Catch Rate Calculator
Select a Pokemon above to calculate catch probability.
Try searching for Mewtwo, Garchomp, or any Pokemon you are trying to catch.
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Pokeball progression is currently verified for Red & Blue and FireRed & LeafGreen. Other games will be added as we verify mart inventories and pickup locations against authoritative sources.
How to Catch Pokemon
In Red & Blue, every wild Pokemon has a hidden catch rate value, between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed. Common Pokemon like Caterpie sit at 255. The legendary trio Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres sit at 3, and Mewtwo at Cerulean Cave matches them at 3.
Generation I uses an older catch formula that does not multiply status and ball cleanly the way Gen III onward does. The big inputs are still HP percentage, status condition, and ball choice, but the math runs through a tighter coin-flip-style check rather than a stacked multiplier chain. Status is applied as a flat subtraction from a random catch-roll byte: Sleep and Freeze subtract 25, while Paralysis, Burn, and Poison each subtract 12 (per the pokered ROM at engine/items/item_effects.asm:222-231). The practical effect is similar to a 2x-ish multiplier for Sleep and a 1.5x-ish multiplier for the lesser statuses, but the underlying math is additive on the roll, not multiplicative on the catch rate. There is no critical capture mechanic to short-circuit a multi-shake check.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Without False Swipe in the move pool yet, you cannot guarantee 1 HP via a single move. The Gen I sequence is: apply Sleep first, chip HP carefully with weak resisted moves, then throw the best ball you have on hand. Sleep first is safer because the target stops attacking, so your low-level chip-damage Pokemon does not need to heal between turns.
1Apply Sleep for the catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status condition for catching in Gen I. Putting the target down before chipping HP also means you cannot lose the encounter to a critical hit while you wear it down. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
2Chip HP carefully. With the target asleep you can use weak resisted moves to peel HP without risking a KO. Tackle from a low-level Pokemon, a not-very-effective move into a resistant target, or a single-target move from a much weaker attacker. Watch the HP bar and stop while the Pokemon is still in the red.
3Throw the best ball you have. Gen I has only five ball types: Poke Ball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, Master Ball, and Safari Ball. Walk through the questions below to pick the right one for your situation.
Gen I has no situational multiplier balls (those debut in Gen III). Walk through these two questions and stop at the first YES. If neither applies, throw the strongest plain ball you have.
Safari Ballin Safari Zone only
Master Ballguaranteed catch
Ultra Ball2x bonus
Great Ball1.5x bonus
Poke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping the Sleep step is the single biggest catch-rate cost in Gen I, since there is no critical capture and no situational ball to make up for missing the multiplier. The full sequence is apply Sleep, chip HP, then throw an Ultra Ball or save the Master Ball for the encounter that needs it most.
Red and Blue use the original Gen I catch formula. Each playthrough provides exactly one Master Ball, given by the Silph Co. president after defeating Giovanni in the takeover battle. Most trainers save it for Mewtwo at Cerulean Cave, the hardest catch in the game. The legendary trio Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres can each be caught with Sleep plus Ultra Balls given enough patience and reset attempts.
In Yellow, every wild Pokemon has a hidden catch rate value, between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed. Common Pokemon like Caterpie sit at 255. The legendary trio Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres sit at 3, and Mewtwo at Cerulean Cave matches them at 3.
Generation I uses an older catch formula that does not multiply status and ball cleanly the way Gen III onward does. The big inputs are still HP percentage, status condition, and ball choice, but the math runs through a tighter coin-flip-style check rather than a stacked multiplier chain. Status is applied as a flat subtraction from a random catch-roll byte: Sleep and Freeze subtract 25, while Paralysis, Burn, and Poison each subtract 12 (per the pokered ROM at engine/items/item_effects.asm:222-231). The practical effect is similar to a 2x-ish multiplier for Sleep and a 1.5x-ish multiplier for the lesser statuses, but the underlying math is additive on the roll, not multiplicative on the catch rate. There is no critical capture mechanic to short-circuit a multi-shake check.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Without False Swipe in the move pool yet, you cannot guarantee 1 HP via a single move. The Gen I sequence is: apply Sleep first, chip HP carefully with weak resisted moves, then throw the best ball you have on hand. Sleep first is safer because the target stops attacking, so your low-level chip-damage Pokemon does not need to heal between turns.
1Apply Sleep for the catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status condition for catching in Gen I. Putting the target down before chipping HP also means you cannot lose the encounter to a critical hit while you wear it down. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
2Chip HP carefully. With the target asleep you can use weak resisted moves to peel HP without risking a KO. Tackle from a low-level Pokemon, a not-very-effective move into a resistant target, or a single-target move from a much weaker attacker. Watch the HP bar and stop while the Pokemon is still in the red.
3Throw the best ball you have. Gen I has only five ball types: Poke Ball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, Master Ball, and Safari Ball. Walk through the questions below to pick the right one for your situation.
Gen I has no situational multiplier balls (those debut in Gen III). Walk through these two questions and stop at the first YES. If neither applies, throw the strongest plain ball you have.
Safari Ballin Safari Zone onlyMaster Ballguaranteed catchUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping the Sleep step is the single biggest catch-rate cost in Gen I, since there is no critical capture and no situational ball to make up for missing the multiplier. The full sequence is apply Sleep, chip HP, then throw an Ultra Ball or save the Master Ball for the encounter that needs it most.
Yellow keeps the same Gen I catch formula as Red and Blue, with one Master Ball from Silph Co. after Giovanni. Yellow is unique for letting you obtain all three original Kanto starters across the storyline without trading. The trickiest catches still come from the legendary trio (Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres) and Mewtwo at Cerulean Cave, all sitting at the catch-rate floor of 3.
In Gold & Silver, every wild Pokemon has a hidden catch rate value, between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed. Common Pokemon like Hoothoot sit at 255. The roaming legendary beasts (Raikou, Entei, Suicune) sit at 3 alongside Lugia and Ho-Oh, which is why each is a multi-attempt catch.
Generation II keeps the older Gen I catch formula structure, but the ball lineup expands dramatically. Kurt the Apricorn ball maker in Azalea Town introduces seven new situational balls beyond the standard Poke/Great/Ultra/Master, plus the Park Ball you only see during the Bug-Catching Contest. Several Apricorn balls have buggy effects in Gen II (Fast Ball is the most famous case) that get patched in the HGSS remakes. Status is applied as an additive +10 to the catch threshold byte (per the pokegold/pokecrystal ROM at engine/items/item_effects.asm:344-355), which works out to roughly a 2x effective catch boost for Sleep or Freeze — the calculator shows this as a 2x multiplier for clarity, but the underlying ROM math is additive on the threshold, not multiplicative on the catch rate.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
The same baseline applies as Gen I: there is no False Swipe and no critical capture, so the catch chain is sleep first, chip HP, then throw a situational ball. Gen II just gives you many more ball options once Kurt has crafted you a few.
1Apply Sleep for the catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status condition for catching in Gen II, giving roughly a 2x effective boost (the ROM applies a +10 to the threshold byte; the calculator displays this as 2x). Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
2Chip HP carefully. With the target asleep, peel HP using weak moves until the bar is in the red. There is still no False Swipe in Gen II, so a low-level chip-damage Pokemon and a careful eye on the HP bar are the substitute. Some wild Pokemon hold Berries that auto-restore HP mid-battle (a Gen II addition), which can undo your weakening if you stop watching. If you see the wild Pokemon eat a Berry, peel HP again before throwing.
3Throw the right ball. Gen II expands the lineup well past the original five. Beyond Poke/Great/Ultra/Master/Safari, Kurt in Azalea Town crafts seven Apricorn balls from colored Apricorns you pick off trees:
- Moon Ball (4x intended) on species that evolve via Moon Stone (the Nidoran lines, Clefairy, Jigglypuff). The original Gen II implementation gives no catch boost at all because the code compares against the wrong byte for the Moon Stone item; HGSS rewrites it to behave as intended. Crafted from Yellow Apricorns.
- Love Ball (8x intended) on a wild Pokemon that is the same species and opposite gender as your active battler. The original Gen II implementation has an inverted gender check that boosts on same-gender same-species matchups instead, the opposite of the description; HGSS fixes the inversion. Crafted from Pink Apricorns.
- Fast Ball (4x intended): the original Gen II implementation only triggers on three flee-prone Pokemon (Magnemite, Grimer, Tangela) due to a programming bug. HGSS rewrites it to fire on any species with base Speed 100 or higher. Crafted from White Apricorns.
- Lure Ball (4x intended) on Pokemon hooked from the water with a fishing rod. The original Gen II implementation only gives 3x because the math is coded as add-then-add rather than double-then-add; HGSS fixes the formula. Crafted from Blue Apricorns.
- Heavy Ball (variable) adjusts the catch rate based on the wild Pokemon's weight: heavier Pokemon get a flat catch rate boost, lighter Pokemon take a penalty. Crafted from Black Apricorns.
- Level Ball (variable, up to 8x) scales with the level ratio between your active Pokemon and the wild target. Crafted from Red Apricorns.
- Friend Ball sets the caught Pokemon's friendship to 200 instead of giving a catch bonus. Crafted from Green Apricorns.
- Park Ball appears only during the National Park Bug-Catching Contest, where it temporarily replaces all other balls and is designed to make catching the contest mons reliable.
For non-Apricorn situations, Ultra Ball stays the dependable 2x default. There is no Quick Ball, Dusk Ball, Net Ball, Dive Ball, Repeat Ball, or Timer Ball in Gen II. Those all debut in later generations.
Skipping the Sleep step costs you the same as in Gen I, since there is no critical capture and no stacked-multiplier compensation. With Apricorn balls in hand, the deciding factor for legendary catches is whether you have crafted enough of the right Apricorn type before the encounter.
Gold and Silver introduce the Apricorn ball lineup through Kurt in Azalea Town, but four of them have buggy effects in the original implementation. Fast Ball only triggers on three flee-prone Pokemon (Magnemite, Grimer, Tangela) due to a programming error. Moon Ball gives no catch boost at all because the code compares against the wrong byte for Moon Stone. Love Ball boosts on same-gender same-species encounters instead of opposite-gender (the gender check is inverted). Lure Ball gives 3x rather than the intended 4x because of an additive math bug. Heavy Ball, Level Ball, Friend Ball, and Park Ball work as advertised. HGSS later rewrites all four broken balls to behave as originally intended. The roaming legendary beasts (Raikou, Entei, Suicune) move between routes when encountered, making them harder to catch since the encounter ends if they flee.
In Crystal, every wild Pokemon has a hidden catch rate value, between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed. Common Pokemon like Hoothoot sit at 255. The roaming legendary beasts (Raikou, Entei, Suicune) sit at 3 alongside Lugia and Ho-Oh, which is why each is a multi-attempt catch.
Generation II keeps the older Gen I catch formula structure, but the ball lineup expands dramatically. Kurt the Apricorn ball maker in Azalea Town introduces seven new situational balls beyond the standard Poke/Great/Ultra/Master, plus the Park Ball you only see during the Bug-Catching Contest. Several Apricorn balls have buggy effects in Gen II (Fast Ball is the most famous case) that get patched in the HGSS remakes. Status is applied as an additive +10 to the catch threshold byte (per the pokegold/pokecrystal ROM at engine/items/item_effects.asm:344-355), which works out to roughly a 2x effective catch boost for Sleep or Freeze — the calculator shows this as a 2x multiplier for clarity, but the underlying ROM math is additive on the threshold, not multiplicative on the catch rate.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
The same baseline applies as Gen I: there is no False Swipe and no critical capture, so the catch chain is sleep first, chip HP, then throw a situational ball. Gen II just gives you many more ball options once Kurt has crafted you a few.
1Apply Sleep for the catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status condition for catching in Gen II, giving roughly a 2x effective boost (the ROM applies a +10 to the threshold byte; the calculator displays this as 2x). Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
2Chip HP carefully. With the target asleep, peel HP using weak moves until the bar is in the red. There is still no False Swipe in Gen II, so a low-level chip-damage Pokemon and a careful eye on the HP bar are the substitute. Some wild Pokemon hold Berries that auto-restore HP mid-battle (a Gen II addition), which can undo your weakening if you stop watching. If you see the wild Pokemon eat a Berry, peel HP again before throwing.
3Throw the right ball. Gen II expands the lineup well past the original five. Beyond Poke/Great/Ultra/Master/Safari, Kurt in Azalea Town crafts seven Apricorn balls from colored Apricorns you pick off trees:
- Moon Ball (4x intended) on species that evolve via Moon Stone (the Nidoran lines, Clefairy, Jigglypuff). The original Gen II implementation gives no catch boost at all because the code compares against the wrong byte for the Moon Stone item; HGSS rewrites it to behave as intended. Crafted from Yellow Apricorns.
- Love Ball (8x intended) on a wild Pokemon that is the same species and opposite gender as your active battler. The original Gen II implementation has an inverted gender check that boosts on same-gender same-species matchups instead, the opposite of the description; HGSS fixes the inversion. Crafted from Pink Apricorns.
- Fast Ball (4x intended): the original Gen II implementation only triggers on three flee-prone Pokemon (Magnemite, Grimer, Tangela) due to a programming bug. HGSS rewrites it to fire on any species with base Speed 100 or higher. Crafted from White Apricorns.
- Lure Ball (4x intended) on Pokemon hooked from the water with a fishing rod. The original Gen II implementation only gives 3x because the math is coded as add-then-add rather than double-then-add; HGSS fixes the formula. Crafted from Blue Apricorns.
- Heavy Ball (variable) adjusts the catch rate based on the wild Pokemon's weight: heavier Pokemon get a flat catch rate boost, lighter Pokemon take a penalty. Crafted from Black Apricorns.
- Level Ball (variable, up to 8x) scales with the level ratio between your active Pokemon and the wild target. Crafted from Red Apricorns.
- Friend Ball sets the caught Pokemon's friendship to 200 instead of giving a catch bonus. Crafted from Green Apricorns.
- Park Ball appears only during the National Park Bug-Catching Contest, where it temporarily replaces all other balls and is designed to make catching the contest mons reliable.
For non-Apricorn situations, Ultra Ball stays the dependable 2x default. There is no Quick Ball, Dusk Ball, Net Ball, Dive Ball, Repeat Ball, or Timer Ball in Gen II. Those all debut in later generations.
Skipping the Sleep step costs you the same as in Gen I, since there is no critical capture and no stacked-multiplier compensation. With Apricorn balls in hand, the deciding factor for legendary catches is whether you have crafted enough of the right Apricorn type before the encounter.
Crystal keeps the same catch math as Gold and Silver, including the same four buggy Apricorn balls (Fast, Moon, Love, Lure). Crystal locks Suicune behind a fixed-encounter storyline at the Tin Tower instead of leaving it as a roamer. The static Suicune encounter means you can prep with Sleep moves and reset on a missed catch, making it one of the more approachable legendary catches in the game. Raikou and Entei still roam, so the standard advice for those two is to track them with the Pokedex Area mode and have a Sleep user ready to start the encounter.
In Ruby & Sapphire, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate. It sits somewhere between 3 and 255. Higher numbers mean the Pokeball is more likely to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Caterpie sit at 255. Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo are stuck at 3, which is why Mewtwo takes so many tries to catch.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball. Generation III introduced the modern catch formula and the first wave of situational balls. Quick Ball and Dusk Ball do not exist yet, so your turn-1 plays here are more limited than later games.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep when available, throw the situational ball. That sequence turns a low base catch rate into a much more reliable catch.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2x catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status multiplier in Generation III. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Repeat Ball3x bonus
Net Ball3x bonus
Dive Ball3.5x bonus
Timer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep when available, then throw the situational ball. With only Gen III balls available, every multiplier you can stack matters more here than in later games.
Hoenn-specific tip: the Dive Ball gives a 3.5x catch boost on underwater encounters, which is unique to Hoenn-set games in Gen III. Heads up: Ruby and Sapphire have a programming bug where the badly-poisoned status (Toxic) is omitted from the 1.5x catch-boost branch entirely, so Toxic provides no catch bonus at all in R/S; regular Poison still gives the intended 1.5x, making it strictly better than Toxic for catching here.
In FireRed & LeafGreen, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate. It sits somewhere between 3 and 255. Higher numbers mean the Pokeball is more likely to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Caterpie sit at 255. Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo are stuck at 3, which is why Mewtwo takes so many tries to catch.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball. Generation III introduced the modern catch formula and the first wave of situational balls. Quick Ball and Dusk Ball do not exist yet, so your turn-1 plays here are more limited than later games.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep when available, throw the situational ball. That sequence turns a low base catch rate into a much more reliable catch.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2x catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status multiplier in Generation III. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Repeat Ball3x bonusNet Ball3x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep when available, then throw the situational ball. With only Gen III balls available, every multiplier you can stack matters more here than in later games.
FireRed and LeafGreen are remakes of the original Red and Blue, but they run on the modern Gen III catch formula. The Kanto lineup is catchable here using these refined mechanics rather than the coarser Gen I system. Use the calculator above to test catch scenarios for any FireRed or LeafGreen encounter, including the legendary trio (Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres) and Mewtwo at Cerulean Cave.
In Emerald, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate. It sits somewhere between 3 and 255. Higher numbers mean the Pokeball is more likely to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Caterpie sit at 255. Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo are stuck at 3, which is why Mewtwo takes so many tries to catch.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball. Generation III introduced the modern catch formula and the first wave of situational balls. Quick Ball and Dusk Ball do not exist yet, so your turn-1 plays here are more limited than later games.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep when available, throw the situational ball. That sequence turns a low base catch rate into a much more reliable catch.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2x catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status multiplier in Generation III. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Repeat Ball3x bonusNet Ball3x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep when available, then throw the situational ball. With only Gen III balls available, every multiplier you can stack matters more here than in later games.
Hoenn-specific tip: the Dive Ball gives a 3.5x catch boost on underwater encounters, which is unique to Hoenn-set games in Gen III. Pokemon Emerald fixed the bad-poison bug from Ruby and Sapphire, so Toxic now correctly gives the 1.5x catch boost.
In Diamond & Pearl, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate, somewhere between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Caterpie sit at 255. Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo are stuck at 3, which is why they take so many tries.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball. Generation IV adds two new ball options that change the strategy: Quick Ball (4x on turn 1) and Dusk Ball (3.5x at night or in caves).
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, throw the situational ball. That sequence turns a low base catch rate into a reliable catch.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2x catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status multiplier in Generation IV. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Quick Ball4x bonusRepeat Ball3x bonusNet Ball3x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonus
Dusk Ball3.5x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, then throw the situational ball. Quick Ball on turn 1 makes the opener cheaper than in Gen III, but the rest of the chain still pulls its weight.
Diamond and Pearl introduce Quick Ball and Dusk Ball to the lineup. Quick Ball is at its original 4x value here, before Black and White bumped it up to 5x in later games.
In Platinum, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate, somewhere between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Caterpie sit at 255. Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo are stuck at 3, which is why they take so many tries.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball. Generation IV adds two new ball options that change the strategy: Quick Ball (4x on turn 1) and Dusk Ball (3.5x at night or in caves).
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, throw the situational ball. That sequence turns a low base catch rate into a reliable catch.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2x catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status multiplier in Generation IV. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Quick Ball4x bonusRepeat Ball3x bonusNet Ball3x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonusDusk Ball3.5x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, then throw the situational ball. Quick Ball on turn 1 makes the opener cheaper than in Gen III, but the rest of the chain still pulls its weight.
Platinum keeps the same Gen IV catch math as Diamond and Pearl. Quick Ball stays at 4x and Dusk Ball at 3.5x in this version.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate, somewhere between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Caterpie sit at 255. Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo are stuck at 3, which is why they take so many tries.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball. Generation IV adds two new ball options that change the strategy: Quick Ball (4x on turn 1) and Dusk Ball (3.5x at night or in caves).
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, throw the situational ball. That sequence turns a low base catch rate into a reliable catch.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2x catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status multiplier in Generation IV. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Quick Ball4x bonusRepeat Ball3x bonusNet Ball3x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonusDusk Ball3.5x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, then throw the situational ball. Quick Ball on turn 1 makes the opener cheaper than in Gen III, but the rest of the chain still pulls its weight.
HeartGold and SoulSilver bring back the Gen II Apricorn balls with corrected effects: Moon Ball (4x on Moon Stone evolutions), Love Ball (8x on opposite-gender same-species), Fast Ball (4x on Pokemon with base Speed 100 or higher), Lure Ball (3x while fishing), Heavy Ball (catch rate adjustment by weight), Level Ball (multiplier scales with the trainer-vs-wild level ratio), Friend Ball (sets friendship to 200), and Sport Ball (1.5x, available only during the Bug-Catching Contest). The four bugged original Gen II balls (Fast, Moon, Love, Lure) are all rewritten here, so Kurt's Apricorn workshop finally runs as intended.
In Black & White, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate, somewhere between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Patrat sit at 255. The Tao trio Kyurem hits the floor at 3, which is why high-stakes legendary catches still take so many tries here.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2.5x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball. Generation V is where the Sleep multiplier jumped from 2x to 2.5x, and Quick Ball ramped from 4x to 5x at the same time. The same opener pays more here than it did in Gen IV.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, throw the situational ball. With the Gen V status math, the cumulative gain over a no-prep Ultra Ball throw is bigger than any earlier generation.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2.5x catch bonus. Sleep is now the strongest status multiplier in the catch formula at 2.5x, beating the 2x value it held in Gen III and IV. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Quick Ball5x bonusRepeat Ball3x bonusNet Ball3x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonusDusk Ball3.5x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, then throw the situational ball. Gen V is the first generation where critical capture exists, so a fully prepped throw can sometimes succeed on a single shake check.
Generation V introduces critical capture: when your Pokedex completion is high enough, the ball runs just one shake check instead of three, and that check is much more likely to succeed. The chance scales with how many species you have caught (not just seen). Filling out the dex pays off in future catch attempts. This was the headline catch-mechanic addition in Black and White.
Black and White run on the original BW Pokedex (no National Dex until post-game), so the available sleep-move users are limited to Unova natives during the main story. Cottonee/Whimsicott (Black-version line) and Petilil/Lilligant (White-version line) split the Sleep Powder access between versions, which means Black-version trainers and White-version trainers have to lean on different sleep openers without a trade. Critical capture is brand new here: the chance scales with caught species count (not seen), so dex completion grinding becomes a long-term catch-rate investment.
In Black 2 & White 2, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate, somewhere between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Patrat sit at 255. The Tao trio Kyurem hits the floor at 3, which is why high-stakes legendary catches still take so many tries here.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2.5x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball. Generation V is where the Sleep multiplier jumped from 2x to 2.5x, and Quick Ball ramped from 4x to 5x at the same time. The same opener pays more here than it did in Gen IV.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, throw the situational ball. With the Gen V status math, the cumulative gain over a no-prep Ultra Ball throw is bigger than any earlier generation.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2.5x catch bonus. Sleep is now the strongest status multiplier in the catch formula at 2.5x, beating the 2x value it held in Gen III and IV. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Quick Ball5x bonusRepeat Ball3x bonusNet Ball3x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonusDusk Ball3.5x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, then throw the situational ball. Gen V is the first generation where critical capture exists, so a fully prepped throw can sometimes succeed on a single shake check.
Generation V introduces critical capture: when your Pokedex completion is high enough, the ball runs just one shake check instead of three, and that check is much more likely to succeed. The chance scales with how many species you have caught (not just seen). Filling out the dex pays off in future catch attempts. This was the headline catch-mechanic addition in Black and White.
Black 2 and White 2 expand the regional dex significantly compared to the original BW. More sleep-move users are available without National Dex unlock, including Breloom in a Hidden Grotto for Spore access. Hidden Grottoes also reintroduce Pokemon like Drowzee for early Hypnosis access, which BW1 gated behind National Dex. Critical capture carries forward unchanged from BW.
In X & Y, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate, somewhere between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Bunnelby sit at 255. Box legendary Pokemon like Xerneas and Yveltal sit higher than they look at first glance, while late-game catches like Mewtwo at the Pokemon Village hit the floor at 3.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2.5x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball. Generation VI is the first time the catch math carries forward unchanged from the previous generation, so all the Gen V tactics still apply directly here.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, throw the situational ball. ORAS adds a pre-encounter wrinkle through DexNav: as your Search Level rises through chained encounters, the scouting overlay progressively reveals the wild Pokemon's first move (Search Level 2 and up), then a Hidden Ability or held item (Search Level 3 and up), and finally IV stars (Search Level 5 and up). Hidden Ability and Egg Move encounters are flagged with an exclamation mark.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2.5x catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status multiplier in the catch formula. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Quick Ball5x bonusRepeat Ball3x bonusNet Ball3x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonusDusk Ball3.5x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, then throw the situational ball. ORAS shows Apricorn balls as cameo display items in the Poke Ball Boutique inside the Lilycove Pokemon Center, but they are not obtainable through normal gameplay; the actual return of Apricorn balls to a player's bag does not happen until Generation VII (Sun and Moon, via the Game Freak office NPC in Heahea City).
Generation VI keeps the critical capture mechanic from Gen V: when your Pokedex completion is high enough, the ball runs just one shake check instead of three, and it is much more likely to succeed. The chance scales with caught species count, not just seen. Filling out the dex pays off in future catch attempts.
X and Y add the Friend Safari, which is the easiest path to specific sleep-move users that are otherwise hard to find. The Normal-type Friend Safari can host Smeargle for permanent Spore access via Sketch, and the Grass-type safari hosts Petilil for Sleep Powder access. Mewtwo waits at the Pokemon Village in the post-game and holds the catch-rate floor of 3, the same as in every previous game it appears in.
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate, somewhere between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Bunnelby sit at 255. Box legendary Pokemon like Xerneas and Yveltal sit higher than they look at first glance, while late-game catches like Mewtwo at the Pokemon Village hit the floor at 3.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2.5x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball. Generation VI is the first time the catch math carries forward unchanged from the previous generation, so all the Gen V tactics still apply directly here.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, throw the situational ball. ORAS adds a pre-encounter wrinkle through DexNav: as your Search Level rises through chained encounters, the scouting overlay progressively reveals the wild Pokemon's first move (Search Level 2 and up), then a Hidden Ability or held item (Search Level 3 and up), and finally IV stars (Search Level 5 and up). Hidden Ability and Egg Move encounters are flagged with an exclamation mark.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2.5x catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status multiplier in the catch formula. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Quick Ball5x bonusRepeat Ball3x bonusNet Ball3x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonusDusk Ball3.5x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, then throw the situational ball. ORAS shows Apricorn balls as cameo display items in the Poke Ball Boutique inside the Lilycove Pokemon Center, but they are not obtainable through normal gameplay; the actual return of Apricorn balls to a player's bag does not happen until Generation VII (Sun and Moon, via the Game Freak office NPC in Heahea City).
Generation VI keeps the critical capture mechanic from Gen V: when your Pokedex completion is high enough, the ball runs just one shake check instead of three, and it is much more likely to succeed. The chance scales with caught species count, not just seen. Filling out the dex pays off in future catch attempts.
Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire display the full Apricorn ball lineup in the Poke Ball Boutique inside Lilycove's Pokemon Center, but the balls themselves are cameo-only and cannot be added to your bag here; the actual reintroduction of Apricorn balls into play happens in Generation VII (Sun and Moon) via the Game Freak office NPC in Heahea City. DexNav adds a pre-encounter scouting wrinkle: as your Search Level rises through chained encounters, the overlay progressively reveals the wild Pokemon's first move (Search Level 2+), then a Hidden Ability or held item (3+), and finally IV stars (5+). Hidden Ability and Egg Move encounters are flagged with an exclamation mark. The Hoenn-original Dive Ball still gives a 3.5x boost on underwater encounters in the Sootopolis dive sequence.
In Sun & Moon, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate, somewhere between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Caterpie sit at 255. Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo are stuck at 3, which is why they take so many tries.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2.5x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, throw the right ball. That sequence routinely turns a 5% per-shake chance into 30% or higher.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2.5x catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status multiplier in the catch formula. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Quick Ball5x bonusRepeat Ball3.5x bonusNet Ball3.5x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonusDusk Ball3x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, then throw the situational ball. With the modern ball lineup, even a 3-shake legendary catch attempt becomes routine when every multiplier is doing its job.
Once your Pokedex completion is high enough, you will occasionally trigger a critical capture. The ball does just one shake check instead of three, and it is much more likely to succeed. Filling out the dex pays off in future catch attempts.
Sun and Moon introduce the Beast Ball, which is 5x on Ultra Beasts and 0.1x on every other species — only use it on the Ultra Beast encounters near the late-game Aether Foundation arc. The Apricorn ball lineup also makes its first true return since HGSS: the NPC in the Game Freak office on Heahea City (Akala Island) gives you a one-time set of Apricorn balls after you show him a Pokemon caught in the original Gen II games via Virtual Console transfer. Lure Ball peaks at its highest historical value here at 5x while fishing, before dropping back to 4x in Gen VIII. Island Scan, a Poke Finder side mechanic, surfaces Pokemon not normally in the Alola dex on specific days of the week.
In Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate, somewhere between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Caterpie sit at 255. Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo are stuck at 3, which is why they take so many tries.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2.5x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, throw the right ball. That sequence routinely turns a 5% per-shake chance into 30% or higher.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2.5x catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status multiplier in the catch formula. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Quick Ball5x bonusRepeat Ball3.5x bonusNet Ball3.5x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonusDusk Ball3x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, then throw the situational ball. With the modern ball lineup, even a 3-shake legendary catch attempt becomes routine when every multiplier is doing its job.
Once your Pokedex completion is high enough, you will occasionally trigger a critical capture. The ball does just one shake check instead of three, and it is much more likely to succeed. Filling out the dex pays off in future catch attempts.
Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon keep the Sun/Moon catch mechanics with an expanded 403-entry Alola dex and the same Heahea City Game Freak office NPC for Apricorn balls (showing a Virtual Console transferred Gen II Pokemon). The new Ultra Wormhole minigame lets you visit other dimensions and catch many cross-gen legendaries (Mewtwo, the legendary birds, the legendary beasts, and others), each of which uses the standard catch formula with a hard catch-rate floor of 3. Lure Ball still hits 5x while fishing in this version.
In Sword & Shield, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate, somewhere between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Caterpie sit at 255. Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo are stuck at 3, which is why they take so many tries.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2.5x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, throw the right ball. That sequence routinely turns a 5% per-shake chance into 30% or higher.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2.5x catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status multiplier in the catch formula. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Quick Ball5x bonusRepeat Ball3.5x bonusNet Ball3.5x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonusDusk Ball3x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, then throw the situational ball. With the modern ball lineup, even a 3-shake legendary catch attempt becomes routine when every multiplier is doing its job.
Once your Pokedex completion is high enough, you will occasionally trigger a critical capture. The ball does just one shake check instead of three, and it is much more likely to succeed. Filling out the dex pays off in future catch attempts.
Sword and Shield split the TM machine into two pools: standard TMs are infinite-use, while TRs (Technical Records) are single-use and need to be looted from Max Raids or bought with Watts. False Swipe is TM54 (infinite-use). The Master Dojo on the Isle of Armor adds the Cram-o-matic, which lets you trade in 4 items to receive Apricorn balls (and other rewards) based on the item types you submit — this is the only path to Apricorn balls in SwSh. Lure Ball drops back to 4x in Gen VIII after its 5x peak in Gen VII. Max Raid Battles use a separate catch system from the standard formula: the raid concludes with a single guaranteed catch attempt where ball type still matters but turn count and most multipliers do not apply.
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate, somewhere between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Caterpie sit at 255. Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo are stuck at 3, which is why they take so many tries.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2.5x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, throw the right ball. That sequence routinely turns a 5% per-shake chance into 30% or higher.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2.5x catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status multiplier in the catch formula. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Quick Ball5x bonusRepeat Ball3x bonusNet Ball3x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonusDusk Ball3.5x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, then throw the situational ball. With the modern ball lineup, even a 3-shake legendary catch attempt becomes routine when every multiplier is doing its job.
Once your Pokedex completion is high enough, you will occasionally trigger a critical capture. The ball does just one shake check instead of three, and it is much more likely to succeed. Filling out the dex pays off in future catch attempts.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are hybrid remakes: the catch formula and status math match Generation VIII (Sleep and Freeze 2.5x, critical capture present, Quick Ball 5x), but the ball multipliers faithfully retain the original Gen IV values (Dusk Ball 3.5x, Net Ball 3x, Repeat Ball 3x). If you remember DP from the DS era, the relative ball values feel identical even though the underlying formula is two generations newer. The Grand Underground replaces the original Sinnoh Underground and is the easiest source of Pokemon that are not on Sinnoh's surface routes — useful for filling sleep-move slots that DP's pre-National-Dex roster gates behind post-game.
In Scarlet & Violet, every wild Pokemon has a hidden number called its catch rate, somewhere between 3 and 255. The higher that number, the more likely the Pokeball is to stay closed when you throw it. Common Pokemon like Caterpie sit at 255. Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo are stuck at 3, which is why they take so many tries.
Three things change your odds the most: how low the wild Pokemon's HP is, what status condition you put it in, and which Pokeball you throw. Drop HP first, apply Sleep or Freeze for a 2.5x bonus (Paralysis, Burn, or Poison gives a smaller 1.5x boost if Sleep is not an option), then throw the situational ball.
How to Increase Your Catch Chance
Multipliers compound. The standard sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, throw the right ball. That sequence routinely turns a 5% per-shake chance into 30% or higher.
1Weaken HP with False Swipe. Knock the wild Pokemon to 1 HP without knocking it out. False Swipe caps damage at exactly 1 HP when the hit would otherwise faint the target. For Ghost-types (immune to Normal moves), use Night Shade instead and watch the HP bar.
- Power
- 40
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 40
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
2Put the target to Sleep for a 2.5x catch bonus. Sleep is the strongest status multiplier in the catch formula. Four primary sleep moves, ordered by accuracy:
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 100%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 75%
- PP
- 15
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 60%
- PP
- 20
- Power
- —
- Accuracy
- 55%
- PP
- 15
3Throw the right ball. The right ball depends on the situation, not on rarity. Walk through the questions below in priority order. Stop at the first YES.
Walk through these questions in order and stop at the first YES — that is your ball. If none of the questions apply, throw an Ultra Ball.
Quick Ball5x bonusRepeat Ball3.5x bonusNet Ball3.5x bonusDive Ball3.5x bonusDusk Ball3x bonusTimer Ball~4x bonusUltra Ball2x bonusGreat Ball1.5x bonusPoke Ball1x (no bonus)Skipping any step costs you catch odds. The full sequence is weaken HP, apply Sleep, then throw the situational ball. With the modern ball lineup, even a 3-shake legendary catch attempt becomes routine when every multiplier is doing its job.
Once your Pokedex completion is high enough, you will occasionally trigger a critical capture. The ball does just one shake check instead of three, and it is much more likely to succeed. Filling out the dex pays off in future catch attempts.
Scarlet and Violet add two unique catch-side mechanics. First, a hidden badge-level penalty: each gym badge you have not yet earned applies a ~0.8x multiplier to wild Pokemon at higher levels than your current badge progress allows, so high-level catches in the early game are noticeably harder. Second, Capture Power sandwiches (made at picnics) give a per-type catch bonus that lasts about 30 minutes — stack a Capture Power: Fire sandwich before going to hunt Charcadet, for example. The new Backstrike bonus rewards approaching wild Pokemon from behind, similar in spirit to the PLA mechanic but layered on top of the standard battle formula rather than replacing it. False Swipe is renumbered to TM057 in the Scarlet/Violet 3-digit TM scheme.