Pokédex

The Pokédex (ポケモン図鑑 Pokemon Zukan in Japan), a portmanteau of Pokémon (itself a portmanteau of pocket and monster) and index, as well as a play on the term Rolodex, is a fictional electronic device featured in the popular video game and anime series Pokémon, and is somewhat of a reminiscent of both the Game and Watch series of Nintendo handheld gadgets and Nintendo's Gameboy line of handhelds (the pokedex has also updated in a simmilar way though out the generations). In the games, whenever a Pokémon is first captured, its data will be added to a player's Pokédex, but in the anime or manga, the Pokédex is a comprehensive electronic reference encyclopedia, usually referred to in order to deliver exposition. of the fictional Pokémon world, Pokédex is used to refer to a list of Pokémon, usually a list of Pokémon by number. There are three different numbered Pokédex lists to date: the National Pokédex, introduced in Pokémon Red and Blue, the Johto Pokédex, introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver, and the Hoenn Pokédex, introduced in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and expanded in Fire Red and Leaf Green. There was also a series of Pokédex toys.

The fictional Pokédex is similar in function to a personal digital assistant, designed to catalogue and provide information regarding the various species of Pokémon. The device itself takes on a new appearance with each generation of Pokémon games, often with more advanced features compared to previous versions. For example, later versions of the Pokédex have been able to sort the list of Pokémon based on internal numbering or alphabetical order. However, all Pokédexes have the ability to sort the list of Pokémon based on a National Pokédex numbering, as well as the numbering for their own region.

In the Pokémon continuity, the Pokédex was invented by Professor Samuel Oak ("Ookido Yukinari-hakase/Dr. Yukinari Ookido" in Japanese), a respected professor in the science of Pokémon. However, the information provided therein is often provided by other sources.

Each game has a different style pokédex, based on the type of Gameboy it was relesed on: in Red/Blues it was vertical, like a Gameboy; and Gold/Silvers was also vertical, like a Gameboy Color. In Ruby/Saphiress it was horizontal, like a Gameboy Advance. The one in Firered/Leafgreen was vertical and had a fliptop, like a Gameboy Advance SP. The new Diamond/Pearl games' Pokédex has two screens, like a Nintendo DS.

In the video games

In the video games, a Pokémon Trainer is issued a blank device at the start of their journey. A trainer must then attempt to fill the Pokédex by encountering and at least briefly obtaining (by capture, trading, or evolution) each of the various different species of Pokémon. A player will receive the name and image of a Pokémon after encountering one that was not previously in the Pokédex. More detailed information is typically available after the player obtains a member of the species, either through capturing Pokémon, evolving Pokémon, or through a trade. This detailed information includes height, weight, species type, and a short description of the Pokémon.

The reward for filling the entire Pokédex is a special diploma from the in-game Game Freak staff. (The staff make a cameo appearance in each of the games.) Additionally, by finishing the Hoenn Pokédex in Pokémon Emerald, by obtaining all 200 Pokémon that appear in Hoenn, the player earns a Totodile, Cyndaquil, or Chikorita from Professor Birch.

Also, in the Gold/Silver/Crystal games there is an Unown Pokédex. This is extension of the regular Pokédex. It shows your progress in catching the Unown Pokémon. Completing the Unown Pokédex allows you to print each Unown alphabets out using a Gameboy printer.

In the anime

In the Pokémon anime, unlike the games, the Pokédex does not start blank and fill after encountering and catching Pokémon. Instead, the Pokédex acts as a portable reference tool, able to give information about a certain species of Pokémon even if a trainer has not seen or caught it. It can also give detailed descriptions of various trainer tools, such as the Poke Flute. The Pokédex also acts as a form of identification, allowing trainers to partake in the various Pokémon League competitions. Unlike the Pokédex of the video games or the merchandise based on the video games, the Pokédex in the anime has a color screen, a statement to the color capabilities of the Nintendo Game Boy.

A Pokédex in the anime also appears to have either a speech synthesizer or a method to play prerecorded sound. Although the Pokédex is not nicknamed in the original version, the Pokédex is nicknamed Dexter (for the original, Johto, and Battle Frontier Pokédexes) or Dextette (for the Hoenn Pokédex). In the Pokémon Live! stage show, "Dextette" was also used as the name of Dexter's various assistants. Dexter is voiced by Eric Stuart in the English adaptation and Shinichiro Miki in the original, while Dextette is voiced by Rachael Lillis in the English adaptation and Megumi Hayashibara in the original.

Merchandise

Because of the popularity of Pokémon, among some of the pieces of Pokémon merchandise is a toy Pokédex, similar to the ones found in the video games or anime.

The first model of Pokédex, corresponding to the Pokédex found in the first generation of Pokémon games, was manufactured by Hasbro in 1999. It was a correct scale device which included a small 1-bit LCD screen and contained information on 150 Pokémon. Although Mew and Togepi, two Pokémon outside the original 150 by using an Easter egg. The Egg would run like this. By using the search function, and typing in 151 (Mew) Or 152 (Which, although not the right number, corresponds to Togepi). The device allowed for password protection and featured a small keyboard to allow users to input information about their favourites or species they captured. It also has a digital calendar, clock, and basic calculator.

In 2004, Hasbro on the likely request of Nintendo offered an updated Pokédex which featured the 386 species of Pokémon that exist in the third generation. This device features multiple advancements along with a 2-bit greyscale screen with a higher resolution.

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Additional Images of the Pokédex

Computer and video game books | Portmanteaus | Pokémon items

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In the video games

In the anime

Merchandise

See also

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