For years, many of us have played Pokémon on autopilot. We know the starters are good, we know which moves are powerful, and we stick to our favorites. Pokerogue shatters that comfort zone, and in its place, it offers a Ph.D. in Pokémon strategy, with the PokéRogue Dex as your primary textbook.

In a standard Pokémon game, you can afford to be ignorant. In PokéRogue, ignorance is a death sentence. When the game offers you a choice between three random Pokémon starters—say, Smoochum, Phanpy, and Tynamo—who do you pick? The casual fan might shrug. The PokéRogue player opens the Dex. They’ll see Smoochum can hatch with the egg move Nasty Plot, making it a terrifying special sweeper. They’ll see Phanpy is a physical tank with access to Ice Shard for priority. They’ll see Tynamo has Levitate, giving it zero weaknesses. The choice is no longer about cuteness; it’s a deeply strategic decision that will define the next hour of your life.

The Dex isn’t just for the start of a run; it’s an active-use tool. Let’s say you’re on Floor 140, and your team is weak to Fighting-types. You get a “Grass Egg.” You immediately alt-tab to the PokéRogue Dex, filter for Pokémon found in Grass Eggs, and see your potential hatches. “Oh, Phantump is in here! If it hatches with its Harvest ability, I can give it a healing berry and potentially out-stall the final bosses.” This level of proactive planning and deep knowledge is not just helpful; it’s the entire game.

You’ll start learning things you never cared about before. What’s the fastest Pokémon with access to Spore? (Amoonguss, Breloom). Who are the best users of the “Guts” ability? (Heracross, Conkeldurr, Machamp). What Pokémon are in the “Monster” and “Dragon” egg groups, so I can plan my breeding path to get a specific move onto my Garchomp? The PokéRogue Dex transforms abstract Pokémon trivia into life-or-death tactical information.

Playing PokéRogue with its Dex is the closest many of us will ever come to feeling like a real Pokémon Professor. You’re not just a trainer; you’re a researcher, a strategist, and a gambler, all rolled into one. And when your obscure knowledge pays off and you clear that final floor, the satisfaction is immense.