Poké Balls

No one quite remembers when the Poké Ball was first invented. However, it is known that the original Poké Balls were forgotten, replaced by hollowed apricorns as early as the sixth century. The methods used for the capture and transport of Pokémon were all but forgotten by the time of the twentieth centurty, as the devices we know of today were already being mass-produced. It was taken for granted, more or less, that the silver devices inside the Poké Balls functioned as desired and little was done to investigate precisely why they worked. Even people that still use apricorns used mass-produced "statis chambers" and did not question exactly where their Pokémon were going. When questioned, the Pokémon were not much help either. They mentioned vague experiences of suspended animation with only a light sense of awareness as to what was happening around their Poké Balls. If the urgency, or peril, of their trainer was severe enough, they could leave their Poké Balls at will. Some Pokémon could not get used to these sensations and, as such, spent little to no time inside their Poké Balls.

The truth of Poké Balls was accidentally stumbled about in an incident that nearly destroyed the world. For as long as both humans and Pokémon can remember, we have shared this world and shared our experiences. Pokémon serve as companions and pets for humans, while humans serve as companions, trainers, and masters for Pokémon. It was wondered for many decades why Pokémon would allow themselves to be controlled by humans. It was in the early years of the founding of the International Pokémon League that humans realized they did not control Pokémon. Just like humans enjoy different things, some Pokémon enjoy living as pets, which affords them a life of comfort and companionship. Others enjoy battling, honing their skills and testing their strength against each other, not unlike many humans. Still others are curious about themselves, and humans, and do not mind the research done by competent researchers. In ancient times, however, this was well-known to both humans and Pokémon, but lost over time. The original Poké Balls were the creations of the combined efforts of humans and Pokémon, but especially the Pokémon Giratina.

The energies released by a Poké Ball function as a sort of teleportation system to the Distortion World. When a Pokémon is weak enough, and willing, the transportation is successful and the Pokémon lives in the Distortion World until such time as it is released from the Poké Ball or is transported to another location, generally a Pokémon Lab. A small portion of the Pokémon's signature energy remains inside the Poké Ball, although this energy can be tranferred to another Poké Ball or even to a computer. Because of this minute portion of energy, Pokémon in the Distortion World can sense events happening around their Poké Balls. However, because the Distortion World does not function like the normal world, Pokémon there are in a dream-like, suspended state, watched over and guarded by Giratina. If an entity enters the Distortion World through other means, however, they are not as affected by the lack of time in the world. However, because they are technically outside the boundaries of time, they will be oblivious to all the Pokémon that are with them in the Distorted World, appearing to them as they are alone with Giratina.

Each Pokémon has a natural ability to resist capture by a Poké Ball. This is referred to as a Pokémon's "capture rate" and is different for each Pokémon. The ability to capture a Pokémon is dependent on a variety of factors, such as the status of the Pokémon, how much energy they have remaining, and the Poké Ball used. The less energy a Pokémon has remaining, the easier it is to capture, though they must have at least enough energy to continue to battle. In addition, it is much easier to capture Pokémon that are asleep or under another status condition.

It is, however, very difficult to capture a Pokémon that is entirely unwilling. Pokémon that are unwilling to be captured and raised by trainers are very rarely seen by people, so the situation does not often arise within the confines of the law. Illegal Pokémon capture, such as poaching and theft, does occur, but is very difficult.