Pokémon is a game that has created many mysteries. A supposed trick has influenced quite a few players, although it does not work. The origin may lie in a video game magazine.
What trick is being referred to? If you press the B button firmly or rapidly, depending on the interpretation, while throwing the Pokéball, the chance of catching a Pocket Monster increases.
This is the supposed trick to easily increase your collection in the game, and it’s just one of many myths surrounding the franchise.
For decades, the rumor that the trick works has circulated, and many players have tried it in vain. MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski still presses the B button when catching a Pokémon, even though she knows it doesn’t help.
Where the myth originally comes from is not entirely clear. However, there is an early spread of the supposed trick in the year 2000.
A few lines of text cause unrest
Where was the trick mentioned? A user on Reddit unearthed an old issue of the video game magazine Nintendo Power from the year 2000 and found a page full of tips and tricks for popular games at the time.
Included is the well-known note that you must press the B button when catching a Pokémon. The Reddit user suspects that he read the magazine back then and therefore thought the trick would work.
Other users in the comments felt similarly. They too believed in the trick for years and tried it, even if the exact execution was not quite clear:
- “Oh, so that’s where it comes from. The version I heard was: Until it stops wobbling. I still do it out of habit,” writes LordRael013.
- “We look back on such theories and speculations and laugh about them, but to this day, they spread like wildfire and are ingrained in the minds of players,” notes MaterialDefender1032.
- “Has this been tested? I don’t know if I should believe what was printed here because there’s always been a lot of nonsense in such things, and my household had every issue of Nintendo Power back then. But 99% of it was solid!” says SquirrelNutz.
- “As someone else already said, the games have been mined to exhaustion, so something like this, had it worked, would surely have been broadcasted in Times Square,” believes Gravemind93.
In the end, the catch chance is, of course, influenced by other factors. Such as how strong the Pokéball is and what level the Pokémon has.
The case shows how quickly and effectively false information can spread and persist for years. Especially when players desperately want the trick to work and simply do not stop using it. Have you tried it yourself? Feel free to let us know in the comments. There are also many myths in the mobile version of the franchise: A trainer debunks a myth in Pokémon GO that has caused frustration for players for years.
