Niantic introduced legendaries to Pokemon GO just over a week ago, finally giving people a chance at obtaining some of the most famous characters in the Pokemon universe. As to be expected, the creatures are proving to be quite difficult to catch, but some players seem to have discovered a rather effective way of upping their chances.
Pokemon GO players have found that catching a legendary Pokemon becomes much easier when using a Nanab Berry. If a player uses a Nanab Berry on the first shot against a legendary Pokemon, it will be dazed. Feeding a Golden Razz Berry to the legendary Pokemon on this second shot could also increase the chances of catching it by a few percentage points. One player on reddit claims to have successfully caught four legendaries in a row by utilizing the berry method.
While some are hesitant about the success rate of the berry method, some basic 'scientific' testing of the method by one Pokemon GO player seems to confirm that it works. Although the scientific tester admitted that their experiment did not have a control group and that the sample size was small, after testing the theory on three Lugia raid bosses, the findings did show "a fall off in the number of attacks in subsequent throws following a Nanab." The theory "may hold water," the tester explains.
Although there is no guarantee that the Nanab Berry/Golden Razz Berry combo works, it's understandable why Pokemon GO players would be willing to use their berries just to test the method out. Pokemon GO legendary Raids are limited time events, with Niantic switching each legendary out for a different one after a certain amount of time. Catching any legendary Pokemon is fun in itself, but if there is a particular legendary that players want to catch, they have a limited window of time to do so and must do whatever they can to secure the creature.
As Pokemon GO players get to grips with legendary Raids, more and more tips for capturing the Pokemon will be uncovered. Legendary Raids are a brand new feature, after all, and Niantic doesn't want to make it too easy. Crafty players are steadily putting together their strategies though, for example, there are already guides on how to defeat and catch Moltres. It seems that this is just the beginning and those looking for more nifty ways of getting a legendary will want to watch this space.
Pokemon GO is out now on Android and iOS.