Completing the Pokedex...almost impossible?

[castlewars]

So the slogan of Pokemon is "Gotta catch 'em all!".

However there is a problem with that slogan - you apparently can't get certain Pokemon in normal gameplay, such as Deoxys, Mew, Keldeo, Celebi and Arceus. You can only get them at certain events or by trading for them.

However, let's say you're playing Sapphire and you do want to catch 'em all. You don't know anyone with a different version/you live in a country without events. How you would catch these? If you/your friends don't have the another versions, is it impossible to complete the Pokedex? And will the Pokemon series eventually stop because Pokedex completion is getting harder through the generations as a result of inclusion of an extra 100 Pokemon?

Discuss this matter.

 

[captainfez3]

I once used an AR to complete my Pokedex in LeafGreen... it immediately killed a large sense of the enjoyment I got, especially since the reward you get for completing the Pokedex (at least in that game) amounted to a pat on the head. For me, the collection aspect was never a huge draw, simply because it has no tangible rewards, but it does add something to the gameplay. You just don't know what it is until you don't have it anymore.

There are a lot of friendly people who play Pokemon, and with all the new online features, I think completing the Pokedex is as feasible now as it has ever been, even given the large number of Pokes. Event Pokemon aren't the huge obstacle you may think either. I think a lot of people would be willing to trade event Pokemon for a favorite shiny of theirs, so you can luck out in that regard. You could also luck out and get someone to trade you an event Pokemon for a regular in-game legendary, and you then have a bartering chip to use to collect all the other legendaries/events. Finally, a lot of people just flat out clone their events, so you can pick one up that way (less of a rewarding experience, but it works). Basically, if you have WiFi, this isn't a big deal. It all just comes down to the simple question: do you care enough to complete it?

 

[Orange_Flaaffy]

It's worth noting that 'gotta catch 'em all!' was a slogan made up after the fact and not the official one in the anime or game to start with, but I do wish there were ways of getting all the pokemon without cheating. Living in the middle of nowhere event pokemon are more like a story from myth to me, so even when I buy both versions for myself of a gen I'm always missing something. Even in gen one where I never did get that Mew

 

[halloweenghost]

as of the 5th gen I have them all LEGIT.

took some time waiting for the mythacle events but i got it done

 

[Vikings]

I've never completed a Pokedex prior to Gen 3. I've never cared enough to since you get rewarded with nothing.

I for one don't like the events aspect of the game. I'm fine if they release event Pokemon like the shiny creation trio, since the trio is easily obtainable through normal gameplay, but I don't like the idea of event exclusive Pokemon. I was on a break during Gen 5. As a result, I missed out on many events, including Keldeo. I've been unsuccessful in my attempts to obtain one, and only GF knows when it'll come around again. I truly think it spoils an aspect of the game.

I know a lot of people have been in the same situation I'm in, missing out on Arceus, or Darkrai. Maybe now that they have seasons they will make it so only some legendaries can be obtained during certain seasons. If they can make it so the seasons are internal, and are not determined by the date in your 3DS settings, it'd be a really fun way to make some legendaries exclusive and difficult to get without making them impossible to obtain if you miss the one month window.

 

[Primal Crusader V]

Completing the pokedex has become more of a post-game thing since the actual in-game story and experience ultimately satisfy the player's needs. Of course, I admit that it's actually fun catching as many pokemon as you can at any point in the game, but really the slogan, "Gotta Catch 'em All!", is fit more for the anime than the games. If I should dare put it again, Anime =/= games. And I don't believe that the games will go downhill just because a majority of players would care less of catching all of the pokemon. God, as long as GF is making some pretty pennies for their franchise, then they're willing to continue by all means.

AS for me personally, like said, it's more of a post-game thing. I prefer catching most of my pokemon post-game, since there is little to no story left to embark on. Plus, post-game areas help pretty much help you expand upon your pokedex.

 

[AnakBaé]

It is almost impossible, and I don't do that.
However, if catching em all will give you satisfaction and sense of pride for your accomplishment, then you gotta catch em all.

 

[Wishmaker Latias]

Gens 5 and 4 are easy because you can use WiFi.
I did not finish the Hoenn regional dex (Lacking Ruby exclusives and some others) talk about the Nat dex...
In gen 6 it should not be that hard (I know we will have 100 or so pokemon more , but as long as WiFi (or something similar)will be present , and with the help of the trade forum here it is possible).

 

[dirkac]

Well, said slogan had been ommited since Crystal.

Also, it's made far easier in Gen IV and V due to WiFi, Gen III is nigh-impossible.

It isn't almost impossible, as Eents for Pokémno have been given out many times, and one could also simply trade with one another, of couse, this is if you have working WiFi.

It's very much possible to do it, the only reason people feel it is impossible is due to the number, the majority of which can be easily obained.

 

[Drake Pokétrainer]

It's not impossible. I did it in gen 1, 4 and 5.
However, it is impossible during gen 2 and 3, unless you had the luck of living near event stuff in gen 3.

But nowadays with the wifi events, it's perfectly possible, maybe that's why they brought the old slogan back.

 

[Retro-Chaos X]

It really isn't hard anymore due to WiFi, and the slogan hasn't been present since Crystal.

 

[Sour Monster]

I've not completed any Dex yet. I have the first 151 legit on my White version though so am proud of that. It's when you miss an event that is the problem I think. It'd be nice if they every few months or so, did events for the unobtainable Pokemon like Arceus, or Darkrai etc. I think I'm gonna try my best to complete my dex in Y. (Trust me to try once there are another 70 or so on top of the hundreds we already have lol.)

 

[Kelphy]

I complete the Pokedex when I was about 14 when there were only 250 pokemon. lol

 

[SuperSceptile]

Gen II and II, impossible. But with Wi-Fi, all Pokémon are now easily accessible ( especially with the whole "type in the Pokémon's name" thing in the X/Y GTS. )

 

[randomspot555]

The event exclusive Pokemon have never been required for dex completion so I don't see that as being relevant to the "waaahhhh so many events!!!!!" complaint.

That said, the more widespread events does allow many non-event Pokemon to be distributed as well. Between those and the growing access of Wi-Fi trading and GTS trading opening the pools of trades up, it is much easier to get a complete dex now than in Gen I-III, where trading was local only.

 

[Russell-Bowman]

Having read through the Black and White 2 Pokedex guide book, it struck me just how difficult they make actually completing the Pokedex. You're required to have every Generation IV and V game as far back as Diamond and Pearl, because some Pokemon like Stunky and Glameow are only available in a single Generation IV game that came out six years ago. I doubt we'll ever get a Pokemon game where every single Pokemon is available to catch (I even think X and Y with Kalos' 450-strong Dex split into three Dexes will miss out a few of them), but I don't think you should have to snoop around Sinnoh's Route 227 with the Poke Radar in Platinum so you can register Torkoal in your Black and White 2 Pokedex.

 

[Milennin]

I completed my PokéDex in gen I, II and III, but had to cheat for Mew, Celebi, Jirachi and Deoxys. Never bothered with it in gen IV since I didn't use a cheating device anymore and I didn't have access to Wi-Fi at that time, which made me lose all interest in trying to catch them all. I would have bothered with gen V's PokéDex if I had gotten it around release, but I only started playing Black 2 like 1 month ago... which just isn't enough time to get everything before the release of X & Y without sacrificing tons of time.
At least I do have Wi-Fi now, so I'm determined to try for a full PokéDex in X & Y. Wi-Fi sure does make it a lot more fun, as you can get some of the events (altough I'm still missing out on the store events, since none of those stores are anywhere close to where I live), but at least I can trade other stuff I have for them with people online.

 

[The_Nanobots]

I have actually completed the pokedex in red without trading/hacking/events, but that was only due to glitches.

 

[randomspot555]

Having read through the Black and White 2 Pokedex guide book, it struck me just how difficult they make actually completing the Pokedex. You're required to have every Generation IV and V game as far back as Diamond and Pearl, because some Pokemon like Stunky and Glameow are only available in a single Generation IV game that came out six years ago. I doubt we'll ever get a Pokemon game where every single Pokemon is available to catch (I even think X and Y with Kalos' 450-strong Dex split into three Dexes will miss out a few of them), but I don't think you should have to snoop around Sinnoh's Route 227 with the Poke Radar in Platinum so you can register Torkoal in your Black and White 2 Pokedex.

With Dream World and Dream Radar, it helps fill a lot of those gaps as well. And remember, as long as you register a Pokemon in your dex, you can then ask for it on the GTS.

And in the new gen, you don't even need to have it registered...

 

[Nutter t.KK]

In the 3rd gen, you've got to buy 7 games and 2 GBA and a Gamecube. It's actually Possible but really hard to get the entire set.. Here's my current Living dex: http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bignutter/library/Pokemon/07Oct13

Several of the Pokémon on that missing are not in Pokémon Box, but in other games, just waiting for me to finish their tasks. Before you start complaining.. The Mew and Jirachi are Legimate, I own the EU Version of Pokémon Channel and I obtained Mew from an event in August 08.

But I agree that 3rd Gen is the hardest of the lot. Feebas and Chimeco are a swine to catch.

Wifi has indeed Made it easier to get a the entire dex, as you're not required to catch everything yourself. Hey, if you want a Chamanader, you can now just type the name in the GTS in 6th Gen.