How to find and catch Pokemons in Pokemon GO?
Last update: 20 July 2016
The majority of the game focuses on catching Pokémons. In Pokémon GO player can catch each Pokémon type without being forced to trade them with other players or hack the console. The process is split into two phases - Pokémon tracking and Pokémon catching.
Tracking Pokémons on your own
Pokémons can be tracked on your own or you can use one of two items (more about it further in the guide). If you don't want to use any items, you must learn to use the menu available in the bottom right corner. After clicking the small icon a screen will be displayed. On it you will find silhouettes of up to 9 Pokémons (there might be less of them).
Under the photo of each Pokémon you will find icons similar to hands. These icons can have 3 forms:
- 3 hands - it means that the Pokémon is far from you and that you must walk for a long time to get it.
- 2 hands - Pokémon is much closer to your current location.
- 1 hand - Pokémon is very close to your current location. Very frequently Pokémons with one hand under their portrait are simply visible on your map.
You must remember that the number of hands changes in real time. If, for example, you were tracking a Pokémon and the number of hands under its portrait changed from 2 to 3, it means that you are traveling in wrong direction - you must simply turn around and observe the state of the pawns. However, if the number dropped, for example, from 3 to 2, it means that you are going in correct direction and soon you will see the Pokémon.
When using this mechanism you should remember about following things:
- There might be much more Pokémons in your area than 9. Keep monitoring the screen in the right bottom corner, a much more valuable creature than the one you are currently hunting can appear there.
- Position of Pokémons in the window isn't random. The one in the upper left corner is closest to your current location. The one in the right bottom corner is the most far away one.
- While searching for Pokémons you should keep constantly having the window with Pokémons available in the area open. You should keep monitoring all changes. If the number of hands under a few of them drops from 3 to 2, it means that soon you can find a group of Pokémons and there will be even a few of them to catch.
Tracking Pokémons by using items
In this case it's hard to call it tracking (since the Pokémons will be going towards you on their own), but one can call it like that. Two items in the game allow you to find the Pokémons easier, with no action needed from you. These items are Incense and Lure Module.
Incense is bait which is placed on your trainer. It works for 30 minutes. During this time a pink aura will appear around you and much more Pokémons will appear in your area. You must remember about a few things:
- Pokémons will appear more or less every 5 minutes - one Incense will allow you to catch about 6 random Pokémons.
- It doesn't matter whether you use this item in a very crowded area or in the garden of your own house - the effect will be equally effective.
- There is no sense in running around the city after using this item - you won't lure any additional Pokémons. Incense works in such way that the Pokémon simply appears next to your character - the creatures won't be marching through the streets.
The second item you can use is Lure Module. The item (similarly as Incense which was described above) is available for buying in in-game shop (for Pokecoins). You will also receive a few Lure Modules when reaching new experience levels. Lure Module is bait used on Pokestops. Only one Lure Module can be used on each such object and the effect always lasts for 30 minutes. There will be much more Pokémons around such Pokestop, but the item has some limitations:
- Other players can also use the Lure Module (Incense works only on the player that used the item). All players in the area will see the changed icon of the Pokestop on the map. It will symbolize the Lure Module.
- Only players from same team can use the Lure Module. If, for example, the player from yellow team uses the item, only other players from yellow team can gain profits from it and catch more Pokémons in that area.
Catching Pokémons
Once the process of tracking Pokémons is over, it is time for the most important part - catching the creatures. People that know the series of games available on Nintendo consoles will be greatly disappointed - there is no fighting the encountered creatures, one doesn't have to weaken them before trying to catch them. All that needs to be done is throw the Pokeballs at them until they are captured.
On one hand, the process is simple (there are no additional features - except for the possibility to use Razz Berry about which more will be told in a moment), and on the other, it can be very frustrating since the Pokeball throwing mechanism requires the player to correctly swing the finger through the screen. The trajectory of the Pokeball is based on the movement of the finger on the screen - if the swing is longer, then the Pokeball will fall further. If the movement is tweaked, the Pokeball will be tweaked as well.
The trouble starts when the Pokémon you are trying to catch is small or/and he is jumping through the whole screen - hitting such target can take much time, frustrate and end in you losing even 30 Pokeballs. What makes things even more difficult is the fact that many Pokémons are "stronger" than others and require even a few hits to be captured - he will fly back from the ball after you hit him. The previously mentioned Razz Berry can be helpful in such cases - it weakens a Pokémon, allowing you to capture him after less hits (for example, you can reduce the number of required hits from 3 to 1).
A few things are related to Pokémon catching:
- In order to throw the Pokeball you must click it with your finger, move it through the screen and release the finger at right time - the Pokeball will move through the same track as the finger on the screen.
- After clicking the Pokeball, a ring will appear around the touched area. It can have two colors - green, which means that the Pokémon is easy to capture (usually one Pokeball), and red, which means that it is harder to catch (it might, for example, require 3 Pokeball hits).
- The above mentioned ring can have various size. The size will changed based on how long you are holding the Pokeball before you decide to throw it. The smaller the ring, the greater chance for catching the creature (useful when capturing stronger Pokémons).
What's also important is how you hit the Pokémon with the Pokeball. For the capturing process to start, the Pokeball must hit the target directly, without touching the ground. It cannot, for example, bounce three times from the ground and reach the creature after that - this won't allow you to catch him. How you throw the ball will also impact how much experience you will receive. It goes as follows:
- Nice Throw - 10 additional experience points.
- Curve ball - 10 additional experience points. In order to curve the ball you must hold the Pokeball, create a few small circles on the screen and then throw the ball at the creature.
- Great Throw - 50 additional experience points. In order to perform a Great Throw you must hold the finger on the Pokeball until the circle on the Pokémon becomes smaller by hand and then hit the center of the target.
- Excellent Throw - 100 additional experience points. Performing an excellent throw is similar to performing great throw, except that the circle must be as small as possible.
Despite the fact that the experience bonuses are small, they can make a difference.