How To Make Excellent Throws In Pokemon GO

A Raid for Yveltal, which can be caught with excellent throws in Pokemon GO
Images via Niantic

Players wondering how to make excellent throws in Pokemon GO will need a guide to improving their catching capabilities. In difficult Raid Battle situations, mastering this technique will be the best way for players to add new Pokemon to their teams. Here’s everything players need to know about how to make excellent throws in Pokemon GO.

How To Make Excellent Throws In Pokemon GO

A Seel that is poised to be caught by excellent throws in Pokemon GO

Upon encountering a wild Pokemon in Pokemon GO, players will notice that a colored circle appears in front of the Pokemon. This circle will continually shrink before resetting to full size and starting the process again. Throwing the Poke Ball inside of that circle will produce a different result depending on the size of the circle. 

A larger circle will produce a nice throw, while a medium-sized circle will produce a great throw. However, throwing the Poke Ball into a small circle will allow the player to perform excellent throws in Pokemon GO. A perfect excellent throw doubles the chances of catching the given Pokemon, while also providing a helpful XP boost of 1,000 points.

Additional Throwing Techniques

Spinning Great Ball for a Curveball in Pokemon GO

While it can be difficult to get the timing and positioning just right in order to make excellent throws in Pokemon GO, there are some additional techniques that trainers can use to increase their odds of successfully catching a Pokemon. 

The first of these techniques is called a Curveball. To initiate a Curveball, the player simply needs to spin their Poke Ball before throwing it. If they spin clockwise, the ball will curve to the left after they throw it, while it will curve to the right if they spin counter-clockwise. While landing a Curveball can be tricky, it will increase the catch rate of the Pokemon by a sizable 170%.

In addition, players can expand on the Curveball technique by adding in an L throw. This technique involves spinning the ball clockwise, pulling it to the bottom left side of the screen, then lifting up the left side and letting go when it is at the same height as the Pokemon, which should cause the ball to curve directly into the Pokemon if performed correctly. 

The L throw technique also works on the right side if the player starts by spinning the ball counter-clockwise. By mastering these throwing methods, trainers will be much better prepared to add any wild Pokemon they find to their collection.