The Timer Ball (Japanese: タイマーボール Timer Ball) is a type of Poké Ball introduced in Generation III. It can be used to catch a wild Pokémon, being more likely to succeed the longer it has been since the start of the battle. It was developed by the Devon Corporation.
Contents
1In the core series games
1.1Price
1.2Effect
1.2.1Manual activation
1.2.2Held item
1.3Description
1.4Acquisition
1.4.1Distribution
1.5NPC usage
1.5.1Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
1.5.2Pokémon Legends: Z-A
2Gallery
2.1Artwork
2.2Sprites
2.3Models
3In animation
3.1Pokémon the Series
3.1.1Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
4In the manga
4.1Pokémon Adventures
4.1.1Emerald arc
5In the TCG
6Trivia
7In other languages
8Related articles
In the core series games
Price
Games
Cost
Sell price
RSEFRLGDPPtHGSSBWB2W2XYORASSMUSUMSwShBDSP
$1,000
$500
SVZA
$1,000
$250
Effect
Manual activation
When used from the Bag in a wild encounter, it attempts to catch the wild Pokémon. It has a catch rate modifier that increases with the number of turns that have passed in the encounter (so this counter is 0 on the first turn), calculated as follows:
From Generations III to IV: modifier=min(turns+1010,4)
From Generation V onward: modifier=min(1+turns×12294096,4)
Turns passed
Catch rate modifier
Gen. III-IV
Gen. V+
0
1
1
1
1.1
5325/4096 (~1.3)
2
1.2
6554/4096 (~1.6)
3
1.3
7783/4096 (~1.9)
4
1.4
9012/4096 (~2.2)
5
1.5
10241/4096 (~2.5)
6
1.6
11470/4096 (~2.8)
7
1.7
12699/4096 (~3.1)
8
1.8
13928/4096 (~3.4)
9
1.9
15157/4096 (~3.7)
10
2
4
11
2.1
12
2.2
13
2.3
14
2.4
15
2.5
16
2.6
17
2.7
18
2.8
19
2.9
20
3
21
3.1
22
3.2
23
3.3
24
3.4
25
3.5
26
3.6
27
3.7
28
3.8
29
3.9
30+
4
In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the total number of moves used since the beginning of the battle by both the wild Pokémon and the player's active Pokémon is used as the turn counter instead, and the individual bonuses only go up per 10 moves; if less than 11 moves have been used in the battle, the multiplier is 1×. If between 11 and 20 moves have been used in the battle, the multiplier is 2×. If between 21 and 30 moves have been used in the battle, the multiplier is 3×. If at least 30 moves have been used in the battle, the multiplier is 4×.
If used on an Ultra Beast, the catch rate modifier is instead always set to 410/4096× (~0.1×).
The Timer Ball cannot be used in situations in which Poké Balls cannot be used, such as in wild battles with two or more opponents currently present or against a trial Pokémon. If used in a Trainer battle (except if used as a Snag Ball on a Shadow Pokémon), the opposing Trainer will deflect it, wasting the ball (prior to Generation IV) or only the player's turn (since Generation IV). If used on the ghost Marowak, it will dodge it, wasting the ball.
Held item
Fling fails if the user is holding a Timer Ball.
Description
Games
Description
RS
More effective as more turns are taken in battle.
EXD
A Ball that gains power in battles taking many turns.
FRLG
A somewhat different Ball that becomes progressively better the more turns there are in a battle.
Colo
A Ball that works better the more turns in battle.
DPPtHGSSBWB2W2
A somewhat different Ball that becomes progressively better the more turns there are in a battle.
XYORASSMUSUMPE
A somewhat different Poké Ball that becomes progressively more effective the more turns that are taken in battle.
SwShBDSPLA
A somewhat different Poké Ball that becomes progressively more effective at catching Pokémon the more turns that are taken in battle.
SV
A somewhat different Poké Ball that becomes more effective at catching Pokémon the more turns that are taken in battle.
ZA
A somewhat different Poké Ball that becomes more effective at catching a Pokémon the more actions the target has taken.
Acquisition
Games
Finite methods
Repeatable methods
RSE
Trick House (Second Puzzle)
Rustboro Poké Mart (after receiving a Repeat Ball from the Devon Employee on Route 116)
FRLG
Two Island vendor (after upgrading the Network Machine with the Ruby and Sapphire)
Colo
The Under Subway
Outskirt Stand (after Duking's first email)
XD
Citadark IsleRealgam Tower (Battle CD 27 and 28 completion prizes)
Outskirt Stand
DPPt
Route 207Pt
Canalave, Snowpoint, and Pokémon League Poké Marts, Celestic Town shopPokémon News Press
HGSS
Goldenrod Department Store lottery (second prize)Sa
PW
Sinnoh Field (2500+ steps)
BW
Castelia City, Chargestone Cave, Icirrus City, Challenger's CavePasserby Analytics HQ (complete "How long have you been playing?" survey)
Opelucid and Pokémon League Poké Marts; Shopping Mall Nine
B2W2
Route 12, Castelia City, Striaton CityPasserby Analytics HQ (complete "How long have you been playing?" survey)
Opelucid, Victory Road, and Icirrus Poké Marts; Shopping Mall Nine
DW*
Rugged Mountain
XY
Routes 19 and 17; Geosenge Town, Poké Ball Factory
Coumarine, Snowbelle, and Lumiose (South Boulevard) Poké Marts; Poké Ball Boutique
ORAS
Rustboro Poké Mart (after speaking to the Scientist on Route 116)Route 119 (20% chance after a rematch with Pokémon Ranger Catherine and Pokémon Ranger Jackson)
PMC*
Mine Cart Adventure (all levels)
SMUSUM
Blush Mountain
Paniola Poké Mart, Thrifty MegamartFestival Plaza (Ball Shop)MUM
SwSh
All Wild Area Watt Traders (50 W)Hammerlocke Poké Mart (Southern Pokémon Center)Reward from Ball Guy for clearing Champion Cup tournament during post-game (×3, 5% chance)
Snowslide Slope Watt Trader (50 W)Hidden recurring item (Frostpoint Field, Giant's Bed, Ballimere Lake)Reward from Ball Guy for clearing Galarian Star Tournament during post-game (×3, 5% chance)
BDSP
Canalave, Snowpoint, and Pokémon League Poké Marts, Celestic Town shopPokémon News Press
SV
Area Zero, Asado Desert, Casseroya Lake, Glaseado Mountain, East Province (Area Three), North Province (Area Two), West Province (Area One)Reward for registering 220 Pokémon in the Paldea Pokédex (×10)
All Poké Marts (after earning 8 Gym Badges), Porto Marinada auction
Destroy Floating Poké Ball in Hyperspace Zones with Item Power: Poké Balls
Distribution
Games
Event
Language/Region
Distribution period
SV
Variety Ball Sets
Japan
November 18, 2022 to March 7, 2023
Miscellaneous items: Rare Candies, Max Revives and variety ball set
Japanese
April 13 to October 2, 2023
NPC usage
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Giacomo keeps his Pokémon in Timer Balls.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A
Grisham keeps his Pokémon in Timer Balls.
Gallery
Artwork
Artwork byKen Sugimori
Artwork fromGlobal Link
Artwork fromLegends: Z-A
Sprites
In-battle andSummary sprite fromGeneration III
Summary sprite fromColosseum
Summary sprite fromXD: Gale of Darkness
Summary sprite fromGenerations IV and V
In-battle sprite inGeneration IV
Summary sprite fromBattle Revolution
In-battle sprite inGeneration V
Models
In-battle model fromX, Y, Omega Ruby,Alpha Sapphire, Sun, Moon,Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon
Model fromGeneration VIII
In animation
A Timer Ball in Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
Pokémon the Series
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
A Timer Ball appeared in Which One ~ Is It?, a Japanese ending theme from Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl.
In the manga
A Timer Ball in Pokémon Adventures
Pokémon Adventures
Emerald arc
A Timer Ball first appeared in A Sketchy Smattering of Smeargle and Skirting Around Surskit I, where Emerald tried to use one to catch Jirachi. However, Guile Hideout, seeking to catch Jirachi for himself, used his sword to slice the Ball in two before it could hit its target.
More of Emerald's Timer Balls were seen in Sneaky Like Shedinja II, The Final Battle III, and The Final Battle V.
The Timer Ball was introduced as an Item card in the Pokémon Trading Card Game during the English Sun & Moon Series (the Japanese Sun & Moon Era). It was first released in the Japanese Collection Sun expansion and the English Sun & Moon expansion, with artwork by Toyste Beach. It allows the player to flip two Coins, search their deck for an Evolution Pokémon for each heads flipped, reveal them to the other player, and add them to their hand.
Trivia
Timer Balls can achieve one of the highest catch rates of any Poké Ball other than the Master Ball.
From Generation III to IV, Timer Balls have a better catch rate than Ultra Balls after 11 turns, and better than Dusk Balls after 26 turns.
From Generation V to VI, Timer Balls have a better catch rate than Ultra Balls after 4 turns, and better than Dusk Balls after 9 turns.
From Generation VII onward, Timer Balls have a better catch rate than Ultra Balls after 4 turns, and better than Dusk Balls after 7 turns.
Timer Ball is the only Poké Ball introduced in the first three generations that has not appeared in the animated series in any form outside of openings and endings.
In other languages
Language
Title
Chinese
Cantonese
計時球 Gaisìh Kàuh
Mandarin
計時球 / 计时球 Jìshí Qiú
French
Chrono Ball
German
Timerball
Indonesian
Bola Timer
Italian
Timer Ball
Korean
타이마볼 Timer Ball
Portuguese
Brazil
Bola Tempo
Portugal
Bola Tempo
Russian
Хроно-Болл Khrono-Boll
Spanish
Latin America
Turnobola
Spain
Turno Ball
Thai
ไทเมอร์บอล Timer Ball
Vietnamese
Bóng Time
Related articles
Poké Balls Poké Ball Great Ball Ultra Ball Master Ball Safari Ball Fast Ball Level Ball Lure Ball Heavy Ball Love Ball Friend Ball Moon Ball Sport Ball Net Ball Nest Ball Repeat Ball Timer Ball Luxury Ball Premier Ball Dive Ball Dusk Ball Heal Ball Quick Ball Cherish Ball Park Ball Dream Ball Beast Ball Strange Ball Hisuian Poké Balls (exclusive to Pokémon Legends: Arceus) Poké Ball Great Ball Ultra Ball Heavy Ball Leaden Ball Gigaton Ball Feather Ball Wing Ball Jet Ball Origin Ball
This item article is part of Project ItemDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all items.