"Well, think of it as being similar to spells that detect Good or Evil - they detect things which are inherently aligned with such cosmic forces, or things under the influence of spells that utilise such forces, but if I were to suddenly kick my assistant, a Detect Evil spell would not flicker. It specifically seems to pick up a type of Evil energy, and more than a simple action is required to invoke those energies.<br/><br/>I assume Pokemon are similar. There is<em>something</em>that makes them such, that allows the balls to capture them and the spell to detect them. We just need to find the common denominator. But that's my job. You will be using.... this."<br/><br/>The professor fetches a small device from his desk: a small bound tome (actually bound, in chains) with a crystal on the front cover and a wand sticking out from the spine.<br/><br/>"This is a Pokedex. I invented it myself. It uses the Detect spell as it's main mechanism, but whenever you encounter a Pokemon, you can use this to identify them to a degree and gain some insight. The more time it remains trained on them, the more information you can get.<br/><br/>Now, go forth and identify! Oh, and every time you capture a good enough amount, come and let me know so I can pay you for the research information gathered."