Table of Contents >> Show >> Hide
- What “Unlimited Master Balls” Really Means
- Before You Start
- How to Get Unlimited Master Balls in Pokémon Gold/Silver: 6 Steps
- Best Uses for Extra Master Balls in Gold and Silver
- Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Why This Glitch Became So Popular
- Final Thoughts
- Experience: What It Feels Like to Use the Master Ball Clone Trick
If you grew up playing Pokémon Gold or Pokémon Silver, you probably learned one important life lesson early: a Master Ball feels way too precious to use, right up until Raikou appears for half a second and vanishes like a magician who owes you money. In the original Johto games, you normally get only one Master Ball, which makes every decision around it feel dramatic. Do you save it for Entei? Lugia? Ho-Oh? A random Graveler because you panicked? We do not judge. Much.
The good news is that longtime players discovered a classic duplication glitch that lets you clone a Pokémon holding a valuable item. In plain English, that means you can duplicate a Master Ball by cloning the Pokémon carrying it. Repeat the process enough times, and you can build up a stash of Master Balls for the toughest encounters in the game. It is not magic, it is not a secret developer gift, and it is definitely not the “intended” way to play. It is a glitch. A famous one.
This guide explains how to get unlimited Master Balls in Pokémon Gold and Silver using the old PC cloning trick, breaks the process into six easy steps, and covers the risks, best practices, and common mistakes so you do not accidentally turn your save file into a digital ghost story. If you want a fun, practical, and easy-to-follow walkthrough, grab your Game Boy confidence and let’s head to the Pokémon Center.
What “Unlimited Master Balls” Really Means
Before we jump into the steps, let’s clear up one thing. There is not an in-game shop where a clerk says, “Congratulations, trainer, here are 999 Master Balls.” The trick works because Pokémon Gold and Silver allow a cloning glitch through the PC save process. If the Pokémon you clone is holding a Master Ball, the cloned copy will also hold one. So the item is duplicated along with the Pokémon.
That is why players refer to the method as getting “unlimited Master Balls.” It is repeatable, not literally infinite in one click. You get one Master Ball first, then duplicate it again and again. Think of it as Johto’s weirdest investment strategy.
Before You Start
Get the original Master Ball first
In Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver, Professor Elm gives you the Master Ball after you earn the eighth Johto badge and return to New Bark Town. Since the Master Ball catches a wild Pokémon without fail, most players save it for a roaming Legendary Beast or another high-value encounter.
Understand the risk
This method relies on interrupting the save process at a precise moment. That means there is always some risk involved. If your timing is wrong, you may fail to clone the Pokémon, lose the item, or in worse cases, create corrupted data. The safest approach is to clone one Pokémon at a time and stay patient. This is not a speedrun challenge. This is a “do not sneeze during the save screen” challenge.
Use a throwaway test first
If you have never done the Gold/Silver cloning glitch before, test the timing with a less important Pokémon and a less important held item. Once you get comfortable with the save window, then move on to cloning your Master Ball carrier.
How to Get Unlimited Master Balls in Pokémon Gold/Silver: 6 Steps
Step 1: Receive your Master Ball from Professor Elm
Your first job is simple: play far enough into the game to earn all eight Johto badges. After that, head back to Professor Elm’s lab in New Bark Town. He will reward you with the Master Ball, the rarest Poké Ball in the game. Since this item guarantees a capture against wild Pokémon, it is the key to the entire trick.
If you have already used your only Master Ball, then this method will not help unless you trade in another one from a separate compatible game. The cloning trick duplicates what you already have; it does not create the first copy out of thin air.
Step 2: Give the Master Ball to a Pokémon in your party
Next, choose a Pokémon in your party and have it hold the Master Ball. This is crucial because the glitch duplicates the Pokémon and its held item together. A Pokémon holding nothing will clone exactly as usefully as an empty lunchbox.
Pick a Pokémon you will immediately recognize when you reload the game. A common, clearly named party member works well. You do not want to stare at your screen later wondering which Level 12 Sentret is the important one.
Step 3: Save at a Pokémon Center PC
Go to a Pokémon Center and stand in front of Bill’s PC. Save your game manually before doing anything else. This gives you a clean starting point and reduces the chances of confusion if the first attempt does not work.
Once the game is saved, open the PC and access your Pokémon Boxes. Make sure the Pokémon holding the Master Ball is in your party at this point, not already inside a box.
Step 4: Deposit the Pokémon into a PC Box
Deposit the Pokémon holding the Master Ball into an empty or easy-to-manage box. Using a box with little clutter can make the whole process easier to track. Some longtime players prefer an empty box so they can instantly confirm whether the clone appeared correctly.
At this moment, the Pokémon is stored in the box, but the real magic happens in the next step when you force the game to save during a box change.
Step 5: Change boxes and turn off the game during the save window
Now switch to another box. The game will tell you it needs to save before changing boxes. Agree to save. As the message appears, you must turn off the system at the right moment during the save sequence. The classic version of the trick depends on shutting the game off before the save fully finishes, but not too early.
This is the part that makes players sweat like they are defusing a bomb made of nostalgia. If you do it correctly, the game will partially preserve the box data while also keeping the original version of the Pokémon in your party when you reload. If you do it too soon or too late, the glitch may fail.
Because exact timing can vary by player and hardware feel, many people need a few tries to get consistent results. Stay calm, use only one Pokémon, and do not rush the process. Heroic impatience is how save files become cautionary tales.
Step 6: Restart the game and confirm the clone
Turn the game back on and load your save. If the glitch worked, you should find one copy of the Pokémon in your party and another copy in the PC Box. Better yet, both copies should have the Master Ball.
At that point, remove one Master Ball, repeat the process with one of the cloned Pokémon, and keep going until you have as many as you want. That is the full loop behind unlimited Master Balls in Pokémon Gold/Silver. Not elegant, not graceful, but absolutely legendary.
Best Uses for Extra Master Balls in Gold and Silver
Roaming Legendary Beasts
Raikou and Entei are the biggest reasons many players want more Master Balls. After the events at the Burned Tower, the Legendary Beasts begin roaming Johto, and they are famously annoying to pin down. When one finally appears, it can flee almost immediately. A Master Ball turns a stressful chase into a one-turn victory.
Lugia and Ho-Oh
These mascot legendaries are not as slippery as the roamers, but they are still valuable catches. If you prefer using Ultra Balls on the beasts and saving guaranteed captures for the box-art legends, cloned Master Balls give you that freedom.
Shiny encounters and rare panic moments
Anyone who has ever run into an unexpected shiny knows the brain stops working for at least three seconds. Extra Master Balls are a safety net for those “absolutely not, you are not escaping me” moments.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Cloning more than one Pokémon at once
Just because the game lets you make risky choices does not mean it recommends them. Cloning one Pokémon at a time is safer and easier to track.
Using your most valuable team member on the first try
Practice with something replaceable. Your starter, your carefully raised Dragonite, and your beloved Tyranitar should not be test pilots for your first timing experiment.
Forgetting which copy you moved
Label your process mentally. Use a distinct Pokémon, a clear box, and a calm sequence. Confusion is the unofficial eighth gym leader of this glitch.
Assuming the trick is risk-free
It is not. This method is famous because it works, but it is also famous because bad timing can create trouble. Respect the glitch, and it is more likely to respect you back.
Why This Glitch Became So Popular
The cloning trick became a piece of playground gaming folklore because it solved one of Johto’s most frustrating problems: the game gives you one perfect Poké Ball, then asks you to make difficult choices in a world full of legendary targets. Gold and Silver also introduced held items, so the glitch became even more useful than simple Pokémon duplication. You were not just cloning a creature. You were cloning whatever treasure it carried.
That combination turned the trick into one of the most memorable exploits in classic Pokémon history. It felt half cheat code, half urban legend, and entirely like the kind of secret you only heard from a friend who spoke in a suspiciously confident whisper near the lunch table.
Final Thoughts
If you want to know how to get unlimited Master Balls in Pokémon Gold/Silver, the answer is simple: get your original Master Ball from Professor Elm, give it to a Pokémon, and use the PC cloning glitch carefully. When done right, the method duplicates the Pokémon and its held item, letting you build a supply of Master Balls for the toughest catches in Johto.
It is one of the most famous tricks in retro Pokémon history because it is practical, a little nerve-racking, and strangely satisfying. Just remember that it is still a glitch. Save carefully, test with low-stakes Pokémon first, and do not blame your Game Boy if you decide to perform surgery with oven mitts. Used wisely, this classic exploit can turn the rarest ball in the game into your personal legendary-catching budget plan.
Experience: What It Feels Like to Use the Master Ball Clone Trick
The funniest part about this whole method is that it turns a calm little Pokémon Center into the most stressful room in Johto. On paper, the process sounds easy. Deposit a Pokémon, change boxes, turn the system off at the right moment, reload, and celebrate. In real life, it feels like you are trying to land a plane using only instinct and childhood rumors. The first time I tried it years ago, I remember staring at the save message like it was a final exam question written in ancient runes. “Now? Was that the moment? Too late? Too soon? Did I just erase my future?”
That tension is a big reason the trick is so memorable. Unlike a modern exploit with menus, patches, and step-by-step pop-ups, this one feels gloriously old-school. You are relying on timing, nerve, and a slightly unhealthy amount of confidence. When it works, though, it feels incredible. You reload the game, check your party, open the PC, and suddenly there it is: two versions of the same Pokémon, both holding a Master Ball. At that point, you feel less like a trainer and more like a slightly chaotic scientist who just discovered infinite purple luxury.
There is also a weird emotional side to it. In the normal game, one Master Ball creates pressure. You save it. You overthink it. You debate whether a roaming Raikou is “worthy enough,” as if the ball itself will judge your character. But once the glitch works and you know you can repeat it, that pressure disappears. The game changes. Suddenly you can enjoy the legendary hunt without feeling like every choice is permanent. You stop hoarding the item “for later,” which, as every RPG fan knows, usually means “forever.”
I also think this trick captures something special about the original Pokémon era. Back then, information spread through friends, cousins, neighborhood experts, magazine hints, and the occasional wildly incorrect playground myth. For every real glitch, there were ten fake ones. So when you found a trick that actually worked, it felt magical. It was not just useful. It was a story. You did not say, “I optimized my item inventory.” You said, “My friend showed me this insane thing in Gold, and now I have six Master Balls.” That is much better dinner conversation.
Of course, there is always the risk factor. Every attempt carries that little jolt of fear. Even if you have done it successfully before, part of your brain still whispers, “This may be the run where everything becomes cursed.” That tiny edge of danger gives the method its personality. It is not polished. It is not clean. It is a classic cartridge-era exploit that asks for trust and bravery in equal measure.
In the end, the experience of getting unlimited Master Balls in Pokémon Gold or Silver is bigger than the item itself. It is part strategy, part nostalgia, part harmless mischief. It reminds players why the old games still have charm: even their glitches feel like adventures. And once you finally catch a fleeing Entei with a cloned Master Ball, the whole strange process suddenly feels worth it. Your only real danger after that is becoming way too confident and deciding you now qualify as a Johto engineer.
