There Are Some Tricks to Getting an Excellent Throw in 'Pokémon Go'

Popular AR game Pokémon Go has recently lifted its COVID-19 quarantine bonuses, encouraging players to get back out there and catch 'em all.

With new challenges and quests to complete, one of the key components to being the very best is to be able to nail an excellent throw when capturing new Pokémon. There are some tricks you can use to increase your throwing skills so you can get an excellent throw (almost) every time.

When attempting to catch a Pokémon in the wild, you'll want to be sure you throw the Poké Ball at the creature you're attempting to catch (it's easier to miss than you'd think) and you also want to ensure you make an adequate throw. The better your throw is, the more likely you are the capture the Pokémon. Even with the most advanced Poké Balls, if you don't make a good throw, you're less likely to successfully capture it.

You also receive bonus points for making better throws, which offers more XP and, as a result, a way to level up faster. While excellent throws aren't all you need to level up quickly in the game, they definitely help to speed the process along.

There are three different throws that offer bonuses to players when capturing Pokémon: a nice throw, a great throw, and an excellent throw. A nice throw offers the player a 1.15x bonus, while a great throw rewards you with 1.5x bonus, and excellent 1.85x.

While this may not seem like a lot, it quickly adds up. There are also a variety of quests and challenges you'll be given to complete while playing the game that may require you to land these throws, so it's best to know how to achieve them.

The key to landing an excellent throw is to watch the colored circle that appears when you go to capture a Pokémon. The circle's color will indicate the difficulty of the Pokémon you're attempting to catch (green means it should be fairly easy, while red Pokémon are very hard to capture), while the size of that circle will indicate the quality of the throw you make.

If you throw the Poké Ball while the colored circle is just as large as the outer circle, you'll receive only a nice throw. A mid-sized circle will land you a great throw, while a very small inner circle will give you an excellent throw.

Before throwing, give yourself a minute to study how quickly the inner circle shrinks, and once you throw the Poké Ball it'll freeze in place — so try to wait until it's as small as possible.

Of course, practice makes perfect — don't expect to nail this once and be an expert every time you play. The more advanced the Pokémon, the harder it will be to land an excellent throw, so don't be afraid to practice on less-skilled Pokémon.