The Master Ball has always been an iconic item in the Pokémon franchise. It is the ultimate Poké Ball that will catch anything without fail. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, Master Balls have become even more valuable due to Max Raid Battles. Here’s how to obtain more than just the one from the playthrough.
The Loto-ID
Players can participate in the Loto-ID once per day by visiting a Rotomi PC in a Pokémon Center (it’s to the left of the Nurse’s counter) and selecting “Try Loto-ID”. The Loto-ID will give a six-digit number and check the ID numbers of every Pokémon in the boxes. Different rewards are given based on how many numbers from the ID match.
Here are the possible rewards:
- One number matches: Moomoo Milk
- Two numbers match: PP Up
- Three numbers match: PP Max
- Four numbers match: Rare Candy
- Five numbers match: Master Ball
Each Pokémon has the ID number of its original trainer. This means that if you only have Pokémon that you caught, you will only have one ID number in your boxes, regardless of how many creatures are in there. As you can imagine, the odds of five numbers matching with one ID number are astronomically low.
Fortunately, these odds can be drastically increased through trading. The easiest way to do this is to breed or catch several boxes full of Pokémon and then surprise trade them to get more ID numbers. The more ID numbers you have, the higher the chances of getting a Master Ball. Doing the Loto-ID every day will also increase your odds.
Master Balls are extremely useful for catching Gigantamax Pokémon in raids in Sword and Shield. The odds of catching them with standard balls are very low (unless you are hosting the raid). Imagine joining a random raid and finding a shiny Gigantamax Pokémon, then having it escape because you didn’t have a Master Ball.
To avoid this tragic scenario, make sure to stock up on traded Pokémon and do that Loto-ID every day!
