Catch rate (GO)

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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, usually a value between 0% and 100%, which determines how difficult that species is to capture. The highest possible Power Up level a wild Pokémon can have is 30 under normal conditions, but if the Pokémon's type is boosted by weather, it can go up to level 35.

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, which is dependent on the Pokémon's Power Up level
  • multiplier is the product of several possible bonus multipliers, which may include:

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.

Bonus Multipliers
Poké Balls
GO Poké Ball.png Poké Ball ×1.0
GO Premier Ball.png Premier Ball ×1.0
GO Great Ball.png Great Ball ×1.5
GO Ultra Ball.png Ultra Ball ×2.0
Berries
GO Razz Berry.png Razz Berry ×1.5
GO Silver Pinap Berry.png Silver Pinap Berry ×1.8
GO Golden Razz Berry.png 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
Curveball 1.7×
Type medals
No Medal Pokémon GO.png No type medal ×1.0
Bronze Medal Pokémon GO.png Bronze type medal ×1.1
Silver Medal Pokémon GO.png Silver type medal ×1.2
Gold Medal Pokémon GO.png Gold type medal ×1.3

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.

A bonus multiplier is awarded for hitting the wild Pokémon within the colored target ring. The smaller the target ring becomes, the greater the bonus multiplier if hit. If the player hits outside the colored ring or the colored ring was too big when hit, then no bonus multiplier will be applied. A Curveball bonus is awarded for spinning the Poké Ball before throwing it, regardless of whether or not the ball hit inside the target ring.

Type medals, awarded based on how many Pokémon of a specific type was caught, apply a multiplier depending on the level of the medal. 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.

When using a Pokémon GO Plus or Poké Ball Plus device to capture Pokémon, a regular Poké Ball will be used, and no bonus multipliers will be applied, except from type medals if applicable.

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 Curveball (×1.7)
  • Making a perfect Excellent throw (×2.0)
  • Having a gold type medal bonus (×1.3)

Target ring colors

Colored target ring of Rattata at different sizes

The color of the target ring allows players to gauge the probability of a successful capture, taking into account all bonus multipliers except from throws. Switching Poké Balls or feeding Berries may change the color of the ring. The more green the ring, the higher the catch rate; the more red it is, the lower the probability.

Catch rate by color
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Critical capture

050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: Chance of critical capture?

A critical capture is a rare phenomenon that was introduced to Pokémon GO alongside the release of Generation II Pokémon. Once in a while, a thrown Poké Ball will bypass catch rate checks and guarantee a capture. Instead of shaking three times, a throw Poké Ball will only shake once and the Pokémon will be confirmed caught. No additional bonuses are awarded for critical captures.

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 rate of 20% and a CP multiplier of 0.49985844 at level 14. 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.

Poké Ball Great Ball Ultra Ball
20.01% 28.45% 36.01%
Razz Berry 28.45% 39.48% 48.81%
Silver Pinap Berry 31.58% 43.40% 53.18%
Golden Razz Berry 42.77% 56.70% 67.24%
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.

None Curveball
None
(×1.0)
26.47% 40.70%
Nice!
(×1.15)
29.78% 45.17%
Great!
(×1.5)
36.94% 54.34%
Excellent!
(×1.85)
43.38% 61.97%
Medals

Let's now consider a wild Abra that has 670 CP, estimated to be Power Up level 20. Given that Abra has a base capture rate of 50% and its CP multiplier is 0.59740001, the catch rate without bonuses will be 50% / (2 × 0.59740001) = 41.85%.

The following table shows the effect on catch rate via medals for each Poké Ball type, assuming no other bonus multipliers.

Poké Ball Great Ball Ultra Ball
None 41.85% 55.65% 66.18%
Bronze type medal 44.92% 59.12% 69.66%
Silver type medal 47.82% 62.31% 72.78%
Gold type medal 50.58% 65.25% 75.57%

See also


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