Pokémon: Why A Poké Ball Has Never Caught A Human (2024)

In thePokémonfranchise,Poké Balls are devicesspecifically constructed for Pokémon capture, transport, and training. The devices arecritical to a Trainer's quest and are used for catching and storing Pokémon after capture. The technology behind Poké Balls is largely unknown with fans having a small understanding of what they do, but the basic mechanics are simple enough to understand and tend to remain uniform throughout the franchise. There are 27 different varieties ofPoké Balls found throughout the core series ofPokémon, each with distinct styles and strengths against onePokémon compared to another.Poké Balls have the capability to capturePokémon as common asRattata toPokémon as rare asArceus.With such capability, would a Poké Ball be able to capture a human?

Poké Balls are specifically constructed for Pokémon capture. In both thePokémon television series and the games, every attempt at catching a human with a Poké Ball has failed. The most recent instance ofPoké Ball's failing to catch humans would be in thePokémon: Sun and Moon Ultra Adventuresepisode "The Long Vault Home!".Ash and friends attempt to capture the Ultra Beast Stakataka, but it is elusive to their Poké Balls. Lillie has the idea in which everyone throws a Poké Ball atStakataka in different directions, butStakataka dodges them again and thePoké Balls are instead thrown to hit their faces, leading to thePokémon still being uncaught.

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However, something strange happens just two episodes before this in thePokémon: Sun and Moon Ultra Adventures episode "Dummy, You Shrunk the Kids!". Visiting Professor Faba creates a machine that manipulates the sizes of objects and stores them in capsules, similar to the way thatPoké Balls shrink downPokémon to fit inside. The machine shrinks Ash,Lillie, and Sophocles into miniature sizes, and they are able to fit inside the Poké Ball-like capsules. This suggests that potentially humans and non-Pokémonanimals could be captured withinPoké Balls, albeit with extreme manipulation.

Pokémon Shows Humans Inside Poké Balls In Gen 5

There is a reality in which fans have seen humans being captured insidePoké Balls, which took place inPokémon Black and White 2.Through thePokéstar Studios nearVirbank City, players could participate in theTimegate Traveler series. In this series, the future is ruled by Bug-type Pokémon that capture wild humans in "Human Balls" instead of the other way around. These "Human Balls" have no visual difference to Poké Balls. Within theentire Pokémon game franchise, this is the only known instance of humans being properly captured within a device that functions the exact same asPoké Balls without direct manipulation of the human being captured inside.

In the end, Poké Balls are devices still specifically constructed for Pokémon. The amount of manipulation that would have to take place for humans to be able to fit insidePoké Balls is dangerous and even Professor Faba's invention did not use the same technology thatPoké Balls use. APoké Ball thrown at a human with the intent to capture would only result in the person getting injured. There have been manyPoké Balls thrown throughout the Pokémonfranchise, and chances are, there are no other lifeforms besidesPokémon that can fit into the extraordinary devices.

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