Timer Ball - Bulbapedia, The Community-driven Pokémon Encyclopedia

Timer BallタイマーボールTimer Ball
Timer Ball
Pokémon Global Link artwork
Introduced in Generation III
Pocket
Generation III Poké Balls
Generation IV Poké Balls
Generation V Items (Poké Balls)
Generation VI Items
Generation VII Items
Generation VIII Poké Balls
Generation IX Poké Balls

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

  • 1 In the core series games
    • 1.1 Price
    • 1.2 Effect
      • 1.2.1 Manual activation
      • 1.2.2 Held item
    • 1.3 Description
    • 1.4 Acquisition
      • 1.4.1 Distribution
    • 1.5 NPC usage
      • 1.5.1 Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
      • 1.5.2 Pokémon Legends: Z-A
  • 2 Gallery
    • 2.1 Artwork
    • 2.2 Sprites
    • 2.3 Models
  • 3 In animation
    • 3.1 Pokémon the Series
      • 3.1.1 Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
  • 4 In the manga
    • 4.1 Pokémon Adventures
      • 4.1.1 Emerald arc
  • 5 In the TCG
  • 6 Trivia
  • 7 In other languages
  • 8 Related 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)
SwShIA Hidden recurring item (Brawlers' Cave)Cram-o-matic (White Apricorn)
SwShCT 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
SVTM Fellhorn Gorge, Reveler's Road, Wistful Fields Peachy's (after earning 8 Gym Badges)
SVID Polar Biome Vending machines (Terarium)Item Printer (Poké Ball Lotto)
ZA Poké Ball Boutique
ZAMD 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.

In the TCG

Timer Ball
Main article: Timer Ball (Sun & Moon 134)

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

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This item article is part of Project ItemDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all items.

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