Pokémon Go player lives every trainer’s worst nightmare by wasting a Master Ball

The Master Ball is a rare new item in Pokémon Go that guarantees any catch, so players are thinking carefully about when to use it. In particular, many players are considering using their one free Master Ball on one of the Galarian Birds, which are known to be rare and difficult to catch.

Previously, players warned each other to watch out for possible Ditto disguised as the Galarian Birds—but that didn’t stop one player from falling for similar bait.

According to a May 30 Reddit thread, the unlucky player used their Master Ball on what appeared to be a Galarian Articuno. After capturing it, however, the Legendary bird turned out to be a Zorua in disguise. Like Ditto, Zorua can disguise itself as other Pokémon, so it’s easy to be deceived if you’re not careful.

As unfortunate as the situation was, others showed little sympathy. “The content I was hoping for when they released the masterball,” one fan commented, adding a cheeky smiling emoji at the end.

Related: Pokémon Go players are already making their Master Ball plans

Another fan pointed out that the fooled player should’ve known better than to fall for Zorua’s disguise: “I initially felt bad for this trainer but then I went to their Twitter profile and found that this trainer is level 50 and a GBL legend pose lmao,” they said. “Hard to feel bad after that.”

Players who’ve been around long enough should be familiar with Zorua’s shenanigans. If you encounter one of the Galarian Birds, for example, there’s a specific way to tell if it’s a Zorua or not. “The Galar birds have such a low catch rate their circles [are] always gonna be dark red, so if you see a bird with a green/yellow/orange circle you know it’s not going to be one,” a player explained.

To top it off, the player was also criticized for wanting to use their only Master Ball on a Pokémon they had already caught. Fans figured the player had to have already caught a Galarian Articuno to set it as their buddy, which helped trigger Zorua’s disguise in the first place. 

Related: How to get a Master Ball in Pokémon Go

While it’s a shame this player accidentally used their one and only Master Ball, there will hopefully be another opportunity to get more of them soon. The problem is, we don’t know when that day will come or how expensive they might be.