In which SPF 150+ sunblock meant nothing that weekend. [narration] [action] [text]

[whitedeviljack]

Comments

[betterthanawiki]

Ah, that's a tricky question. Pokeballs vary wildly, depending on the type of ball and the manufacturer. Some utilize similar technology to Pokemon Center PCs and may be comparable to a pocket dimension, for example, while some others simply put the Pokemon into a state of suspended animation. The cheapest mass-produced models are supposedly very claustrophobic -- it's no wonder so many Pokemon are less than fond of theirs.

To put it simply... it's a different experience for just about every Pokemon. I imagine the answers you would get would all be quite different.

I, of course, have never been captured by a pokeball, so I'm afraid I cannot speak from personal experience.

[whitedeviljack]

With that kind of technology, couldn't they be used to store more than just Pokemon?

[betterthanawiki]

You would think so. However... Pokemon DNA is radically different from the DNA for most other species. It's that DNA that allows over 500 radically different beings to all be classified as Pokemon -- and it's what keeps Goombas, demons, and other monsters from being labelled as such, too. Science has made remarkable progress with Pokemon DNA, which is why we can be converted to data within a PC system without suffering ill effects.

If you were to try to use a pokeball on a non-Pokemon, it simply wouldn't work -- they're built not to. If you had the technical knowledge to disable those safety precautions, however, I imagine the capture process would either kill you, or disfigure you horribly.

Ah... but perhaps once science has a greater understanding of non-Pokemon genetics, anything could be possible.

[whitedeviljack]

That makes sense. [GRUESOME MENTAL IMAGERY IS GO. THANKS UXIE.]

Hopefully well tested before they reach that point.

[betterthanawiki]

A certain amount of trial and error is necessary for progress to be made, of course. Pokeballs themselves have not always been such reliable things. The earliest known ones were actually terribly unreliable. There were several recorded instances of a trainer successfully capturing three-quarters of a Pidgey, or of the release mechanism failing, rendering that Pokemon trapped inside of their ball for all eternity.

Nevertheless, people were undeterred, and look where the technology is today: fail-proof Master Balls.

Of course... I imagine you humans would be far more careful about your testing if you were the ones going into the balls, wouldn't you?

[whitedeviljack]

[MORE HORRIBLE MENTAL IMAGES.]

Just three-quarters? That's... terrible.

Fail-proof? You mean they don't always work?

[betterthanawiki]

No, not always. Some balls works better than others, and some are designed to be more successful in certain conditions -- fighting in low-light situations, or facing a Pokemon of a certain type, for example -- but only Master Balls will always catch their intended target

[whitedeviljack]

I never knew there was so much thought put behind those little balls.

Sounds like it.

[betterthanawiki]

Well, naturally. It takes an awful lot of thought to fit a thirty-foot serpent into something the size of a baseball, to say the least.

[whitedeviljack]