Bulbapedia:Project Pokédex/Structure
The best example articles for structure are Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.
The Pokémon species articles are increasingly complex. However, to keep articles organized, the names, order and content of the sections should be according to the model below.
Refer to this model frequently when adding sections to a Pokémon species article, as the names, order and content of sections are all being standardized in all species articles. If you would like to update the model, please do so with regard to both the flow of the article and the standards set forth in Bulbapedia's manual of style. Please consult other participants of the project on the talk page before making major changes to the model, particularly any regrouping or reorganizing of categories.
Article model
Full
The article should start off with the Template:PokémonPrevNext bar, followed by the Pokémon Infobox, followed by a general description of the Pokémon, including any special points (such as if it's a starter Pokémon in any games), a brief description of its abilities, and levels or ways in which the Pokémon evolves.
After this, it can be broken into three sections: general information, game statistics, and other information. Note that it is not broken down into these three sections within the articles themselves. Also note that the text for sections should not be indented within the text editor - it is merely indented here to aid in showing the hierarchy of sections.
General information
==Biology==
Information in these subsections must be derived from a canon source, such as the Pokédex entries or the Pokémon animated series. Information not available on the page itself must have a link to the animated series episode, manga chapter, or other source. Information from off-site sources, such as the Official Pokémon website, should be referenced with a footnote.All speculative information will be removed.
This section should include a full description, including gender and form differences and will be written with singular, gender-neutral pronouns, like in-game Pokédex entries, regardless of gender ratio. The List of Pokémon by habitat should be linked on page for Pokémon from the first three generations. Moves should only be mentioned if they are signature moves or former signature moves, alongside other skills unique to the species which are part of the lore, for example Celebi's time traveling.
- ===Forms===
- A brief showcase of the Pokémon's official forms. Visual descriptions of these forms may also be included.
- ===Evolution===
- A brief showcase of the Pokémon's evolutionary family. Generally this should not include methods, as different media can have very different conditions for evolution; but the effects of forms or genders on evolution should be more rigid, so those should still be differentiated.
==In animation==
Only added if the Pokémon appears in animation. Please link to the Pokémon animation article at the start of this section.
First, any details about the Pokémon species exclusive to the animated series. Then, any episodes, movies, and specials from the Pokémon animated series where the Pokémon has made an appearance, and a detailed description of their importance and role. For recurring Pokémon, only their first appearance, last appearance, and any particularly important appearances should be listed, with links to the specific Pokémon's article where further details can be found. Appearances should be listed chronologically, regardless of importance.
==In the manga==
Only added if the Pokémon appears in a manga series.
This section should be broken down by manga series, divided and listed in alphabetical order.
For each series: Please link to the series in the subsection header. First, any details about the Pokémon species exclusive to that manga series. Then, volumes of Pokémon manga in which the Pokémon has made an appearance, and a detailed description of their importance and role. For recurring Pokémon, only their first appearance, last appearance, and any particularly important appearances should be listed, with links to the specific Pokémon's article where further details can be found. Appearances should be listed chronologically, regardless of importance.
==In the TCG==
Only added if the Pokémon appears in the TCG. Please link to the Pokémon Trading Card Game article at the start of this section.
All cards in the TCG featuring members of the Pokémon species. Details universal to all of the Pokémon's cards may be added, but essentially, this section should be more or less a list with links to the cards' articles themselves. (To expand said card articles, please see the Project TCG.)
==In the TFG==
Only added if the Pokémon appears in the TFG. Please link to the Pokémon Trading Figure Game article at the start of this section.
All figures in the TFG featuring members of the Pokémon species. Details universal to all of the Pokémon's figures may be added, but essentially, this section should be more or less a list with links to the figures' articles themselves. (To expand said figure articles, please see the Project TFG.)
==Other appearances==
Places where the Pokémon has been featured in non-Pokémon canon, such as the Super Smash Bros. series. Only added if the Pokémon appears outside of canon. If there is an article on the series in Bulbapedia, please link to it in the subsection header. Otherwise, please link to the appropriate article on Wikipedia in the subsection header.
Game statistics
==Game data==
- ===NPC appearances===
- Details of Pokémon in all games (sans Smash Bros. series) which are seen but cannot be caught. Only add as necessary.
- ===Pokédex entries===
- A list of the Pokédex entries for the Pokémon in every game which it appears. Please link to the different games' articles, coupling the paired games when the information for them is the same, as well as the Pokédex article itself.
- ===Game locations===
- Details on the location and rarity of Pokémon in the primary games. Please link to the different games' articles, coupling the paired games when the information for them is the same, as well as the Rarity article. Please link to all locations named in the table, since articles will have the specific rates of appearance for the area. Named locations are listed first in order of appearance in the game, followed by Routes in numerical order with each number linking to the appropriate route. Different methods of capturing, such as in the wild versus fishing, have a break between them.
- ====In side games====
- Details on the location in non-standard games like Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, and Pokémon Ranger. Please have the games in a bulleted list with details. For the Stadium games, assume regular rental Pokémon are common knowledge; do not add it to the list unless it has more information about its appearance, such as prizes, special Pokémon, ones in minigames, or if the moveset information for rentals within the individual Cups is provided as well.
- ===Base statistics===
- The Pokémon's base statistics, presented in a bar graph form.
- Note: This section may be undergoing changes soon, due to complaints about the bar graph format.
- ===Type effectiveness===
- How well types affect the Pokémon, based on its own type and base stats. Currently, all articles should follow the DP Type Effectiveness format.
- ===Learnset===
- Moves the Pokémon can learn. Sections should not be added if the Pokémon learns no moves in such a manner. In particular, this applies to the Special moves subsection - do not add this section to an article if there are currently no moves the Pokémon can learn through a special method.
- ====By leveling up====
- Table format.
- ====By TM/HM====
- Table format.
- ====By breeding====
- Table format. For each, please list all potential fathers which the Pokémon can inherit the move from. Do not, however, clutter the article with descriptions of how the fathers can learn the move. Instead, link to the father's article - details on how the father can learn the move should be listed on that article.
- ====By tutoring====
- Table format.
- ====Special moves====
- Any techniques which a Pokémon can learn in a special way, like Pikachu's Surf or a move learned after purification in Pokémon XD.
- ===Side game data===
- Table format. Note any factors that differ between species as well as any equivalent to Pokédex entries that the game may have. For more information, see side game data below.
- ===Form data===
- Detailed information about a Pokémon's forms in the core games. It should start with a basic overview of all the forms, followed by sections for each form with form-specific details there. If a Pokémon has many forms with little or no difference, they may be grouped together (foregoing any subsection if appropriate). All forms named by an in-game Pokédex should be included; other officially named forms should be included; forms that are technically separate in game data may also be differentiated or touched on as appropriate.
- ===Evolution data===
- Generally a brief description of the Pokémon's evolution in the core games, followed by its evolution chain shown as different sprites in boxes. If the Pokémon's evolutionary conditions have changed across different games, the evolution box should show the most recent method(s) (i.e., matching the latest game or two), and any other details should be expanded on within the text description before the evolution box. Pokémon with forms should have a section for each form (unless there are many, with little or no difference).
- ===Sprites===
- Sprites of the Pokémon from all core series games, using the
{{Sprite}}template.
Other information
==Trivia==
Any facts which do not fit well into any other section. This includes beta names and relations to any glitch Pokémon, such as if a glitch uses pieces of its sprite or will evolve into it. Leave out the section if there is no trivia.
- ===Origin===
- Plants, animals, myths, and anything else which may have served as inspiration for the Pokémon's design.
- ====Name origin====
- Possible base words and inspirations for the Pokémon's name in English and Japanese.
==In other languages==
- The Pokémon's name in languages besides English and Japanese. Possible base words and inspirations for these names may also be added.
==Related articles==
A bulleted list of any relevant articles, such as specific characters of the Pokémon in animation or manga. TCG and TFG link lists should remain in their own sections and not be included in this subsection.
==References==
A bulleted list of <ref> citations from the article. This list is automatically created by simply inserting the <references/> tag.
==External links==
A bulleted list of links to other pages, such as the Pokémon's entry on Wikipedia, or fan shrines for the Pokémon. Links to the Pokémon's entry in a Pokédex section of another website should be included in the infobox, not the external links section.
After this, there should be another Template:PokémonPrevNext bar, followed by a Template:Project Pokédex notice box to finish the article.
Tables within the articles
Basic formatting for a Pokémon species article table is as follows:
{| border="1" style="border: 1px solid #999; border-collapse: collapse; background: white; margin: auto;" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2"
|- style="background: #COLOR;"
! Heading
! Heading
|-
| Content
| Content
|}
Replace the "COLOR" with the template for the color code of the Pokémon's primary type - or, if their primary type is Normal and they have a secondary type, the color code of the Pokémon's secondary type. The template's name is the type name and "color". For example, {{grass color}} is the template for a Grass-type Pokémon.
Side game data
Broadly speaking, the side game data section features a large table composed of many different spindata templates.
The table is started by calling {{Spindata/Head}} and it must be ended with a |} after the final row.
{{Spindata/Head|type=Grass|type2=Poison}}
[rows...]
|}
The rows of the table are built by calling other spindata templates. Wherever a new row is desired, |- must be added between templates.
For some templates, the data they display may be small enough that they can fit in the same row as other templates. To facilitate this, the number of columns any template takes in the table can be manually defined (using the parameter col=# in the template). For simplicity, it is recommended that all tables use 6 columns as a default (even if only one game is displayed). Depending on the template then, some may be able to use a column size of 2 (to fit three templates in the row) or 3 (to fit two).
Some games may also have multiple forms/variants of a Pokémon, in which case it is possible to repeat a template in order to show different data.
The currently available templates are listed below. These templates are listed in the suggested order in which they should appear in side game data; this groups some series together, but otherwise broadly follows the date a game was released in.
| Template | Minimum suggested columns |
|---|---|
| Spindata/Pinball | 2 |
| Spindata/PinballRS | 2 |
| Spindata/Trozei | 2 |
| Spindata/MDRB | 6 |
| Spindata/MDTDS | 6 |
| Spindata/MDGTI | 6 |
| Spindata/PSMD | 6 |
| Spindata/Ranger GS | 6 |
| Spindata/Ranger | 6 |
| Spindata/Ranger SoA | 6 |
| Spindata/Rumble | 3 |
| Spindata/RumbleBlast | 3 |
| Spindata/RumbleRush | 6 |
| Spindata/PokéPark | 6 |
| Spindata/PokéPark2 | 6 |
| Spindata/Conquest | 6 |
| Spindata/Battle Trozei | 2 |
| Spindata/Shuffle | 3 |
| Spindata/GO | 6 |
| Spindata/Magikarp Jump | 6 |
| Spindata/NewSnap | 6 |
For a large example, this is the basic form of Pikachu (Pokémon)#Side game data. For detailed information on the parameters for each spindata template, see the template's page (as linked in the table above).
{{Spindata/Head|type=Electric}}
{{Spindata/Pinball|col=2|type=Electric|ndex=025|...}}
{{Spindata/PinballRS|col=2|type=Electric|ndex=025|...}}
{{Spindata/Trozei|col=2|type=Electric|ndex=025|...}}
|-
{{Spindata/MDRB|col=6|type=Electric|ndex=025
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/MDTDS|col=6|type=Electric|ndex=025
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/MDGTI|col=6|type=Electric|ndex=025
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/PSMD|col=6|type=Electric|ndex=025
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/PSMD|col=6|type=Electric|ndex=025
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/Ranger|col=6|type=Electric
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/Ranger SoA|col=6|type=Electric
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/Ranger GS|col=6|type=Electric
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/Rumble|col=3|type=Electric
|...
}}
{{Spindata/RumbleBlast|col=3|type=Electric
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/RumbleRush|col=6|type=Electric|ndex=025 f
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/PokéPark|col=6|type=Electric|ndex=025
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/Conquest|col=6|type=Electric|ndex=025
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/Battle Trozei|col=6|type=Electric|ndex=025
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/Shuffle|col=3|type=Electric|ndex=025|num=016
|...
}}
{{Spindata/Shuffle|col=3|type=Electric|ndex=025Angry|num=016
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/Shuffle|col=3|type=Electric|ndex=025Winking|num=016
|...
}}
{{Spindata/Shuffle|col=3|type=Electric|ndex=025Sleeping|num=016
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/Shuffle|col=3|type=Electric|ndex=025FiredUp|num=016
|...
}}
{{Spindata/Shuffle|col=3|type=Electric|ndex=025Surprised|num=016
|...
}}
|-
... ... [many Shuffle variants] ... ...
|-
{{Spindata/GO|col=6|type=Electric|ndex=025
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/Magikarp Jump|col=6|type=Electric|ranks=5
|...
}}
|-
{{Spindata/NewSnap|col=6|type=Electric|ndex=025|pdex=030
|...
|}
