How to Catch Pokemon in Pokemon GO: Throws, Berries and Catch Rates

Catching Pokemon in Pokemon GO is the core loop that feeds everything else — your XP, your candy, your Stardust, and your battle roster all start with a good throw. Catch rate is not random luck; it is a math formula that rewards skill. Understanding how the colored circle, throw quality, berries, and the Pokemon's own base catch rate interact lets you stop wasting Poke Balls and start landing creatures that used to flee. This guide breaks down every lever you can pull.

How the Catch Formula Actually Works

Every species has a hidden base catch rate. Commons like Magikarp sit around 40 to 50 percent, while rare species such as some legendaries drop to roughly 2 to 5 percent before bonuses. On top of that base rate, the game multiplies in several modifiers: your throw quality, whether you used a berry, the ball type, the catch circle size, and curveball. A bad throw on a high-base-rate Pokemon still catches easily; a great throw on a low-base-rate raid boss is still a gamble.

The takeaway for players: you cannot change a Pokemon's base rate, but you can stack every other bonus to meaningfully improve your odds. Stacking a Golden Razz Berry, an Ultra Ball, a curveball, and an Excellent Throw is the standard recipe for tough targets.

Reading the Colored Catch Circle

When you hold a Poke Ball, a colored ring shrinks around the Pokemon. The ring color tells you the difficulty: green means an easy catch, yellow is moderate, orange is hard, and red is very hard. The smaller the ring when you release, the better the throw bonus.

• Great Throw: ring roughly 30 to 50 percent of its size — gives a catch and XP bonus
• Excellent Throw: ring under about 20 percent — the best possible bonus
• Wait too long and the ring resets and grows again, so timing matters more than force

Practice on commons until Excellent Throws feel natural, because those same mechanics decide whether a legendary stays or runs.

Master the Curveball

A curveball adds a flat catch bonus on top of your throw quality and is expected at higher levels. To throw a curve, spin the ball in a circular motion before releasing; it will curve left or right depending on your spin direction. You then compensate by aiming off-center so the curve brings it back onto the Pokemon.

Curveballs take a few days to master, but they raise catch rate enough that skipping them on hard targets is leaving free odds on the table. You also get a small extra XP per catch. Combine curve with a small ring for the maximum non-berry, non-ball bonus available on every throw.

Use Berries to Tip the Odds

Berries change the moment of truth without changing your throw:

Note that Pinap and Silver Pinap trade catch security for candy. Use Razz or Golden Razz when the catch itself is the priority, and Pinap when you already catch that species easily but need candy. Our Pokemon GO items guide covers where each berry comes from.

Ball Types and When to Switch

You start with standard Poke Balls, unlock Great Balls around Level 12, and Ultra Balls around Level 20. Each tier improves catch rate. The efficient habit is to use Poke Balls on commons, Great Balls on uncommon or high-CP wild Pokemon, and Ultra Balls plus Golden Razz on raid bosses and硬 encounters.

Do not hoard Ultra Balls forever. A ball in your bag earns nothing; a ball thrown at a fleeing legendary is the whole point of farming them. During big raid events, check active Pokemon GO promo codes for free ball bundles to keep your supply healthy.

Catching Raid and Shadow Pokemon

Raid bosses have the lowest base catch rates in the game, so the full stack — Golden Razz, curveball, Excellent, Ultra Ball — is standard. Throw during the brief windows when the boss is not attacking, and aim for the smallest ring you can consistently hit rather than risking a missed throw.

Shadow Pokemon from Team GO Rocket encounters also resist more and have a higher flee chance, so treat them like tough wild catches. Our Team GO Rocket guide explains how to find them, but the catching rule is the same: stack every bonus and never waste a Premier Ball on a sloppy throw.

Why Catch Rate Feels Different Per Pokemon

Two players can throw identical Excellents and get different results because the base rate varies wildly by species, and weather boosts, medal progress, and the Pokemon's level all shift the math. Completing type medals (for example, the Gold Kanto medal) gives a small global catch bonus for that type, so long-term players genuinely catch better than newcomers even with the same skill.

If you want to build a roster of rare finds, our Pokemon GO rare Pokemon guide shows which species are worth the berry investment, and the Pokemon GO shiny guide covers how shinies appear in the wild and what to do when one shows up.

FAQ

What gives the best catch rate bonus in Pokemon GO?

The largest single improvement comes from stacking bonuses: an Ultra Ball, a Golden Razz Berry, a curveball, and an Excellent Throw on the smallest possible ring. No single factor beats everything, but the throw quality and berry together account for most of your practical gain on tough targets. Weather boosts and Gold type medals add smaller permanent bonuses. Practicing Excellent curveballs on commons is the fastest way to raise your real-world catch rate without items.

How do I throw an Excellent Curveball consistently?

Spin the ball until it sparkles, then release when the colored ring is at roughly 10 to 20 percent of its full size, aiming slightly off to the side so the curve pulls the ball back onto the Pokemon. Most players find a consistent release point by practicing on stationary commons like Oddish. Timing matters more than speed, and a calm throw beats a rushed one. Over a few days the motion becomes muscle memory and your Excellent rate climbs steadily.

Should I use Pinap Berries on everything?

No. Pinap Berries double candy but do not improve catch rate, so they only make sense on Pokemon you already catch easily and want candy from, such as common evolutions you are farming. For hard targets, raid bosses, or anything with a low base rate, use Razz or Golden Razz instead because the catch itself is the priority. Silver Pinap is a compromise that gives both a candy boost and a catch bonus, making it strong for rare candy-farming encounters where the catch is still likely.

Why do some Pokemon flee even with good throws?

Fleeing is tied to the species base flee rate, not your throw quality. Some Pokemon, especially certain rare or weather-boosted spawns, have high flee rates and will bolt after a failed catch regardless of how good your Excellent was. Stacking berries and better balls reduces the chance of a failed catch, which is what prevents the flee. If a target keeps fleeing, switch to Golden Razz and Ultra Balls and prioritize a clean Excellent over a fast one.

Do weather and medals change catch rates?

Yes, but indirectly. Weather boosts raise a Pokemon's level and CP, which can make it harder, while completed type medals grant a small catch bonus for that type that applies permanently once earned. A player with a Gold medal for a type will catch those Pokemon better than a newcomer throwing the same throw. These bonuses are smaller than berries and throw quality, but over thousands of catches they add up and explain why veterans seem luckier than they are.