How we score Pinap Berry eligibility

The 91% IV threshold, XL-relevance check, and per-species candy economics behind every Pinap recommendation.

SHORT ANSWER

A catch is Pinap-worthy if it's either (a) candy-XL-relevant for a species you actually invest in, or (b) raid-tier viable. We score each catch on a 0-100 scale and recommend Pinap above 70 — the threshold that historically returns more candy value than Great-throwing for XP.

THE 91% IV THRESHOLD

91% IV (40/45 or 41/45 total IV points) is the breakpoint where a wild catch becomes worth investing post-trade. Below 91%, the IV floor of even a Good-friend trade re-roll (10/10/10 = 67%) is often a better long-term keeper.

Hundo Hunter scans the appraisal bars and only triggers a Pinap recommendation for catches at 91%+ where the underlying species is in the user's investment list (see the XL-relevance check below).

THE COMPOSITE PINAP SCORE

pinap_score = iv_score × 0.35
             + xl_relevance × 0.40
             + raid_tier × 0.20
             + shiny_bonus × 0.05

iv_score      = 100 × (iv_total / 45)
xl_relevance  = 100 if species in candy-XL grind list else 0
raid_tier     = lookup(species, METHODOLOGY[tier-list])     // S=100 ... C=20
shiny_bonus   = 100 if encounter is shiny else 0

recommend Pinap if pinap_score ≥ 70

XL-relevance is the biggest weight — Pinap is most valuable on species you're actively grinding to L50 (which requires hundreds of XL candy).

Below score 70, we recommend Great-throwing for XP and bonus chance instead. The breakpoint comes from empirical XL/catch yields over ~3 000 logged catches.

PER-SPECIES CANDY ECONOMICS

Even at 100 XL-relevance, some species are not worth Pinapping because the candy economy already favours other paths. Common spawns convert at 1:1 with Rare Candy XL and can be transferred in bulk for normal candy without the Pinap commitment.

Rare or regional spawns (Pansage, Heatmor, Klefki) get the full 91% threshold relaxed to 80% — any decent IV from a rare encounter is worth doubling.

WHEN NOT TO PINAP

The recommender will explicitly suggest a Great-throw bonus instead when:

▸The species is already maxed in your collection (you own ≥3 hundos at L50).
▸You are at < 100 PokéBalls left in your bag (catching matters more than candy).
▸The catch is a low-CP shiny (you want the shiny, candy is irrelevant).
▸A Catch Mastery event is active (a Silver Pinap or Golden Razz often beats a Pinap during the bonus).

∞ · TOOLS THAT USE THIS METHODOLOGY

Catch rate calculator →

Candy & XL planning →