Catcher Pokemon

[Roflolxp54]

Recently, using my copy of Pokemon X, I put together a Pokemon used specifically for capturing Pokemon:

Pokemon: Smeargle

Ability: Technician

Hold Item: Silk Scarf

Nature: Adamant (+Atk/-Sp. Atk)

EVs: 252 HP, 252 Atk, 4 Def

Moves: False Swipe/Hold Back, Spore, Soak, Gastro Acid

In my copy of Pokemon OR, the game in which I transferred this Smeargle to, Smeargle helped me secure Pokemon so easily -- Kyurem, Landorus and Giratina are each caught in 1 ball discounting the opening Quick Balls -- Dusk Ball for Kyurem and Ultra Balls for Landorus and Giratina.

False Swipe and Hold Back are identical moves and cannot directly KO the target, leaving the target at 1HP. 40 Base Power is pitiful, but STAB and Technician boost it to 90 Base Power, with Silk Scarf boosting it further to 99 Base Power.

Spore is obviously for putting target Pokemon to Sleep, optimizing the chances for a successful capture and has 100% accuracy. It also allows Smeargle to have free turns to spam False Swipe/Hold Back and can prolong the battle for possible uses of Timer Balls (and preventing the target from using Struggle quickly if the battle goes that long).

Soak is so useful in catching Pokemon. It turns the target into a pure Water-type Pokemon, which can potentially remove STAB from the target's moves, allowing Smeargle to survive hits better since Smeargle has poor base stats overall. However, the real bonuses are the following:

-Smeargle can deal neutral damage against Rock-type and Steel-type Pokemon, which would normally tank Smeargle's False Swipe/Hold Back.

-Ghost-type Pokemon, which are normally unaffected by Normal-type attacks, will be open to False Swipe/Hold Back once Soak is applied.

-Grass-type Pokemon, which are normally unaffected by powder moves like Spore, will be vulnerable to Spore once Soak is applied.

-Electric-type Pokemon, which cannot be paralyzed by default, can be paralyzed, in case you decide to use Thunder Wave or Glare to paralyze an Electric-type target once Soak is applied. By that same token, Ground-types, which cannot be affected by Thunder Wave, can be affected by that move once Soak is applied.

-As the target Pokemon turns into a Water-type Pokemon, you can use Net Balls over Ultra Balls -- Net Balls have a 3x modifier to catch rate when it is used for catching Water-type and Bug-type Pokemon, which is more effective than Ultra Balls' 2x modifier.

Gastro Acid shuts down the target's ability, which can be useful, albeit situational. This means that Smeargle can effectively give the finger to abilities that can normally give it trouble like Pressure, Storm Drain, Vital Spirit, Insomnia, Overcoat, Static, Flame Body, etc.

The nature and EV spread is primarily to maximize False Swipe/Hold Back damage and to allow Smeargle to take some hits. I didn't feel the need to invest in Speed since Smeargle's uninvested base 70 Speed is enough to outspeed plenty of Pokemon as long as it doesn't get paralyzed, especially at lv. 100. The setup is great for lategame/postgame.

What are your favorite setups for catching Pokemon? Post them here!

Edited December 15, 2014 by Roflolxp54

[dondon151]

i throw a poke ball at full health and usually the pokemon gets caught

[eclipse]

Paraflinching. Manectric helps greatly with this. If necessary, I can toss confusion on via Spinda, though this is somewhat risky.

[Raven]

I just fight the Pokemon with the team I'm using throughout the adventure.

[Thor Odinson]

I have a Breloom I brought over from X that runs Spore and False Swipe. It also carries Swords Dance for things with a shitton of defense and high level (usually legendaries) and Giga Drain when I need to kill a thing aka when I deal with hordes or chaining dexnav. It's probably not as effective for single locked on target as the smeargle but it's nice for when I'm searching for a wider range of things.

But that's postgame anyway. Before that I just try to use moves that won't kill the pokemon I'm trying to catch or just straight up toss balls

Edited December 18, 2014 by Thor Odinson

[NICKT™]

My catcher is to simply scream and call the game a cunt every time a pokemon "appeared to be caught".

Or the Scizor with false-swipe when the former fails.

[MRDRHAWK]

just wop my wad on the counter

it doesn't usually backfire on me