What does the research console do?

Until you upload it, a caught Aniimo's Potential grade reads "Unappraised" and you have nothing to judge it by. The grade appears only when you submit the creature in a catch report at an Outpost's Research Console. The console evaluates it and reveals its grade, potential and stats.

That makes the console the step between catching something and deciding whether to keep it. The grade it reveals is the creature's Attribute Rank, and that rank sets its stat ceiling. Two Aniimo at the same level and personality will not match if one is graded higher, because the higher grade has the higher stats. Perfect is the top tier. Elite sits one step below it.

Using the grades once they are revealed

Once appraised, every Aniimo shows its own potential value when you select it. The storage box can be filtered by Potential grade (Common, Good, Elite or Perfect), and also by rarity values such as Alpha and Prismana. Sorting a full box down to its Perfect and Elite catches takes one filter.

Some sources set the grade before anything is appraised. Perfect Eggs and Umbral eggs always hatch with perfect potential. Incredible Eggs guarantee Elite or higher, and the Battle Pass Prismana egg hatches a Perfect-potential Aniimo.

Not settled: The tier names are not fixed. The four grades Common, Good, Elite and Perfect are the usual set, but the lower tiers also appear as Ordinary, Normal, Rare and Epic, and some versions of the scale use only three tiers.