How to Catch Pokemon: Best Pokemon for Catching

Catch a Pokemon by reducing their HP to red and by inflcting a status condition before throwing your Pokeball! Read on for tips on the best ways to catch Pokemon and which Pokemon you should use to catch Pokemon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (BDSP).

How to Catch Pokemon

Reduce HP to Red

The lower the wild Pokemon's HP is, the easier it is to catch them. It's recommended to always get the wild Pokemon's HP to its red phase. If your attack takes the wild Pokemon's health from full to yellow phase, don't repeat the attack, as the attack does more than 50% damage and will cause the wild Pokemon to faint on a repeated hit.

Use False Swipe to prevent accidental fainting

You can obtain False Swipe as TM54 on the 3rd floor of the Department Store in Veilstone City.

You can use False Swipe to ensure you don't accidentally cause a wild Pokemon to faint, as it leaves the Pokemon with 1 HP if the attack would have otherwise caused it to faint. This is particularly useful if your party Pokemon are overleveled and regularly one-shot wild Pokemon.

Inflict a Status Condition

It's easier to catch Pokemon who have a status condition. Status conditions are shown beside the health bar. If the condition is not shown (such as when the Pokemon is confused or immobilized by love), it's not a status condition that affects capture rate.

All Status Conditions

Recommended to make wild Pokemon Sleep

Each status condition affects the capture rate differently, with Sleep and Freeze increasing the capture rate the most. It's hard to come by moves that inflict them early on in Sinnoh, but Sleep is still recommended if you have a move that causes it. The easiest way would be to have Bidoof learn Yawn at Level 25 (or Bibarel at Level 28).

Use a Special Ball

Special balls increase the likelihood of capture even moreso than Great Balls and Ultra Balls. Special balls have a variety of effects that depend on the type of Pokemon being caught, the location of the wild Pokemon, and how many turns have passed, among others.

Make sure to always lead with throwing a Quick Ball as your first move in the wild Pokemon battle.

Pokeball	Description
Quick Ball	A somewhat different Poke Ball that provides a better catch rate if it is used at the start of a wild encounter.
Net Ball	A somewhat different Poke Ball that works especially well on Water- and Bug-type Pokemon.
Dive Ball	A somewhat different Poke Ball that works especially well on Pokemon that live in the sea.
Repeat Ball	A somewhat different Poke Ball that works especially well on Pokemon species that were previously caught.
Dusk Ball	A somewhat different Poke Ball that makes it easier to catch wild Pokemon at night or in dark places like caves.
Nest Ball	A somewhat different Poke Ball that works especially well on weaker Pokemon in the wild.
Timer Ball	A somewhat different Poke Ball that becomes progressively better the more turns there are in a battle.

List of Poke Balls

Perform Critical Captures by FIlling Up Your Pokedex

The more you fill up your Pokedex, the higher the chances are for you to perform a Critical Capture. Critical Captures are occurances wherein you catch a Pokemon, but the ball only shakes once instead of three times. This also works on Legendary Pokemon, making it easier to complete your National Dex.

Improve Critical Capture Rates with the Catching Charm

Ueda will give you the Catching Charm after you complete the Sinnoh Dex. Ueda is located in the far left building in Hotel Grand Lake.

How to Unlock the National Dex

Best Pokemon Used for Catching

Pokemon	Reason
Budew	・Learns Stun Spore early on (Level 10) ・Can learn Toxic via TM ・One of the first Pokemon that can be caught
Beautifly	・Learns Stun Spore early on (Level 10) ・Can learn Toxic via TM ・Can catch a Wurmple as early as Eterna Forest
Sneasel	・Can learn False Swipe ・Can learn a variety of attacks that cause Freeze
Bidoof	・One of the first Pokemon that can be caught ・Can learn Yawn at Level 25 ・Normal-type STAB moves won't deal super effective damage against wild Pokemon
Absol	・Can be added to your party as soon as before the second gym by finding one in the Grand Underground. ・Compatible with False Swipe and can learn Thunder Wave via TM which can be bought at the Exchange Service Corner in the Battle Park.
Blastoise	・One of the best post-game options. Can learn Yawn, False Swipe, and Haze - three useful moves for catching. ・Squirtle with Yawn can be caught in the Grand Underground. ・Alternatively, Breeding a Male Wooper/Quagsire with Yawn (and Haze) with a Female Squirtle will allow you to pass on these egg moves to offspring Squirtle. ・Natural bulk lets it stay healthy against stronger enemies, including Legendaries. Access to Haze allows it to remove status buffs of enemies, such as Latios with Dragon Dance.
Breloom	・One of the best post-game options. Can learn Spore, and False Swipe - both useful moves for catching. ・Shroomish learns Spore at level 40. If you evolve Shroomish early, you may use a Heart Scale to help Breloom learn Spore. ・Though not as bulky as Blastoise, if you're lucky to have one with Poison Heal, going into battle poisoned (such as with a Toxic Orb) will give you reliable recovery throughout the battle. ・Unfortunately, Shroomish may be hard to come by as it's a random chance to have it as a daily encounter at the Great Marsh. Be sure to check every day so you won't miss it.

It's recommended to have a Pokemon in your party readily equipped with False Swipe or a move that will inflict a status condition!

Pokemon BDSP Related Guides

Beginner's Tips and Tricks

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Tips and Tricks