Smeargle can be a real pain to encounter in Pokemon Go. This guide will show how players can find and capture Smeargle for the Johto Collection. Another week means another collection event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Pokemon series as well as the 5th anniversary of Pokemon Go. Every week, players are tasked with capturing a specific set of Pokemon from their respective regions. This is the 4th week in a row and now players are tasked with capturing Pokemon from the Johto region. While some of these may come easily to the player like the starter Pokemon, some of them require specific tricks to capture. This guide will show players how they can capture Smeargle in Pokemon Go.
Smeargle is one of the Pokemon in the game that players won't be able to encounter in the wild. It doesn't require an Incense, Lure, Raid Battle, or Ranked Battle to encounter. It's common for Pokemon to have unique ways to capture them but Smeargle is one that will test the patience of the player. In order to capture Smeargle, they will first need to find it photobombing one of the player's photos. This guide will show players how they can get it to appear.
How To Find (& Catch) Smeargle in Pokemon Go (Johto Collection)
Head into your items bag and select the camera item. This will allow players to enter the AR mode and capture a picture of one of their Pokemon. Select any Pokemon you wish and continue to take snapshots of it. Do this 10 at a time and keep doing this until Smeargle appears in the background of your photo. It's completely luck-based at what point Smeargle will make an appearance in these photos. Once it does appear, it will show up in the photos while they are developing. Back out of the camera mode to find Smeargle in the overworld.
Tap it, give it a berry, and throw a Pokeball at it. Although, it does have the option to run away. If Smeargle runs away, players will have to wait until tomorrow for another chance to capture it. To save yourself the time (& the headache) give it a Berry that will increase its catch rate and use an Ultra Ball. This will increase the chances of avoiding it running away. While this doesn't require a lot of work to capture, encountering it will be the true test of patience. Make sure to find it before this upcoming Sunday to complete the challenge.
Pokemon Go is available now on iOS and Android.