In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, catching a Pokémon is not enough to fill in its Pokédex page. Professor Laventon asks you to study it: he expects research tasks from you, specific to each species, which raise a research level from 0 to 10. This system replaces the badge progression of the classic games: it is your rank in the Survey Corps that decides how far you can go in the story and what level your Pokémon can be while still obeying you. This page explains how it works, gives the rank table and details what you need to do to complete the Hisui Pokédex.
Research tasks
Each species has its own list of tasks, presented as series of milestones: for example “specimens caught: 1, 2, 4, 10, 15”. Here are the families you will find from one species to another:
- Catches: number of specimens caught, caught without them noticing you, caught while asleep, caught at night, or Alpha specimens caught.
- Battles: number of specimens defeated, sometimes with a specific type of move.
- Moves seen: number of times you have seen the species use a given move, including in Agile Style or Strong Style. It is enough for the move to hit, whether it is used by a wild Pokémon, a Trainer or your team.
- Feeding: number of times the species has been given food.
- Evolutions: number of specimens you have evolved. An evolution counts for both the starting species and the resulting species.
- Forms: number of different appearances observed, whenever a species exists in several forms.
- Requests: eighteen species have a task tied to a specific request. It shows “unknown method” until the request is completed.
Tasks are generally worth 10 points per milestone. Those marked with a bonus are worth 20 points and raise the research level by two notches. Tasks accumulate even before the species is caught: they are validated as soon as the Pokémon is caught.
Research level and page information
A Pokémon’s research level goes from 0 to 10. It stays at 0 until the species is caught. As it rises, the Pokédex page fills in:
| Research level | Information unlocked |
|---|---|
| 0 | Number, name, type and image |
| 2 | Height and weight |
| 3 | Favorite foods |
| 5 | Items the Pokémon carries |
| 7 | Category |
| 10 | Page description |
At level 10, the page is complete. When all of the species’ tasks are done, it is perfect. Both milestones increase your chances of meeting the Shiny version of the species: see Shiny Pokémon and the Shiny Charm.
Survey Corps ranks
Each task earns research points. Reaching level 10 on a page also gives 100 bonus points. When you pass a threshold, you must go back to see Cyllene in Jubilife Village to move up a rank. The rank decides the maximum level of Pokémon that will obey you for certain, the crafting recipes unlocked, and, early on, the area the story sends you to.
| Rank | Research points | Maximum obedience level | Area opened to the story | Rewards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No stars | 0 | 10 | — | None |
| 1 star | 500 | 20 | Obsidian Fieldlands | Heavy Ball recipe, Revive recipe |
| 2 stars | 1,800 | 30 | Crimson Mirelands | Feather Ball recipe, Super Potion recipe |
| 3 stars | 3,500 | 40 | Cobalt Coastlands | Great Ball recipe |
| 4 stars | 6,000 | 50 | Coronet Highlands | Leaden Ball recipe, Hyper Potion recipe |
| 5 stars | 8,500 | 65 | Alabaster Icelands | Wing Ball recipe |
| 6 stars | 11,000 | 80 | — | Ultra Ball recipe, Max Potion recipe |
| 7 stars | 15,000 | 100 | — | Gigaton Ball recipe |
| 8 stars | 20,000 | 100 | — | Jet Ball recipe, Full Restore recipe |
| 9 stars | 30,000 | 100 | — | 10 Exp. Candy S, 20 Grit Pebbles |
| Maximum rank (10 stars) | 60,000 | 100 | — | 20 Exp. Candy S, 10 Grit Rocks |
Our older article Pokédex ranks presents this progression in a few lines; the table above details it. The total number of points available in the game is 125,200, even though the counter stops at 99,999.
Completing the Hisui Pokédex
The Hisui Pokédex has 242 pages. Two different goals are hidden behind that number.
Seeing Arceus: catching every species
To reach Arceus, you must have caught at least one specimen of every non-Mythical species, then play the Azure Flute at the altar of the Temple of Sinnoh. So you do not need to have finished the research tasks, nor to have obtained Phione, Manaphy, Shaymin and Darkrai. This is the main objective of the final mission, detailed in the plates, Giratina and Arceus.
The Shiny Charm: 238 pages at level 10
To receive the Shiny Charm, you must report the Pokédex with 238 pages at research level 10 (excluding Phione, Manaphy, Shaymin and Darkrai; Arceus, however, must be complete). Catching is not enough: you really have to fill in the pages. The charm is handed over during Professor Laventon’s congratulations ceremony, and adds three extra rolls to every encounter, which greatly multiplies your chances of meeting a Shiny Pokémon. Update 1.1.1 fixed a bug that prevented receiving it in some cases. The details can be found in Shiny Pokémon and the Shiny Charm and in our older article The Shiny Charm.
Saving time
- Focus on the tasks you accumulate naturally: catches, victories and moves seen are validated as you play.
- Mass Outbreaks are ideal for count-based tasks: ten to fifteen Pokémon of the same line in one place.
- For evolutions, keep spare specimens: each evolution counts for two species.
- Think about requests: eighteen species have a task that is only validated once the associated request is completed, for example the Clefairy under the moonlight (No. 67), Zubat’s night vision (No. 9) or the strange Ponyta (No. 19); see side requests.
- After the credits, the Lone Path adds a red mark per species defeated, unrelated to ranks: see the post-credits challenges.
Check the Hisui Pokédex to find where each Pokémon hides.
