This ‘terrifying’ Master Ball scenario has Pokémon Go players on edge

One of the biggest recent changes in Pokémon Go has to be the introduction of the Master Ball. This rare ball will allow you to catch any Pokémon without fail regardless of how low the odds might seem. The only catch to this powerful ball is that you only get one—for now—by completing the Season 10: Rising Heroes Special Research.

We don’t know when there will be another chance to get more Master Balls or if they will cost money, so players have been talking a lot about when they should use one. An obvious choice to use the Master Ball on is one of the Galarian birds—Articuno, Zapdos, or Moltres—since they’re known to be super hard to catch.

This sounded like a flawless plan until one fan shared a silly meme on May 24 showing the absolute worst way you could waste your Master Ball.

The meme shows how quickly excitement would turn into disappointment if you finally caught a Galarian Bird with your Master Ball only to find out it was actually just a Ditto. Ditto is, of course, known for transforming into different Pokémon, and in Pokémon Go, it will remain disguised until after you catch it. This means it’s possible for players to accidentally use their Master Ball on a Ditto disguised as one of the Galarian Birds.

Related: How to catch Ditto in Pokemon Go

“Someone out there will make this mistake, and it’s a terrifying thought,” one player added.

That being said, Pokémon players seem to be safe from this worst-case scenario, for now at least. Ditto has a specific pool of Pokémon to pick from for a disguise, and that list currently does not include any of the Galarian Birds.

Related: Pokémon Go Master Ball: How it works, release date, more

This didn’t stop fans from poking fun at Niantic in the comments, though. A comment with over 400 upvotes warned, “Don’t be giving Niantic any more ideas on how to fuck [with] us lol.” If Niantic wanted to, they could have more Ditto disguise themselves as rare Pokémon like the Galarian Birds, fool players into using their one free Master Ball, and make them pay for a second Master Ball, as one player pointed out.

Aside from accidentally catching a Ditto with the Master Ball, players gave other bad suggestions including using the Master Ball on a Caterpie or transferring the Pokémon caught in Master Ball to Professor Willow in exchange for candy.

These suggestions are definitely not recommended, but at least we’re having fun.