Lead Ability & DexRec

Understanding Pokémon ability influences and Pokédex recommendations to boost spawn rates.

This section explains advanced techniques involving the use of lead abilities and the using Pokédex recommendation feature. These methods are used to influence the following:

This table provides information about each of the lead abilities and their use cases:

Ability Overworld Effect
Synchronize The nature of the Synchronize Pokémon will be applied to any encountered overworld Pokémon. The Synchronize Pokémon can be swapped into the lead after the Pokémon has been spawned.
Cute Charm If your lead Pokémon has this ability, increase the chance of that Pokémon having the opposite gender.
Magnet Pull If there are STEEL TYPE Pokémon in the encounter table, increase the chance of spawning those Pokémon. Otherwise, do nothing.
Lightning Rod & Static If there are ELECTRIC TYPE Pokémon in the encounter table, increase the chance of spawning those Pokémon. Otherwise, do nothing.
Flash Fire If there are FIRE TYPE Pokémon in the encounter table, increase the chance of spawning those Pokémon. Otherwise, do nothing.
Storm Drain If there are WATER TYPE Pokémon in the encounter table, increase the chance of spawning those Pokémon. Otherwise, do nothing.
Harvest If there are GRASS TYPE Pokémon in the encounter table, increase the chance of spawning those Pokémon. Otherwise, do nothing.
Compound Eyes & Super Luck If the Pokémon can be spawned holding a random held item, increase the likelihood of this occurring. Otherwise, do nothing.
Arena Trap, Illuminate & No Guard INCREASE the chance of spawning a hidden encounter. These abilities are important to use when manipulating hidden encounters.
Quick Feet, Stench, White Smoke & Infiltrator DECREASE the chance of spawning a hidden encounter. In most cases, these abilities should be avoided on your lead Pokémon.
Synchronize is the only ability usable after the Pokémon spawns; all others must be active beforehand. A fainted lead allows your capture Pokémon to enter battle directly, removing the need to consume a turn by switching the Pokémon in.

Pokédex Recommendations

It is recommended to complete your Pokédex before using this boosting method.

Upon opening the Pokédex, you should see up to 4 Pokémon at a specific location on the map. These Pokémon have an increased spawn rate anywhere in the world as long as they are in the current encounter table. The order they are listed on the bottom right of the screen is from #1-#4 for the purpose of RNG manipulation. This feature is commonly referred to as "Pokédex Recommendations" or "DexRec".

If you have not yet looked at your Pokédex or the date has rolled over (either naturally or with date skipping) since the last time the Pokédex was opened, the current DexRec is considered inactive until you look at the Pokédex again.

For incomplete Pokédexes, the recommendations you will see will prioritize Pokémon that you have not yet captured. Completing the Pokédex will cause the game to boost random Pokémon. Thus, it is suggested to complete your Pokédex before rolling DexRec.
Figure 1 - DexRec Overview

dex-rec-1

DexRec Overview

In the above example, NidoranF (#1), Sinistea (#2), Heatmor (#3) and Magby (#4) are the currently boosted Pokémon. Although the DexRec was triggered in Old Cemetery, these Pokémon will have their spawn rate boosted globally regardless of the current area, as long as the boosted Pokémon is present within the encounter table.

Only the first form ID of a particular Pokémon will be boosted. For example, if our currently boosted Pokémon is Sinistea the spawn rate boost will only apply to the Phony form (the first form ID for Sinistea). This means that Antique Sinistea cannot have an encounter rate boost from DexRec at all.

For Pokémon can only be found in specific weather conditions, you will first need to find the location of your desired Pokémon, then set the weather condition in that area to match the required weather needed to spawn the Pokémon prior to opening the Pokédex (example below). Owoow's Encounter Lookup feature can be used to quickly find details about a particular Pokémon.

Example

If your desired DexRec is Drampa, which is found in the Lake of Outrage in Thunderstorm weather, you will need to change the current weather condition in the Lake of Outrage to Thunderstorm.


Figure 2 - Rolling For DexRec

dex-rec-2

DexRec Rolling
Step-By-Step
  1. Stand in any of the Wild Areas, then use the Encounter Lookup feature of owoow to search for your desired Pokémon.

  2. Take note of the location that contains your desired Pokémon and the weather condition required to spawn it.

  3. Change the date within the System Settings until you get the desired weather condition in at least one of the areas where your Pokémon naturally spawns.

  4. View the Pokédex to activate your daily Pokémon Recommendations. If you do not see what you want, exit to the overworld.

  5. Use date skipping to reset daily events and the Pokémon Recommendations. Make sure your weather conditions are correct again, then view the Pokédex to generate new recommendations. Repeat until you have achieved your desired DexRec.
About Date Skipping

DexRec is cleared after a day advances. You can change the date freely as long as you don't do the actual advance, but for obvious reasons, you cannot combine DexRec boosting and date skipping advancements.

If you are not using date skipping, roll your desired DexRec and save the game. Take note of the date the game has been saved on to avoid unintentionally erasing the current recommendations due to natural time progression.


DexRec rolling is deterministic. If you roll 100 days, then reset and roll another 100 days, you will see the same results both times. You should save after you have finished rolling even if you did not get your desired DexRec. Never reset the game back to before the date skipping occurred!