Excellent...Curveball...really?!?

[triadruid]

 Got to stage 7/8 of the research... and they want an excellent curveball. I have no idea how to accomplish this, since I've probably gotten half a dozen Excellent throws ever, and spinning for curves throws my aim ALL out of whack!

How many people here have managed it so far?

Comments

[soc_puppet]

IIRC, I managed it with help from Research Moltres (though I might have gotten it with Latios); it provided a nice, big target for throws, and I'm pretty sure Zapdos would also be good for that. Really, most stuff that has a wide range to throw in/is really "close" to you is pretty good for that. I believe Spheal was recommended, if only because it's fairly common, but there's some reasonably large stuff you can get via Research.

Another thing you can try is going to a raid for something physically large (Tyranitaur, Aggron, etc), and if you can't get it, someone else in the raid might be able and willing to help you out.

For curveballs in general, I practiced a whole lot with regular Pokeballs on things I was okay never catching again: Weedle, Ratatta, Caterpie, Pidgey, etc. If there's someplace near you that's really dense with Pokestops, that can be a good place to practice, since it would make it easier to refill your items.

Good luck!

[lilacsigil]

Seconded practising on big and/or round Pokemon! I hadn't ever got many Great throws, but I managed the 20 Great Throws challenge via lots of practice on large Pokemon.

[silveradept]

Nailed it on my Research Zapdos. Which is a great practice target, since it's not likely to flee.

Also, Wailimer, if you live close by to somewhere it spawns, will give you a fantastic target. Spin your ball in one or the other direction, and then snap your ball out at an angle opposite the spin, and it should curl back in. It'll take some time to get the angles and forces down for your phone, but once you get it, you'll get a curveball bonus on the regular. (And an improved catch rate.)

[jack]

I'm still waiting for ghosts! But I started throwing curveballs by default, and by now my fingers do it mostly on automatic -- I still miss 'mon which are in an unusual position, often badly, but I often get great curveballs, and (I noticed the last couple of weeks since I've been paying attention), sometimes I get an excellent just by chance. So if you just keep throwing and manage to get curveballs anywhere near the pokemon at all, you'll hopefully nail an excellent eventually just by chance.

Aiming for larger pokemon definitely helps too. Wailmer raids? And I hear research rewards (the legendaries, not the ones for individual tasks) don't run away[1], so you can just keep throwing at them as long as you don't catch it :)

[1] I think, ever, although I'm not sure if it's just a low chance.

[brightknightie]

All the research reward encounters (both legendaries and ordinary pokemon) supposedly have a 0% flee rate.

However, early on after research came out, I once saw a PokeTuber take forever in AR+ mode taking photos upon photos of a research encounter, and eventually his research encounter ran. That was the only time I saw a research encounter pokemon run from anyone.

I now confidently use pineapp berries on research encounters. :-)

[ayebydan]

I will be using all this advice. If I see any research things appearing asking for curve balls I cancel them and ask another stop for a new task! Dreading having to get this down pat to get the next stage.

[brightknightie]

Try this YouTube Video: "How to Throw a Perfect Curveball in Pokemon Go" by TrainerTipsNick

When legendaries first came out, I didn't yet know how to throw curveballs. Now, I throw them every time.

Good luck!

[triadruid]

Yeah, I'm definitely going to concentrate on trying it with Wailmer's and other huge targets. Thanks for all the tips!

[tyger]

My approach with all of the get a whatever-level throw has been 'JUST KEEP CATCHING STUFF AND YOU'LL GET IT EVENTUALLY'. That's. Probably not a great approach, but it's working so far?

I'm just really jealous you've managed to get TEN WHOLE GHOSTS. I've not even SEEN a ghost let along caught one. :( GOOD JOB YOU, I believe in you!! After finding ghosts, excellent curveballs have gotta be pretty easy!

[kirin]

Ghosts are far more plentiful at night, but they start pretty late, and stay pretty late in the morning too. Around my neighborhood I had more luck finding ghosts at 9am than 9pm. There's also one-star Shuppet raids right now (or Duskull if you're in the other region) which should be easy to solo if you find one.

[kirin]

What everyone else said - also, if you happen to come across a wild Ursaring, it's an amazing target, both large and up close for a huge ring. But honestly I've gotten just as many by throwing curve-balls at everything and occasionally getting lucky. Once hit an excellent curve on a Zubat! Sheer luck.

[ephemera]

I fluked it on a Makukita right after I got to that challenge, which might be the *only* excellent curveball I've ever thrown. (I'm fairly solid on landing curveballs, but I can't reliably throw excellents of any kind, which I think is partly down to the video speed on my camera - my nephew was convinced it was me being not-great until I asked him to catch a legendary for me on my phone, and he made one attempt and then handed my phone back with horror.) Seconding all the advice about lots of practice, choosing large or round targets, and just keeping trying until it happens. I certainly find it easier after getting my eye in on a specific pokemon - I had my one-handed curveball down during the luvdisc event. I also notice that I do a much smaller "spin" than a lot of people I see playing - one "loop" and throw is enough for me to get a curveball, but also a lot more control over where it's going than several spins of the finger before throwing.