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Does holding Down + B when catching something do anything?

Effigy of the Forgotten

Effigy of the Forgotten

New member
Ever since I first started playing Pokémon on Game Boy nearly a decade ago I've been into the habit of holding the down arrow and the B button down when catching a Pokémon, just at the moment when the Pokéball opens and the Pokémon goes inside. The rumour back then was that doing this would make the ball more effective or suchlike. I'm not sure of the authenticity of that claim, but I have gotten into a habit of doing this every time I catch a Pokémon even in the more recent Pokémon games. As far as I can tell it doesn't seem to have any effect, but it feels wrong if I don't do it now lol, even when I throw Master Balls I do it :P

Just wondering, does this or has this ever had any effect on catching Pokémon in any of the generations, or is this (most likely) a load of shite? Has anyone else gotten into the habit of holding down button combinations when catching things (I've heard of someone holding down Up and B before lol)?
 
I highly doubt that it's based on fact.

That being said sometimes I press B and up if I want an attack to do more damage. xD
 
Theese dont work but make us feel comfortable (I geuss). I tap A when attacking and B when the ball shakes.
 
Nope, it doesn't work. Behold the marvel that is confirmation bias. You press some buttons, you catch the Pokémon by chance, you figure the buttons you pressed did it. You press the buttons and don't catch the Pokémon, you figure your timing was off or something.

I developed this whole superstition about how you would always catch level 15 female Butterfree in the Bug-Catching Contest in G/S/C if you pressed and held Start and Select the moment that the ball appeared on the screen.
 
I have yet to see an explanation regarding how would pressing two buttons do anything to your chances of capture.

That said, I used to, out of pure superstition, twitch my head in the same directions the ball did on the screen. Though, of course, I never did it somewhere public.
 
In the first and second generations, apparently button presses altered the state of the RNG. But that wouldn't actually help you catch anything, so it's a pretty useless piece of information.
 
Instead of holding a button combination I press A as much as I can. It's just out of habit, though, It always seems it never gets one wiggle if I leave it alone.
 
I hold A when the ball appears, substitute with Down when directly above the pokemon, then hold A and Down, pressing B at each wobble.

And turn the console so it doesn't face me.

It doesn;t actually work.
 
I tend to hold A, B, and Down when the Pokemon is absorbed into the Pokeball. It's a force of habit.

Before I knew that pressing buttons didn't do anything, I pressed A as fast as I could, pressed A and B as fast as I could, randomly mashed buttons, pressed the arrows in the same direction as the ball was twitching... among others. I had a lot of methods.
 
I repeatedly press/hold down the A button when attacking so that it does more damage :D

And for catching Pokemon, I (try to) press all of the buttons at once.
 
Whenever I throw a Pokeball, I try to move it with my mind. Most times, it landed square on the Pokemon I was trying to catch. Ever since I learned this trick years ago, I have been moving objects with my mind. Cars, planes, people, and even pets. It works quite well.
 
I always hold down the left arrow, A, and B when the trainer throws the Pokeball.
Seemed to work for me most of the time. :/
 
When I sometime after Gold and Silver were released, some kid told me if I held the Down button and B that you would catch a Pokémon more easily. I tried it a few times, didn't work, and returned to staring at the screen until I caught it. I haven't gotten into that habit, but I have seen other fans try that 'trick.'
 
I use A+B+Down right before the Pokémon is sucked in and just hold it until either the Pokémon pops out or gets captured. Sometimes I somehow hot the power button on my DSi instead of the Down button. It makes me very angry.
 
IIRC, it did matter in the original RBY-- button presses at the right time could alter the type of ball thrown, turning an ordinary Pokeball into a Masterball for example. (I'm going to need a fact check on this, but I distinctly remember being able to catch high-level Pokemon without weakening them through using this trick.) I suppose this habit has carried over to later generations as well.

...That being said, I do press A as soon as the Pokemon gets sucked into the ball.
 
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