Once you found a Pokémon, whether by walking around your town, taking a bike or being a passenger driving around town (remember not to drive and play!) – the next step is to catch the Pokémon. When catching the Pokémon, your goal is to toss your ball inside the shrinking ring around them and to land on the Pokémon’s head or nose. But take a step back and do it right – and you are sure to get special catch bonuses that provide extra XP, as well as improving (but not guaranteeing) your chances of keeping that Pokémon and not to break free or run.

Below are the special catching bonuses detailed by our friends in Imore.com:

 pokemon-go-bonus

Nice Bonus

To get the Nice 10XP bonus, you want to catch the Pokémon at the moment the circle is at its widest. That usually means throwing while the circle is at its smallest, and attempting to land straight on the Pokémon’s head.

Great Bonus

To get the Great 50XP bonus, you want to catch the Pokémon when the circle is exactly halfway: I’ve only gotten this bonus once or twice, because it requires crazy timing. Ideally, you want to toss the ball when the circle is two sizes away from its biggest size, and land square in the center of the circle.

Excellent Bonus

To get the Excellent 100XP bonus — and a close-to-guaranteed catch — you need to catch the Pokémon in the direct middle of the circle when at its smallest. This move is easier to attempt on smaller Pokémon (like Eevee) instead of bigger creatures, because of where their heads are positioned relative to the circle. To score the bonus, wait until the circle is pretty small, then toss your ball straight on.

Curveball Bonus

To get the Curveball 10XP bonus — and an almost-guaranteed catch — you can spin the Poké Ball in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction until it starts vibrating, then toss it toward the Pokémon. I find this method pretty difficult to achieve regularly, so I often do an alternate method: Instead of curving, then tossing, I put the side of my thumb on the screen and throw — the contact patch makes the game think I’m spinning the ball before throwing.

Whatever bonus you’re going for, keep in mind that you have to tap and hold on the Poké Ball to start the ring cycle so you can wait to toss your ball until the ring is at the correct point. There are times when the Pokémon rears back, does a head or go forward towards you. Keep holding your Poké Ball and the ring will eventually return and you won’t lose the ball if you keep on holding onto it.

Images from EuroGamer.net

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