Pokemon Go players finally realise what key feature means after 7 years

Pokemon Go has a subtle animation that players rarely see, yet it has a secret meaning that some are only just discovering after seven years.

Pokemon Go is much more focused on catching Pokemon than battling them. This is especially true compared to the mainline games, where players may only catch the Pokemon they need to beat the Champion and ignore the rest.

There are also special events in Pokemon Go that make it easier to encounter Shiny Pokemon. These events still require grinding, so there will still be lots of catching, especially for people who want an incredibly rare Shiny Pokemon with high stats.

While players might catch a lot of Pokemon in Pokemon Go, they might not know the meanings of all the mechanics involved. It turns out that there’s a hint in a key animation that many players may have missed.

Niantic

Pokemon Go players are now learning the meaning of the stars in the catch animation

A user on the official Pokemon Go Reddit named StewR89 asked about the differences between the catching animations, as some show a little cloud of fireworks coming out of one side of the Poke Ball, while others show three stars popping out.

Is there a reason behind the different catch animations?
byu/StewR89 inpokemongo

The other users in the thread have explained the meaning of the different Poke Ball animations in Pokemon Go, as the appearance of fireworks means the player performed a Critical Catch, which only happens 1% of the time.

If the player performs a Critical Catch (which only happens randomly and cannot be affected by how the throw is done), they will automatically capture the Pokemon, regardless of any other factors, as if they were using one of Pokemon Go’s Master Balls.

Most players are unaware of the existence of the Critical Catch despite it being part of the game for so long. This is due to it happening so rarely and because Pokemon Go already has a variety of animations involved with the catching process.

Pokemon fans are known for their superstitions regarding catching, such as holding down + B in the Gen 1 games to increase their chances of capture, even though it doesn’t work. Those superstitions have manifested in Pokemon Go, via a subtle animation that rewards players who pay attention.