Pokemon GO Guide: How to Catch Rare Pokemon

Game Rant

By Dalton Cooper

Published Jul 11, 2016

Pokemon GO is filled with Pokemon of all kinds, including rare creatures that are difficult to catch. Read our guide for tips on how to make catching rare Pokemon easier.

While we don't have exact numbers, it's probable that millions of would-be Pokemon trainers are currently playing the smash hit mobile game Pokemon GO. These trainers are searching far and wide for rare Pokemon, but some may find it difficult to catch the stronger creatures, marked by orange and red rings. Luckily, we have some tips to make the process of catching rare Pokemon in Pokemon GO a little easier.

Catching Pokemon Every Time

The first thing one should try is getting the ring around the Pokemon as small as possible before flinging a Pokeball at it. The smaller the ring, the more likely the Pokemon won't escape from the ball. And if the Pokemon does escape, just hit it with as many Pokeballs as possible before it has a chance to run away, as each consecutive Pokeball will make a successful capture more likely.

That and crossing their fingers is about all lower level players can do to make catching rare Pokemon easier, but higher level trainers have more options at their disposal. Upon hitting level 7, players can collect Razz Berries from Pokestops that can be fed to wild Pokemon to make them less likely to run away or escape from their Pokeballs.

At level 10, players have access to more powerful Pokeballs in the form of Great and Ultra balls. Wild Pokemon of all levels will find it difficult to escape from these balls, so they come in handy when going after the especially hard-to-catch pocket monsters. For even better results, one could feed a Pokemon a Razz Berry first, and then start pelting it with higher grade Pokeballs to make it even more difficult for them to escape.

Down the road, players will likely have even more methods obtaining rare Pokemon. For example, once Pokemon trading is implemented, players will essentially be able to give each other Pokemon. It could even be in the best interest of a high level trainer to trade a rare Pokemon to a new player on the same team for the purpose of controlling Pokemon gyms in the area.

Special world events, as teased in the Pokemon GO announcement trailer, could eventually be another way that players can obtain rare Pokemon. In the announcement trailer, it shows Mewtwo appearing in Times Square, and a large group of Pokemon GO players teaming up to take him down. Now, the trailer did specify "Defeat Mewtwo" as opposed to "Catch Mewtwo," so it's unclear if this will be a method to catch rare Pokemon or not, but hopefully Niantic shares more details on that front soon.

Do you have any tips on how to catch rare Pokemon in Pokemon GO? Let us know your strategies to catch 'em all in the comments below.