Phony Ball

Phony Ball is the name of the Star Skill that Wario uses in Mario Superstar Baseball. While pitching, Wario is able to throw both a regular baseball and a clove of garlic, confusing the batter as to which one to hit. The player must obtain the Gnarly Garlic Power-Up in Challenge Mode before being able to use this move.

If Wario is batting, he hits both a clove of garlic and a baseball, confusing the fielders as to which ball is real to catch. The ball is hit as a high fly ball, and splits into the real ball and the garlic shortly before hitting the ground. Attempting to catch the garlic results in the fielder being stunned. It is similar to Waluigi's Liar Ball with the only difference being is that Waluigi uses an eggplant in place of garlic, and that Wario's skill hits the ball a considerably longer distance, usually landing in the outfield.

Mario Super Sluggers
In Mario Super Sluggers, the Phony Ball operates a bit differently. Instead of using garlic, Wario will throw two baseballs, with one of them being a fake. The balls will move at relatively slow speeds, giving the batter a chance to find the real baseball. However, the batter could end up hitting the fake ball, which would result in a strike.

Trivia

 * In Mario Super Sluggers, if the player uses the vertical Wii Remote control scheme, the batter will always be aligned to hit the real baseball.