POKEMON RANGER 2 POKE ASSISTS

Poke Assists work in the same manner as before, but the Assists themselves and their effects have changed greatly. The effectiveness system still follows the normal chart. Advantageous circumstances are marked with a red up arrow and red circular outline while disadvantageous uses the color blue and a down arrow. There is now an Assist for every type plus the extra Electric Recharge Assist/Field Move.

Most Assists can add damage to the HP bar during a capture, but they also have new lasting effects, called states. There are four of them: "Paused" disables the Pokemon from attacking. "Tired" prevents the Pokemon's HP bar from draining. "Slowed" literally slows down the Pokemon. "Stopped" also literally stops the Pokemon. All of these states last for varying amounts of time based on the Pokemon using the Assist and the type effectiveness.

The Partner's Assist system has also slightly changed. The Partner Gauge is still intact, but it only has one part to it. The Assist used is the same as any other Poke Assist of the same type; the only difference is that it can only be used when the gauge is full. After use, it needs to be recharged by drawing from 40 to 60 loops, depending on the Partner Pokemon's gauge's length.

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

Grass
	States	Slowed
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	Drawing a line makes long grass sprout from the line. If the Pokemon touches the grass, it becomes slowed briefly. This has no effect on flying/levitating Pokemon.
	Usage Tips:	This doesn't have too much usefulness, but it's good if it's all you have. Drawing smaller or tighter circles will make Pokemon stay in contact with the grass.

Flying
	States	None
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	Drawing loops causes a twister to form in the middle of the loop. When the twister gets large enough, smaller twisters start to spin out of it in four directions. A Pokemon takes damage if it touches or is hit by a twister.
	Usage Tips:	This is good for fast Pokemon that don't directly target the Styler line. Draw a lot of small circles quickly in a corner so that the resulting projectile twisters can hit the Pokemon while the Styler stays out of the way.

Normal
	States	None
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	The power and line length are temporarily boosted.
	Usage Tips:	This is a great Assist for dealing with multiple Pokemon at once. The only downside is the inability to charge the Styler.

Recharge
	States	None
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	This Assist recharges your Styler energy based on the power of the Field Move of the Pokemon (which is also Recharge). The amount healed is ten times that power.
	Usage Tips:	As for a tip, use Recharge when your Styler energy is low. What else?

Water
	States	Slowed
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	Hold down the Styler to inflate a bubble. The bubble can then be flicked at a Pokemon. On contact, the bubble pops and adds the Pokemon's HP bar. The Pokemon is also slowed. The bigger the bubble, the better.
	Usage Tips:	This is definitely not as fun or useful as the last game's bubble entrapping the Pokemon. If you need a way to get damage on the Pokemon without getting close, this is worth it.

Rock
	States	None
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	Slide the Styler at the Pokemon and release from the screen to flick gravel in that direction.
	Usage Tips:	This is a decent Poke Assist in the sense that you can easily spam it. If you need to stay out of reach, this works.

Electric
	States	Stopped
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	Tap on the screen to place small electric sphere. After a second, a thunderbolt strikes that spot. If a Pokemon is hit, it takes damage and becomes stopped.
	Usage Tips:	If you have good aim and prediction, this is a very good Assist, especially when it has a good type matchup. If you just want to do damage, the time a Pokemon is stopped allows for another thunderbolt to continue paralyzing it.

Bug
	States	Slowed
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	Touching the screen create a blob of goo. Dragging the Styler causes the goo to stretch from its start. Releasing the Styler causes the goo to fly like a slingshot. The basic thing to remember here is that you're not flicking, you're pulling back and shooting.
	Usage Tips:	This is another good and easy Assist to spam. Just fire a bunch at once, and hope most make contact.

Fire
	States	Tired
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	This Assist slightly boosts the Styler's power and causes Pokemon to become tired.
	Usage Tips:	Simply put, use it if you need more power.

Fighting
	States	None
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	This Assist greatly boosts your Styler's power but has no other effects.
	Usage Tips:	This time, use it if you need a lot more power.

Ground
	States	Paused
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	Shaking the Styler from side to side causes the screen to shake, simulating an earthquake. The quake slightly damages the Pokemon along with pausing it. This has no effect on flying/levitating Pokemon.
	Usage Tips:	This a good Assist for groups of Pokemon. Make loops during breaks in attacks, and stop possible attacks by shaking the Styler when necessary.

Steel
	States	Paused
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	Drawing a line creates an orb of energy. The ball increases in size when the line is made longer. This can be flicked by releasing the Styler. If the orb is larger, it causes more damage and a longer effect.
	Usage Tips:	Rather than fully charging the Assist, simply flick a lot of small spheres at the Pokemon. It builds up damage faster and is more easily controlled.

Poison
	States	Tired
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	Holding down the Styler in one spot causes a poisonous puddle to form. If a Pokemon steps in the puddle, it becomes tired but takes no damage. This has no effect on flying/levitating Pokemon.
	Usage Tips:	This isn't a very useful Assist unless you really want to get a Pokemon tired. There are better Assists to use.

Ghost
	States	Tired
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	Drawing loops that don't enclose a Pokemon create a ghost in the middle of the loop. Ghosts float around the field. On contact with a Pokemon, they cause damage and tire the Pokemon.
	Usage Tips:	This is a decent Assist, but you can't always rely on the ghosts to touch any Pokemon. Ghosts move in a clockwise spiral motion from their starts, so you can at least aim a little.

Psychic
	States	Stopped
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	Draw a loop to create an energy ring. You can then flick the ring at a Pokemon. Contact with a ring stops the Pokemon and causes some damage.
	Usage Tips:	Overall, this is a good Assist. It stops Pokemon and is easy to use (after you get used to the control of it). Draw a bunch of loops outside of the Pokemon's reach, and flick the rings at the Pokemon. If you miss, you can always change the direction of a ring by flicking it again.

Dark
	States	None
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	This Assist has no offensive abilities. Instead, you can use it to draw a loop around damage-causing substance on the ground to remove them. This includes things like puddles of mud or poison.
	Usage Tips:	Since there's no offensive reason for using this, it's only worth it if you really need to clean up the field of puddles.

Ice
	States	Stopped
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	Drawing a line creates a snowball that gets larger as the line is drawn. Releasing the Styler flicks the snowball. If a snowball hits a Pokemon, the Pokemon becomes frozen (stopped) and takes damage.
	Usage Tips:	This is another good Assist that can be spammed. Snowballs take a while to get large (which includes scribbling in the corner or side), so it's better to throw a lot of little ones. In the small time that it takes for a Pokemon to freeze and unfreeze, you can easily throw another snowball.

Dragon
	States	Tired
	Effectiveness	Does not affect a target Pokemon
	Description	Touching the screen selects a spot for a meteor to hit the ground. The longer you hold, the more powerful the meteor becomes. Move or release the Styler to send the meteor. Contact tires a Pokemon and causes a lot of damage.
	Usage Tips:	Meteors take a couple seconds to fall, so you need to predict where the target will end up in that time. The Assist overall isn't one of the best out there, but it does come in handy if you just aren't able to get any loops in there.