Pokémon ORAS Iron Balls: Locations + Uses

All Iron Ball Locations
#	Method	Repeatable?
1	Battle Maison’s Exchange Service Corner – 48 BP	Yes
2	Pickup (Levels 41–60) – 1% chance	Yes
3	(OR) Held item from wild Mawile found on Granite Cave, Cave of Origin, Victory Road, Sky Pillar – 5% chance	Yes

There are three different ways to obtain an Iron Ball in ORAS, and all of these methods are repeatable.

#1: At the Battle Maison’s Exchange Service Corner you can trade 48 Battle Points (BP) for an Iron Ball.

#2: Using the Pickup ability on a Pokémon between levels 41-60. You’ll have a 1% chance of picking up an Iron Ball after each battle, even if the Pickup Pokémon isn’t involved in the fight.

#3: You can also find Iron Balls as held items on wild Mawile, which are exclusively found in Omega Ruby. Mawile can be found in Granite Cave, Cave of Origin, Sky Pillar, and Victory Road.

Method 1: Battle Maison’s BP Shop

The Battle Maison operates similarly to the Battle Tower from previous generations.

If you don’t know where the Battle Maison is, just head over to the Battle Resort’s Pokémon Center to get started.

Step 1: From the Battle Resort’s Pokémon Center, proceed slightly east and then head up the staircase at the nearby intersection.

Battle Resort’s Pokémon Center

Step 2: After going up the stairs, just keep going north and enter the Battle Maison.

Outside the Battle Maison

Step 3: Once you’re inside, you’ll see two staircases going upstairs. Head up the right one.

Inside the Battle Maison

Step 4: On the second floor, you’ll find one of the Exchange Service Corner’s attendants. If you’ve got at least 48 BP then you can purchase an Iron Ball from her.

Exchanging BP for useful items

Method 2: Pokémon with the Ability Pickup

A Linoone with Pickup holding an Iron Ball

Pokémon with the Pickup ability between levels 41-60 also have a chance to repeatedly pick up Iron Balls for you.

Here’s how this method works:

After you win any battle, a Pokémon in your current party with Pickup has a 10% chance of finding an item, provided it isn’t already holding one. This ability still works even if the Pokémon didn’t participate in the battle or has fainted.

But to find an Iron Ball specifically, your Pokémon with Pickup must fall between levels 41-60.

And each time Pickup activates, you’ll still only have a 1% chance of picking up an Iron Ball that way. So this means you actually have a 1% chance of a 10% chance after each battle.

Here’s the list of all Pokémon with Pickup that you can catch in the game:

Pokémon with Pickup	Locations
Zigzagoon	Route 101, Route 102, Route 103, Route 104, Route 110, Route 116, Route 117, Petalburg Woods
Linoone	Route 118, Route 119, Route 120, Route 121, Route 123
Aipom	Route 118, Route 121 (DexNav)
Lillipup	Route 101, Route 102, Route 103 (DexNav)

Tip: You can include up to six Pokémon with the Pickup ability in your party simultaneously to boost your odds of finding an Iron Ball. After winning battles, check if any of them have picked up an item. You’re bound to get other valuable items in the process as well.

Method 3: Stealing from Wild Mawile (Omega Ruby Only)

Using TM46 Thief on a wild Mawile

If you want another way to get an Iron Ball in Omega Ruby, you can get them from wild Mawile. This Pokémon has a 5% chance of holding an Iron Ball.

Here are Mawile’s encounter rates for each possible location in Omega Ruby:

Location	Encounter Rate	Levels
Granite Cave B2F	20%	10-12
Cave of Origin	31%	33-36
Victory Road	10%	40
Sky Pillar	10%	44-46

Locations where Mawile can be found: Granite Cave (1), Cave of Origin (2), Victory Road (3), Sky Pillar (4)

If you want help with farming held items then you can also check out our optimization guide on how to build a quick held item farming team.

Using the DexNav’s Detector Mode

Or to increase your chances of finding an Iron Ball even more, try using your DexNav’s Detector Mode.

Here’s how it works:

After catching a specific species of Pokémon, you can use the DexNav to track more of the same species in the wild. Each encounter with this Pokémon, regardless of whether you catch it, will increase the DexNav’s search level.

As this level rises, the likelihood of encountering Pokémon carrying items also increases.

What Does the Iron Ball Do?

In-game details for Iron Ball

The Iron Ball is a held item that reduces the Speed of its holder by 50% and grounds them, negating their immunity to Ground-type moves.

This makes previously ungrounded Pokémon, such as Flying-types, vulnerable to Ground-type moves.

Ungrounded Pokémon that can be grounded with an Iron Ball include:

Flying-type Pokémon
Pokémon with the Levitate ability
Pokémon holding an Air Balloon
Pokémon under the effects of Magnet Rise or Telekinesis.

Here are some strategies you can use with the Iron Ball:

Fling + Iron Ball Combo. The move Fling, when used with Iron Ball, has a massive base power of 130. This makes Iron Balls the strongest held item to Fling. However, be cautious of Protect, as Fling can only be used once since the Iron Ball is consumed in the process.
Swapping items with Trick/Switcheroo. The moves Trick or Switcheroo can swap the holder’s Iron Ball with the opponent’s held item. This strategy not only halves the opponent’s Speed but it also leaves ungrounded Pokémon vulnerable to Ground-type moves.
Iron Ball’s Speed Reduction in Trick Room. Trick Room, a move that inverses speed priority, works great with an Iron Ball. By further reducing a Pokémon’s Speed, Iron Ball can make your slow Pokémon sweep the enemy team while Trick Room is active.
Enhancing Damage of Certain Moves. Some moves like Avalanche, Gyro Ball, or Revenge can become more powerful when the user moves later in the turn. The Speed reduction provided by the Iron Ball can be beneficial in maximizing the damage dealt by these moves.

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StormSwampert

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Though he spends most of his time playing a wide variety of games, Pokémon has always been his favorite. When he’s not playing games or writing guides, you can find him watching anime and collecting trading cards.

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