With over 1000 episodes and 23 movies, the Pokemon anime has given viewers a lot to keep up with over the years. Characters have come and gone, bringing with them different storylines that played out to varying degrees of success. As the anime has continued on, fans have been left with plenty of great memories. But one of the early anime’s most intriguing plot points was seemingly forgotten by writers just as soon as it was introduced.
The GS Ball was first introduced in the episode “Pallet Party Panic” when Professor Oak tasks Ash with retrieving the ball from Professor Ivy’s lab. Ash and friends would acquire it soon after, and though it was sporadically featured in subsequent episodes, would eventually be left with Kurt, out of Ash’s hands and effectively written out of the show. While the writers might’ve wanted viewers to forget about it, fans still can’t help but wonder what could have been.
What Was The GS Ball’s Purpose?
The GS Ball was a mystery throughout its time featured in the Pokemon anime. The unique design and peculiar engraving drew the curiosity of fans and all who came across it in the show. The series writers made it a point to emphasize the GS Ball’s sturdy design and inexplicable function, as no one ever seemed to get an idea of what its intended purpose was.
This was of course done intentionally, as the GS Ball was included in the show in order to build up to a storyline that the anime never seemed to properly set up. Director Masamitsu Hidaka confirmed that the ball was intended to have greater narrative significance when it was first introduced in a 2008 interview.
RELATED: Pokemon: Why Is Team Rocket So Obsessed With Pikachu?
According to Hidaka, the GS Ball contained a Celebi that would play a major role throughout the Johto series. The story itself would have been a sizable arc that would have taken Ash and friends on a grand adventure with Celebi at the center of it all.
When it was decided that Celebi would serve as the focus of Pokemon 4Ever, the idea for the anime arc was scrapped. This made the GS Ball inconsequential to the narrative, and essentially left the writers with dead weight that they were forced to get rid of. Once the ball is left with Kurt, it’s only briefly seen in a flashback during the episode “No Big Woop!” and is not mentioned again from that point on.
The GS Ball has appeared in the Pokemon games and manga alongside its inclusion in the anime. Each iteration of the special item seems to serve the same function and is generally associated with Celebi in some way or another.
In the manga, the ball is used to capture Celebi. The Masked Man, who is later revealed to be Pryce in disguise, creates the GS Ball by using a net made from both Ho-Oh and Lugia’s feathers. The Tower Duo’s plumage is necessary in crafting the device, as their properties can halt the effects of Celebi’s time-traveling abilities once captured. This seems somewhat similar to what its purpose might have been in the anime had the writers continued on with the initial Celebi storyline.
RELATED: Pokemon Legends: Arceus Continues to Highlight the Darker Parts of Pokemon
The ball is included as a special event item in Pokemon Crystal. Japanese players were able to receive the rare Poke Ball from the Trade Corner attendant through the Mobile System GB service while at the Pokemon Communication Center in Goldenrod City. The event never made it over to Western copies of the game, though there were plans to. Fans would later get the opportunity to acquire the GS Ball in the Virtual Console version of the game once they beat the Elite Four and entered the Hall of Fame.
Once players obtained the GS Ball, they would need to take it over to Kurt in Azalea Town. After roughly a day of waiting, Kurt would return the ball and players would head to the Ilex Forest. Once there, players would place the GS Ball on the Ilex Forest shrine which would summon a level 30 Celebi.
Despite holding no narrative significance, the GS Ball remains one of the Pokemon anime’s greatest mysteries. The intrigue established with its introduction and the unfulfilled promise that a GS Ball-centric storyline could have offered stands as one of the anime’s greatest wastes of potential. While Celebi did get its time to shine in the fourth movie, one can’t help but wonder how the anime’s overarching narrative would have played out.
MORE: Pokemon Legends: Arceus May Be Teasing a Bigger Connection Between the Unova and Sinnoh Regions
