Favorite Pokedex Entry?

[Chadlad50]

This is probably a thread that's been done before but I'm new here and also have no idea how to search for old threads yet so forgive me if this a double-post

Anyway, I'll start things off with my favorite Dex entry: Drampa


"If a child it has made friends with is bullied, Drampa will find the bully's house and burn it to the ground." -Ultra Sun

Intense, extreme, but strangely heartwarming. I'd be lying if I said this wasn't 25% of the reason I like Drampa.

USUM had a lot of really dark/extreme Pokedex entries for some reason, especially ones regarding Mega Evolution.


"It tries to take the lives of anyone and everyone. It will even try to curse the Trainer who is its master!" -Ultra Sun

The hell dude I thought we were friends

 

[RocketSurgery]

SM/USUM had some great pokedex entrees. I very much enjoy the matter-of-factness of regular Gengar's Sun entry:

Should you feel yourself attacked by a sudden chill, it is evidence of an approaching Gengar. There is no escaping it. Give up.

 

[Pikachu315111]

"It tries to take the lives of anyone and everyone. It will even try to curse the Trainer who is its master!" -Ultra Sun

The hell dude I thought we were friends

Well that's the thing...

Moon: It apparently wishes for a traveling companion. Since it was once human itself, it tries to create one by taking the lives of other humans.

Let's see, my favorite dex entry, hmm... I know, how about one that's a pair?


Oranguru Moon Entry: Deep in the jungle, high in the lofty canopy, this Pokémon abides. On rare occasions, it shows up at the beach to match wits with Slowking.
Slowking Ultra Moon Entry: It’s called “the sage of the sea.” It engages in battles of wits with Oranguru, but the result is usually a draw.

Just the image of these two meeting up at the beach to play a game of chess like two old men in a park is just a great image (note, not my drawing):

 

[Chadlad50]

I love Pokemon rivalries like that, and I think that's my new favorite one. I also like the one with Corsola and Mareanie/Toxapex because it gives me a reason to despise Toxapex in a non-competitive setting

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

I like Pokédex entries which contain puns. On top of my head, here are two of my favorites from Ultra Moon:

Bounsweet:
"It tries to resist being swallowed by a bird Pokémon by spinning the sepals on its head. It’s usually a fruitless attempt."

Paras:
"The mushrooms, known as tochukaso, are controlling the bug. Even if the bug bugs the mushrooms, they tell it to bug off. "

As for rivalry entries, here's more from the two mushroom rivals in Gen 7, Parasect and Shiinotic:

Shiinotic in Ultra Moon:
"When it starts fighting for territory with Parasect, the entire area gets completely coated in spores!"

Parasect in Sun:
"The large mushroom on its back controls it. It often fights over territory with Shiinotic."

Interestingly, all entries posted in this thread so far are from Gen 7. Like RocketSurgery, I think Gen 7 has many great Pokédex entries. There are probably many great ones from other generations too, I just can't remember any right now.

Edit: Added models to make this post a bit more lively.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

Stones can get stuck in the ports on their bodies. Dwebble help dislodge such stones, so Hippowdon look after these Pokémon.

It first tries to find a rock to live in, but if there are no suitable rocks to be found, Dwebble may move in to the ports of a Hippowdon.

By flapping their wings, Flygon cause sandstorms that conceal Krookodile. The team then splits the prey they catch.

It conceals itself in sandstorms that Flygon whip up and waits patiently for prey to appear.

What I love about these pairs of Pokedex entries is that they were written like 10 years after these Pokemon came into existence. Maybe these details have existed ever since Dwebble and Krookodile were created, and they were just never mentioned in the games (sort of like Nidorina's infertility) but I'd like to think Game Freak looked back at old Pokemon and thought "y'know, these two would probably interact".

 

[Pikachu315111]

Interestingly, all entries posted in this thread so far are from Gen 7. Like RocketSurgery, I think Gen 7 has many great Pokédex entries. There are probably many great ones from other generations too, I just can't remember any right now.

Well, here is one of my favorite stupid entries from a past gen:


Sapphire: Whismur is very timid. If it starts to cry loudly, it becomes startled by its own crying and cries even harder. When it finally stops crying, the Pokémon goes to sleep, all tired out.

 

[Daylight]

Well in recent memory, the one that’s probably stood out the most is…

“This Pokémon will look into your eyes and read the contents of your heart. If it finds evil there, it promptly hides away.” (Pokémon Shield)

I really like this one. It communicates a lot about Ponyta’s personality & powers, as well as ties into mythology about unicorns in a very Pokémon-flavored way. It also fully convinced me that the Galarian Ponyta line is Psychic before Fairy. They sense intent & emotion—they “read hearts.”

In more distant memory, I unsurprisingly really love…

“Milotic is breathtakingly beautiful. Those that see it are said to forget their combative spirits.”
(Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen)

I remembered Milotic’s Sapphire/Alpha Sapphire & Diamond dex entries first, but I think this one is actually my favorite. It’s simpler but communicates just as much very elegantly.

Also very simple & effective is…

“It wraps its ribbonlike feelers around the arm of its beloved Trainer and walks with him or her.” (Pokémon Y)

It’s simple but conveys a lot with a lot of charm. It also really makes me like Sylveon’s design & “feelers” a lot more. Several of Sylveon’s other dex entries also do this but I think this one is my favorite because of its charm & simplicity.

Finally, although less simple, probably my very favorites are…

“Altaria dances and wheels through the sky among billowing, cotton-like clouds. By singing melodies in its crystal-clear voice, this Pokémon makes its listeners experience dreamy wonderment.” (Pokémon Ruby)

“Altaria sings in a gorgeous soprano. Its wings are like cotton clouds. This Pokémon catches updrafts with its buoyant wings and soars way up into the wild blue yonder.” (Pokémon Sapphire)

I actually think all of Altaria’s original Gen III dex entries are great. And these two in particular really convey that sense of whimsy, wonder, and magic I really associate with Pokémon. It might just be the on-the-nose phrasing of “billowing, cotton-like clouds”, “dreamy wonderment”, or “the wild blue yonder”—but I personally like it and think the imagery is really vivid and effective.

 

[Siggu]

"When three Magnemite link together, their brains also become one. They do not become three times more intelligent." (Sun)

Rotom, dude, chill...

 

[The Mind Electric]

"When three Magnemite link together, their brains also become one. They do not become three times more intelligent." (Sun)

Rotom, dude, chill...

Speaking of Magneton:

Magneton emits a powerful magnetic force that is fatal to mechanical devices. As a result, large cities sound sirens to warn citizens of large-scale outbreaks of this Pokémon.

That's from Ruby. I'm now imagining Magneton being used in terrorist attacks.

 

[StarFalcon555]

ultra sun said:
By flapping their wings, Flygon cause sandstorms that conceal Krookodile. The team then splits the prey they catch.

ultra moon said:
It conceals itself in sandstorms that Flygon whip up and waits patiently for prey to appear.

DrPumpkinz This one is very cute... until you look at Sandile's dex entry from Moon...

Moon	It conceals itself in the sand and chomps down on the legs of any prey that unwarily walk over it. Its favorite food is Trapinch.

So Flygon helps Krookodile get food and in return... Krookodile's babies eat Flygon's babies? R00d

 

[Pikachu315111]

So Flygon helps Krookodile get food and in return... Krookodile's babies eat Flygon's babies? R00d

Survival makes for strange bed fellows.

Or Flygons that work with Krookodiles have an agreement that if they help Krookodile get food hunting together that it'll keep their little ones from eating their little ones. Krookodile are Dark-types afterall, they would do that mafia kind of stuff.

 

[Deleted User 465389]

The bubbles it spews out are strongly alkaline. Any opponents hit by them will have their bodies quickly melted away.

so gmax kingler just straight up melts your body with bubbles
mmmmkay

 

[StarFalcon555]

Krookodile are Dark-types afterall, they would do that mafia kind of stuff.

that is true lol

or Flygon and Krookodile parents are like IRL insects/reptiles in that they don't participate in child-rearing and thus they don't care what their kids do to each other

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

While we're talking about the whole Flygon and Krookodile interaction stuff (which in itself is hella cool imo), I really love how so many of Gen 7 and Gen 8's dex entries have really established interactions between different Pokemon even if they didn't beforehand. It's not just those two: there are more:

For example, Garchomp and Salamence, as per Garchomp's Ultra Sun dex entry:

"It flies at the speed of sound while searching for prey, and it has midair battles with Salamence as the two compete for food."

Salamence and Garchomp canonically hunt down prey around the same times and are rivals for the same targets. The two textbook badass Dragon pseudo legendaries.

Or better yet, Kingdra in Sword and Shield, namely the Sword dex entry:

"With the arrival of a storm at sea, this Pokemon will show itself on the surface. When a Kingdra and a Dragonite meet, a fierce battle ensues."

Kingdra and Dragonite are canonically rivals as well and will fight on sight. I would love to see a Kingdra and Dragonite battle in the middle of the sea in the midst of a great storm: that would be a sight to behold.

Another cool one is Scolipede's Shield entry:

"Scolipede engage in fierce territorial battles with Centiskorch. At the end of one of these battles, the victor makes a meal of the loser."

And also with Golisopod's Shield entry:

"They live in sunken ships or in holes in the seabed. When Golisopod and Grapploct battle, the loser becomes the winner's meal."

The former is cooler because both are millipedes/centipedes, but in both cases, the two are rivals (Scolipede and Centiskorch, Golisopod and Grapploct), and whoever wins gets to eat the other.

So many of these interactions are prevalent in Sword and Shield and Sun and Moon/USUM dex entries and it's so cool.

A final one I will mention is Dragapult's Shield dex entry.

"Apparently the Dreepy inside Dragapult's horns eagerly look forward to being launched out at Mach speeds."

It may seem cruel that Dragapult uses its babies as ammo, but no: they like it! And they're ghosts so they will always reincarnate after being fired as ammunition against enemies, and if anything, they enjoy it because it helps make them stronger even in spite of how weak they are.

 

[Chadlad50]

"Apparently the Dreepy inside Dragapult's horns eagerly look forward to being launched out at Mach speeds."

It may seem cruel that Dragapult uses its babies as ammo, but no: they like it! And they're ghosts so they will always reincarnate after being fired as ammunition against enemies, and if anything, they enjoy it because it helps make them stronger even in spite of how weak they are.

I'm pretty sure I have OCD or ADHD or something because I can't stop thinking about the logistics of Dragapult's Dreepy: Where do they come from? What happens after they're shot? They like it, but once they hit their target they just explode. Are they dead? Where do they go? Etc etc

Also a lot of these Pokedex entries talk a lot about Pokemon eating eachother. It makes sense: Carnivores eat other animals, but we rarely, if ever, see stuff like this mentioned or referenced ingame outside of the Pokedex entries, and almost never in the Anime. I mean I'm glad they don't go "in-depth" about it cause the idea of Bidoof getting eaten by a Garchomp is distressing but still

 

[StarFalcon555]

"Scolipede engage in fierce territorial battles with Centiskorch. At the end of one of these battles, the victor makes a meal of the loser."

This one is especially neat (or morbid, depending on your tastes) because according to Venipede's Sword dex entry, the Venipede line and the Sizzlipede line are actually biologically related!

Sword

Venipede and Sizzlipede are similar species, but when the two meet, a huge fight ensues.

And they aren't the only Pokemon to be confirmed as being biological relatives, because Seismitoad's Sword dex entry says a similar thing about it and Croagunk!

Sword

The vibrating of the bumps all over its body causes earthquake-like tremors. Seismitoad and Croagunk are similar species.

These kinds of dex entries are some of my favorites because seeing the biology of Pokemon and their evolutionary trees is just so interesting to me. I hope we get more of them in the future!

 

[Lightchao42]

The reason it guides people all the way down to the mountain's base is that it wants them to hurry up and leave.

Considering my job, I can relate to helping people just to make them leave faster.

 

[Noiptile]

"Seeking to ease the burden of solitude, lonely Trainers tell Zoroark to show illusions to them." This is Zoroark's pokedex entry in Shield.

I think it's really cool how the developers don't hold back when making pokedex entrys, especially from SM onwards. This makes the universe much more alive

 

[Keem]

Ultra Sun: Its aura has expanded due to Mega Evolution. Governed only by its combative instincts, it strikes enemies without mercy.
I'm just imagining mega lucario as an anime villain fighting the main protagonist.


Mega Lopunny
Ultra Sun: It swings its ears like whips and strikes its enemies with them. It has an intensely combative disposition
Doesnt even use its hands,fucking showoff >:(

 

[CTNC]

Altaria could easily make any Top 10 Most Huggable Pokemon list and most of its Dex entries talk about how beautiful its singing is. That may move it up a spot or two, but this entry will move it up if it wasn't already #1.

Platinum/BW Dex: If it bonds with a person, it will gently envelop the friend with its soft wings, then hum.

It seems prefect for anyone with angsaity issues, like me, unless you don't like being touched, like I don't... crap... Still my first pick for real life Pokemon. <3

I like that powerful Legendary Dragons don't like fighting. I don't like entries that say Pokemon can understand human speech because that goes against the Anime and headcanon, but other than that, Latios's Y entry sums up Lati@s's personality.

Latios Y Dex: It understands human speech and is highly intelligent. It is a tender Pokémon that dislikes fighting.
Ruby/Omega Ruby Dex: Latias is highly sensitive to the emotions of people. If it senses any hostility, this Pokémon ruffles the feathers all over its body and cries shrilly to intimidate the foe.

I just put Latias's Ruby entry here too because of irony that the offensive Pokemon has the entry that implies defense and the defensive one has an entry that implies offense.

Half of Magikarp's Dex entries tell you it sucks, just in case you couldn't tell by its animation and only knowing a move that only does anything in the Mystery Dungeon games. (Even then, it just makes you move in a random direction or jump over other Pokemon depending on which game.)

Fire Red Dex: It is virtually worthless in terms of both power and speed. It is the most weak and pathetic Pokémon in the world.
Sword Dex: It is virtually worthless in terms of both power and speed. It is the most weak and pathetic Pokémon in the world.
Shield Dex: This weak and pathetic Pokémon gets easily pushed along rivers when there are strong currents.
Ruby/Omega Ruby Dex: Magikarp is a pathetic excuse for a Pokémon that is only capable of flopping and splashing. This behavior prompted scientists to undertake research into it.

Interestingly, there's two Dex entries that make it seem impressive.

Gold Dex: An underpowered, pathetic Pokémon. It may jump high on rare occasions, but never more than seven feet. (two meters)

I don't know much about real life fish, but how many fish of Magikarp's size (3 feet or 0.9 meters) can even jump that high? Probably Salmon, but Magikarp is supposed to be way weaker than even real life fish. How can it jump that high? If that's not impressive, Magikarp Jump and the Platinum Dex almost makes it seem as awesome as something that evolves into Gyrados seem like it'd be.

Platinum/BW Dex: A Magikarp living for many years can leap a mountain using Splash. The move remains useless, though.

 

[Daylight]

Altaria could easily make any Top 10 Most Huggable Pokemon list and most of its Dex entries talk about how beautiful its singing is. That may move it up a spot or two, but this entry will move it up if it wasn't already #1.

Platinum/BW Dex: If it bonds with a person, it will gently envelop the friend with its soft wings, then hum.

Altaria easily has my favorite Pokédex entries as well—and is easily one of my favorite Pokémon too! I particularly like it’s original gen 3 entries, but all of its dex entries communicate a really beautiful theme of freedom and warmth and kindness

Gold Dex: An underpowered, pathetic Pokémon. It may jump high on rare occasions, but never more than seven feet. (two meters)

I don't know much about real life fish, but how many fish of Magikarp's size (3 feet or 0.9 meters) can even jump that high? Probably Salmon, but Magikarp is supposed to be way weaker than even real life fish. How can it jump that high? If that's not impressive, Magikarp Jump and the Platinum Dex almost makes it seem as awesome as something that evolves into Gyrados seem like it'd be.

Platinum/BW Dex: A Magikarp living for many years can leap a mountain using Splash. The move remains useless, though.

Actually, real life carp can reach and even exceed Magikarp’s size and can jump 10 feet (3 meters) into the air out of the water!

 

[bdt2002]

I guess it would have been better to wait until daytime for a PokéDex entry from Pokémon Sun specifically, but since I was already online tonight anyway, why not get this over with?

(Pictures taken from Bulbapedia)

For those who didn’t know, I absolutely adore Vulpix and Ninetales’ Ice-Type Alolan forms for a couple of different reasons. One of the more unique reasons is that Pokémon Sun players like myself who used one at any point might have found this right here.

From what I am aware of, this is one of, if not the only time when the PokéDex itself made a reference to another name for a Pokémon. Alolan Vulpix is notably a Sun version exclusive (replaced by Alolan Sandshrew in Moon), and once I put the dots together, I fell in love with my own Ninetales’s new nickname.

Long story short, “Keokeo” has been my go-to Vulpix nickname ever sense, and both of my Alolan Ninetales in my own copy of Sun are two of my favorite Pokémon I’ve ever raised. In a strange way, this nickname almost feels personalized... who knows.

 

[lucariomaster2]

If we're talking about Pokemon relationships, I need to talk about my favourite one.



Meowth, Ultra Sun: "When visiting a junkyard, you may catch sight of it having an intense fight with Murkrow over shiny objects."

Murkrow, Crystal: "It hides any shiny object it finds in a secret location. Murkrow and Meowth loot one another's stashes."

This one's been around pretty much since Murkrow's introduction, but I love that Game Freak added a Pokemon that has a certain trait (liking shiny things), realized that they already had another Pokemon like that, but instead of changing the new one, actively embraced the idea. The concept itself is also kind of adorable.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

One that struck me lately as a particularly funny one as of late is Braviary's Shield Dex entry.

Braviary, Shield: "Because this Pokémon is hotheaded and belligerent, it's Corviknight that's taken the role of transportation in Galar."

This may not seem like much, considering it's Galarian culture that Corviknight function as flying taxis that people use to travel across various locations in Galar. So why mention Braviary? Because it's so strong it can pick up a car? Was it ever used as a means of transportation in the past? Certainly no dex entry in the past has ever mentioned it being used as a means of transportation outside of the fact that one of its BW1 dex entries mentioned it's so strong it can carry a car while flying.

But then enter Legends: Arceus and with it...Hisuian Braviary!

Hisuian Braviary

Now what does this have to do with the Shield Dex entry for Braviary? Hisuian Braviary is not only a regional and ancient form of Braviary, it's from a different region from Galar and from a time period that was long ago before the modern Pokémon universe came to be. And what is one big standout thing about it that we saw, right away from the trailer it debuted it in?

It was commonly used in Hisui as a means to fly around. The trailer showed many clips of the player characters riding on special equipment to hang onto underneath a Braviary to fly around Hisui.

The Hisuian form of Braviary, native to this particular region, was historically used as a means of transportation in the Hisui region, long before it came to be known as Sinnoh. You can see many clips in the second trailer that showcase its use as a reliable flight transport for people of Hisui to go from place to place through the air.

So it would seem that modern day Braviary, being very hotheaded and combative, aren't as reliable for transport as their older Hisuian counterparts, who while we cannot infer much of their behavior yet, appear to be not only larger, but overall ironically have a less belligerent and perhaps more approachable disposition than the Braviary of the modern day who come from Unova, Alola, and Galar. So much so that they worked very reliably with humans back in this day and were basically the means of transportation for people of this region and time.

I'm not sure if it was intentional, but it's incredibly funny in hindsight that it essentially connects well to how Hisuian Braviary served people in Legends: Arceus' Hisui region back in that time period, but in the modern day, the Braviary of the Galar region are too hotheaded and belligerent to serve that role reliably, so the people of Galar have opted to have Corviknight serve the role in its place, without risk of danger or heading into combat and harming the people it's carrying. It's a nice connection imo, especially since while Corviknight are the transportation of Galar, the trailer made it clear Hisuian Braviary has a similar function in Hisui.

(it'll be fun to see if BDSP doesn't have HMs, and if so, if there's a dedicated Flying-type Pokemon who transports people across modern day Sinnoh like Corviknight in Galar and Hisuian Braviary in Hisui).