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Chaining successful captures and defeats has been a thing in Pokémon since Diamond & Pearl with the PokéRadar item, but Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu! & Let’s Go, Eevee! have brought it back to the forefront, with the whole system being made crystal-clear via the new Catch Combo mechanic.

As there are no 'wild' battles, in order to combo a Pokémon, you have to catch the same species over and over without catching another species, having a Pokémon run from you, or saving and closing the game. You can leave the area you are catching the Pokémon at any time and return to continue the combo.

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So what does the Catch Combo provide? That’s a very simple thing to answer. Catch Combos allow for you to find Pokémon with better IVs and increase your chances to get a Shiny Pokémon. This is a vital thing for collectors and competitive players alike.

So let’s start with the IVs of a Pokémon. For those who don’t know, IVs are the genetics of the Pokémon and run at a value between 0 and 31, with each value indicating the equivalent of 1 Stat Point at Level 100, calculated at lower values as your level is lower. With catch combos, you’ll find that every 10 Pokémon in the combo will reward you a guaranteed IV that is maximum.

  • Chains 11 & over: 2 Max IVs
  • Chains 21 & over: 3 Max IVs
  • Chains 31 & over: 4 Max IVs

Contrary to reports on the internet, it doesn’t get higher than this, but you can always get 5 or 6 max IVs; it’s a 1 in 31 chance for each IVs to be max, and therefore only a 1 in 961 chance to get a perfect Pokémon if you continue catching. Do note that this boost only exists for Pokémon of the same species, so if you have a chain of Growlithe but move to a Dodrio, the Dodrio has no guaranteed max IVs.

Moving onto the next element of the Catch Combo is the Rare Spawn system. Each route has got a variety of Pokémon that don’t appear in the location in the Pokédex but have a slim chance of appearing. This ranges from Chansey in most areas to Kanto starters, Charizard in the sky and even the Legendary Birds!

Increasing your Catch Combo actually increased the odds of these Pokémon appearing, maxing out again at combos of 31 or over. To make it even better, you don’t need to have the Catch Combo be in the same route, so if you pile up a combo of 31 Caterpie in Viridian Forest, you can go to Cerulean Cave to get a Snorlax to appear.

Finally, we've got the element that most people care about, Shiny Pokémon. Shiny Pokémon, in general, have a 1 in 4096 chance of appearing, 1 in 1365 if you have the Shiny Charm. However, this is improved greatly when you use Catch Combos, especially if you use them in conjunction with lures. If you have a Shiny Charm and a combo of 31 or higher, you are 15 times more likely to get a Shiny Pokémon spawn.

Combo Standard Lures Shiny Charm Shiny Charm & Lures
0-10 1 in 4096 1 in 2048 1 in 1365.333 1 in 1024
11-20 1 in 1024 1 in 819.2 1 in 682.6667 1 in 585.1429
21-30 1 in 512 1 in 455.1111 1 in 409.6 1 in 372.3636
31+ 1 in 341.3333 1 in 315.0769 1 in 292.5714 1 in 273.0667

And that’s everything there is to know about Catch Combos. What have you all managed to combo?

This article is part of our Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee guide series. If you're looking to catch specific Pokémon in the game, check out our guides on How To Get To The Power Plant And Capture Zapdos, How To Unlock Mew, How To Catch Articuno, How To Get Bulbasaur, Charmander And Squirtle The Easy Way, and How To Catch Shiny Pokémon With Catch Combos. We also have handy guides detailing How To Check IVs And Catch Pokémon With Flawless IVs, How To Use Candy To Get The Most Powerful Pokémon, and How To Battle Red.