Tracking Your Pokémon Collection
In this post, I’ll share my spreadsheet for how I keep track of the various Pokémon that I use for competitive and breeding. Before I do, however, I wanted to discuss the benefits I’ve found for keeping a record of my collection,
When I’m designing a team, it’s easy to check if I have the Pokémon in question, without having to have my Switch with me
When I’m re: EVing a Pokémon, it’s easier to alter the EVs instead of having to calculate what the investment is
It helps keep track of which Pokémon with their hidden abilities I’d like (which informs whether I catch Pokémon from a Tera Raid)
It helps me see if I want to catch a specific Pokémon with a Tera Type (for instance, I encountered a Tera Grass Arcanine in a Tera Raid the other day, which is a useful Tera Type I didn’t have), regardless of their Hidden Ability
This is a link to my spreadsheet,
With examples: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SXvEajhYjxoPQIT0repbRLapjt5rus8ESUkn1rIiGpo/edit#gid=71097662
Empty: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Lzs-6Gm483c7nZxGHoH7QXMQkjpeZKYxgFkBhHTSRdc/edit?pli=1#gid=0
There are two sheets - VGC, where I track my competitive Pokémon, and HA (Hidden Abilities), where I keep track of which Pokémon I have with their hidden abilities.
VGC Sheet
Most of these columns are self-explanatory, but I’ll elaborate on a couple of them.
Subtype: I use Subtype to refer to anything that differentiates the form of a Pokémon. This is often region (i.e. Kanto, Alola, or Galar for Meowth) or different versions (such as Rapid Strike vs. Single Strike Urshifu).
Nickname: I used to nickname all my Pokémon, partly for fun, partly because it was otherwise hard to differentiate between Pokémon at a glance (i.e. two Zacian with slightly different EVs). With Tera Types, I rarely have two Pokémon that are difficult to distinguish from the summary screens in the box, and so generally don’t bother.
Language: One of a couple aesthetic columns. I’ve been traded a couple neat non-English language Pokémon, and a perk of that is that the original language is how the name of the Pokémon is displayed to your opponent in game as well.
Shiny: I use just TRUE or FALSE - the sheet will colour the cell if TRUE.
IVs: Another conditional formatting here - if the cell is MAX, then it is turned red. This is a reminder to myself to use a Bottle Cap to maximize the stat before using the Pokémon. I record the IV if I don’t want to maximize it (such as non-max Attack for a special attacker). To get the IV number, I change the IV using Pokémon Damage Calculator with no EVs invested until I get the stat number, and infer the IV / IV range (if ambiguous due to not being high enough level).
EVs: Fairly self-explanatory. There is a conditional formatting for WIPE, which is a reminder to myself to remove the EVs before using (for instance, say I picked up some EVs against wild Pokémon and don’t know exactly how many they have / in which stats)
TMs, Special Moves: TMs should be obvious - the important special moves are permanently forgettable ones. For instance, moves only learned by a previous evolution (such as Spore for Breloom, which cannot be remembered but only carried over from Shroomish) or Indeedee-F who knows Trick Room.
HA Sheet
Not a lot to say about this sheet. The one thing I do is colour in cells in the “Acquired?” row to indicate the important abilities I’m looking for (for instance, I still want a Prankster Grafaiai). Pokémon that are part of the same evolutionary line are kept in the same cell (such as Armarouge and Ceruledge). I’ve only put in Pokémon obtainable in the main game.
Hopefully this is helpful to you! I’ve found it useful, and I also just enjoy being organized. It’s fun to be able to look at my collection at a glance, and nice to easily check whether I need a specific hidden ability from a Tera Raid.