Appearance
Catching
You can catch any wild Pokémon. Trainers' Pokémon can't be caught.
The basics
- In a wild battle, lower the Pokémon's HP with attacks. Be careful not to knock it out.
- Optionally, open Bag, pick a berry and choose Toss to the wild Pokémon to lure it.
- Open Bag and choose a ball: Poké Ball, Great Ball, or, if you bought them in the $PVE Market, an Ultra Ball or Master Ball.
- A ring appears around the Pokémon and shrinks. Press Space (or A, or tap the game screen) as it meets the dotted circle.
- The ball shakes up to three times. If it holds, the Pokémon is yours.
A failed throw, a lure, or a heal each use your turn, so the wild Pokémon gets to move.
Balls
| Ball | Catch bonus | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Poké Ball | ×1 | 5 from Elder Wren at the start; Mira sells them for ₽200 |
| Great Ball | ×1.5 | Mira sells them for ₽600; Ranger Ash gives 3 the first time you win |
| Ultra Ball | ×2 | $PVE Market, 5 for 40 $PVE |
| Master Ball | Never fails | $PVE Market, 300 $PVE. No throw ring: it catches on the first throw, even Mew. |
The throw ring
When you throw, a ring starts large and shrinks toward a dotted target circle. Two thin guide circles mark the zone around it, and the ring turns gold while it's inside that zone.
| Result | When you press | Catch bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Excellent! | Within 2 pixels of the dotted circle | ×1.8 |
| Great! | Inside the gold zone (within 6 pixels) | ×1.3 |
| Nice! | Anywhere else, or if you don't press before the ring vanishes | ×1 |
The ball is thrown whatever you press, so a missed timing never wastes anything beyond the bonus.
The ring shrinks faster for rarer Pokémon:
| Rarity | Time for the ring to close |
|---|---|
| Familiar | 1.4 s |
| Uncommon | 1.2 s |
| Rare | 1.05 s |
| Mythic | 0.95 s |
Berry lures
In a wild battle, choose a berry from Bag, then Toss to the wild Pokémon. The berry is used up, and the Pokémon stays calmer for the rest of the battle:
| You toss | Catch bonus | What the game says |
|---|---|---|
| Its favorite berry | ×2.5 | "It's Eevee's favorite! It looks much friendlier now." |
| Any other berry | ×1.5 | "Eevee munches the Dewberry. It seems calmer." |
Bonuses from lures don't add up: the best one you've tossed this battle counts. Each Pokémon's favorite is in the Pokédex.
| Favorite | Pokémon |
|---|---|
| Sunberry | Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Caterpie, Metapod, Pidgey, Pidgeotto, Pikachu, Raichu, Eevee |
| Dewberry | Squirtle, Wartortle, Blastoise, Butterfree, Oddish, Gloom, Geodude, Graveler, Wooper, Quagsire |
| Emberplum | Charmander, Charmeleon, Charizard, Rattata, Raticate, Vulpix, Ninetales |
| Moonfig | Clefairy, Clefable, Venonat, Venomoth, Mew, Hoothoot, Noctowl |
HP matters
The lower the Pokémon's HP, the easier it is to catch. At full HP the formula below counts only a third of the Pokémon's catch rate; near 0 HP it counts almost all of it. There are no sleep or paralysis effects in the valley, so HP is the thing to work on.
The catch formula
The game uses the formula from the Game Boy Advance era:
a = ⌊ (3 × MaxHP − 2 × HP) × CatchRate × Ball × Bonus ÷ (3 × MaxHP) ⌋- Ball is ×1 (Poké), ×1.5 (Great) or ×2 (Ultra). A Master Ball counts as ×255, which always reaches 255 below.
- Bonus is your lure bonus × your throw bonus, so up to 2.5 × 1.8 = ×4.5.
- If a is 255 or more, the catch is guaranteed.
- Otherwise the ball makes four checks, each passing with probability b ÷ 65,536, where b = ⌊1,048,560 ÷ √√(16,711,680 ÷ a)⌋. All four must pass. The number of passed checks, up to three, is how many times you see the ball shake.
Catch odds
These are worked out with the game's own formula, at the lowest level each Pokémon appears at. "Full HP", "Half HP" and "1 HP" use a Poké Ball with no lure and a "Nice" throw.
| Pokémon | Catch rate | Full HP | Half HP | 1 HP | Full HP, Great Ball + favorite berry + Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caterpie Lv 2 | 255 | 33% | 64% | 95% | 100% |
| Metapod Lv 7 | 120 | 16% | 31% | 45% | 100% |
| Pidgey Lv 2 | 255 | 33% | 64% | 95% | 100% |
| Rattata Lv 2 | 255 | 33% | 64% | 95% | 100% |
| Pikachu Lv 4 | 190 | 25% | 49% | 71% | 100% |
| Clefairy Lv 10 | 150 | 20% | 39% | 58% | 100% |
| Vulpix Lv 5 | 190 | 25% | 49% | 71% | 100% |
| Oddish Lv 3 | 255 | 33% | 64% | 95% | 100% |
| Venonat Lv 4 | 190 | 25% | 49% | 71% | 100% |
| Geodude Lv 3 | 255 | 33% | 64% | 95% | 100% |
| Eevee Lv 5 | 45 | 5.9% | 12% | 17% | 40% |
| Mew Lv 20 | 45 | 5.9% | 12% | 17% | 40% |
| Hoothoot Lv 4 | 255 | 33% | 67% | 96% | 100% |
| Wooper Lv 3 | 255 | 33% | 67% | 96% | 100% |
After a catch
- The Pokémon is added to your Pokédex as caught.
- The game offers to give it a nickname (up to 12 characters). You can rename any Pokémon later from Party → Rename.
- It joins your party if you have fewer than six. Otherwise it goes to your storage box. Open Party to move Pokémon between your party and the box.
- It keeps the HP it had at the end of the battle. Rest at home or visit Elder Wren to heal it.
Shiny Pokémon
Every wild Pokémon has a 1 in 64 chance to be shiny. You'll hear a chime, see sparkles, and the battle text says its colors "shimmer like starlight". Shiny Pokémon catch the same way as any other, and show a ✦ next to their name.