S-Rank Guide
Every Pokémon in the game, once captured, will go into the Browser with a letter rank being given to the quality of the player's capture of that Pokémon. The ranks consist of S, A, B, and C, with S-Rank representing the most skillful capture and C-rank representing the worst capture. After capturing a Pokémon, if the player is able to capture that species again with a higher rank, the old rank in the Browser will be replaced with the better rank. To that end, it is possible for the player to acquire an "S-Rank Browser" by getting S-Ranks on all possible Pokémon.
All Pokémon in the game can be re-captured, meaning if the player did not S-Rank them on the first try, there is always an opportunity to try again. However, some Pokémon require the player to complete Past Missions to unlock in the present. The list of Pokémon unlocked this way, and the mission required to unlock them, is as follows:
- Skuntank can be found in Rasp Cavern. Accessing its chamber requires completing Mission 1: Drapion in the Forest Temple.
- Wobbuffet can be found on Mt. Latolato. Accessing its chamber requires completing Mission 6: A Pokémon Forest in the Way.
- Ambipom can be found in the Daybreak Ruins. Accessing its chamber requires completing Mission 10: Graveler's Terrible Rocks.
- Tyranitar can be found in Faldera Volcano. Accessing its chamber requires completing Mission 14: Rush Ahead! Don't Look Back!.
- Infernape can be found on Mt. Sorbet. Accessing its chamber requires completing Mission 18: Panic at the Perplexing Temple.
- Slowking can be found in Oblivia Ruins. Accessing its chamber requires completing Mission 22: Glowing Roads in the Darkness.
Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Ho-Oh, and Lugia can be re-encountered by calling them with their Signs.
Qualities that Contribute to an S-Rank Capture
Upon successful capture of a Pokémon, the player will receive bonuses according to certain skills they displayed during the capture; the more bonuses a player gets, the higher their rank is.The list of bonuses, according to the official Prima guide, is shown below.
- Rapid Capture: Less than 20 seconds to capture the Pokémon (1 point)
- Mach Capture: Less than 7 seconds to capture the Pokémon (3 points)
- Rapid Loop: Less than 0.2 seconds on a single loop (2 points)
- Mach Loop: Less than 0.15 seconds on a single loop (3 points)
- Boss Capture (3 points)
- No Damage (2 points)
- Charge Capture: Use the charged Capture Line to finish the capture (5 points)
- Achieve an unbroken series of loops: each multiple of 5 gives one point, to a maximum of 10
- Good Poké Assist: Use a Poké Assist whose type is strong against the captured Pokémon (1 point)
- Pokémon No Release: Use at least one (non-Pichu) Poké Assist without the Pokémon getting released due to damage (1 point)
- 10th Capture (of the same species) (1 point)
- 100th Capture (of the same species) (10 points)
An S-rank is achieved if the player gets 10 or more points.