Safari Balls are a new type of Poké Ball exclusive to the Wild Area event, which means they’ve made a return for the Go Wild 2025: Global event running on Saturday 15th November and Sunday 16th November in Pokémon Go.
Go Safari Balls, because of course Pokémon Go has to find a way to include ‘Go’ in everything, are more effective at catching Pokémon compared to the other brands of Poké Ball. (Well aside from Master Balls, but they’re a completely different beast.) This makes them perfect for catching the Mighty Pokémon appearing throughout Go Wild 2025: Global. There is a catch though – rumour has it Safari Balls can expire…
Don’t worry though, we’re here to help you learn how to get Safari Balls in Pokémon Go, whether Safari Balls expire and what exactly Go Safari Balls are.
On this page:
To see this content please enable targeting cookies.
Manage cookie settings
How to get Safari Balls in Pokémon Go
The hourly Supply Balloons are the main way you can get Safari Balls during the Wild Area 2025: Global event. Keep in mind, however, that these balloons are exclusive to ticket-holders. This means, the best way to get this special Poké Ball, is part with some cash.
Look for this supply balloon. | Image credit: Eurogamer/Niantic
There will be 16 Supply Balloons available in total, eight for each day of the event, since Wild Area 2025: Global runs from 10am to 6pm (local time) on both Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th November. Just rememeber to collect your Safari Balls on the hour, every hour or else you might loose some due to an overlap. You will also most likely not get a Supply Balloon at 6pm (local time), because that’s when the Wild Area event ends and Safari Ball can not be used outside of it.
You may also earn Safari Balls from spinning PokéStops during the Wild Area event. Aside from this, the other ways for obtaining Safari Balls are also tied to spending real world money.
Within the in-game Pokémon Go store, there are three Safari Ball bundles on sale. The first offers 10 Safari Balls for 60 PokéCoins, the second 25 Safari Balls for 125 PokéCoins and the third 50 Safari Balls for 240 PokéCoins.
Image credit: Eurogamer/Niantic
There are two Safari Ball bundles available on the Pokémon Go web store. The first offers 250 Safari Balls for £9.99 or the equivalent pricing tier in your local currency. The second will give you 500 Safari Balls for £14.99 or the equivalent pricing tier in your local currency. Both of these bundles can be purchased three times.
Don’t worry if you’re a free-to-play Trainer, because you can still catch every Pokémon, even Mighty Pokémon, present within the Wild Area 2025: Global event with any non-Safari Ball. Those Mighty Pokémon might just be a little harder to catch since the Safari Balls have a higher catch rate compared to the regular ones.
But, before you start throwing Safari Balls at Pokémon, there’s an important fact to consider…
The Wild Area 2025 Global event is here! You can complete A Grim Beginning quest, catch Impidimp and battle Gigantamax Grimmsnarl. Don’t forget to check out the habitat hours and research tasks either. Alongside this, it’s worth learning about Mighty Pokémon and Safari Balls.
There’s a lot to do in Pokémon Go outside of the current event! First, it’s worth learning about the level update. After this, you might want to fight in the Go Battle League, use Party Play, compete in a PokéStop Showcase or explore a Route for its Gift Exchange. Keep an eye out for rare Pokémon and don’t forget to collect Max Particles, so you can battle Dynamax Pokémon in Max Battles.
Do Safari Balls expire in Pokémon Go?
Yes, Safari Balls do expire in Pokémon Go. Any spare Safari Balls you have will expire from your inventory at 6pm (local time) at the end of each Go Wild Area 2025: Global event day – either Saturday 15th November and Sunday 16th November.
This means that Safari Balls do not overlap between event days. If you’ve been playing Pokémon Go on Saturday, you’ll instead have to start collecting Safari Balls all over again Sunday morning.
Image credit: Niantic
For this reason, it’s a good idea to spend the last hour of the event (5pm to 6pm local time on both days) using up any spare Safari Balls you might have. Best to get your money’s worth after all! An ideal Safari Ball target are the Mighty Pokémon appearing throughout the Wild Area event hours or the Galarian Legendary Birds who have a chance of spawning when you’re using Daily Adventure Incense.
Remember – use your Safari Balls before it’s too late! They will vanish at 6pm (local time) on both Saturday and Sunday!
What are GO Safari Balls in Pokémon Go?
Go Safari Balls are the Pokémon Go version of the classic Poké Ball you receive upon entering any Safari Zone in a mainline Pokémon game. Decorated with a camouflage pattern, these Poké Balls have ‘GO’ printed on their sides in big white letters to help you remember which game you’re playing.
As we mentioned above, Safari Balls are highly effective at catching Pokémon. This makes them perfect for catching any Mighty Pokémon you might encounter. The downside is, again like we said above, that they expire.
Safari Balls are perfect for catching Mighty Pokémon. | Image credit: Niantic
Though, when you think about it, this expiration date is oddly fitting for Safari Balls. In the many of the mainline games where the zones made an appearance, you could be kicked out of the area after taking a certain number of steps. The fact that Pokémon in Safari Zones had to be caught without battling them, simply tossing Safari Balls, treats and stones (yes, stones), also matches up well with Pokémon Go’s gameplay. (Well, apart from the stones but I guess a good number of people have tossed their phones because of this game.)
Safari Balls were originally released as part of the Wild Area 2024 event – making their first appearance at the Wild Area event held in Fukuoka in Japan before being released worldwide duirng Wild Area 2024: Global. They then made a return in November 2025 as part of both the Wild Area event in Nagasaki, Japan, and the Wild Area 2025: Global event the following week.
Best of luck using Safari Balls during the Wild Area 2025: Global event!