Cracking the Mystery of Catching Pokémon in Gen 1

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Early Days of Pokémon
3. The Glitches of Pokémon Gen 1
4. The Catch Rate and Its Factors
5. The Impact of Status Effects on Catch Rate
6. The Role of Hit Points in Catching Pokémon
7. The Importance of the Ball Used
8. The Randomness of Catching Pokémon in Gen 1
9. The Master Ball and Safari Ball
10. The Wobbling Mechanic
11. The Best Strategy for Catching Pokémon in Gen 1
12. Conclusion

The Bizarre World of Catching Pokémon in Gen 1

Pokémon has become a cultural phenomenon, with millions of fans around the world. But before it became the commercial behemoth it is now, Pokémon started as a small game made by a small team. That team was still struggling with Game Boy development when it released the first games in the series: Pokémon Red and Green. As a consequence, those games were full of glitches, and most systems’ inner workings were unclear. The best example is the catching mechanics: they are confusing, mostly Hidden, and don't seem to make Sense at all.

The Early Days of Pokémon

The early days of Pokémon were marked by a small team of developers who were struggling to Create a game that would capture the imagination of players. The team was still learning the ins and outs of Game Boy development when they released the first games in the series: Pokémon Red and Green. These games were full of glitches and bugs, and the catching mechanics were confusing and hard to understand.

The Glitches of Pokémon Gen 1

The glitches of Pokémon Gen 1 are well-known to fans of the series. From the MissingNo glitch to the Mew glitch, these bugs and glitches have become part of the Lore of the game. But perhaps the most confusing aspect of Gen 1 is the catching mechanics. These mechanics are full of hidden factors and confusing calculations that make it hard to know how to catch a Pokémon.

The Catch Rate and Its Factors

The catch rate is the Core number when it comes to capturing Pokémon. Its value goes up to 255, and the higher the catch rate, the easier a Pokémon is to capture. Rare Pokémon tend to have a low catch rate, and this number is fixed per Pokémon species and is not a factor You can directly modify. There are three other factors you have an influence on, though, and those will change your chances of a successful capture: the Pokémon’s Current status, its HP, and which Ball you use.

The Impact of Status Effects on Catch Rate

The status effects in Pokémon are separated into two tiers. The first one regroups Sleep and Freeze, and the Second Poison, Paralysis, and Burn. The impact of each tier is a flat increase on your catch rate and depends, like I Mentioned, on your Ball. The issue here is that status effects are too good! If you use Sleep, you can get an increase of up to 21% when using an Ultra Ball. This is a flat catch chance increase applied to every single Pokémon in the game.

The Role of Hit Points in Catching Pokémon

On its own, lowering a Pokémon’s HP does nothing. It is only when combined with Balls that the system has an impact. See, every Ball has an HP threshold. For the Poké Ball and Ultra Ball, that threshold is around 1/3, whereas the Great Ball’s threshold is around 1/2. Lowering a Pokémon’s Hit Points will increase your catch chance until you hit the threshold. Once you are past it, damage dealt has no impact whatsoever.

The Importance of the Ball Used

The Ball used is the most important factor in catching Pokémon in Gen 1. The moment you throw a Ball, a random number is generated, which will be used in all calculations moving forward. That number is between 0 and 255 for a Poké Ball, 200 for a Great Ball, and 150 for an Ultra Ball. This seems to make sense: the Poké Ball is worse than the Great Ball, which is worse than the Ultra Ball... right? Well, not exactly.

The Randomness of Catching Pokémon in Gen 1

Due to a mix of developer oversight and technical limitations, the numbers randomly generated are only random most of the time, which leads to some strange interactions that are the final nail in the coffin for the Gen 1 catching mechanics. Basically, the Poké Balls are perfect. They always work as intended. They suck, but purposefully so. The Great Ball underperforms very slightly for high catch rate Pokémon but overperforms for low catch rate Pokémon. The Ultra Balls underperform significantly at high HP but compensate by overperforming at low HP. They're also worse than Poké Balls for high catch rate Pokémon.

The Master Ball and Safari Ball

The Master Ball is very simple: if you use it, the game bypasses any calculations, and you succeed automatically. The Safari Ball, for all intents and purposes, is an Ultra Ball. Every check in place that looks for an Ultra Ball also looks for a Safari Ball. But the rare Pokémon exclusive to the Safari Zone can be a hassle to capture because of that very reason.

The Wobbling Mechanic

The wobbling mechanic is another strange aspect of Gen 1 catching. If you ever threw a Ball at a legendary Pokémon, you may have gotten the message “You missed the Pokémon!” and assumed you couldn't catch it yet. But that message is simply Gen 1’s unique version of the Pokémon escaping the Ball without wobbling. Even more interesting is that the formula used to calculate wobbles does not have randomness to it whatsoever.

The Best Strategy for Catching Pokémon in Gen 1

Against most wild encounters, all you need is a Paras or Parasect with Spore, a stack of Great Balls, and you are golden. Spore has a 100% chance to make the Pokémon sleep. The strength of this status, combined with the power of the Great Ball at max HP, and its overall versatility regarding catch rates, makes this Ball the absolute best by far. The Ultra Ball still has its use though: combining it with Sleep against Legendary Pokémon is the most efficient.

Conclusion

The catching mechanics in Gen 1 are confusing and hard to understand. But by understanding the factors that influence catch rate and the importance of the Ball used, you can increase your chances of success. The best strategy for catching Pokémon in Gen 1 is to use a Paras or Parasect with Spore and a stack of Great Balls. With this strategy, you can catch almost any Pokémon in the game.