If you want to be the very best that no one ever was and "catch 'em all," then you got to have a list that helps you record your collection as it grows. In the world of Pokémon, that list is called a Pokédex.
What Is a Pokédex?
A Pokédex is an "invaluable tool" to Pokémon trainers as it is where all the data of the Pokémon they encounter are saved. It scans a Pokémon and records and retains its information such as its name, category, height, weight and areas where you can find them. However, detailed entries can only be obtained by acquiring the said Pokémon, whether through catching, evolving, gifts or trades, according to Bulbagarden.
As the Pokémon franchise progressed, the Pokédex also became more advanced with the addition of features that could help a trainer's journey, such as displaying at what time and season a specific Pokémon can be caught and the ability to search for Pokémon that are not caught yet.
Additionally, the Pokédex was given a personality through a Rotom, an innovation that makes communication between a Pokémon trainer and their Pokémon easier.
In the Pokémon games, the Pokédex changes appearance depending on which handheld it was released on, according to the Pokemon Wiki. This design choice would prove critical in the future. Meanwhile, in the anime series, the Pokédex's appearance changes depending on which region its owner came from.
Pokédex: From Fiction to Reality
The Pokédex is one of a Pokémon trainer's iconic equipment. It is a limited item given only to the exceptional few that are skilful and ambitious enough to take on the "Pokémon quest": catching and recording the data of EVERY. SINGLE. POKéMON.
And that's not a feat to be taken lightly. Currently, there are 898 Pokémon, per WarGamer.
Whether it be a badge of pride or just a toy to roleplay as a Pokémon trainer or master, there is a demand for an actual Pokédex from the young to the young at heart.
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As such, in 1998, Tiger Electronics sold the first Pokédex toys to the public, per a separate Bulbagarden page. The resulting toy replicates the Pokédex from the Kanto Region, the region where the first Pokémon game took place. It was then followed by Ash's talking Pokédex from Hasbro, a popular American toy manufacturing company.
Since then, various toy companies released Pokédexes to take advantage of the hype every Pokémon game creates. It wasn't until the Generation V Pokémon came by that the demand for Pokédex toys lost steam and was no longer manufactured.
Each Pokédex manufactured had its set features, even though all of them functions as its video game counterpart--as a handy list of all Pokémon in that generation.
Some Pokédexes come with lights on them, while others have theme music that plays while the Pokédex is active. Additionally, only one Pokédex has voice narration for every Pokémon--the Deluxe Talking Pokédex that was released in 2007 by Jakks Pacific, according to a Pokemon Wiki page.
Now, That's a Pokédex
Through the course of the Pokémon franchise's existence, Nintendo has yet to sell a Pokédex itself or a handheld in the form of a Pokédex. The closest fans got was an app in 2012 that allowed people to take photos with Pokémon through the use of Augmented Reality.
However, a Nintendo Life article mentioned that an Instagram user did what Nintendo could not.
The Instagram user, @tomvdcr, was reported to have transformed what seems to be Jakk Pacific's Sinnoh Pokédex toy into a fully functional Nintendo DS. tomvdcr chose this particular Pokédex toy due to it being shaped like the Nintendo DS. He first removed the Pokédex toy's electronics and replaced them with Nintendo DS components. Although the motherboard had to be trimmed, everything was working as it should, including the DS' Game Boy Advance cartridge slot.
Whether Nintendo would release a handheld that looks like a Pokédex remains to be seen. However, we bet that many people worldwide would want a unit should that happen in the future.
