Pokémon Legends: Arceus delivered something entirely different than the old progression system of Gym Leaders and an Elite Four in the end. Instead, we have the Star Ranks to help us progress in the game. Star Ranks will grant the player control over Pokémon of higher levels, crafting recipes, and more.

You might want to familiarize yourself by checking how Star Ranks work in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but generally speaking, they are this game’s substitute for the gyms.

Considering how important Star Ranks are, you might want to rank up as soon as possible. Getting at least a few stars when still in the first area will make your life much easier since it might not take that long to get a Pokémon over level 20.

So, if you want to know how to rank up fast in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, stick around. This guide has tips and tricks that will help you gather research points to get those stars as soon as possible.

Please note, this guide refers to increasing your Star Rank quickly. If you’re looking to level up Pokémon quickly, we have a different post for that.

Complete the Research Tasks

You can’t rank up without research points. You need to complete the Research Tasks in the Pokédex, then report back to Professor Lavender, who awards you those points you need.

Assuming that you have enough points to get a star, you can talk to Captain Cyllene, and she’ll rank you up.

In other words, to rank up fast, you need to gather those research points as quickly as possible. Check the Pokédex when you find a new Pokémon, so you know what research tasks are associated with it. Most involve capturing the Pokémon, catching it under a specific condition, and seeing it using an attack. There are others, which is why it’s important to check it often.

However, there are simple ways to get those points quickly when you first start exploring the Hisuian region.

Catch All Pokémon You See

At least at first, when you’re exploring the initial open-world area, you will be encountering a bunch of weak Pokémon. They will be very easy to catch, and you must take advantage of it. Most of them will be at levels 2 to 4, so you don’t even have to worry too much about how hard it will be to deal with them.

You don’t even have to battle these Pokémon. Throwing a Pokéball at them will result in capture more often than not, especially if you hit them on the back.

Certain types of Poké Balls will make this much easier, so you might want to see all Poké Balls in Pokémon Legends: Arceus to see which kind fits each context you’re in.

Pretty much all Pokémon in the Pokédex have a research task that demands you to capture a number of Pokémon of that species. Once you get one, you will see a counter that will show how many more you should go after.

This is why when you see a new Pokémon, as long as it doesn’t have red eyes, you should throw a Poké Ball at it.

Don’t Be Seen Throwing a Poké Ball

Many research tasks demand that you capture Pokémon without being seen. You will have to do it many times, but it is usually fewer times than just catching a Pokémon after it spotted you.

My advice is to try to be sneaky all the time. That way, you get the points for capturing and for sneakily capturing with a single Poké Ball. That will save you a lot of time, grant you experience, and speed up your research points gathering.

Take Down Wild Pokémon

Alpha Paras

If you run out of Pokéballs or have already captured many Pokémon of a specific species, start taking them down in fights. Some research tasks ask you to evolve a Pokémon.

Since just having a Pokémon in your team is enough to make them gain experience, doing this helps you gather experience points for the Pokémon that needs to be evolved and also grants you research points for defeating a Pokémon. If you want to evolve your starter Pokémon fast, you can use it for fights while having in your team the Pokémon you need to evolve for the research points.

Most creatures will have a research task that involves defeating them a few times. Sometimes, you need to defeat them using a specific type of attack. For instance, Geodude has a research task requiring you to beat it with a water-type attack to be completed.

Use The Captured Pokémon in Battles

Battle

Some research tasks require you to see a Pokémon using an attack. Although sometimes you will be able to do it just by picking fights, the best way to do it quickly is by capturing a Pokémon and then using the attack when battling.

That way, not only do you get to complete the research tasks that demand you to defeat a Pokémon a number of times, you are also completing the one that requires seeing the Pokémon using a specific attack.

Final Thoughts

There are many Pokémon with unusual research tasks, and there are tasks that might seem simple but aren’t. For instance, catching an Abra can be very annoying when you only have a few star ranks and not many resources to deal with its teleport. However, most Pokémon have similar tasks to be completed, and you should take advantage of those in the beginning.

You should be checking your Pokédex and the tasks you can most easily complete, but in order to get those points quickly, you will have to be smart. It’s all about combining tasks that can be completed by performing a single action.

Catching a Pokémon and catching a Pokémon without being spotted can both be done if you just do the latter. The same goes for defeating a Pokémon a number of times and seeing a Pokémon using an attack.

To do it effectively, you will have to pay attention to the map, know the areas where certain Pokémon are easier to find, and start grinding multiple research tasks simultaneously. Once you do that, it’ll be much easier to rank up in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.