Apricorns

[Wednesdayz]

Apricorns were introduced in Gold & Silver. These fruits, which were found on trees dotted around Johto, could be utilized to create specialty Poke Balls. Did you frequently collect Apricorns and bring them to Kurt? Which were your favorite Apricorn Poke Balls? Please explain your answers in detail.

I always used to stock up on Pink Apricorns and used them to make Love Balls. I don't know why, but the Love Balls had my favorite design pattern and catch specialty of the seven.

 

[Cat's Eye Draco]

I'd usually collect whatever Apricorns I happened to come across, but I hardly ever bothered to head back to Azalea Town to have Kurt turn them into poke balls. (And when I did bother I usually forgot to pick them up the next day.)

These days I tend to use them all in the Apriblender when playing HG/SS.

 

[Mrs. Oreo]

I remember keeping a huge inventory of White Apricorns cuz Fast Balls were useful against Entei, Raikou and Suicune. I disliked how in Silver and Gold we could only give Kurt one Apricorn at a time however. It made collecting Fast Balls slow, but Crystal changed that I think.

 

[Daizy]

I didn't like the Apricorns because picking them up daily in different places was a chore. We needed a way to harvest them much more quickly in GSC.

 

[Aquarelle]

In GSC, I didn't do too much with Apricorns tbh. I think I just didn't have the patience and desire to go all over the place to pick new Apricorns everyday. I did get a few balls from Kurt, but the biggest thing I did with the Apricorns was sell them so I could afford healing items when I was struggling to beat the Elite Four on Gold for the first time.
Also, since GSC didn't keep track of what type of ball you used to catch a Pokemon, I didn't feel much incentive to use Apricorn balls over Ultra Balls, etc.

I do like the concept of Apricorns, though, and think it's cool that they can be used to make special Poke Balls with different functions and designs. The Moon & Love Balls are my favourites, simply because I like the way they look.


(I've done a lot of Apricorn collecting on HGSS, though, given that later games keep track of your Pokemon's Poke Ball type and balls can now be passed on through breeding).

 

[KyogreThunder]

I did collect Apricorns quite often in Crystal, but was very annoyed when I found out that Fast Ball is only good for catching three Pokemon that flee (yet I caught Raikou at full health using one) and Moon Ball not working at all due to a glitch. My favourite has always been the Red Apricorn, since Level Ball is actually quite useful because you don't have to worry about accidentally knocking out the Pokemon you're trying to catch.

 

[Leonhart]

I was obsessed with collecting Bonguri Fruit (Apricorns) when I played Crystal version as a kid. I liked having plenty in stock to give to Gantetsu (Kurt), and my favorite type of Bonguri was the Blue Bonguri because they would turn into Lure Balls, which I used frequently since I loved to fish for Pokemon.

 

[TrainerJenny]

I never really gave them to kurt much ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡

 

[Alloutℯ]

I didn't often pick Apricorns but I did love Friend Balls so I had a big inventory of Green Apricorns that I would give to that old man in Azalea Town.

 

[Bananarama]

I usually picked up whatever Apricorns I stumbled upon out of habit. I liked the selection of the various types of balls that you could get from the different colors of Apricorns, especially the Heavy Ball, which I used pretty often iirc.

 

[ladynorther]

Back in the day, I loved the concept, and I remember being bummed about them not being in RSE, but I don't think I really collected Apricorns much in GSC, I just really remember being annoyed by the Apricorns themselves taking up precious bag space in the still-limited-to-20-items main item pocket.

In my most recent playthrough of HeartGold, however, I've collected them like mad after being inspired to do so by the sorta-re-introduction of Apricorn balls in SM and my frustration that only one of each kind was available per game. My plan is to just catch Pokémon in Apricorn balls in HG and transfer them up to Ultra Sun.

 

[Kutie Pie]

Apricorns were a great addition to Pokémon, it was a lot of fun to get different Poké Balls, even if I collected White Apricorns the most and thus kept getting a bunch of Fast Balls lol. But my favorite is the Moon Ball, guess because it was just rare for me to get, so it was a special occasion for me to have one (even if I never used them).

My favorite detail was seeing Kurt making the balls, and him getting snippy with you for bothering him before they were ready.

 

[Leonhart]

especially the Heavy Ball, which I used pretty often iirc.

I only used those Balls once or twice in G/S/C if I remember right. I caught Kabigon (Snorlax) with one since it was essentially the only heavy Pokemon in Gen II worth catching for my team.

 

[Cíconne]

I liked Moon Balls since I liked catching Clefairy for my collection. None of Kurt's other custom balls interested me though.

 

[Mega Altaria]

In GSC, I would have liked to bring Apricorns to Kurt to make into balls but because of glithes that have changed the effects of the Apricorn Balls I'm not a fan of using them because they are not as easy to get as the other Poké Balls. But my favourite Apricorn Ball based on aesthetics would be the Love Ball (Pnk Apricorn) because of the pattern on the Poké Ball and its effect when sending out a Pokémon. But my favourite based on practicality would be the Level Ball (Red Apricorn) because it makes it way easier to catch Pokémon whose levels are well below my Pokémon's levels, going up to an 8x multiplier for wild Pokémon whose levels are at least 4 times less than the player Pokémon's level.

 

[Leonhart]

I liked Moon Balls since I liked catching Clefairy for my collection. None of Kurt's other custom balls interested me though.

My issue with Moon Balls was that there were only a few Pokemon in G/S/C that evolved via the Moon Stone (such as Pippi and Purin). Also if I recall correctly, there was a glitch which made Moon Balls act like ordinary Balls in Gen II, which kind of made Moon Balls seem redundant.

 

[Ace Trainer Alex]

In the past I used to use any and all apricorn balls, but nowadays, I've been mainly just using Level Balls, since they are actually very useful

 

[Leonhart]

In the past I used to use any and all apricorn balls, but nowadays, I've been mainly just using Level Balls, since they are actually very useful

My pet peeve with Level Balls has always been that they seem somewhat redundant since regular Monster Balls work well on weak Pokemon, anyway.

 

[PikaSnap]

I thought the idea of Apricorns being used as primitive Pokeballs was really cool, and fit in nicely with the historic lore and vibes of the Johto region.
In HGSS, I liked going on Apricorn hunts, flying and surfing all over Kanto and Johto collecting as many Apricorns as I could to turn into specialty balls or make Aprijuice for the Pokeathlon. As others have said, the Level Ball or Heavy Ball are probably the most useful, but my favorite is still the Moon Ball ^-^

 

[Hydrohs]

My pet peeve with Level Balls has always been that they seem somewhat redundant since regular Monster Balls work well on weak Pokemon, anyway.

The Level Ball isn't good against weak Pokemon, but Pokemon that are of a lower level or significantly lower level than your active Pokemon. While this would certainly include weak Pokemon in most cases, it's fundamentally different. And very useful if you have even one level 100 for catching.