Pokemon GO: No, You Can’t Tap Thrown Poke Balls to Get Them Back

Don't believe everything you read.

The tutorial in Pokemon GO is nearly non-existent, with only a few brief tips available to find in the game. This means it has been up to the user-base to figure out how everything works in the days since its launch. Of course with players finding out new and interesting tidbits all the time, there are bound to be a few misleading rumors and straight-up falsities.

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One such rumor that we have personally debunked through rigorous testing is the idea that one may reclaim Poke Balls that missed their target by tapping on them quickly after missing. It may be disappointing to hear, but this is the truth of the matter. Why, then, have so many people been claiming otherwise?

It’s likely that it all comes down to the Pokemon GO servers. Anyone who’s played the game for any amount of time so far has no doubt been met with the dreaded screen below, informing you that you cannot play because the servers are experiencing difficulties.

Pokemon GO, server

These server issues many cause many problems in-game, even if you’re able to successfully log in and catch yourself some Pokemon.

Have you thrown a Poke Ball and seemingly caught the creature, only to have the game freeze without confirming your prize? That’s the server. How about trying to throw a Poke Ball and having nothing happen as the Pokemon just bobs and sways while you watch it, unable to throw a ball or flee the battle or anything else? Yep, that’s the server too.

When you throw a Poke Ball, miss, and tap it quickly enough that it shows you have the same amount of balls in your inventory, that’s most likely a server error as well. Odds are that battle won’t even register, and you’ll soon encounter one of the above issues.

For a lot more tips and tricks check out our Ultimate Pokemon GO Guide.


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Author
Zak Lyons
Zak was a Staff Writer for Twinfinite from 2015 to 2016 who never stopped campaigning for Pokémon Snap 2 until it was finally released. He once played through a dozen Final Fantasy games in one year, and his knowledge of Kingdom Hearts is mildly concerning. Zak covered everything from features, news, guides and reviews for Twinfinite on pretty much all genres, but RPGs are his specialty.