How do Pokeballs actually work?

[Pinecone Penguin]

I'm still writng my realistic pokemon story, Silph has just started designing the Pokeballs.... but I have no idea how they could possibly work in real life... for the moment i've put a line like ".... anti-molecular deconstruction ..." I thought it sounded cool, I've gone by the theory that the molecules of the pokemon shift and warp into something smaller that is hooked up too nutrient and mineral supplies and is put into a daze... something like a coma until the butten thingy is pressed and so fourth.... but please! Help!

[pakman555]

Well, what I Think is that the laser decomposes the subotomic structure of given being (AKA 'The Pokemon'). The Molecules are compressed, yet still keeping the physical form of the pokemon. The Pokemon is then in a 'mini' lesure enviorment. The luxery ball is very luxurious. Sorry for my incorrect spelling.

[WifiFX]

Originally Posted by pakman555

Well, what I Think is that the laser decomposes the subotomic structure of given being (AKA 'The Pokemon'). The Molecules are compressed, yet still keeping the physical form of the pokemon. The Pokemon is then in a 'mini' lesure enviorment. The luxery ball is very luxurious. Sorry for my incorrect spelling.

WOW!!!! Ummmmm you just made me feel very stupid and un-luxurious!

[Neptune]

Well, I always thought that since Pokemon are already pretty unstable (considering the evolution thing), their basic structure can be pretty warped without causing damage. Working with a different level of technology than our own, the Pokeball would somehow speed up a Pokemon's molecules to lightspeed, which converts the Pokemon into energy. Then something inside the Pokeball (think a mini black hole, but not that powerful XD) sucks them in and, if the Pokemon is weak enough and the suction strong enough (it varies depending on the type of Pokeball you use, of course), the Pokemon is captured. The Pokeball retains some sort of memory of which Pokemon was captured in it (I'm assuming the Pokeball has to have a computer chip of some sort which also allows it to be tracked and warped when the trainer has more than six Pokemon) and allows only that Pokemon to use that Pokeball, hence the ability to return a Pokemon. Once the Pokemon's DNA is captured in the Pokeball, it allows it to home in on the individual Pokemon and recall it with a beam of energy. If you're going by the game and have Pokeballs not work after a Pokemon breaks one, you could have the Pokeball snap on its hinges when a Pokemon forces its way out. For other Pokeballs (usually) not being able to work on Pokemon captured by other trainers, it could be that the Pokeball which captured the Pokemon sends a message to all other Pokeballs (which are all identical in structure, and therefore technology, I'm assuming) via the computer chip that the Pokemon with that DNA is off-limits. This might make any identical Pokemon impossible to capture, which might be interesting... Anyway, there are anime and game canon contradictions of this, but they've always involved some outside influence (Mewtwo's psychic powers, the added technology of the Snag Machine, etc). Of course, using this idea, destroying a Pokemon's Pokeball would also make the Pokemon available for capture again. But that just leads to more possibilities. XD

Inside the Pokeball a Pokemon would be sort of in cryogenic sleep, although with practice/strength Pokemon could become aware of what's outside their Pokeballs. A psychic-type Pokemon that maintains a connection to its trainer's mind via telepathy might be more aware, for example, and a Pokemon who has been passed from generation to generation, or is just very old and has been captured a few times (like ghost-types) would have grown more used to this state and more able to control it.

[Ketchup]

Read:
Pokemon Physics

The article you seek should be in there somewhere.

[BeserkerFury]

I found it so you dont have to look for it
The Poké Ball
The Poké Ball is a technology that could go beyond comprehension of today's laws of physics. Let me explain it the best way that I can.
The Poké Balls are about 2 inches in diameter. They are composed of Apricorns (probably the native fruit in the Pokémon world), carved into a sphere and fitted with a special device, which is the mechanism of the Poké Ball. The regular Poké Balls are colored red, white and black. The device in the ball contains an internal pressure gauge. When the button on the ball is pressed, one of two things is done:

When the ball does not detect a Pokémon inside, it searches for a Pokémon, opens itself, has a laser shot to the Pokémon to be called, and sends it into the ball.
The process involves both miniaturization of the Pokémon and conversion of matter and energy. After a laser is shot to the Pokémon, it (somehow) converts the Pokémon into pure electromagnetic energy. The ball then uses suction to send this energy into the ball. Once inside the ball, it modifies the energy so that when it is converted back into matter, the Pokémon becomes miniaturized, a tiny version of itself.
There are some problems with the energy conversion that have been tackled (see later).
Rarely, a Poké Ball succeeds in miniaturizing another Poké Ball with a Pokémon inside.
When the ball detects a Pokémon inside, it opens itself, and sends it out of the ball by doing the opposite process.
Note that not all Pokémon catches are successful. If a Pokémon is strong enough, it may break free from the ball before the energy conversion process could complete, thus rendering the Poké Ball no longer usable. This can happen probably because the Poké Ball has sustained all the stress it can handle and can't take it any more. Better balls, like the Master Ball, are better built using this fact. Only when the energy conversion process finishes is a Pokémon considered caught. You may also note that Poké Balls can change size. This is probably done using the same technology used to miniaturize Pokémon, or that the balls are composed of a heat-sensitive material that shrinks when cooled.
The problems with energy conversion



The Poké Balls convert the Pokémon into electromagnetic energy. When electromagnetic energy comes in contact with matter, it becomes thermal energy, the energy of heat. However, many Pokémon contain so much energy as to heat water to millions of degrees, and which will also melt the Poké Ball! In order to keep the converted energy into electromagnetic energy, the ball is probaly packed with electrical wiring that goes around the inner casings of the ball.

[Shiny Loser]

Berserker, you don't actually have to go in that much detail. Simplicity is always the best style for a fic.

Just say that the pokeball is sensitive to the magnetic quality of Pokemon, and attracts it into the ball when opened. And how to open it? Throw it to the floor.

How's that?

[BeserkerFury]

I just copied/pasted it from the pokemon physics that Minion posted.

[BrassIttoTower]

Originally Posted by Shiny Loser

Just say that the pokeball is sensitive to the magnetic quality of Pokemon, and attracts it into the ball when opened. And how to open it? Throw it to the floor.

That's actual pretty skimpy and rushed to me.

[Shiny Loser]

Originally Posted by BrassIttoTower

That's actual pretty skimpy and rushed to me.

Maybe. I'm not that good at describing what happens in stories.

[Neptune]

The amount of information that the author needs isn't necessarily the amount of information that will go into the story itself. It's good to have a firm idea of how something works in your mind, however, so you don't break any rules in your story. You certainly don't need to go in-depth on the history of Pokeballs and the current technology which allows them to be used in the story itself, but if the author knows this, then it allows for interesting plot points--maybe a member of Team Rocket uses a psychic-type Pokemon to mess with the energy conversion process, making their opponent's Pokeballs unusable. The more information at my disposal, the better, as far as I see it.

[Kenny_C.002]

But one must always be cautious about the accuracy of anything with regards to pokemon. There is no such thing as accruacy. Pokemon physics is fiction, and should always be taken in as fiction. What matters is that one can have a firm grasp his/her fiction, and stay within the confines of that.

[Scourge of Amaranth]

Honestly, they work however you, the author, says they work. It's all a matter of interpretation and imagination; each author has his/her own description of it.

[Sceptile Frost]

You shouldn't have to explain how they work unless the story involves making it. Imagine, if you will, writing a biography about your life. You wouldn't stop on page two to describe what a bed was, or what a journal was. If it is first person, unless one is to be transported into the pokeball world or hasn't seen one (living on Mars or Alpha Centuri A III, aye?) it shouldn't need explanaition.

Obviously, the pokeball was reverse-invented from an invading alien species and has been copied repeatedly, and yet no one knows how they work. The apricot is what the alien race used on Earth to activate the devices, and thus that is where the apricot myth came from.

Simply put, its going to differ. I'd probably use that one as an excuse for my main character to not use the pokeball, especially if this alien race were currently re-invading. Obviously a more fantastic book would have a more fairy-tale-esque flare and a realistic thriller would have a scientific, blunt definition. Depending upon the main belief of society in your world - religion, science, or some alien race, maybe even pokémon, the results will differ.

As some others have said, there is no 'correct' answer for our dimension. And there certainly is a line between what is being said and what is.

[Poke-Scientist]

Is it possible to apply the pokemon concepts to real life. Would it be possible to break down an animals genetic code and capture it inside a ball. The thought of creating such a device (pokeball) would make alot of money if ever properly constructed. Not only that but all the research that would be possible. The idea is somewhat far-fetched but I think it is somewhat probable, and if I were to create such a device, it would allow people arround the world to capture and raise animals almost identically to the t.v show Pokemon. Of course things like "gym leaders" and "the elite four" would eventually take place, not in the exact form of the show but im assuming you get my idea. In conclusion, is it possible to actually construct a pokeball?