all Pokemon
How To Get It	0.1% chance of receiving it when placing any four Apricorns in the Cram-o-matic

Perhaps the rarest ball in the entire game, the Safari Ball is especially strange in Pokemon Sword & Shield by being only obtainable as a rare result from putting Apricorns in the Cram-O-Matic. This ball is used to being in the Safari Zone, but it’s at least as e🌄ffective ♋as any ball when it’s outside this retired environment.

In fact, most trainers might be surprised to know this ball is even better than a typical Poke Ball, as it has the same 2x capture rate that the Ultra Ball has. Given its extremely rare🐻 appearance in the game, and ability to catch Pokemon anywhere in Galar, it can be both a successful and glamorous option to store your prized partners.

9 🌸 ꦍ Ultra Ball

Advantage	Improved catch rate for all Pokemon
How To Get It	Purchased from any Poke Mart for 800 Poke Coins once you've earned your fifth Gym Badge Picked up on Route 6 Picked up in the Wild Area 24.7% chance of receiving it when placing four Red, Yellow, Pink, or Green Apricorns in the Cram-o-matic

If all else fails, this is the Poke Ball players want to be using. They cost 800 Poke Coins, are relatively easy to obtain, and have a solid 2x capture rate. There are certainly worse optio🦋ns and the average 🌃player can simply stock up on these and grind out captures without too many problems.

The reason it sits at the bottom of the list is because that 2x capture rate is low when compared to the others. It makes the list because they are very easy to come by, which c✱an’t always be said for the others. They also have the advantage of being useful for any and all scenari🦋os.

8 Dive Ball

Advantage	When used while you are riding your bike in the water or fishing, this ball has an impr🐟oved catch rate
How To Get It	Purchased from the Hammerlocke Poke Mart for 1000 Poke Coins Picked up on Route 9 Purchased in the Wild Area for 50 Watts Picked up in the Crown Tundra Picked up on the Isle of Armor Chance of receiving it when you defeat the Pokemon League (excluding the first time you do it) 24.7% chance of receiving it when placing four Blue Apricorns in the Cram-o-matic

Dive Balls give a 3.5x capture rate for Pokemon caught while surfing or fishing. While they're not as beneficial as other Poke Balls further up this list, they can be obtained in lots of different ways.

Water Pokemon are often used in PVP fights on rain teams and are strong in most PVE scenarios. Lots of players wi⛦ll have at least one Water-type on their roster thanks to their bulk ♕and powerful attacks.

7 Net Ball

Advantage	Improved catch rate for Water- or Bug- type P𓂃okem🍰on
How To Get It	Purchased from the Motostoke Poke Mart for 1000 Poke Coins Purchased in the Wild Area for 50 Watts 24.7% chance of receiving it when placing four Blue Apricorns in the Cram-o-matic

Net Balls have the same 3.5x capture rate as Dive Ball, with a few noticeable differe🍰nces. For one, they catch any Water-typ🐈e Pokemon regardless of how they’re encountered, and they can also catch Bug-type Pokemon.

This is nice for Water-types encountered outside of fishing or surfing, and helps when a strong Bug-type is encountered. It’s unclear if the effect stacks for the Water-Bug Araquanid, but they're still beneficial nonetheless since they’re the same price as Dive Balls and more varied in terms of usefulness.

6 🎉 Dream Ball

Advantage	Improved catch rate when the Pokemon is asleep
How To Get It	Received the first time you speak to the Ball Guy in the Ballonlea Gym

A powerful catching tactic since 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Generation 1 has been for players to knock out the target Pokemon via Sleep before attempting to capture. Being under the influence of Sleep makes the Pokemon more susceptible to being caught and the Dream Ball gives a nice 4x capture rate.

It doesn’t rank higher as some Pokemon are simply resistant to sleep and it requires the player to have a Pokemon that can reliably cause Sleep. The other downside is that they’♔re only obtained from the Ball Guy in Wyndon Stadium.

5 Timer Ball 𒐪

Advantage	Improved catch rate the longer you've been in battle with a Pokemon
How To Get It	Purchased from the Hammerlocke Poke Mart for 1000 Poke Coins Purchased in the Wild Area for 50 Watts 24.7% chance of receiving it when placing four White Apricorns in the Cram-o-matic

The Timer Ball has a 4x capture rate if 10 turns have passed in battle, meaning it’s incredibly handy whenever you’re going up against something with high HP and frustrating recovery abilities. The average player wouldꦺ benefit from having a few of these when trying to catchꦇ tougher monsters when their team is weaker.

The only reason the Timer Ball doesn’t rank higher is that it’s not terribly efficient. If someone is grinding captures for w𝓡hatever reason than having to wait 10 🌱turns before attempting a capture on each and every Pokemon is going to take a while.