The Pokédex is as synonymous with Pokémon as Pokéballs. They’ve been a staple of the franchise since day one and actually directly influenced the plot of the first game. In many respects, they’re the direct influencer of every mainline Pokémon game as the games don’t begin in earnest until trainers get their hands on their Pokédex.

It’s not hard to see why, either. In an out of universe, the Pokédex is a trainer’s only real way of getting important in-game information. In that regard, it’s a trainer’s most useful tool. At the same time, Game Freak continuously removes features from the Pokédex while changing it from Gen to Gen, keeping fans out of the loop when it comes to best using the Pokédex.

10 The Pokédex Is A Horrible Way Of Keeping Track Of Pokémon

While the Pokédex is handy in keeping track of the kinds of Pokémon a Trainer already has, the Pokédex is frankly very limited when it comes to information. Not only does each Region have its own specific Pokédex entries for each Pokémon (albeit occasionally sharing with previous games,) these entries are rather short.

This essentially means that no two Trainers will have the same idea of what their Pokémon’s natural life is like unless they’re from the same Region. Even then, different versions of the same game have different information. While that makes for a denser game, it leaves the Pokédex’s actual information capabilities undercooked.

9 The Fundamental Difference Between The Anime And Game Pokédex

More importantly, the main reason the Pokédex isn’t particularly useful in the games is due to the fact that Trainers can’t actually analyze a Pokémon until they’ve caught them. While this makes sense from an in-game perspective, looking at the Pokédex out of universe doesn’t do it any favors. Especially when compared to the anime version.

The anime version of the Pokédex not only allows Ash to analyze Pokémon he hasn’t caught (a necessity considering how infrequently he expands his roster,) but it consistently gives far more useful information than the game entries ever do. Of course, it’s still the Pokémon anime so they’re not particularly in-depth either way.

8 The Manga’s Insane Use Of The Pokédex

The manga uses the Pokédex less as a tool for Trainers to use on their quest (although it does do so initially,) and more of a status symbol. All the main characters are specifically identified as “Pokédex Holders” with their own unique titles given to them by Professor Oak. The leads aren’t so much Trainers as they are Pokémon’s version of the Avengers.

Red is the Fighter, Blue is the Trainer, Green is the Evolver, etc. Not all the names are hits and they frankly just get way worse as the series goes on (Sun and Moon are the Saver and the Mixer respectically,) but it’s an interesting use of an established concept in the Pokémon franchise.

7 The Gen II Dex Doesn’t Have Multi-Page Entries In Japan

One of the better quality of life changes in the shift from Generation I to Generation II came in the form of multi-age Pokédex entries. In Generation I, players had to flip through their Pokédex pages one by one with no way to get back. Gold and Silver simplified things considerably and made reading the Pokédex easier. In the West.

In Japan, Generation II still used Generation I’s page shifting, making the Pokédex a cumbersome tool to use. Interestingly, this generation of gaming (and not just Pokémon) was rather well known for updating games for different regions, often even fixing bugs in the process.

6 Printing The Pokédex With Pokémon Yellow

The Game Boy Printer was popular enough to be remembered today, but it was never a landmark accessory for the Game Boy. Not only were its uses rather limited, most games didn’t immediately make it clear that the Game Boy Printer was compatible. Pokémon was famously one of the games that made the most use out of the Printer, but only as far as the diplomas go.

Or so most fans would think. It’s actually possible print out full Pokédex entries in Pokémon Yellow with the Game Boy Printer. Keep in mind, though, this specifically works for Pokémon Yellow and won’t necessarily work for Red, Blue, or Green.

5 The Pokédex Didn’t Display Type Until Gen III

Although the Pokédex was always designed as a way of giving Trainers immediate information on the Pokémon they’ve caught, the Pokédex didn’t display a Pokémon Type until Generation III. More specifically, the Pokédex didn’t display Type until FireRed and LeafGreen released for the Game Boy Advance.

That’s nine whole games where Game Freak saw that their Pokédex was missing Type and chose not to do anything about it. It’s frankly quite maddening, especially since Pokémon is a game designed around Type advantages and disadvantages. All common sense would seem to indicate that Typing should have been available from the start. Interestingly, it kind of was.

4 Searching By Type

While Trainers lacked a convenient and reliable way of figuring out their Pokémon’s Type in their Pokédex, early Pokédexes included the rather interesting feature of allowing players to search by Type. It isn’t quite the same as figuring out which Pokémon’s Type is which, but it’s a fine enough alternative that may have been useful for someone at some point in time.

The fact of the matter is, searching by Type isn’t going to be something most Trainers will do, especially not nowadays. Even back in the day, though, Trainers could just check their Pokémon’s Type by going into their status menu. Searching by Type is a nice idea, but an impractical one.

3 The HANDY Models

This is a detail that’s more or less been locked to time and locked to the series’ old, pre-Unova continuity. The first few sets of the Pokédex actually featured model names and numbers. The original Pokédex is technically titled model HANDY505. Similarly, the Generation II Pokédex is model HANDY808.

While Ruby and Sapphire didn’t feature a model number, FireRed and LeafGreen introduced model HANDY909. Generation IV would then introduce model HANDY910 before never doing anything with the HANDY models again. Considering how there are two timelines running alongside each other and that models 505 and 909 contradict each other, it’s probably for the best.

2 Finding The Foreign Pokédex Entries

First introduced in Diamond and Pearl, foreign Pokédex entries are Game Freak’s way of acknowledging how diverse the franchise has become since its inception in 1996. Generation V would drop the ball in regards to foreign entries, but Generation VI would make it so every single Pokémon had a unique entry in each of the game’s languages.

Considering how global the franchise has become— especially in relation to how much of the series is experience through online play— it’s only fitting that Game Freak honor each Pokémon’s original country of origin. If nothing else, it makes for a very creative Pokédex to flip through.

1 Rotom’s Not Going Anywhere Anytime Soon

Rotom basically replaced the traditional Pokédex in Generation VII and fans didn’t exactly take the change in stride. The Rotom-Dex is far and away one of the most consistently criticized elements of Sun and Moon, and for good reason, frankly: it’s a horrible idea. Game Freak basically took the relaxing, solo adventures of Pokémon and added a generic JRPG mascot character.

Who will tragically be back for Generation VIII in Sword and Shield. Now taking the appearance of a cell phone, the Pokédex as older fans once knew it is basically dead in the water. Worse yet, while the Rotom-Dex is convenient, the fact that’s it’s sentient really ruins what was otherwise an interesting piece of in-game tech.

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