Although Pokemon Sword and Shield overal does a decent job explaining the basics for newcomers, there are a number of more advanced capturing techniques.
For some of the game’s more rare and powerful encounters, knowing these techniques could mean the difference between finally getting your hands on that rare Pokemon you were hunting, or even more hours wasted trying to find it again.
In order to maximize your chances of success at catching, we have compiled the following tips you can try in Pokemon Sword And Shield:
What affects Catch Rates?
In Pokemon Sword and Shield, the chance of capturing any wild Pokemon you encounter is determined by a set of factors:
- The base catch rate of that Pokemon Species.
- Pokemon with higher catch rates are easier to capture.
- Pokemon with lower catch rates are more difficult to capture.
- The Amount of Health that the Pokemon has.
- The lower the health a Pokemon has, the easier it is to catch.
- Whether the Pokemon has a Status Effect.
- Pokemon suffering from a status effect (e.g. Sleep, Paralysis, Poison) are easier to catch.
- Sleep is without a doubt the best status to use, and has a greater effect than Paralysis, Burn or Poison.
- Paralysis and Sleep are recommended over Burn and Poison, as the latter may cause Pokemon to faint.
- The type of Ball used.
- Different types of Balls have different success rates, some of which may have special conditions under which they have the highest chance of success.
Pokemon that are rare or very powerful typically have very low base Catch Rates. This means that in order to ensure the highest chance of a successful capture, players should aim to at least;
- Reduce the Pokemon’s health such that it is as low as possible without fainting.
- Inflict the Pokemon with a status effect.
- Use the Ball with the highest chance of success given the situation.
Best moves
In order to lower a Pokemon’s health without letting it faint, as well as hit it with a status effect, having Pokemon with the following moves is highly recommended:
- False Swipe: A move which will never allow the opposing Pokemon’s HP to drop below 1, preventing it from fainting even if attacked at low health.
- It’s TM can be found in Motostoke Pokemon Center.
- Spore: Puts the opposing Pokemon to sleep with an 100% chance.
- Hypnosis: Puts the opposing Pokemon to sleep, 60% chance to hit.
Best balls
Once the Pokemon has been hit with a status effect and is at low health, the next step is to pick the right type of Pokeball for the job.
- Ultra Ball:
- No special effects but has a standard success rate of x2 (double that of a Pokeball).
- Quick Ball:
- Has a much higher success rate if used near the start of the battle (5 x as high as a Pokeball)
- Can be bought for Watts in Wild Area, or from the Pokemon Center in Wyndon
- Dusk Ball:
- Has a higher success rate if used at night (3 x as high as a Pokeball)
- Can be bought from Pokemon Center in Hammerlocke
- Timer Ball:
- Success rate increases the longer the battle drags on (4 x as highf a Pokeball but only after 10 turns)
- Can be bought from Pokemon Center in Hammerlocke (Dragon Gym)
- Master Ball:
- Has a 100% Success Rate, and will catch any Pokemon without fail
- One is received through the main campaign, more can be earned by playing Loto-ID on the Rotom PC in Pokemon Centers but … they remain very rare.
Catching Charm
The Catching Charm is a key item that you can get from a doctor in Circhester City’s Hotel Ionia. This item will increase the chance of getting a Critical Capture.
Pff … hope this helps you out guys and girls!
