The Pokédex is Pokémon’s electronic encyclopedia in the main video games.
Professor Oak gives the player a Pokédex in the original Pokémon games. It records information about Pokémon species as the player encounters and captures them, turning exploration into a long-term collecting challenge.
The National Pokédex is the broader numbering system that organizes species across generations. Regional Pokédexes focus on Pokémon associated with a particular game region, while the National Pokédex includes species from multiple regions.
The device has changed visually and functionally over time. Later games depict it through technologies such as smartphones, tablets, or Pokémon-shaped devices, but its core purpose remains identifying and cataloguing Pokémon. The name combines “Pokémon” with “index.”