Portal guides · Pokemon
Collecting one of every Pokemon is the dream a lot of us started with: the whole Pokedex, in one place. The trouble is the cards are spread across hundreds of sets and thirty years, so there is no single product that gives you the goal.
This guide is the simple way to do it anyway. You mark a slot for every Pokemon with a placeholder, put them in a binder, and swap in the real card whenever you find one you like. The collection shows the whole Pokedex from day one, and fills in over time.
We will cover what the National Pokedex is, how to turn it into something you can actually collect, where to start, and how to keep it complete for life as new Pokemon are added.
The Pokedex placeholders: a marker for every Pokemon, by generation or all of them
Last checked: 5 October 2026. Pokedex placeholder products and prices are from the live Portal listings, checked 5 October 2026. The National Pokedex is 1,025 Pokemon, and 1,226 counting every regional form, Mega Evolution, Gigantamax and alternate battle form.
The short answer
- The National Pokedex is one of every Pokemon, over a thousand species. It is the ultimate collection goal, and it never has to be finished to look good.
- Placeholders make it collectable. A printed marker for every Pokemon means every slot is filled from day one, and you swap in real cards as you go.
- Start where you like. One generation is £1.99, from Gen 1 Kanto to Gen 9 Paldea, or go all in with every Pokemon for £4.99.
- Buy the National set once, updated for life. Every new generation and new form is added free, so your Pokedex is never out of date.
- House it properly. A printed binder turns a Pokedex into a display piece, and our Gen 1 Kanto binder is the natural place to begin.
What the National Pokedex is
The dream, in one number.
The National Pokedex is the complete list of every Pokemon, in order, across every region and generation. It is over a thousand species now and it grows with each new game, so it is the single biggest collection goal in the hobby.
Collecting one card of each is a different, friendlier goal than a master set. You are not chasing every variant of a set, you are building a row of every Pokemon that ever existed, your way, with whichever card of each you like best.
That is what makes it the collection people keep for life. It is never truly finished, and it never needs to be to look brilliant on a shelf.
TipOne card, your choice
A National Pokedex is one of each species, not one of each card. You choose which Charizard, which Pikachu. That freedom is the whole appeal.
Why it is hard to start
Why a shoebox never becomes a Pokedex.
There is no set you can buy that is the National Pokedex. The cards are scattered across hundreds of sets over thirty years, in every rarity and price, so you cannot just complete a product and be done.
Put those cards in an ordinary binder and you get a pile in no order, with no sense of how far you have come or what is missing. The goal disappears, and so does the motivation.
What the Pokedex needs is a shape: every slot laid out in order from the start, so you can see the whole thing and watch it fill.
NoteThis is what placeholders are for
A placeholder is a printed marker for a card you do not have yet. It gives every Pokemon a home before you own its card.
How to make it collectable
The placeholder method, step by step.
The method is simple. You print a placeholder for every Pokemon, slot them into a binder in Pokedex order, and you instantly have the whole National Pokedex laid out in front of you, every species present as a marker.
Then you collect at your own pace. Every time you get a card you like of a Pokemon, you swap its placeholder for the real card. The binder is always complete in shape, and the real cards fill in over months and years.
Our Pokedex placeholders are built for exactly this: one marker per Pokemon, in order, printed to sit cleanly in a nine pocket binder.
TipSwap, do not wait
You never have an empty binder and you never lose track. A placeholder out, a real card in. Progress you can see every week.
Where to start, and what it costs
Pick a generation, or go all in.
You can start as small or as big as you like. A single generation of Pokedex placeholders is £1.99, from Gen 1 Kanto right through to Gen 9 Paldea, so you can begin with the region you grew up with.
Or go all in. The full National Pokedex, every Pokemon, is £4.99 for the Standard set, and £5.99 for the All Forms set that adds the regional forms and variants.
Most people start with their favourite generation and add others over time, or buy the full National set once and work through it region by region.
NoteGen 1 to begin
The Gen 1 Kanto placeholders are the classic starting point, and they pair with our Gen 1 Kanto printed binder for the full effect.
Updated for life
The promise that keeps a Pokedex current.
The National Pokedex grows every time a new Pokemon game arrives. A placeholder set that does not grow with it would be out of date within a year.
So the National set, the Every Pokemon one, comes with free updates for life. Buy it once and every new generation and every new form is added free, and you get the updated set. Your Pokedex stays complete in shape no matter how many new Pokemon arrive.
It is the difference between a one off purchase and a collection you keep for good.
TipThe one to buy if you are serious
If the National Pokedex is your long game, the Every Pokemon set with free updates for life is the one to own. It never goes stale.
House it in a binder
Where the Pokedex lives.
A National Pokedex deserves better than a plain folder. A nine pocket binder holds the placeholders and cards cleanly, and a side loading, zip closed one keeps everything safe when it stands on a shelf.
A printed binder takes it further, carrying its own artwork so the collection is a display piece as you build it. Our Gen 1 Kanto binder is the natural home for the Kanto placeholders and the start of a National Pokedex on your shelf.
Sleeve the real cards as you add them, and your Pokedex is both a lifelong project and something you are proud to show.
NoteDeeper guides
Questions people actually ask
What is the National Pokedex?
The National Pokedex is the complete list of every Pokemon across every region and generation, over a thousand species. Collecting one card of each is the biggest and most popular long-term goal in the hobby.
How do I collect one of every Pokemon?
Use a placeholder for every Pokemon so every slot is marked from day one, put them in a binder in Pokedex order, and swap in a real card of each species whenever you find one you like. The collection looks complete in shape immediately and fills in over time.
How much do the Pokedex placeholders cost?
A single generation is £1.99, from Gen 1 Kanto to Gen 9 Paldea. The full National Pokedex, every Pokemon, is £4.99 for the Standard set and £5.99 for the All Forms set that adds regional forms and variants.
Do the Pokedex placeholders stay up to date?
Yes. The National, Every Pokemon, set comes with free updates for life. Buy it once and every new generation and new form is added free, so your Pokedex is never out of date as new Pokemon are released.
Which binder is best for a National Pokedex?
A nine pocket, side loading, zip closed binder keeps the placeholders and cards safe on a shelf. A printed binder, like our Gen 1 Kanto one, turns the collection into a display piece as you build it.
The National Pokedex is the collection a lot of us always wanted: one of every Pokemon, in one binder. Placeholders make it real from day one, a generation gets you started for £1.99, and the Every Pokemon set keeps it current for life.
Start with the region you love, house it in a binder you are proud of, and let it fill in over the years.
Collect better.
Where these numbers came from
- Portal TCG Pokedex placeholder listings: products and prices, checked 5 October 2026
- Portal free updates for life promise: standing policy on the National, Every Pokemon, set
More Pokemon guides
A slot for every Pokemon
Pokedex placeholders
A printed marker for every Pokemon, by generation at £1.99 or the full National Pokedex from £4.99. Every slot filled from day one. The Every Pokemon set updates free for life.
Shop Pokedex placeholdersStart with Kanto
Gen 1 Kanto printed binder
The natural home for the Kanto placeholders and the start of a National Pokedex on your shelf.
Shop bindersStart free
Free Pokemon checklists
Free printable master set checklists for dozens of sets, to start tracking today at no cost.
Get a free checklistBuilding the set?
Track every card with a free printable checklist, fill the gaps with placeholders, and keep it mint in a printed binder.