The following is a list of all of the pokéballs that you can find in HeartGold and SoulSilver, as well as what they do.

If you need more information, read my in-depth discussion of pokéballs.

Find out the best pokéballs to use for specific pokémon.

List of Pokéballs

Pokéball Analysis

To catch wild pokémon, you use a pokéball. Your chance of capturing the pokémon depends on the pokémon's HP, status, catch rate, and pokéball you are using (as well as other factors like time of day, if the pokéball you use depends on that).

To help you choose the best pokéball for your needs, I made a list of the pokéballs in the game through Generation IV, ordered by best to worst improvement to catch rate.

Good All-Purpose Strategy

A general strategy, if none of the special pokéballs apply to your situation, is to do your pokémon hunting at night. Start by throwing a quick ball. Then, try to keep the other pokémon asleep, or do other things to prevent it from using PP (to prevent it from KOing itself with Struggle), and throw dusk balls until 30 turns have passed, after which you should start throwing timer balls. If you run out of these at any point, and none of the special situations apply to you, you'll have to fall back on ultra balls, great balls, and finally any type of pokéball available to you.

Brief summary

• Heavy Ball if catch rate is 3 or 4 and weight is at least 677.3lbs, or if catch rate is 3, 4, or 5 and weight is at least 903lbs. Read more about heavy ball multipliers.

• Love Ball if pokémon is opposite gender but same type (i.e. same National Pokédex number) as yours. See my love ball experiments for proof.
• Level Ball if your pokémon's level is four or more times that of the one you're catching. Level 25 is the highest level pokémon that you can possibly catch with an 8x bonus using a level ball.

• Moon Ball if catching a member of the Clefairy, Nidoran, Jigglypuff, or Skitty families.
• Fast Ball if catching a pokémon that has base speed of 100 or more (or a roaming pokémon in earlier games).
• Timer Ball in a battle that has gone on for 30 or more turns.
• Quick Ball if used on the first turn of battle.
• Level Ball if your pokémon's level is more than double but less than four times that of the one you're catching. Level 50 is the highest level pokémon that you can possibly catch with a 4x bonus using a level ball.

• Dive Ball if used on water-dwelling pokémon, i.e. those caught with rod, found while surfing, or underwater.
• Dusk Ball if used at night time or while in a cave.

• Lure Ball if used on a pokémon encountered while fishing.
• Repeat Ball if used on a pokémon that is listed in your Pokédex as caught (even types that you don't have anymore)
• Timer Ball if used after 20 turns but before 30 turns in battle.
• Nest Ball if used on a pokémon of level 19 or lower.
• Net Ball if used on a water type or bug type pokémon.

• Ultra Ball
• Level Ball if your pokémon's level is higher, but less than double, that of the pokémon you're catching
• Timer Ball if the battle has gone on for at least 10 turns but less than 20
• Nest Ball if the pokémon's level is between 20 and 29.

• Great Ball
• Safari Ball
• Sport Ball

• Poké Ball
• Level Ball if your pokémon's level is the same or lower than the one you're catching.
• Lure Ball if used on a pokémon that wasn't caught by fishing.
• Moon Ball if used on a non-Moon Stone pokémon listed above.
• Friend Ball
• Love Ball if the other pokémon is genderless or the same gender or a different species
• Fast Ball if used on a pokémon whose base speed is less than 100
• Premier Ball
• Repeat Ball if used on a pokémon that you have never caught before
• Timer Ball if used before 10 turns have passed in battle
• Nest Ball if used on a pokémon whose level is 30 or higher.
• Net Ball if used on a pokémon that is not water or bug type.
• Dive Ball if used on a pokémon that doesn't live in water. This includes pokémon that can live in water but aren't when you try to catch it.
• Luxury Ball
• Heal Ball
• Quick Ball if used on a turn other than the first of the battle
• Dusk Ball if used outside during day or midday.
• Cherish Ball

• Heavy Ball if used on a pokémon that is less than 451.5lbs.

Master Ball

Catch rate effect Always successful

The master ball is a very rare item, but a very powerful one, because it will always successfully capture the pokémon that you throw it at.

Park Ball

Catch rate effect Always successful (can only be used in Pal Park)

When you are in Pal Park to recapture pokémon from older games, the Park Ball will always successfully catch them.

Heavy Ball

Catch rate effect +40 to catch rate if used on a pokémon that weighs 903lbs or greater.

In general, heavy pokémon who have a catch rate of 3 and get at least a +30 bonus from a heavy ball are best caught with a heavy ball. Heavy pokémon with a catch rate of 5 that get a +40 bonus are best caught with a heavy ball. This applies to Regigigas, Heatran, Metagross, Giratina, and Arceus. Groudon's heavy ball bonus amounts to the same as 8x, so a heavy ball or a different type with an 8x bonus can be used. The other heavy pokémon have high enough catch rates that getting an 8x multiplier would be better than getting +40 bonus.

Love Ball

Catch rate effect 8x if the pokémon being caught is the same species but different gender from your currently active pokémon. If one or both pokémon are genderless, the catch rate is 1x.

According to Bulbapedia, you only get the 8x if the pokémon are both from the same species, i.e. the species listed in the Pokédex (i.e. Tiny Bird Pokémon, etc.) In other words, this pokéball is only effective if you are trying to catch a mate for your pokémon.

Level Ball

Catch rate effect 8x if your active pokémon's level is four or more times higher than that of the pokémon that you are trying to catch

The level ball will be listed multiple times because its catch rate changes depending on your active pokémon's level. The highest level pokémon that you can get the 8x bonus on with a level ball is a level 25 wild pokémon (you only get the bonus if the catching pokémon is level 100).

Heavy Ball, part 2

Catch rate effect Varies

In some cases, using a heavy ball on some pokémon can give you a catch rate that is better than 4x but worse than 8x.

Moon Ball

Catch rate effect 4x if used on a pokémon that evolves with the Moon Stone

This only applies to the Nidoran, Clefairy, Jigglypuff, and Skitty series pokémon.

Fast Ball

Catch rate effect 4x if used on a pokémon that can run away from battle or a pokémon with base speed of at least 100.

The first listed effect (4x for runaways) only applies if the fast ball is used in a Gen II game. The second listed effect applies to HG/SS. The list of speedy pokémon is pretty long. Consult Bulbapedia's list of pokémon by base stats and sort it by speed to see which pokémon you can catch with a 4x bonus using a fast ball.

Timer Ball

Catch rate effect 4x if the battle has been going on for 30 or more turns

The Timer Ball also gives lesser bonuses for battles that haven't been going on for at least ten turns. You just have to manually or mentally keep track of the number of turns that have passed in a battle in order to know what bonus you get. Of course, you can try to artificially keep a battle going for a long time, but if your opponent runs out of moves, it will use struggle and might end the battle earlier. Putting the pokémon to sleep can help prevent this.

Quick Ball

Catch rate effect 4x if used on the first turn of battle

Since a fully healthy pokémon's chance of capture is 1/3 its catch rate, it will always work on a pokémon with catch rate of 200 or higher. For pokémon with a catch rate of 100, you have about a 50% chance of catching the pokémon with a quick ball used on the first turn. This probability increases as you go up from 100, maxing out after 200.

Note that if you have a type of pokéball that gives an 8x bonus for the type you're trying to catch, throwing it at the first turn would be more effective than throwing a quick ball at the first turn. Note also that if you are battling against a pokémon that can flee from battle, then you can get the pokémon's HP down, run away, then use a quick ball the next time you encounter it if you don't have an 8x ball that applies.

Level Ball, part 2

Catch rate effect 4x when your active pokémon's level is at least double but less than four times the wild pokémon's level.

If you use a level ball when your pokémon's level is 100 and the wild pokémon's level is 75, you will get a 4x bonus from the level ball. Level 75 is the highest level for which you can get a 4x bonus from the level ball.

Heavy Ball, part 3

Catch rate effect Varies

In some cases, using a heavy ball on some pokémon can give you a catch rate that is better than 3.5x but worse than 4x.

Dive Ball

Catch rate effect 3.5x on pokémon that live in water.

This applies to pokémon that are encountered by fishing, surfing, or going underwater.

Dusk Ball

Catch rate effect 3.5x when used at night, or in a cave at any time of day.

Night in Pokémon starts at 6PM in generation II and 8PM in generation IV, and in both generations it ends at 3:59AM.

Lure Ball

Catch rate effect 3x when used on a pokémon encountered while fishing.

Fishing can be performed as soon as you get the Old Rod. You get increasingly powerful fishing rods as the game progresses.

Repeat Ball

Catch rate effect 3x when used on a pokémon that is listed in your pokédex as having been caught.

This even applies to pokémon that you don't have anymore, as long as you had it at some point in your game.

Timer Ball, part 2

Catch rate effect 3x if between 20 and 30 turns have passed.

Once you get past 30 turns, the catch rate goes up by 4x.

Nest Ball

Catch rate effect 3x if used on a pokémon that has a level lower than 19

Only effective for low-level wild pokémon.

Net Ball

Catch rate effect 3x if used on a pokémon that is Water type or Bug type.

Presumably the bonus also applies to dual-types.

Ultra Ball

Catch rate effect 2x the normal catch rate

This type of pokéball always has the 2x modifier no matter what the situation or pokémon it's used on.

Level Ball, part 3

Catch rate effect 2x if your pokémon's level is higher than, but less than double, the level of the pokémon you're catching

The highest level that gets a 2x bonus from the level ball is level 49.

Timer Ball, part 3

Catch rate effect 2x if the battle has gone for 10-20 turns.

After 20 turns, the catch rate goes up to 3x.

Nest Ball, part 2

Catch rate effect 2x if the pokémon's level is between 20 and 29

The modifier increases to 3x if the level is 19 or under.

Great Ball

Catch rate effect 1.5x the normal catch rate

This always has the 1.5x no matter what the situation.

Safari Ball

Catch rate effect 1.5x the normal rate

This can only be used inside of the safari zone.

Sport Ball

Catch rate effect 1.5x the normal rate

This can only be used during the bug-catching contest

Pokéball, Level Ball, Lure Ball, Moon Ball, Friend Ball, Love Ball, Fast Ball, Premier Ball, Repeat Ball, Timer Ball, Nest Ball, Net Ball, Dive Ball, Luxury Ball, Heal Ball, Quick Ball, Dusk Ball, Cherish Ball

Catch rate effect 1x

The listed pokéballs either always have a 1x catch rate, or they have the potential to have 1x if their special conditions are not met (i.e. Timer Ball used early, Quick Ball used after the first turn, etc.)

Heavy Ball, part 4

Catch rate effect -20 when used on a pokémon that weighs less than 451.5lbs

This is the only pokéball that penalizes you for using it in a situation that does not apply.