The Capture Styler is the Ranger’s tool: it’s used to capture Pokémon, but also as a map, a phone and a Pokédex. It grows with you, in level and capture line length, while your Ranger rank goes up as you complete missions. Here is how these two progressions work.
Capturing
- A capture starts when you touch a wild Pokémon on the screen.
- You draw loops around it with the stylus: this is the capture line. A number above the Pokémon shows how many loops remain.
- If the Pokémon touches the line, it disappears and you have to restart the loops in progress.
- If one of the Pokémon’s attacks hits the line, it breaks and the Capture Styler loses energy. At zero, the Capture Styler breaks and the game is lost.
- When the number reaches zero, the Pokémon is captured: it becomes your friend.
The Capture Styler’s functions
| Function | Role |
|---|---|
| Ranger Card | Your rank, the Capture Styler’s level and the length of the capture line |
| Map | Find your way around the Fiore region |
| Glossary | The game’s explanations, useful at the start |
| Browser | The equivalent of the Pokédex: Field Move, group and Poké Assist of each Pokémon |
| Missions | The current objective; you can abandon it to start over |
| Interrupt | Save away from a save machine, provided you turn the console off |
| Phone | Receive calls from the Ranger chiefs |
The Capture Styler’s level
Each capture earns experience. With each new level, the Capture Styler’s maximum energy increases, it is fully recharged, and the capture line gets longer. You can also recharge energy by talking to the technician at Ranger bases, or with an Electric Poké Assist.
Your team
You can only bring a limited number of friend Pokémon: four at first, up to seven later, in addition to your partner, Plusle or Minun depending on your hero. Your partner never leaves your side: it briefly paralyzes wild Pokémon, and its gauge, which grows with your rank, powers the Poké Assists.
Ranger rank
Your rank goes up as you complete missions. Each promotion brings benefits: new Poké Assists you can use (rank 2, for example, gives access to the Poison and Psychic Poké Assists), a bigger partner gauge, up to five segments at rank 9, awarded in Wintown.
The various Capture Stylers in the story, from the Super Capture Styler stolen by the Go-Rock Squad to the Mega Capture Styler, also play a part in the plot: see the walkthrough index.
