The Nearby menu in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen shows how close a Pokemon is to you. When hunting the rare ones, you’ll want to track the creatures that appear greyed-out behind a silhouette. These are Pokemon you haven’t caught yet, and thus they aren’t recorded in your Pokedex. The closer the Pokemon is to you, the fewer footprints you’ll see underneath the silhouette (3 footsteps = 300 metres, etc).
Make sure to keep the Nearby menu open and then circle the Pokemon you want to capture by clicking on it. The circled silhouette should shift up and down based on proximity to you (the more right and down the silhouette is, the farther it is from you). If the Pokemon is moving down the menu, walk away to see if it gets closer. Pokemon listed on the Nearby menu are always close by, so keep trying and looking.
Now, check out this guide to learn how to catch a Pokemon in general. For rare Pokemon, try to get the ring around the Pokemon as small as possible before flinging a Poke Ball. The smaller the ring, the more likely the Pokemon won’t escape from the ball. If the Pokemon does escape, just fling several Poke Balls at it before it has a chance to run away. That and pray to the Poke Gods is about all lower-level players can do.
Higher-level trainers upon hitting Level 7 can grab Razz Berries from PokeStops. Feed these to wild Pokemon to make them less likely to run away or escape Poke Balls. At Level 12, you can use more powerful Poke Balls (like Great and Ultra Balls). Wild Pokemon of all levels have difficulty escaping these balls. And if you feed a rare Pokemon a Razz Berry first, then fling a powerful ball at it, you’ll likely be successful.
Are there any other tips and tricks?
Rare Pokemon change from location to location, and it depends on a number of factors, including player population density, proximity to certain types of landscapes, nearby landmarks, different times of the day, etc. Also, certain Pokemon dwell in areas related to their type. Psychic- and ghost-type Pokemon can be found near cemeteries, while fire- and ground-type Pokemon are more likely to appear in arid, desert climates.
Based on information culled from Reddit, Twitter, and our own experiences, here’s other tips and tricks on how to find and catch rare Pokemon:
Walk a lot, and walk slowly.
Check unvisited lanes, undiscovered locations, and unpopulated areas.
Go to locations depending on the type of rare Pokemon you want to find.
Place lures at PokeStops to lure all nearby Pokemon to your area.
Use Incense to draw Pokemon if you’re staying put in an area for 30 mins.
Look for rustling leaves in the game.
Continually check the near “Nearby” menu for Pokemon.
When you spot one, switch off the AR Camera (top-right corner of screen).
Throw a clean Poke Ball without excessive hand movements.
Make sure your phone has plenty of battery.
