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.