Question

Why does Victini come first in the National Pokédex instead of the Hoenn starter Pokémon?

Comments

It doesn't. Why are you talking about Hoenn?

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Oh, sorry. Maybe I’m looking at the wrong things, or I’m seeing things. I do apologise.

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I think you typed wrong. It comes first than the Unova Starters, not the Hoenn Starters

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In the Unovan regional Pokedex, Victini comes before the Unovan starters. Is that what you mean? In the National Pokedex, it comes after the Hoenn starters (and every Pokemon prior to Gen V, for that matter).

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Thank you I think that’s what I was trying to say.

Answer 1

In the National Pokedex, Victini comes before the Unovan starters, not the Hoennian starters. It comes after every Pokemon introduced prior to Generation 5.

In the Unovan regional Pokedex, it is unique in the sense that it is the only Pokemon as of Generation 8 to have a Pokedex number of #000. It comes before the Unovan starters because the developers claimed it was special enough to deserve a unique placement. It being #000 means you won't see an empty Pokedex entry when you get your starter, helping keep the mystique around it.

Of course, that doesn't mean they couldn't have just put it at the end of the Pokedex like all the other "special" Pokemon.

Comments

I see. Thanks, amethyst. And yes, i think Victini is a special Pokémon.

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No problem! I'm trying to find a source for the Game Freak quote that isn't Reddit, but it does make a fair bit of sense -- having the victory Pokemon at the start of the Dex is quite symbolic.

Edit: I found https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-02-22-the-brains-behind-pokemon-black-and-white-interview?page=2 as a Bulbapedia source, which mentions Victini being "the victory Pokemon, it will lead to victory for players." It's not exactly concrete, but it shows the developers at least took some rationale into account.