National Pokedex: Complete Pokemon List by Number

The National Pokédex is the master catalog of every Pokémon species across all games, numbered sequentially from #0001 (Bulbasaur) through #1025 (Pecharunt) as of the Scarlet and Violet DLC expansions. It serves as both a gameplay mechanic and a canonical reference system that has organized the franchise's roster for nearly three decades. Understanding how the numbering system works — and where its edges get complicated — matters for anyone trying to complete a living Pokédex, understand competitive rosters, or track down a specific species across games.

• Definition and Scope
• Core Mechanics or Structure
• Causal Relationships or Drivers
• Classification Boundaries
• Tradeoffs and Tensions
• Common Misconceptions
• Checklist or Steps
• Reference Table or Matrix

Definition and Scope

The National Pokédex is a single, unified numbering registry maintained across the Pokémon franchise by Game Freak and The Pokémon Company. Each species receives exactly one permanent National Pokédex number — a three- to four-digit integer — that does not change across games, generations, or regional releases. Bulbasaur has been #0001 since Pokémon Red and Blue launched in Japan in 1996 (internationally in 1998–1999), and it will still be #0001 in whatever game ships in 2030.

The scope is total: 1,025 distinct species as of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's "The Indigo Disk" DLC, which introduced Pecharunt at #1025 (The Pokémon Company, Scarlet and Violet The Indigo Disk). This number includes standard species, regional form hosts, and what the franchise calls "alternate forms" — though the counting of forms is where the clean definition starts to fray, as discussed below.

The National Pokédex exists separately from each game's regional Pokédex. Paldea's regional Pokédex in Scarlet and Violet, for instance, lists only 400 Pokémon in a region-specific order. The National Pokédex overlays that with a universal numbering that applies regardless of which game a player is using.

Core Mechanics or Structure

The numbering scheme follows a generational block structure. Generation I occupies #0001–#0151, Generation II adds #0152–#0251, and so on through Generation IX at #0906–#1025. Each generation's block is contiguous, meaning a Pokémon's rough generational origin can be inferred from its number alone.

Within that structure, alternate forms — regional variants like Alolan Vulpix or Hisuian Zorua — do not receive new numbers. They share the number of the base species. So Alolan Vulpix is still #0037, differentiated only by the form label. Gigantamax forms, Mega Evolutions, and most battle-only transformations follow the same rule: same number, different label.

The physical Pokédex in-game functions as a completion tracker. When a player "sees" a Pokémon, its entry appears with a silhouette. When they "obtain" it — meaning it enters their party or storage — the entry fills with full data including height, weight, and flavor text. Height and weight data for every species is officially documented through The Pokémon Company's game databases and the official Pokémon website at pokemon.com.

Pokémon HOME, the cloud-based storage service, functions as the closest thing to a live implementation of the National Pokédex. It displays all 1,025 species regardless of which game a player has connected, and it tracks completion rates across a player's entire library.

Causal Relationships or Drivers

The National Pokédex grows because new generations introduce new species. Game Freak makes that call — not fan demand, not competitive usage data, not any external body. The number of species per generation has varied substantially: Generation I delivered 151, Generation V delivered 156 (the largest single-generation addition), and Generation VIII's Sword and Shield delivered 96 new species, the smallest increment since Generation II's 100.

The decision to use leading zeros (writing #0001 rather than #1) was standardized with Generation IX's releases, retroactively applied across Pokémon HOME and official materials. This was a formatting change, not a renumbering — Bulbasaur did not move.

Regional forms, introduced in Generation VII (Sun and Moon, 2016), expanded the content available under existing numbers without expanding the count of numbers. That design choice was deliberate: it allowed Game Freak to add meaningful new content tied to Alola's ecosystem while preserving the numbered roster's integrity. The introduction of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet continued this pattern with Paldean regional forms of Wooper, Tauros, and others.

Classification Boundaries

The boundary between "a new Pokémon" and "a form of an existing Pokémon" is Game Freak's exclusive call, and it does not always follow an obvious biological or structural logic.

Rotom, for example, has five alternate forms (Heat, Wash, Frost, Fan, Mow) that are mechanically distinct from each other — different types, different base stat distributions in some respects, different appearances. All are #0479. Meanwhile, Flabébé, Floette, and Florges have multiple color variants (red, yellow, orange, blue, white) that share numbers but are counted as cosmetic only.

Paradox Pokémon from Scarlet and Violet — Iron Valiant (#0987), Roaring Moon (#0983), and their counterparts — received entirely new numbers, despite being conceptually "ancient or future versions" of existing species like Gardevoir and Salamence. The classification decision here appears to have been driven by mechanical uniqueness: Paradox Pokémon have entirely different typings, abilities, and stat spreads from the species they evoke.

The legendary Pokémon guide and mythical Pokémon guide cover the sub-classifications within the National Pokédex that distinguish catchable legendaries (Zapdos, Raikou, Latias) from event-distributed mythicals (Mew, Celebi, Arceus), which is a separate axis from National Pokédex numbering.

Tradeoffs and Tensions

The most persistent tension in the National Pokédex system is between completeness and accessibility. Not every Pokémon can be caught in every game — a design choice Game Freak has leaned into heavily since Sword and Shield's controversial "Dexit" event, where roughly half the existing National Pokédex was excluded from those games entirely.

Completing the full National Pokédex of 1,025 requires access to multiple games, transfer services like Pokémon HOME, and in some cases, time-limited event distributions. Mythical Pokémon like Magearna (#0801) have historically been distributed via methods (QR codes, serial codes, mobile apps) that are no longer active. Completing a true living Pokédex — one where every species and form is held simultaneously — is a project that requires years, multiple game cartridges, and meticulous trade coordination.

There is also a tension between the "National Pokédex" as a game mechanic and as a cultural artifact. Competitively, the relevant roster in any given format is defined by VGC or Smogon rules, not by Pokédex completeness. The competitive Pokémon formats page covers those distinctions in depth. A player who has completed the National Pokédex has accomplished something meaningful in terms of collection — but that completion carries no direct competitive weight.

Common Misconceptions

"The National Pokédex includes all forms." It does not count forms as separate entries. The 1,025 number refers to species. Oricorio has 4 forms; Vivillon has 20 regional pattern variants; Alcremie has 63 possible form combinations. None of these inflate the species count.

"Pokémon added through DLC get their own DLC-specific number range." They do not. DLC Pokémon slot into the existing generational structure. The Teal Mask and Indigo Disk DLC Pokémon for Scarlet and Violet were numbered #0906–#1025, which is simply the continuation of Generation IX's block.

"The Pokémon at #0000 is a glitch." This is a nuanced point. In Scarlet and Violet's data structure, #0000 was used as a placeholder — but no species was officially assigned that number in the National Pokédex as of the current release. Prior games used #000 in internal data for similar technical purposes without public assignment.

"Completing the National Pokédex unlocks a specific legendary Pokémon." In Generation IV's Diamond and Pearl, completing the Sinnoh regional Pokédex unlocked the National Pokédex and a professor's acknowledgment — not a legendary catch. National Pokédex completion rewards have varied by game and are generally cosmetic (diplomas, in-game items), not legendary encounters.

Checklist or Steps

The following sequence describes the structural process for tracking National Pokédex completion across the current generation:

1. Establish a HOME account — Pokémon HOME (home.pokemon.com) aggregates species across all connected games and displays a completion percentage against the 1,025-species roster.
2. Identify which species are obtainable in owned games — Each game's regional Pokédex defines the catchable subset. Scarlet and Violet's base game covers roughly 400 species; DLC expands that significantly.
3. Catalog version exclusives — Generation IX has version exclusives (e.g., Koraidon in Scarlet, Miraidon in Violet; Scream Tail in Scarlet vs. Iron Bundle in Violet) requiring trades or a second cartridge.
4. Track transfer-eligible species — Older-generation Pokémon transferred through HOME from Sword/Shield, Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, or Legends: Arceus expand the pool substantially. The Pokémon Legends: Arceus page covers the Hisui-form species introduced there.
5. Identify event-locked mythicals — Cross-reference The Pokémon Company's official event distribution history at pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news to determine whether any current distribution covers needed mythicals.
6. Document alternate forms separately — If tracking a living Pokédex (every form held simultaneously), create a secondary log for forms not counted in the species total but required for completionist purposes.
7. Use the HOME Pokédex view to verify gaps — The HOME app's National Pokédex view highlights unregistered species with empty silhouettes, making gap identification straightforward.

Reference Table or Matrix

National Pokédex Generation Blocks

Generation V's 156 new species remains the largest single-generation expansion in franchise history. Generation VI's 72 additions remain the smallest, a gap that prompted considerable discussion about whether Game Freak was prioritizing depth (Mega Evolutions, regional polish) over roster breadth.

The full browsable roster — organized by number, type, and generation — is available through the main Pokémon authority index, which aggregates species data alongside type matchups, ability explanations, and evolution method references.

For players working through evolution chains specifically, the Pokémon evolution methods page details trade evolutions, item evolutions, friendship conditions, and the more obscure triggers (map location, time of day, specific held items at level-up) that affect a significant portion of the 1,025-species roster.