Excellent Throws Will Increase Your Catch Rate in 'Pokemon GO'

Though there's no shortage of different Pokémon available to catch in the popular AR mobile game Pokémon GO, some of them are a bit more difficult to catch than others — meaning you should make every PokéBall you throw count.

Landing excellent throws is a great way to almost double your chances of catching a Pokémon, but how do you make one?

When beginning an encounter with a Pokémon, there's is a shrinking colored circle that will appear. If the circle is green, it should be a relatively easy catch, whereas if the circle is red, it'll be harder and may require more attempts to successfully get into the PokéBall.

As the circle gets smaller, your catch rate will also increase — as will the chances of landing an excellent throw. Throwing the PokéBall in the center of the circle when it reaches the smallest diameter will give you an excellent throw. This, unfortunately, is incredibly hard to do, as you also run the risk of missing the window before it becomes a large circle again.

You'll also have to throw the PokéBall in the center of the circle to actually get an excellent throw.

While they won't count toward any of the research tasks that require you to land an excellent throws, both nice and great throws will also help you increase your catch rate. A nice throw has a catch rate of 1-1.3, while a great throw's catch rate is 1.3-1.7. An excellent throw will increase that to 1.7-2.

If you're just looking to increase your chances of catching the Pokémon you're encountering, then you may also want to try to throw a curveball. Not only will this reward you with additional XP, it'll also increase your chances of successfully catching the Pokémon.

To do this, before throwing the PokéBall, spin it around in the circle. It'll then curve in the direction you spun it, so you should throw it a bit in the opposite direction to counter the curve.

Being intentional about your throws in Pokémon GO will increase your chances of catching those particularly difficult Pokémon. If you're still struggling to land the more precise catching, practice will make perfect, so get out there and start your Pokémon journey!