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Pokemon-pikachu
Image via Nintendo

How to Get a Light Ball in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

A tiny Pokémon with a big impact

The Light Ball is an ultra rare Item in the Pokémon franchise that has a very specific use. This Held Item is used solely on everyone’s favorite Pokémon mascot, Pikachu. It’s abilities act to solely double Pikachu’s Attack and Special Attack Moves, marking Pikachu a powerful Electric-Type to hold on your team. Whether you are just beginning Scarlet and Violet or are looking for a team with all Typings, Pikachu can be an excellent addition to the team and with the Light Ball to double his attacks, why use anyone else? But with a tiny chance of 5% in finding the Light Ball in the game, this is our guide on how you can obtain the Light Ball in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

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How to Obtain the Light Ball

Unlike many Held Items which can either be dropped by wild Pokémon as you pass through the wilderness on your Miraidon/Koraidon, or taken from Tera Pokémon in the Raids, the Light Ball cannot be found this way. Instead the only way of getting a Light Ball for your Pikachu is to steal it from a Pikachu yourself. The act of stealing can only be done with the Move itself, Thief.

The Thief Move can be located as a TM(018) in Scarlet and Violet. It can be given to a long list of Pokémon which is essential to get a Light Ball. Luckily the same Pokémon who can learn Thief also have the all-important Frisk Ability that you too will need to obtain a Light Ball. For this reason we will show you what Pokémon you can use to obtain the Light Ball and where to find Thief (TM018) in Scarlet and Violet.

Pokémon Who Can Learn Thief in Scarlet and Violet

These are the Pokémon that you must catch in order to teach it Thief so that the Frisk ability can be used to locate whether the wild Pikachu is holding a Light Ball to then use Thief Move to steal the Item:

  • Flittle
  • Espathra
  • Gothita
  • Gothorita
  • Gothitelle
  • Impidimp
  • Morgem
  • Grimmsnarl
  • Noibat
  • Noivern
  • Shuppet
  • Banette
  • Stantler

Where to Find Thief (TM018)

After you have caught one of the Pokémon listed above, you will need to switch out a Move from their set and replace it with the TM, Thief. Therefore, you will need to ‘Forget a Move’ from their Move Set and add Thief. But before that, if you do not have the Thief TM, you can find these in specific spots in Paldea.

TM018 can be found incredibly early on in the game, just west of Mesagoza City. It is located at the top of the Hill in the area, where you need to drop down onto a lower cliffside platform that can be seen from the tip of the Hill. Refer to the screenshot below of where to find TM018.

pokemon-sv-tm-018-location
Image via Gamer Journalist/ Nintendo

How to Steal a Light Ball in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Now that you have successfully caught the Pokémon will the Frisk Ability and taught them Thief, you need to find the wild Pikachu. The best areas to hunt for Pikachu are South Province (Area Two) and East Province (Area One). The easiest way of hunting for these however is to use the Town Method of resetting the spawns in Artazon, located on the south-east side of Paldea, on the edge of East Province (Area One). This can be used to increase your small chances of locating the Light Ball.

However, in order to find the Pokémon Light Ball you must engage in a fight with every Pikachu you come across. The Ability of Frisk will allow you to see whether or not Pikachu has the Held Item of the Light Ball. If the Pikachu does not, simply hit ‘Run’ and reset. Move on to the next wild Pikachu and continue the process of checking what Held Item Pikachu has, if they have one. This will be the first bit of information given when you begin a fight with Pikachu. Once a Light Ball appears as a Held Item, use Thief immediately to steal the Held Item and then ‘Run’ or defeat the Pikachu. If you have yet to catch one, now would be the appropriate time to do so.

Once you have successfully stolen the Light Ball off the wild Pikachu, you can go ahead into your Bags and assign the Light Ball onto your Pikachu in your Party or Boxes so that their Attacks will be doubled. A Level 100 Pikachu could have a damage output of 400+ with the Light Ball as their Held Item.


That was our guide on how to get a Light Ball in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Thank you for reading, we hope this was helpful. More Pokémon Scarlet and Violet guides are readily available on Gamer Journalist if you are interested in reading more.

Author
Image of Hadley Vincent
Hadley Vincent
Hadley is a Freelance Writer for Gamer Journalist. They have been with the company since October 2022. With a BSc Honors in Psychology, Hadley focuses their creativity and passion for Video Games by primarily covering Horror, FPS, and anything with a great narrative. You will often find Hadley covering the latest indie horror games or deploying into Call of Duty's DMZ. They love a good story and one that can keep them up at night, be that for its scares or its lore.