A real-life Pokedex has gone viral during Pokemon Worlds after it was shown scanning a Pokemon plush and correctly identifying it within seconds.
Pokemon content creator BigRig Creates brought the working device to Pokemon XP, the fan experience being held alongside the 2026 Pokemon World Championships in San Francisco.
Worlds runs from August 28 to 30, with festivities beginning a day earlier through the San Francisco Giants’ Pokemon Worlds Night.
Ahead of the event, BigRig posted a video declaring that “Pokemon Worlds isn’t ready for me.” He was subsequently filmed demonstrating the device to attendees.
Footage shared by Pokemon YouTuber JPR shows BigRig holding up a Heatmor plush while another attendee points the Pokedex toward it.
After processing the image, the device correctly identifies Heatmor and displays its picture on the main screen. Additional screens provide written information about the Pokemon while a robotic voice reads its Pokedex entry aloud.
The footage surpassed 290,000 views within a day, with viewers immediately asking where they could buy one.
Working Pokedex recognizes cards, drawings and plushies
The Pokedex was created through a collaboration between BigRig Creates and fellow YouTuber Mr. Volt. BigRig programmed its software, while Mr. Volt designed and assembled the hardware.
Although the Worlds footage is new, the completed project was first revealed in November 2025 through BigRig’s video, “I Programmed the World’s Smartest Pokedex.” Mr. Volt later released a separate hardware breakdown explaining how its anime-inspired shell was constructed.
Its main interface and camera are powered by a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, supported by an ESP32 development board and Raspberry Pi Pico controlling its additional displays, buttons, and system information.
The recognition process does not use generative AI. Instead, the Pokedex photographs whatever is placed in front of it and uses Google’s reverse image search to determine which Pokemon it has seen. It then retrieves information from Pokemon Database.
Creator demonstrations show it recognizing Pokemon cards, figures, plushies, fan art, and even rough drawings. Its database originally included all 1,025 Pokemon available when it was constructed, alongside their types, moves, evolutions, locations, and entries from different games.
BigRig also explained in a Reddit thread that the familiar robotic voice was created using his own voice and three different filters rather than audio taken from the anime.
“I would’ve loved this when I was a little kid,” one viewer responded to the viral footage. Another posted the classic “shut up and take my money” reaction while asking what would happen if it reached stores.
The creators have not announced plans to sell the Pokedex, and it remains an unofficial, one-of-a-kind fan project. Pokemon fans have constructed other real-life Pokedexes before, but few have come this close to recreating how the device works in the anime.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
