In recent days, the folks at Niantic acknowledged that a bug in the most recent build of Pokémon GO had turned catching Pokémon into an almost impossible task. The latest update seems to have fixed that problem, but the underlying question remains: which Pokémon are the hardest to catch? Why do others require minimal effort? Some players took the trouble to analyze the behavior of Pokémon GO to understand its mechanics, and they provide us with several answers…
Young trainer: Do you think that Eevee gave you too many problems? Then you should know that Pokémon capture tends to be much, much more complicated in the original games. The first Pokémon that comes to mind is Abra, a slippery devil whose only move is Teleport, so if you don't manage to catch it, put it to sleep, paralyze it, or freeze its body in the first action, it will escape. Then there's the memory of legendary Pokémon — there is no such thing as "enough Ultra Balls" — save the Master Ball for Mewtwo, chase Suicune, Entei and Raikou throughout the whole condemned Johto region... but I'm getting sidetracked. Pokémon GO has its own capture system — simpler, in my opinion — with different experience bonuses depending on the time and technique applied. However, behind each Pokémon type there is a "catch rate". How can we find out?
Catch Rates, Straight From the Code
In reality, the information is already available. Several sections of the Reddit portal are dedicating themselves entirely to analyzing Pokémon GO's code — in several cases with the intervention of bots — and they published a series of percentages that do not include external effects such as Poké Ball quality or the use of berries. Unsurprisingly, the easiest Pokémon to catch is Magikarp, with a rate of 56 percent. It takes 400 candies to evolve a Magikarp into Gyarados, so that percentage is good news. In second place appears the cute Oddish, with 48 percent. And then we enter the 40 percent group, led by Caterpie, Weedle, Pidgey and Rattata. The previously mentioned Eevee has a rate of 32 percent, the same as three very special Pokémon: Dratini, Omanyte and Kabuto.
As expected, the lowest percentages are associated with the major evolutions: Butterfree and Beedrill have 10 percent, Gengar 8 percent, and in the isolated 4 percent group we find the trio Venusaur – Blastoise – Charizard, accompanied by none other than the coveted Dragonite. Now, what about legendary Pokémon? Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mew and Mewtwo have a rate of zero, which makes us think that they will only be accessible through special events. Another Pokémon that has managed to stay hidden — until today — is none other than Ditto, and according to the code, its rate is the same as Pikachu's, 16 percent. Is there confirmation of a legitimate Ditto capture...?
Source: Reddit
