Since Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire came out in North America, one of the most talked about features is the DexNav, and it's easy to see why. It is one of the most addictive features that has ever been in a Pokémon game.
What Is It?
Essentially, the DexNav is part of the PokéNav Plus and allows for you to hunt for various Pokémon. As you play the game, you will occasionally see shaking spots in the grass, water or ground of a cave. This will activate the DexNav. Tap the touchscreen and you can start getting details for the Pokémon — you then have to sneak with gradual pushes of the circle pad to get them. It's as simple as that.
So what makes this such an amazing feature? It's simple. It encourages you to hunt for the best of the best.
What Pokémon Can Be Found With This?
Essentially any Pokémon in the wild can be found in this manner. Normally, only Pokémon that are found by walking or Surfing will randomly appear, and that's one of the main parts of it.
On the bottom screen, if you have the DexNav open whenever you're in an area with Pokémon, you will see an image based on the original Ruby & Sapphire maps and there will be an overlay over it. Pokémon you have only seen will have a silhouette and Pokémon you have captured will be more visible. If you touch the Pokémon you have previously captured, you can search for them. This opens up even more possibilities as Pokémon that normally require fishing or are only in hordes are also on the screen.
Doing this causes the DexNav to start searching for them. If successful, they will crop up nearby and you will have to sneak up on them to cause a battle to occur. If it's unsuccessful, then you may just need to walk around a bit or try a different patch of grass.
To top it off, after you have captured Primal Groudon or Primal Kyogre, then various other Pokémon will become available through this method, and only through this method. These Pokémon are not in the Hoenn Pokédex, such as Zorua, Tympole, Skrelp and more. You can find a list here.
What Makes This Special?
Essentially, while it does help you find the Pokémon you want, the Pokémon you discover through this method come with a variety of perks. If these are different from normal, they'll be denoted by a red exclamation mark on the DexNav screen.
When you edge closer to the Pokémon, the DexNav will give you a variety of details for the Pokémon. These details are all things which are special about the Pokémon.
First, the Level. Each Pokémon in each area has a specific level range in which it can exist. With the DexNav, there is a chance that you will encounter a wild Pokémon that is 10 levels higher than normal.
You also get to see the Pokémon's Ability. With the DexNav, there is a chance that you can encounter a Pokémon with its Hidden Ability. This is especially notable as some Pokémon — such as Skrelp — haven't had their Hidden Ability available before this.
You also get to see the Pokémon's "First Move". If this is a highlighted move with the exclamation mark, that means that the Pokémon knows a move that was previously only available through breeding.
You can also see the wild Pokémon's item before you encounter it. The items the Pokémon holds are very different to the ones it can usually hold in the wild. We have seen ones such as Lucky Egg being held by a Pelipper, Power Herb by a Nuzleaf and Cell Battery by a Plusle. We're still collecting information on what Pokémon holds which item, so be sure to keep checking back.
Finally, you can see the "potential" of a Pokémon. What is potential? Basically, it's the Individual Values of a Pokémon. For every star that is filled, the Pokémon has one maximum Individual Value stat, with a maximum of three being possible.
What Are The Chances?
Now, that's where this gets even more interesting. In this game, the Pokédex tracks how many times you have seen a Pokémon in the wild. This is a key factor in the DexNav feature as this is tied directly to a Search Level. As your Search Level gets higher, you get a better chance of seeing those aspects, and a better chance of multiple ones happening at once.
So, if you have seen a Pokémon just once, you have less of a chance than if you have seen one a hundred times. That's what's addictive about it. You'll keep wanting to search for the Pokémon to see what moves, items, abilities and so forth, you can get.
To top it off, there are numerous reports of Shiny Pokémon being easier to get if you're at a higher search level. This gives you even further incentive to get hunting.
Comments 20
So what does shiny 'mon look like in the DexNav and is it identified as such?
@Kit We're not 100% sure shinies are increased on it yet, but the amount of reports are hard to ignore. When you approach a Pokémon, you get a silhouette as seen in the screenshots rather than an image, so you don't know until the battle.
Some Pokemon have an animated tail visible, such as Skitty and Pikachu.
Thanks to DexNav I have used an incredible amount of Pokemon. The best thing about your search level is that it includes ALL encounters with that pokemon whether in the wild or in trainer battles. You can also find Pikachu's Light Ball as well.
Also, remember that horde battles increase your search level by 5...
And now I'll resume my game in the improved Safari Zone. Bye.
I spent 2 hours alone using this feature trying to find the right Ralts to be my Mega Gallade.
I noticed you could sneak & catch pokémon with their tails poking out of the long grass in the ORAS demo. I'm really glad that this turns out to be a more fleshed out feature. While part of me is a little annoyed with how easy it's becoming to put together an awesome team... I'm also salivating over my chance to try this out. COME ON UK RELEASE!!!
Yay, can't wait to try this out. Fun new features are always welcome!
This is cool, and I definitely like Dexnav, but breeding will always be the best way to get a top tier Pokemon. I can get a 6-IV good nature pokemon with an egg move I want in a fraction of the time it would take me to catch one in the wild. Dexnav is good for casuals, but if you are serious about pokemon battling like I am, you'll never use it.
Whoa! I didn't know the founder of Serebii was a writer and user here. This is crazy!
@MadAdam81 not just wild and trainer battles, either. If you find one in the over world, like in someone's house, whip out your dexnav, it will register those too!
@ShadJV this is true! I learned that by talking to a skitty in a house in Rustboro and it registered wen though I hadn't encountered a skitty before
All i know is that my pokemon ruby battery dried out. And I somewhat cried inside.
@VictorySong I love that feature, been a logical step I always thought should exist. I mean, if I see a pokemon in a town, shouldn't I be able to register it as seen? It even worked when I saw someone wild wingull sitting on a beach. Such a cool little feature!
@ShadJV speaking of the wild wingull on the beach I would've loved to have been able to sneak up on them for a horde battle. Maybe this is game freak's new plan for the series? Making pokemon visible instead of random encounters?
This is easily one of the coolest features in the game, and I don't think too many games have put this much into catching monsters before. It feels like a logical next step for the series to me, sure it feels like s 'small' change, but its actually a pretty big one in terms of fleshing out the world and making it seem 'real'.
Within an hour of using the Dex'Nav, I ran into a shiny Tallow on Route 104 with fairly good stats. If there is a connection between using this and shinies, I will be using the Dex'Nav more often (although I use it more than I actually play the game and that Tallow was the only shiny encounter so far).
I Have the National Pokedex yet no new pokemon showing up ingame or on my dexnav, anyone know what i've missed?
The iv limit isn't three!!! I caught an absol with 4 ivs!!!
you can also catch shiny pokemon too with a long stratgey
@frodo1194 having the exact same problem, no idea what to do
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