Catch rate (GO): Difference between revisions

Among the several mechanics that differ in Pokémon GO compared to the core series is the calculation of catch rate. Every species of Pokémon is assigned a "base capture rate" that is applied to every member of that species, and it is usually a value between 0% and 100%.

The calculation for capturing take the following variables into account:

• Base capture rate of the species
• CP multiplier, a counterpart to the Pokémon's level in the core series
• Bonus multipliers, including:
  • Type of Poké Ball
  • Throwing technique
  • Berries used
  • Type-specific medals currently earned

Calculation

Upon throwing a Poké Ball, the game will calculate P, the probability of a successful capture.

File:GO Catch formula.png

• baseCaptureRate is the base capture rate specific to a Pokémon's species
• CPM is the CP multiplier of a Pokémon
• multiplier is the product of several possible bonus multipliers

Bonus multipliers

Bonus multipliers are a means for players to better their odds of a successful capture, since the base capture rate and CP multiplier are outside of the players' control.

Factor		Multiplier
000
	Poké Ball	1.0×
	Premier Ball	1.0×
	Great Ball	1.5×
	Ultra Ball	2.0×
Berries
	Razz Berry	1.5×
	Silver Pinap Berry	1.7×
	Golden Razz Berry	2.5×
Throw
Nice!	2.0 - r r ∈ [0, 1]	1.0 to 1.3×
Great!		1.3 to 1.7×
Excellent!		1.7 to 2.0×
Curve Ball		1.7×
Type medals
	No type medal	1.0×
	Bronze type medal	1.1×
	Silver type medal	1.2×
	Gold type medal	1.3×

The Master Ball guarantees capture, but it is currently unobtainable in Pokémon GO.

Only one Berry can be used at a time. A Berry's effect wears off after the wild Pokémon has broken out of a thrown Poké Ball.

Throw bonuses, other than Curve Ball, are awarded for hitting the wild Pokémon inside the target ring with a Poké Ball. The smaller the target ring, the greater the bonus multiplier. If the player misses the ring or the ring was too big when it was hit, then no bonus multiplier will be applied.

Type medals, which are awarded based on how many Pokémon of a specific type was caught, affect the catch rate of a Pokémon of a specific type. If a Pokémon is dual-typed, the multiplier will be the average of the type medal bonuses, including ×1.0 if no medal for one type.

Target ring colors

Players can gauge the probability of a successful capture by the color of the target ring. The more green the target ring, the higher the probability. Feeding Berries or switching the Poké Ball used may change the color of the ring. However, the ring cannot take into account how well the player's throwing technique will be.

Examples

Poké Balls and Berries

Consider a wild Pikachu with 343 CP, with an estimated Power Up level of 14. Pikachu has a base capture multiplier of 20%. Referring to CP Multiplier table, this Pikachu has a CP Multiplier of 0.49985844. Without any bonus multipliers, the catch rate will be 20% / (0.49985844×2) = 20.01%

The following table shows what this Pikachu's catch rate would be if bonuses for Poké Balls and Berries were applied, assuming no bonuses from throws or medals:

	20.01%	30.01%	40.01%
	30.01%	45.01%	60.02%
	34.01%	51.01%	68.02%
	50.01%	75.02%	100%

Throw Technique

Consider a wild Tauros of 1252 CP, with an estimated Power Up level of 18. This means it will have a base capture rate of 30% and a CP multiplier of 0.56675452. Without any additional bonuses, the capture rate will be 30% / (2 × 0.56675452) = 26.47%. The following table shows how the capture rate will be affected by throwing techniques, assuming no additional bonuses and only regular Poké Balls are used; throw bonus multipliers will be averaged between the highest and lowest possible values.

The highest possible multiplier that can be attained is 22.1×, which includes:

• Using an Ultra Ball (×2.0)
• Feeding a Golden Razz Berry (×2.5)
• Throwing a Curve Ball (×1.7)
• Making a perfect Excellent throw (×2.0)
• Having a gold type medal bonus (×1.3)

See also

• List of Pokémon by catch rate (Pokémon GO)
• Power Up

This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.