Almost every mainline Pokémon title has had the same main plot of collecting all the gym badges, becoming the league champion, and thwarting some nefarious team or organization along the way. That tried and true formula has been tossed to the wayside forPokémon Legends: Arceus, which takes us back to the distant past of the Pokémon world where the relationships between wild monsters and trainers were still being figured out. Gyms haven’t been established yet, let alone any organized leagues for battling. Instead, the entire plot of this game is all about studying and researching Pokémon.
The ultimate goal for your trainer inPokémon Legends: Arceusis to help gather enough data to create the very first Pokédex. This legendary tool has been a part of the Pokémon world since the first game, helping you keep track of all the different monsters you’ve encountered, details on their stats, lore, and anything else you would want to know about them. Because you’re building it for the first time, just encountering a Pokémon won’t automatically fill in the entire Pokédex. You will need to complete research tasks, but this system has a few layers that may not be apparent right away. Here’s a full breakdown of how research tasks work inPokémon Legends: Arceusso you may make history by completing the very first Pokédex.
What are research tasks?
A brand new feature toPokémon Legends: Arceusare research tasks. These are essentially little objectives you need to complete for each Pokémon in the Pokédex to fully complete their entry. Every single Pokémon in the game has its own list of tasks, though many will repeat, such as capturing a certain number of them, observing them using a move a number of times, evolving them, and more. Research tasks can also have multiple levels. This allows you to level up that Pokémon’s research level by repeating a task multiple times. Some research tasks even require you to complete Requests related to that Pokémon.
To view any Pokémon’s research tasks, simply open up your Pokédex and find the Pokémon you want to view the tasks for. Once there, press down on the D-pad to flip to the tab showing the list of tasks, as well as how much progress you’ve made toward completing them. The bottom of the page shows the current research level for that Pokémon. They will all start at 0, and while they can level up higher than 10, 10 is the highest level you need to reach to count their entry in the Pokédex as “complete.”
How to complete research tasks
Most research tasks are self-explanatory, but checking your Pokédex is the best way to get a hint at what you need to do to level up your research levels. Number caught shows up for nearly every Pokémon, and often can be repeated a few times. Use tasks like this that can be done multiple times to help when other tasks are more difficult or random. Since you only have to get them to level 10, not every task needs to be maxed out or completed if you may substitute other ones. Each task can be done up to 5 times for at least 5 research levels.
Also, pay attention to the red arrow icons on the left side of the tasks. If a task has this symbol, completing that task will give you two levels rather than just one. If you see a task like number caught or number defeated with these arrows, then maxing out all 5 of those tasks alone can give you enough research levels to complete that Pokémon’s entry.
A great quality of life feature thatPokémon Legends: Arceusincludes is that you don’t need to have caught a Pokémon before it starts tracking your progress on completing their tasks. That means that if, for example, you have yet to catch a Pokémon, but defeated it in battle a few times, gave it food, and seen it use all of its moves, all that will be tracked in the Pokédex. Even if you manage to complete enough research tasks for a Pokémon to technically complete its Pokédex entry, it won’t count as complete and will show as research level 0 until you capture it at least once. Pokémon is about catching them all, right?
How research ranks and Star Ranks work
Every research task you complete, and thus the more research ranks you go through, will all earn you points towards your Star Rank. You can see your current amount of research points, current Star Rank, and how many more points you need to get to the next rank on the cover of your Pokédex. Your Star Rank is your main way to track your progress throughPokémon Legends: Arceus, with each rank unlocking new items, access to new areas, and the ability to catch higher-level Pokémon. Once you have enough research points to get a new Star Rank, you need to talk to Captain Cyllene in the Galaxy Hall to officially rank up.
There are 10 total Star Ranks you will progress through in the game, and each one has its own rewards, but also will require more total research points to unlock. Here’s a quick breakdown of each Star Rank:
