What Is A Great Ball In "Pokemon Go?"

By now, everyone you know has probably jumped on the “Pokemon Go” bandwagon and is addicted. Now it’s not just enough to play the game; we all have to be the best at it. Enter: the Great Ball, ready to help you up your game. What is a Great Ball in “Pokemon Go”? Essentially, a Great Ball is a better version of the Pokeball (which you can kind of infer by the name, but it still had to be said). “Better” in that it can help you catch tougher Pokemon. So let’s break it down.

How does the Great Ball Differ From The Pokeball?

Aside from the name, you can differentiate a Great Ball from a regular Pokeball by its appearance. A regular Pokeball has a white bottom and a red top with a black ring—I shouldn’t even have to tell you this. A Great Ball, on the other hand, has a white bottom and a blue top, with two red marks on the top. In other words, it’s pretty easy to tell which one is which.

In terms of function, a Great Ball has a 50% higher chance of catching a Pokemon successfully than a Pokeball, according to Pokemon Wikia.

How do I get my hands on one?

If you’ve had your eye on a higher combat power Pokemon for a while, the Great Ball is going to come in handy for you. Thankfully, a Great Ball is actually pretty easy to get. The easiest way to snag one? Simply advance in the game. IGN.com reports that players can find a Great Ball after level 12. Once you reach level 12, you should receive around 20 Great Balls, and you can find them at PokeStops, too. As if you needed another reason to continue playing Pokemon Go, now you have Great Balls to look forward to.

So, Pokeballs and Great Balls—is that it?

No, it gets better. After reaching level 20, you can acquire what’s called an Ultra Ball, another high performance Poke Ball. Ultra Balls are rare, and although you can find them at some PokeStops, they won’t be available at every single one—so if you see one, snatch it up. Beyond that is the elusive Master Ball. MorningLedger speculates that Master Balls can be unlocked after level 40, but we don’t really know a whole lot of details—probably because not many people have gotten all the way up to level 40. If you’ve managed to unlock a Master Ball, props to you and I really hope you’ve got an unlimited data plan. Also, tell us your secrets.

How do I use a Great Ball or Ultra Ball?

In terms of mechanics, you use these specialty Pokeballs just like you would throw a regular one. However, you don’t want to go around throwing a Great Ball willy-nilly—you want to save it for the Pokemon that are more difficult to catch.

What if I don’t have a Great Ball yet?

If you're still a ways away from level 20, don’t fret. University Herald reports that you can pair a regular Pokeball with Razz Berries to spawn Great Balls so you can catch more difficult Pokemon. I’ll be honest, I don’t play "Pokemon Go" so I have no idea what any of that means, so I trust that if you’re playing the game you can take it from here.

Now go forth and catch ‘em all.

Images: Pokémon Go Malaysia/Twitter; Giphy (4)