Pokémon player heartbroken after their 4-year-old 'wastes' Master Ball on Parasect

Ah yes, the elusive Master Ball, a precious key item found in the Pokémon games for its extraordinary power to capture any Pokémon instantly, without the need for a battle. You only get one though, so players need to save it for something special, something challenging, something legendary…or a Parasect.

That’s right a Pokémon Go player was left in a state of shock and disbelief when they discovered their four-year old child used their Master Ball for a low-level Parasect. The parent shared their dismay on Reddit, with a post captioned: “This is Nicholas' account. Nicholas left their 4 year old kid catch the breakthrough Pokémon. Do not be like Nicholas.”

Heartbreaking stuff, but to be fair the kid had some good reasoning, with Nicholas saying: “The excuse actually was something along the lines of 'I saw it was big and scary so I thought i needed a good ball.’”

Pokémon has always been a strangely heated franchise, full of players that take the franchise’s video games and card collecting seriously, sometimes too much, which makes it even more painful to see someone miss out on a free-catch encounter.

Other users were quick to reply to the unfortunate event, offering their sympathies whilst also poking fun at the situation.

“Nicholas about to put a kid up for adoption tbh”

“Breaking news: orphanages overcrowded with kids from outraged Pokémon Go players”

“This is painful to look at.”

It’s made even worse by the fact there’s no way to get the Master Ball back once it has been thrown in Pokémon Go. During playthroughs of the console games, accidental throws or failed attempts to catch the legendary you’re looking for can be remedied by turning the game off without saving, reverting your save back to a point where you still had the precious item. Unfortunately, Pokémon Go players don’t have that luxury, and poor Nicholas is stuck with a Parasect in a Master Ball for as long as they continue to play the game.

Hopefully this is a good lesson to all players who are saving their Master Ball for a special occasion, never let anybody play on your account, lest you suffer the same fate as poor Nicholas.