How do you decide your Pokédex?

[_pheebs]

Basically as the title says.

How do you decide the Pokédex in your fangames?
What thought process goes into including, or excluding Pokémon?

Do you even make a Pokédex, or do you just use the entire National Pokédex?

 

[Dragonite]

I could have sworn there was a big thread a while ago about how people decide what to put in their dexes, but I don't see it, so I guess I'll just re(?)-write my answer.

I like to go outside and think about what kind of wildlife one would expect to find. In the deciduous forests at temperate latitudes where I live, you can expect to see a lot of things like:

• Deer
• Squirrels
• Rabbits
• Skunks (you'll smell them, at least)
• Occasional raccoons
• Spiders and ticks
• Crows, sparrows, jays, cardinals, finches

A lot of these, obviously, have equivalents in Pokémon.

• Deerling, Stantler
• Greedent
• Buneary, Bunnelby, Marrill
• Stunky
• Zigzagoon
• Spinarak, Joltik
• There are a million bird Pokémon, pick your favorite

Actually going outside and visiting every ecosystem in your game probably isn't realistic, but learning about the wildlife in places in the real world always helps.

Non-organic and completely made-up settings leave more up to the imagination. (What is a Ralts?) I don't usually have as much fun planning them out.

 

[Aki]

I'm usually like Dragonite, designing each environment and then deciding what Pokemon would naturally fit there after (with bias for adding type variety and differing species). I find it's a really relaxed way of designing the dex but it's easy to lose track of what Pokemon are included. It's also fun to make a spreadsheet, or use a tool like Stardex to organize your region ahead of time. I'd say the main drawback of doing it in that order is just that...perfecting your dex balance is one of those tasks that can be endlessly revised, and stressing too much about it can get the whole project stuck in the pre-planning stages.

I reccommend trying different methods! You might assume that one way of doing things suits your personality, but the style and size of each project can really change your perspective.

 

[_pheebs]

I'm usually like Dragonite, designing each environment and then deciding what Pokemon would naturally fit there after (with bias for adding type variety and differing species). I find it's a really relaxed way of designing the dex but it's easy to lose track of what Pokemon are included. It's also fun to make a spreadsheet, or use a tool like Stardex to organize your region ahead of time. I'd say the main drawback of doing it in that order is just that...perfecting your dex balance is one of those tasks that can be endlessly revised, and stressing too much about it can get the whole project stuck in the pre-planning stages.

I reccommend trying different methods! You might assume that one way of doing things suits your personality, but the style and size of each project can really change your perspective.

Yo.
I did not know this "Stardex" was a thing.
And, I've just used it and it's been 1000% helpful.
Got me a "perfectly balanced" Pokédex according to the tool!

 

[AwesomeToadUltimate]

I decide on what Pokemon would fit the real world area that the region is inspired by. My dex is mostly fakemon, with a few official mons in them. Most of the official mons in it have new evolutions.

 

[Juice Moose]

Stardex site is dead, now what? Anyone know of similar tools?

 

[GoldenFlareMLP]

My Pokédex is still in the planning stages, and I’ve mainly based my Fakemon off of creatures from not just wildlife, but from TV, movies, video games, and the like, I even have a few Legendaries set, also I’ve borrowed a few from a fellow writer (with permission, of course), but I can only come up with so many, and I don’t know how to make sprites for them.

 

[Swordkun]

If i made any pokemon game I'd put the entire national dex in. That's just how it should be imo.

 

[_pheebs]

If i made any pokemon game I'd put the entire national dex in. That's just how it should be imo.

The only problem with that it over abundance of Pokémon.
It makes "catching them all" more of a chore, than a challenge.

And also not every Pokemon fits in regions. Some Pokémon wouldn't make sense in certain regions. For example desert Pokémon like Trapinch, and Cacnea wouldn't make sense in a region mostly covered in ice and snow.

 

[HollowGap]

I don't plan Pokémon roster until the game is close to done. Most of the time it's just a form of procrastination.

Other than that, I remove all legendaries from the Dex. All Pokémon are subject to change depending on playtesting input.

 

[A Doctor Who]

Stardex site is dead, now what? Anyone know of similar tools?

Unfortunately not, but I found it on GitHub here. Could this possibly be used to either bring it back on a new webpage or locally?

Also does anybody know why it went down in the first place?

 

[_pheebs]

Unfortunately not, but I found it on GitHub here. Could this possibly be used to either bring it back on a new webpage or locally?

Also does anybody know why it went down in the first place?

I don't know why it went down, but I'm also not too familiar with GitHub so I don't know quite how to work stardex from it's GitHub? if that's what GitHub is for.

 

[A Doctor Who]

I don't know why it went down, but I'm also not too familiar with GitHub so I don't know quite how to work stardex from it's GitHub? if that's what GitHub is for.

I have no idea what GitHub is for either, but it looks like all the code is there so somebody may be able to bring it back using that? Just a thought though.