Pokémon ORAS Snowballs: Uses + How To Get Them

All Snowball Locations
#	Method	Repeatable?
1	Battle Maison’s Exchange Service Corner – 32 BP	Yes
2	Held item (5% chance) from wild Snorunt found in Shoal Cave	Yes

In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, there are two ways to obtain a Snowball (held item).

The first method is at the Battle Maison’s Exchange Service Corner where you can trade 32 Battle Points (BP) for one SNowball. The Battle Maison is located at the Battle Resort & is only available in the post-game.

Alternatively, you can use TM46 Thief to steal Snowballs as held items from wild Snorunt found in Shoal Cave. Snorunt only has a small chance of holding a Snowball, but you can use your DexNav to improve your odds.

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 32 BP then you can purchase a Snowball from her.

Exchanging BP for useful items

In the Exchange Service Corner, two attendants offer a wide variety of valuable items in exchange for BP.

The left attendant sells Vitamins, EV training items, and evolution items. The right attendant sells held items used in battles, including the Snowball.

Here’s a complete list of items offered as prizes by the attendant on the right:

SCROLL

Item	Price	Item	Price
Flame Orb	16 BP	Choice Band	48 BP
Toxic Orb	16 BP	Choice Scarf	48 BP
Absorb Bulb	32 BP	Choice Specs	48 BP
Cell Battery	32 BP	Expert Belt	48 BP
Eject Button	32 BP	Focus Band	48 BP
Luminous Moss	32 BP	Focus Sash	48 BP
Power Herb	32 BP	Iron Ball	48 BP
Red Card	32 BP	Life Orb	48 BP
Ring Target	32 BP	Muscle Band	48 BP
Snowball	32 BP	Razor Claw	48 BP
Weakness Policy	32 BP	Razor Fang	48 BP
White Herb	32 BP	Safety Goggles	48 BP
Air Balloon	48 BP	Scope Lens	48 BP
Assault Vest	48 BP	Wide Lens	48 BP
Binding Band	48 BP	Wise Glasses	48 BP
Bright Powder	48 BP	Zoom Lens	48 BP

Method 2: Stealing from Wild Snorunt

Using TM46 Thief on a wild Snorunt

If you want an alternate cost-free method to obtain Snowballs, then you can take them as held items from wild Snorunt found in Shoal Cave.

This cave is located on Route 125, and it becomes accessible shortly after your first visit to Mossdeep City.

Upon reaching Shoal Cave, you’ll find that there’s only a small chance of encountering a wild Snorunt on most floors of the cave. But in the deepest basement (B3F) of the cave you have a much higher chance of finding wild Snorunt.

Here’s the full list of wild Pokémon on Shoal Cave’s B3F:

Wild Pokémon (B3F)	Encounter Rate	Levels
Snorunt	40%	31-34
Sealeo	30%	32-34
Golbat	20%	31-34
Spheal	10%	31

Note: Shoal Cave features a high tide and low tide mechanic, making certain areas accessible only at specific times of day based on your system’s clock.

During low tide, the underground sections of the cave become accessible, including the cave’s B3F. Make sure to time your visit during low tide – here’s a quick chart to help you with that:

Low Tide	High Tide
3:00 – 8:59	9:00 – 14:59
15:00 – 20:59	21:00 – 2:59

Shoal Cave B3F

When you encounter a wild Snorunt, there’s a 5% chance it will be holding a Snowball. By using a Pokémon with Thief you can steal any held item from it.

Tip: If you want more details on how to build a team for faster held item farming then check out our guide here.

And to further increase the chances of finding a Snowball, you can use your DexNav’s Detector Mode.

Here’s how:

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.

Using the DexNav’s Detector Mode

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

How Snowballs Works

In-game details for Snowball

The Snowball is a consumable held item that raises the holder’s Attack stat by one stage when it is hit by an Ice-type move. If a holder’s Attack is already at its maximum of +6, the Snowball won’t be triggered.

Here’s how much each stage modifies your Pokémon’s Attack stat:

Stage	Main Stat
0	x1
1	x1.5
2	x2.0
3	x2.5
4	x3.0
5	x3.5
6	x4.0

The Snowball is regarded as one of the worst held items in the game.

Its uselessness stems from its specific trigger condition – the holder must be hit by an Ice-type move.

Ice is a type that’s not commonly utilized in the main story, making it unlikely for the item’s Attack boost to be triggered consistently.

And unlike similar items like Absorb Bulb and Cell Battery, there’s no multi-target move to activate your own Snowball in double battles. This means you’ll have to rely on your opponent to activate the item’s effect.

While an option could be to hit your own Pokémon with your ally’s Ice-type move, this strategy would be a complete waste of a turn.

Your Battle Maison BP would be better used on almost any other held item(s) that provide a more reliable damage boost, like the Life Orb or Choice Band.

Other Uses for the Snowball

Outside of Island Cave

The Snowball also has one particular use that’s exclusive to Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. This relates to when you’re trying to encounter the Legendary Pokémon Regigigas.

Here’s how to use it for that purpose:

Capture or defeat Groudon or Kyogre in the Cave of Origin.
Capture all of the Legendary Titans: Regirock, Regice, and Registeel.
Nickname your Regice and have it hold an ice-based item such as a Snowball.
Have all three Legendary Titans in your party.
Visit the Island Cave during the day, starting from the day after you’ve captured the third Legendary Titan.
Once all the requirements are met, stepping into the center of the cave room will start the battle with Regigigas.

Note: The Island Cave where you can find Regigigas is on Route 105. This is a water route north of Dewford Town. You can also catch Regice here, which you need to do anyways before you can encounter Regigigas.

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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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