Pokemon Legends Arceus catching tips: How to catch Pokemon easily

Pokemon Legends Arceus’ open world gives players the freedom to explore and catch Pokémon as they see fit, but here are some of the best methods to efficiently fill up your Pokedex and telltale signs of catching one.

Legends Arceus is the highest-rated Pokemon game of the past decade, and for a very good reason: this is a true Pokemon simulator. The Hisuian world is your Cloyster, and if you want to spend hours running around, collecting wisps, and catching all of the game’s Pokemon then go for it!

Pokemon Legends Arceus still retains many of the identifiable elements of previous Pokemon games including trusty Great Balls, but there are even some new ones too. Find out the best methods to catching different types of ‘Mon in the land.

Use the best ball for the right scenario.

Type of Poke Balls in Pokemon Legends Arceus

As with most Pokemon games, you have more than just the iconic red balls at your disposal. Pokemon Legends Arceus has a plethora of different Pokemon, each with their own levels of awareness of their surroundings, and patterns of movement.

Here is a complete list of all the balls you can find in Legends Arceus and what they are best suited for:

Poke Ball: Just a regular ball suitable for all occasions
Great Ball: Has a better catch rate than a regular Poke Ball
Ultra Ball: The superior version of the Great Ball offering very high catch rates
Heavy Ball: Won’t go very far, but if it lands on an unsuspecting Pokemon it greatly increases the chance of catching it
Leaden Ball: A much better version of the Heavy Ball but travels even less distance
Gigaton Ball: The ultimate ‘Heavy Ball,’ hit an unaware Pokemon with one and you’ve got a great chance of catching it
Feather Ball: A ball that pretty much flies in a straight line, better suited to flying Pokemon
Wing Ball: Like the Feather Ball, but with an improved catch rate
Jet Ball: The final evolution of the Feather Ball, vastly increases chances of catching flying Pokemon
Origin Ball: A one-off ball used for a special purpose

Ready for a battle?

Best way to catch Pokemon in Legends Arceus

There are several ways you can go about catching certain Pokemon, and we’ve got a few of the details you need to know along with some handy strategies.

Friendly Pokemon

You’ll find that lots of the Pokemon in the game are rather timid creatures that are very approachable and will even follow you around. These are by far the easiest to catch as you can typically throw a ball at them without consequence.

If your first effort fails, then they will probably try and scamper away, but if you’re quick enough you can easily hit them with another ball before they have a chance to disappear altogether.

Hostile Pokemon

On the other hand, you’ll find that many Pokemon will become very angry and aggressive if you come within even a few meters of them. You’ll know if you’ve angered them as they’ll have distinct markings above their head and the top of your screen will have a red, warning marker.

If you want to capture them, you’ll either have to run away and hide until they’ve calmed down, or battle them and catch them the old-fashioned way.

Flying Pokemon

This is where the Feather, Wing, and Jet Balls will come into play. Their trajectory is virtually straight and it will take a bit of practice to get used to catching flying Pokemon.

It will become easy enough, and all you have to do is observe the Pokemon’s flight path and aim just ahead of them and throw.

Water-based Pokemon

Traversing the waters of the Hisuian region is fun, but you will find that its water is contaminated by a whole bunch of different Pokemon – friendly or otherwise!

So you’ll need a combination of the above tips and be wary of who’s nice and who’s not. You’ll also need to master the art of tracking the Pokemon and timing your throw just right.

Alpha Pokemon

There are no two ways about this, if you can’t already tell by their eyes, Alphas are ferocious creatures. Much bigger than their traditional counterparts and usually at a very high level. A battle is really the only way to acquire them, and even then it will be a test to catch them as they’re busy trying to wipe out your team.

General tips

It’s also worth noting that if you can lob a ball and it hits a Pokemon from behind, this will class as a ‘Back Strike’ and will help your chances. You can also use berries and food as a means of distracting them, slowing them down, or calming them.

Not all Pokemon will be so nice when you aim a Poke Ball at them.

How to tell if you’ve successfully caught a Pokemon

Legends Arceus dispenses with the traditional three-ball shakes to see if you’ve captured a Pokemon, it’s now only one single movement. But there is a telltale sign that will let you know if you’ve been successful in your attempt.

Here are the different things to look out for during the catch animation:

High chance of success: One puff of smoke and the ball hops a tiny bit into the air
Medium chance of success: A medium-sized jump into the air with more smoke
Low chance of success: Three puffs of smoke and the ball leaps extremely high

It’s the equivalent of the old ball shake system, but condensed and shortened to speed up the process for players.

Check out some of our other Pokemon Legends Arceus guides below:

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pbHXnqmtp16YvK57z6iinqWfo3yxu8qepKimXaGyqLHNnapmmaKYsra%2FjJyYrZuYnruoedOip6xlmKTEbsDOZpqarJOderG7yp6kqKZdmq60tcuyZGpvZWqFeX6O