What is the DexNav?
The DexNav is a new feature in the Pokémon Series, found in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Its basic features draw inspiration from the shaking grass from X and Y, and the PokéNav Plus which could be used in Diamond and Pearl.
Where do I get the DexNav?
The DexNav is given to your trainer during the first half hour of playing ORAS. It’s impossible to move through the game without acquiring the DexNav so don’t worry about missing it.
What does the DexNav do?
At its core, the DexNav allows you to engage with predetermined wild Pokémon by sneaking up on shaking patches of grass, rippling spots of water, and rumbling sections of caves. While walking through a route or cave that possesses wild Pokémon, the DexNav will go off at frequent and random times, notifying you that there is a wild Pokémon nearby.
To act on this notification, you must find the shaking patch of grass, and before getting too close as to not scare the Pokémon away, you must sneak up to the patch of grass by carefully easing your analog stick in the respective direction of the grass. The real value of the DexNav becomes apparent once you get close enough to a shaking patch of grass.
Why is it important?
Once you get close enough to a wild Pokémon that is in a shaking patch of grass, the interface of your DexNav, which is located on the bottom screen of the 3DS, will transition so that it gives information on the nearby wild Pokémon. The extent of this information will evolve the more you encounter a specific Pokémon. This is directly correlated to your search level. Once you have caught a specific type of Pokémon on a route, you can use your DexNav to repeatedly search for that type of Pokémon. This can come in handy if you’re trying to catch a Pokémon with a specific ability, nature, or potential (IVs).
Once close enough to a hidden Pokémon, this is how the Pokémon’s information will be presented to you
What is the Search Level and how can it increase?
Every Pokémon in ORAS has a respective search level that will increase for every time that you encounter that Pokémon, whether in a wild encounter or trainer battle. As your search level for a Pokémon increases, your DexNav will be able to provide more information on the Pokémon as you approach it. What will also happen as your search level goes up for a specific Pokémon, is that you will have a higher chance of the Pokémon possessing a special attribute such as a higher level, hidden ability, egg move, perfect IVs, and a held item.
When sneaking up on a hidden Pokémon that has one of these special attributes, there will be a red exclamation point next to features describing the Pokémon such as level, held item, potential, and ability. A red exclamation point will reveal a special attribute in respect to these four characteristics of the Pokémon.
Can the DexNav track my Pokémon catching progress?
To simply answer that question, yes. When in an area or route that contains wild Pokémon, the DexNav will display Pokémon that have both been caught and can be found on that route. If there is a Pokémon that can be found on a route and you have encountered that Pokémon in the past yet not caught it, you will be a able to see a translucent of that Pokémon on your DexNav.
Once all Pokémon are caught in a single area, your DexNav will display a gold badge in the top right of your bottom screen. Due to your trainer being unable to surf or fish at the beginning of the game, your bottom screen will display a bronze badge instead of a gold badge when you have caught all the Pokémon that are currently available on that route, yet there are still Pokémon that can be caught through fishing and surfing. This type of interface will be very self explanatory once you play with it for a short amount of time, as it will display the type of terrains where Pokémon are catchable in each area and route that contains wild Pokémon.
Are there any other notable features to the DexNav?
**SPOILER ALERT*** Once you receive the National Dex, your DexNav features will also improve so that it can display the new obtainable Pokémon. If you manage to capture every available Pokémon on a route including the new National Dex Pokémon, the golden badge in the top right of your Dex Nav screen will be replaced with an even shinier platinum badge. Speaking of shiny, it appears as if the DexNav, much like the PokéNav Plus, gives you the ability to chain Pokémon, which over time, increases your odds of encountering a shiny Pokémon.
Nothing makes a completionist feel better than a platinum badge to make it all seem worth it
How do I chain Pokémon with the DexNav?
Though the process of chaining in ORAS is still not definitive in any way due to the game only being out for such a short amount of time, it is still safe to say that chaining is back, and what I’m going to do is provide as much information as I can on how to do it.
Chaining in Pokémon is the process of using the DexNav (or PokéNav Plus in Diamond and Pearl) to encounter the same Pokémon repeatedly, and if done correctly, will increase the chances of finding a shiny Pokémon, along with a few more benefits. To start off, it’s best to go in prepared. There are plenty of things you can bring with you that will help you out in your chaining attempt.These things include:
- A large quantity of max repels
- Plenty of ethers
- A high search level for the Pokémon you wish to chain
- A Pokémon with the synchronize ability and preferred nature if you want your pursued shiny Pokémon to have a specific nature
- A Pokémon with sweet scent
- And a large patch of grass.
To start the Process off, you need to have caught the Pokémon that you’re wanting to chain, that way, you can use the DexNav to repeatedly search for that Pokémon, effectively creating a chain. It is recommended to get your search level for a Pokémon up to at least level fifty before your chaining attempt begins. The most effective way to go about this is by using sweet scent to rapidly increase the search level for your intended Pokémon by encountering hordes of it. Once you get your search level to fifty, it’s finally time to start chaining, which in itself is a simple enough process.
To begin chaining, first begin by using your max repels so that you don’t encounter other wild Pokémon. To begin the process, tap the Pokémon you’re searching for on your DexNav, and begin your encounters. For your chain to continue, you must either capture or knockout the Pokémon you are encountering, as running away will break your chain. Scaring away the Pokémon by failing to sneak up on it will also break you chain.
As your chain goes up, so will the Pokémon’s level and potential
The most important thing to remember is not to rush, and patiently sneak up on each Pokémon, as to not break your hard earned chain. A good tip to remember is that you can run or walk normally without scaring the hiddenPokémon away, as long as you are not within five panels of the shaking patch of grass.
Every fifth consecutive chain guarantees that a Pokémon will have two red exclamation points, at least one potential star (meaning that it has at least one perfect IV), and have ten levels added to its base level, along with an additional higher level for each fifth consecutive chain level. For example, say you were searching for a Zigzagoon whose base level on a certain route is three. The fifth chain would give you a level thirteen Zigzagoon, the tenth chain would make it level fourteen, the fifteenth would make it level fifteen, and so on.
While there are no specific percentage chances of finding a shiny while chaining with the DexNav yet, it is assumed that it does greatly increase your chance of finding a shiny, the higher you can manage to get a chain number up to.
While I’d like to say I found all of this information about chaining on my own, all credit goes to Reddit user 1TripLeeFan for compiling most of the information on how to chain Pokémon in ORAS.
I hope this guide has been helpful, and if any more information on the DexNav comes to light, I will be sure to add it later on, as I want this guide to include all the information it needs. Good luck using and utilizing what I believe to be one of the more innovative features in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
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