Completing the Pokédex with cards

Pick your rules first

A Pokédex master set means one card per Pokémon, but you decide what counts. Write your rules down before you start buying, because changing them halfway is expensive.

• Any language, or English only?
• Do promos count, or main sets only?
• Do regional forms and mega evolutions need their own slot?
• Is condition part of the goal, or is a played card fine?

The friendliest ruleset for a first attempt is: any language, any set, any condition. It keeps the hunt affordable and finishable.

Work one generation at a time

1025 slots is discouraging. 151 is a weekend project. Close out one region before opening the next, and each finished section gives you a reason to continue. Kanto is the natural start because almost every Pokémon in it has dozens of printings to choose from.

The Pokémon that will slow you down

• Mythicals and event Pokémon. Often printed only as promos tied to a film or a distribution.
• Mid evolution stages. Nobody reprints the middle of a line, so those get scarce long before the final evolution does.
• Recent generations. The newest Pokémon simply have fewer printings so far. Time solves this one for you.

Buy in bulk, finish with singles

Early on, a bulk lot of a few hundred commons will fill more slots per euro than anything else. Once you are past the easy 80 percent, switch to buying named singles from your gap list. Sellers respond well to a short list of card numbers.

Keep the gap list with you

The whole project runs on knowing what is missing. Road to 151 shows caught and missing per generation, so the list on your phone is always the current one.

Common questions