Does Running from a Wild Pokémon Battle Reset Quick Balls Efficacy in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?

Quick Balls are one of the best, most convenient Poke Ball types out there. Throw one right at the start of a wild Pokemon encounter, and it gets a whopping boost to its catch rate. Unfortunately, that boost only applies for the first turn; afterward, it’s pretty much just a normal Poke Ball. Could you, however, reset the fight to restore that boost? Does running from a wild Pokemon battle reset Quick Ball efficacy in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?

Does Running from a Wild Pokémon Battle Reset Quick Balls Efficacy in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?

The answer is yes! You can reset a Quick Ball’s efficacy by simply running from a wild Pokemon, then starting the encounter over. Due to a particular quirk of how the game processes encounters, whether you catch, knock out, or run from a wild Pokemon, the encounter is considered “finished.”

Related: How do you Catch Water Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?

Ergo, even if you start a fight with the same Pokemon again, that’s still considered a “new” encounter, which resets the catch rate bonus you get with a Quick Ball. It’s admittedly not the most effective means of catching Pokemon, as the time it takes to run from the fight and start it up again could probably be better used to just weaken the wild Pokemon and catch it normally.

Quick Ball Cheesing

The Quick Ball cheese can be a good emergency measure if you find yourself beset by a pack of wild Pokemon while your own Pokemon are weak or knocked out. Rather than fighting it, you can just try to catch it, then run away if it fails. Even if the same or another Pokemon draws you into another encounter before you can physically get away, you can always try the Quick Ball again.

The only catch you should be aware of is that this trick won’t work in situations where you can’t run. That means you can’t use it on Pokemon who use Mean Look or have Area Trap, nor can you use it on single-encounter Legendaries.