Rare Poké Balls

Find rare Poké Balls in Scarlet and Violet: compare Porto Marinada auctions, the Item Printer and free rewards, with simple steps and odds.

Published 18 Oct 2026 · Updated 19 Oct 2026

Use the Item Printer for a Safari Ball or Sport Ball, or check the auctions for Apricorn Balls and Dream Ball. Free Pokédex rewards are best when you only need one.

Porto Marinada auctions

The market in Porto Marinada can sell one rare ball at a time. The offer is random; once a ball appears, you know exactly what you are bidding for. No DLC is needed.

1. Unlock the auctions Start Kofu’s Gym Test in Cascarrafa, then return his wallet at Porto Marinada’s market and win the seaweed auction.
2. Check the market stalls Read the sellers’ offers. Look for the ball you want before entering an auction.
3. Bring plenty of money Rare balls have a minimum price of 100,000 Poké Dollars. Other bidders can push the final price much higher; this is not a fixed-price shop.
4. Bid within your budget Keep bidding while the price is worth it to you. You can drop out and look for another offer later.

Reset the Porto Marinada auctions

Regular offers change at the start of a new in-game day. A full day-and-night cycle is about 72 real minutes of play, so you do not need to wait until tomorrow in real life.

To check new offers sooner, you can change the Switch date. Turn off autosave first so an unwanted offer does not replace your saved starting point.

1. Save, then close Save manually. Press HOME, select the game, press X and close the software.
2. Advance one day Open System Settings → System → Date and Time. Turn off Synchronize Clock via Internet, then advance the date by one day.
3. Check the offers If the ball you want is missing, close and reopen the game without saving. Repeat until a useful offer appears.
4. Save and bid Save before entering that auction. When you finish, restore automatic date and time and your usual autosave setting.

Item Printer

In Blueberry Academy’s League Club room, the Item Printer trades BP and Pokémon materials for random items. Upgrade it to Ultra Ball tier to unlock a chance of Poké Ball Lotto. During Lotto, the next 10 print jobs give balls instead of ordinary items.

1. Enter the League Club Progress through The Indigo Disk until Drayton introduces you to the League Club room. Return there through Blueberry Academy’s entrance travel menu. To advance the DLC story, first complete the base-game ending and The Teal Mask story.
2. Install the Item Printer Use the club room computer and spend 200 BP on the Science Club request for an Item Printer. Then speak to the student beside the machine.
3. Print and upgrade Choose Pokémon materials to fill the required percentage, then spend BP to print. Upgrade to Great Ball, then Ultra Ball when offered. Choose the number of jobs, not the number of menu visits: a 10-job batch counts as 10.
4. Watch for Lotto Keep printing at Ultra Ball tier or higher. When the rainbow Lotto bonus activates, the next 10 jobs draw from the ball prize pool. Use all 10 jobs; a rare ball is still not guaranteed.

Print counts are cumulative. You need 75 jobs in total to reach Ultra Ball tier, not 75 more after Great Ball. A 10-job batch counts as 10.

BP and materials

BP means Blueberry Points. Earn them by completing Blueberry Quests, usually called BBQs, in the Terarium. Press Right on the D-pad to see your tasks, such as catching a Pokémon or taking a photo. Each completed task awards BP for the printer.

1. Start with your current BBQs Complete the tasks shown in your list. After 10 regular quests, a red bonus quest appears for a larger reward.
2. Join a Union Circle Open X → Poké Portal. Press L for internet play, then select Union Circle. Form a group and share its code, or join with a friend’s code. You can play with up to three friends.
3. Earn BP together Everyone receives BP when any group member finishes a quest: a 30-BP task gives each player 30 BP. Split the tasks to finish more quickly. Complete three red bonus quests as a group to unlock a gold group quest worth 300–600 BP. Follow its instructions together, then keep going for more points.
4. Keep useful materials The printer shows how much each material contributes. Use plentiful, high-value materials; save anything you still need for TMs. Higher printer tiers require fewer materials per job.

Need materials? Defeat Chansey or Blissey for Happiny Dust, for example around North Province (Area Three). At Ultra Ball tier, 15 Happiny Dust fill a batch of 10 jobs. Material choice does not select the ball you receive.

How Lotto odds work

First you need the bonus: a batch of 10 ordinary prints at Ultra Ball tier or higher has about a 9.15% chance to trigger Poké Ball Lotto. The double-item bonus is a different result. Bonus prints cannot trigger another bonus.

Once Lotto is active, each print has about a 1.75% chance of a particular rare ball listed below. A Master Ball has about a 0.76% chance. The calculator starts after the Lotto trigger; it does not include the ordinary prints needed to get there.

Ball sources

The Master Ball is also a Lotto prize, at about 0.76% per print. Ordinary Poké Balls share the same Lotto pool, so even a full batch can contain no rare ball.

Free balls

Open your Pokédex and claim the rewards for your caught-species milestones. These rewards are one-time gifts: completing another print batch or refreshing the market does not reset them.

There is no Sport Ball Pokédex milestone. Open the relevant Pokédex, press X to view its reward track, then claim each unlocked milestone.

Tournament prizes

After the main story and Gym Leader rematches, return to the academy in Mesagoza for the Academy Ace Tournament. Repeat it for a small chance of an Apricorn Ball, Dream Ball or Beast Ball. Each specific rare ball has about a 0.1% chance per tournament. Treat these as extra rewards while battling; auctions and the printer are more practical when you are hunting one ball. Safari and Sport Balls are not tournament prizes.

Rare Poké Ball questions

How do I get a Safari Ball in Scarlet and Violet?

Unlock Poké Ball Lotto by upgrading the Item Printer to Ultra Ball tier in The Indigo Disk. You can also claim one for 120 caught species in the Blueberry Pokédex. Safari Balls are not sold at Porto Marinada auctions.

Can I get a Lure Ball without the DLC?

Yes. Check Porto Marinada auctions or claim the Paldea Pokédex reward for 300 caught species.

Do I need the Master Ball upgrade for rare balls?

No. Ultra Ball tier already unlocks Poké Ball Lotto and its rare-ball pool. The Master Ball upgrade improves ordinary item rewards.

Does using a particular material guarantee a ball?

No. Materials pay for printing; Poké Ball Lotto determines when the machine draws from the ball pool. The calculator shows chances, not a guaranteed recipe or a timed RNG result.

Where do I get these balls in Sword and Shield?

Use the Sword & Shield rare-ball guide for Ball Guy gifts, Apricorn colours and Cram-o-matic odds.