The Living Dex

The most dedicated of Pokémon fans may have something that is extraordinary, perhaps to put it lightly. That thing is called a "living Dex", which in its simplest sense is keeping one of every single species of Pokémon; because of this, it plays into and is a realization of the "Gotta catch 'em all!" slogan. Given that now there are 800+ species of Pokémon, this is more than an extraordinary thing indeed. There's a lot of things involved in one that make it such.

Some of those things involve the preparation for it. In the most recent Pokémon games, the PC storage allows for at least 900 Pokémon in a single game, which means there is ample space for a living Dex within the game with a few variants of the Pokémon that need it - for example, the new Alola forms of Persian and Dugtrio to name a couple. But of course, the existence of multiple forms may mean that a single game may not be sufficient, which means that a second game may be needed not only for storage, but also to grab its exclusive Pokémon. And if that still isn't enough, perhaps because of the desire or need to keep even more forms, then the Pokémon Bank is definitely necessary. Thus the preparation for one becomes intensive.

What it takes to realize a living Dex is another matter entirely. Beyond the games needed for storage, other games may be needed to complete and supplement the Dex. Capture is a part of the process, as well as acquisition and transfer of Pokémon. This does mean that one should also be aware of any and all mechanisms to acquire specific Pokémon, and then to gather them all for the Dex, which may also necessitate different devices to aid the process. Any way things go, they imply that time, effort, and investment are required.

I know of at least one friend in possession of a living Dex, or so my friend claims; I'll believe it since that friend is a good VGC player too. As for my other Pokémon colleagues, I'm rather certain that quite a few of us don't have one. We've discussed what it takes, and it is a lot of work in any case for one person. Also recently, a challenge involving a living Dex came up (which is also the progenitor for this post), and we agreed that it would take dedication to participate in this, not to mention to realize it and fulfill its requirements, including optional ones. It's a tremendous thing.

The number of Pokémon species is now enormous. Even with that enormity, some players have managed to gather them all into a living Dex worthy of usage to make whatever team is desired, and even for display. Based on the considerations that go into it, it really goes beyond "extraordinary": it's a dedication that is unparalleled and exemplifies all that Pokémon has had to offer up to this point, even one of its well-known tenets.

One year ago: Pastrana and Pikachu