POKEMON RANGER POKE ASSIST

In some capturing situations, you might need a little help. Poke Assists literally do assist your capturing attempt by using one of your friend Pokemon's abilities. There are 15 different types of Assists, and they represent the types of the Pokemon world with two exceptions: There aren't any Normal, Steel and Dragon type Assists, and there are two Electric ones. They also follow the same rules as the type effectiveness chart for battles, however, this chart also has a few exceptions in the Ranger world: the offensive side is for the Assist type, the defensive side for the other Pokemon's group, and there are more immunities. Furthermore, dual-types don't make any difference at all, all that matters is the Pokemon's group.

Assists do not deal damage, the only things they do are to make the Pokemon easier to capture by stopping the Pokemon periodically or by boosting the Styler's capabilities. Most Assists also have a time limit that they can be used in, and when the time limit is up or the Pokemon is captured, the Pokemon that used the Assist is released back into the wild. How long the Assist lasts normally depends on how powerful the Pokemon using it is. Along with the time that it takes to work, time is also a key factor in how the Assists work. After all, the Pokemon will be trapped in one spot for a certain amount of time, and this depends on the type effectiveness. At super effective, which is indicated by a red up arrow above the Pokemon, it will be stuck for five seconds, at normal effective, which is not indicated by anything, will stop it for three seconds, and not very effective, shown by a blue down arrow, only pauses action for half a second. Immunity is also shown by the blue down arrow, and obviously, it doesn't stop the target at all.

Other than the different types of Assists, there are different ways that Assists work, too. There are five of these, and all Assists are in one of the categories. First of all, there is the one that halts the Pokemon immediately and momentarily. An example would be your partner's Discharge. Another works by drawing a line and having something appear where the line was drawn, like a purple gas for Poison's. One more boosts one of the Styler's capabilities, like how Dark's doubles the line length. Yet another has the idea of you throwing something at the Pokemon, and an example would be throwing gravel and creating a dust cloud, which is Rock's Assist. And the final one has something appear in the middle of a loop, which is an ice crystal that can freeze the Pokemon in Ice's case. All Assists have one of these ideas, but some do have minor twists to them, like how Water's consists of inflating a bubble and then flicking it at the target. Before the descriptions of every Assist, there will be details on how to use them.

Now, other than the basics of using Assists, there are a few ways that you can use them even more effectively. First off, with the Assists like Grass and Poison that have something come out of the line, for it to be most effective, you should draw a line to collide into the target Pokemon. You might not get it perfect if you just brush by it or draw a line and hope it walks into it. And after the Pokemon's trapped, be sure to draw small, quick loops around the Pokemon so that when it is freed, it will already be within contact of the next one and be trapped again. If you can get this to work right, type effectiveness should not matter at all. (Except immunity, of course)

Another clever use of Assists is to use them in combinations. It be ideal to use this on a Pokemon that's difficult to capture, like a legendary. For example, one combo would be to immobilize the Pokemon by one Assist, like your partner's Discharge, and then use another Assist to further subdue the Pokemon when it was freed or use a Fighting Assist to double the loops being drawn. Doing this is as simple as it is just to use the Assist normally, but it's how you put them together that makes the difference.

And finally, here's a table detailing each type of Assist:

Discharge
	Rank Requirement	None
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: Flying, Water Disadvantageous: Electric, Grass, Dragon Immune: Ground
	Description	This Assist is unique to your partner Pokemon only, Minun or Plusle, and it uses the Partner Gauge. The more bars filled, the more widely it affects the area. Also, when you use it, your Partner Gauge drops to zero even if there would normally be a remainder. This Assist paralyzes Pokemon if they come in contact with the electricity. It is also the only Assist that doesn't release the Pokemon (which makes sense as it is your partner) and can be reused. In order for it to be reused, however, you must refill the bars. This is done by drawing loops around the Pokemon, and for every 20 loops, one bar is filled.

Electric
	Rank Requirement	None
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	This Assist is used the same way as the Field Move that accompanies it. It charges your Styler's energy depending on the Field Move's power. For one icon, you get five restored. For two, 15, and for three, it is fully restored.

Fire
	Rank Requirement	None
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel Disadvantageous: Rock, Fire, Water, Dragon Immune: None
	Description	Flames erupt along your line, and when a loop is drawn, an explosion of flames takes place in the middle of it. A Pokemon that touches the flames will be startled and stop attacking, and it will try to get away from the fire. However, this Assist may not always work for the best. Usually the Pokemon will be slower, but some Pokemon actually speed up in response to the flames.

Grass
	Rank Requirement	None
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: Ground, Rock, Water Disadvantageous: Poison, Bug, Fire, Grass, Steel Immune: Flying, other flying or levitating Pokemon
	Description	Tall grass sprouts along a line when it is drawn. When a Pokemon comes in contact with the grass, it will become entangled and briefly immobilized.

Water
	Rank Requirement	None
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: Fire, Ground, Rock Disadvantageous: Water, Grass, Dragon Immune: None
	Description	By touching the screen, you can start inflating a bubble. When you're satisfied with the size of the bubble, flick it at your target, and the Pokemon will be engulfed by the bubble. However, a bubble can only overtake a Pokemon if the bubble is larger than the Pokemon, so proper charging is necessary. Furthermore, since bubbles that aren't engulfing Pokemon linger around for a while, charge a second one and cast it to where the Pokemon will be when the first bubble ends. This way, you can get more time to capture the Pokemon.

Fighting
	Rank Requirement	2
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: Normal, Rock, Ice, Dark, Steel Disadvantageous: Ghost Immune: None
	Description	While in effect, for every loop you draw, it counts as two. For type effectiveness, advantageous loops count as three loops, and disadvantageous loops yield only the normal one loop. This is used most effectively in combos when it is preceded by an Assist that can trap or immobilize the Pokemon.

Poison
	Rank Requirement	3
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: Grass Disadvantageous: Poison, Ground, Rock, Ghost Immune: Steel
	Description	A poisonous mist is emitted from the line, and this mist will immobilize Pokemon on contact. The mist that doesn't touch a Pokemon doesn't linger very long, so be sure that you can be prepared for when the Pokemon escapes.

Psychic
	Rank Requirement	3
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: Fighting, Poison Disadvantageous: Psychic, Steel Immune: Dark
	Description	Psychic Assists act similar to your partner's Discharge in the sense that the Pokemon goes to the center of the screen and immobilizes Pokemon. However, this affects all Pokemon (other than Dark) in the field rather than the ones that touch it and levitates them (even if they can fly or levitate already, which may seem weird). It also moves them closer to the center to field to make them easier to draw lines around, especially if they were near the border. This doesn't use the Partner Gauge.

Bug
	Rank Requirement	4
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: Grass, Psychic, Dark Disadvantageous: Fighting, Poison, Flying, Ghost, Fire, Steel Immune: None
	Description	This is Assist is done by flinging a glob of goo at the Pokemon and trapping them under a web. If done quickly, you should be able to effectively get multiple Pokemon at once.

Ground
	Rank Requirement	4
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: Poison, Rock, Fire, Electric, Steel Disadvantageous: Bug, Grass Immune: Flying, other flying or levitating Pokemon
	Description	When a line is drawn, the earth is torn up and churned. This disables Pokemon movement on the ground.

Rock
	Rank Requirement	5
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: Flying, Bug, Fire, Ice Disadvantageous: Fighting, Ground, Steel Immune: None
	Description	By flicking the stylus at the Pokemon, you fling gravel at the Pokemon, and if it hits, the Pokemon is immobilized by a dust cloud.

Flying
	Rank Requirement	6
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: Fighting, Bug, Grass Disadvantageous: Rock, Electric, Steel Immune: None
	Description	Unlike other Assists that require a flicking process, Flying Assists do not need the stylus to lift from the touch screen. Instead, you can keep the stylus on the screen, which permits much more adaptability with this Assist. As such, you can start by drawing a line at the Pokemon, which directs a whirlwind at it, and then move on to drawing loops. When the Pokemon is let down from the winds, direct another one at it without lifting the stylus. Furthermore, since the whirlwinds occur continuously when the stylus is in motion, when you are drawing loops, whirlwinds will appear outside the circle as well. This makes it easier to deal with multiple Pokemon at once. If done correctly, you should still be able to easily take care of those that this Assist is less effective towards.

Dark
	Rank Requirement	7
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: None Disadvantageous: None Immune: None
	Description	By donating an amount of your Styler's energy, you double your Styler's length. The amount taken is one fourth of your Styler's remaining energy and rounds down. However, it cannot round down to zero or take the last of your energy. Also, the time limit that you have for this effect is determined by the amount of energy that was taken, and it is equal to that number multiplied by six. Furthermore, don't think that having a really long line length is always great; there are some minor setbacks. In the case that you're being attacked, it would be harder to get away from the attack, so be careful.

Ghost
	Rank Requirement	7
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: Psychic, Ghost Disadvantageous: Dark, Steel Immune: Normal
	Description	When a loop is completed, a ghost appears in the center of the loop. When a Pokemon touches a ghost, it will be unable to attack or move as the ghost covers it. As you continue drawing loops around the Pokemon, up to four ghosts will appear (including the one(s) already covering a Pokemon), so they can easily take over the Pokemon as soon as it escapes from the previous ghost.

Ice
	Rank Requirement	8
	Effectiveness	Advantageous: Grass, Ground, Dragon Disadvantageous: Fire, Water, Ice, Steel Immune: Flying, other flying or levitating Pokemon
	Description	Like the Ghost Assist, this creates an ice crystal in the center of a loop, and a Pokemon in contact with the crystal will be frozen. Also like the Ghost Assist, if you continue drawing loops, you are likely to get the Pokemon entrapped within the ice again.