Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a very different kind of Pokemon game in some key ways. One of those is that as you progress through the story, you’ll often be required to increase your Star Ranking for the Survey Corps to gain access to the next environment. Those also allow you to further progress the story, so it’s important to know how to boost your rank.
You’ll raise your rank by completing progress toward your Pokedex. All progress is good progress, so completing any Pokedex tasks will give you at least some star ranking progress. But the biggest rewards come from completing Pokedex entries, which is achieved by achieving any 10 tasks from your checklist for a given Pokemon. You can turn in your tasks to Professor Laventon at any base camp, or in the village. Here are some tips for filling up the Pokedex fast.
Remember to use your Pokedex shortcut
It can be difficult to remember what tasks you need to complete next for a given species, but that’s mitigated somewhat by the ability to quickly pull up your Pokedex while targeting a Pokemon. Simply press Down on the D-pad while you have a Pokemon targeted with the L-trigger, and it will automatically pull up that specific monster’s Pokedex entry for a quick glance at the tasks you’re missing.
Battle two birds with one stone
Pokedex progress rewards all sorts of tasks, including defeating Pokemon and seeing certain moves. The task for seeing a certain move are counted whether you’re using the Pokemon to battle or battling against it. So to double your progress, just make sure you’re using a Pokemon that is unfinished in your Pokedex, and seek out other Pokemon that are unfinished. That way you’ll be completing tasks toward both of them at once.
Evolve your Pokemon
Pokemon in Legends: Arceus don’t evolve automatically. Once they’ve reached the requisite level to evolve, you’ll have to select the option through the party menu to evolve. Evolution is an easy tick-mark for progression toward your Pokedex, and if you’re evolving into a new species altogether, that will also unlock the progress track for that next Pokemon, letting you further drive your Pokedex development.
Revisit old biomes with new mounts
Throughout the story, you’ll get a series of Pokemon mounts, some of which will open new navigation options by letting you sail across bodies of water or even fly. As you gain more transportation options, you’ll be able to make it to previously unreachable areas that often have new Pokemon. The quickest way to fill your Pokedex is with new species, so these can be invaluable hotspots of new creatures to help you progress.
Look for opportunities for multiples
Sometimes when you wander around the world, you’ll find packs of Pokemon hanging out together. These are great opportunities to level up fast, either by tossing a bunch of Poke Balls in quick succession or by getting into a multi-battle and defeating several Pokemon at once.
For more on Pokemon Legends: Arceus, check out our beginner’s tips, as well as how long it takes to beat and how missions work. Plus, be sure to read our Pokemon Legends: Arceus review.
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