HeartGold & SoulSilver Pokemon Catch Rate Calculator

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.

False SwipeNormal

Power

40

Accuracy

100%

PP

40

Always leaves opponent with at least 1 HP.

How to get it. Available as TM54 in this game. Most Bug, Normal, and Fighting-type Pokemon can learn it.

Top users in this game

ScytherSneaselFarfetch'dKricketune

Night ShadeGhost

Power

—

Accuracy

100%

PP

15

The damage of Night Shade is equal to the user's level.

How to get it. Level-up move on Ghost-types. Damage equals the user's level. That gives you predictable chip damage against Ghost-type wild encounters where False Swipe fails.

Top users in this game

GastlyHaunterGengar

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:

SporeGrass

Power

—

Accuracy

100%

PP

15

Spore puts the target to sleep.

How to get it. Level-up move on a small set of Grass-type Pokemon. In Gen IV, Smeargle (Sinnoh routes 208/212; HGSS Ruins of Alph) is the only universally-available native learner. Paras and Parasect are HGSS-only, and Breloom requires a Pal Park transfer from Gen III.

Top users in this game

SmeargleParasParasect

Sleep PowderGrass

Power

—

Accuracy

75%

PP

15

Sleep Powder puts the target to sleep, if it hits.

How to get it. Level-up move on Grass-type Pokemon with leaves or pollen. Roselia/Roserade is the iconic Sinnoh option; Oddish line and Bellsprout line cover Johto. Cannot be learned via TM.

Top users in this game

BellsproutWeepinbellVictreebelOddish

HypnosisPsychic

Power

—

Accuracy

60%

PP

20

Hypnosis puts the target to sleep, if it hits.

How to get it. Level-up move on Psychic and Ghost-type Pokemon. Drowzee line and Gastly line are widely available across Sinnoh and Johto. Cannot be learned via TM.

Top users in this game

DrowzeeHypnoGastlyGengar

SingNormal

Power

—

Accuracy

55%

PP

15

Sing puts the target to sleep, if it hits.

How to get it. Level-up move on Jigglypuff line, Clefairy line, and Chatot. Igglybuff is breedable in DPPt via the Pokemon Mansion incubator; Jigglypuff is wild in HGSS.

Top users in this game

JigglypuffWigglytuffClefairyChatot

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.

1

Is it turn 1, before any other action?

YES→Quick Ball4x bonus

Throws on the first turn of battle only. After turn 1 the bonus disappears.

2

Have you already caught one of this Pokemon (registered in your dex)?

YES→Repeat Ball3x bonus

Triggers on species you have already added to your Pokedex as caught.

3

Is the wild Pokemon a Water-type or Bug-type?

YES→Net Ball3x bonus

Active against Water-type or Bug-type targets, secondary types count too.

4

Are you battling while surfing or fishing?

YES→Dive Ball3.5x bonus

Triggers when the encounter is on water tiles or via a fishing rod.

5

Is the in-game clock at night, or are you inside a cave?

YES→Dusk Ball3.5x bonus

Active during nighttime hours and inside dark interior areas.

6

Has the battle dragged on for many turns?

YES→Timer Ball~4x bonus

Multiplier climbs each turn and reaches its 4x cap near turn 30. At turn 10 the bonus is only around 2x, so this is a long-stall tool rather than an early-fight pick.

★

If no question above applied

DEFAULT→Throw the strongest plain ball in your bag

Ultra Ball2x bonus

Great Ball1.5x bonus

Poke Ball1x (no bonus)

Use the strongest tier you have. Ultra Ball is best, Great Ball is mid-tier, Poke Ball is the basic fallback when nothing else is available.

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.