Pokemon

Not only was it one of the earliest forums on the boards, the Pokemon forum was also the most popular game-specific forum. While discussion of the anime was allowed, it was very rarely present.

Originally, the forum suffered from a lack of direction; the main draw of Pokemon was the one-on-one battles, and those were impossible at the time. The rest of the game was far too simplistic to inspire any interesting topics. Threads ended up ranging from repeated pleas for help regarding an elusive item (often repeated by several new members) to conversations about Pokemon nicknames to an involved fanfic about numerous mutated Cubones.

However, the complexion of the forum changed with the arrival of vaporjolt and Altron Gundam (who would later mod the forum). Both masters of their respective sets of games (Gold/Silver/Crystal and Red/Blue/Yellow), they started rating the teams of their fellow forum members, doling out brutal honesty mixed with helpful advice. Together, they breathed new life and direction into the Pokemon forum.

Added to the arrival of these two members was the discovery of the Pokemon Battle System, a website which simulated actual Pokemon battles. Forum goers were finally able to pit their teams against each other and discuss their battles in the forum. The battles were quickly dominated by the likes of vaporjolt, Altron Gundam, and Safer Sephiroth, but everyone enjoyed themselves.

Altron Gundam, vaporjolt, and other prominent members disappeared from the forum, effectively eliminating team rating and the Pokemon Battle System shut down. Although vaporjolt and Altron Gundam had disappeared from the forum, upon the release of Pokémon Precious Metals series, interest in creating the best possible team saw a resurgence and resulted in many threads from members asking for team ratings. To reduce clutter, a sticky thread was made that remained open until the forum’s dissolution into the Video Game Archives upon the launch of v7.

Trivia threads also made up a noticeable amount of content in the Pokémon forum, the most prominent of them being the series of “NoodleZ Poké Challenge!” threads made by Ryan. However, as most trivia threads go, the original poster eventually lost interest and it was taken over by another member, then died all together.

The forums suffered as a result, and were eventually deemed to have been played out. They were removed with the rest of the anime and video game-specific forums.

Categories: Forums, History