May 14, 2025 • 33 mins
What does it take to run one of the longest-standing Pokémon fan sites online?
PokeJungle is a fan-driven Pokémon news site that began in 2003 and rose to popularity during the Generation 5 era. Starting with Neopets guilds to breaking major Pokémon game updates, PokeJungle shares how his blog evolved alongside the Pokémon community.
PokeJungle dives into the emotional impact of Pokémon Crystal, what made Pokemon Diamond & Pearl fall flat, and why Pokemon Black & White stands out as a storytelling high point. You’ll also hear about his deep appreciation for both Bug-type and Grass-type Pokémon.
Whether you’re a veteran Pokémon Trainer, an aspiring fan site creator, or curious about the history of online Pokémon fandom, this episode offers a nostalgic and insightful look behind the scenes of one of the community’s most trusted voices.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
PokeJungle (00:00):
My name is Poka Jungle, and this is my Pokemon
story.
David Hernandez (00:42):
Welcome to as the Pokeball Turns, Where we
interview people about theirexperience with Pokemon.
name is David Hernandez.
I'm joined by the webmaster ofPoke Jungle, a fan run Pokemon
News and content siteestablished all the way back in
2003.
Poke Jungle, welcome to as thePokemon Turns.
Thank you for coming onto thepodcast.
PokeJungle (01:03):
Yeah.
Thanks so much for having me.
I really appreciate it, and I'mexcited to be here.
David Hernandez (01:07):
Likewise and know, when we just say 2003,
that's a long time.
You've seen this communityevolve through so many eras,
from Hoennn to Sinnoh to Alolato Scarlet Violet so many times.
wanna start off with thisquestion.
Start, what's one era or momentyou wish you could relive in
Pokemon?
PokeJungle (01:27):
honestly, I would like to go back to.
gen three I guess that was kindof a magical time for me.
I just loved, getting theupgrade to the, game Boy
Advanced Graphics and then alsohaving the internet become more
ubiquitous and, you know, thecommunity was growing larger
online.
So it was just a really fun timein my opinion.
(01:48):
And, definitely, you know, aclassic era.
David Hernandez (01:50):
And that's also the time when you started your
website too, right?
If I'm not mistaken, thetimeframe.
PokeJungle (01:54):
Yeah, very, very baby PokeJungle website.
it was, you know, a veryamateur, practice, type of,
situation.
But, there are roots way back,to 2003.
David Hernandez (02:07):
you know, you said it was growing, you know,
Pokemon's growing online.
from your perspective, what didthat growth feel like?
Was it excitement?
Was it chaos?
Was it pressure for you?
PokeJungle (02:15):
to me, and I guess this is mainly coming from the
point of view of the websitesthat I enjoyed going to and the
interests that I had, but I feellike there was a lot of,
different Pokemon forums that,conversations were taking place
in and discussions were beinghad.
And then also there was just ahuge growth of Pokemon fan sites
like my own.
(02:36):
so you had basically pokeanything, you know, like you
had, Pokemon Safari, PokemonOcean, like any, any type of,
you know, location people werelike trying to, make websites
out of.
And I really loved seeing thecreativity.
Of other people and how theywere kind of taking their
passion for Pokemon and making alittle place for themselves
(02:59):
online.
David Hernandez (03:01):
Now, I know your site originally was, I
guess, inspired by Neopets thatled to what we know today as
PokeJungle What did thatcreative spark feel like for you
when you decided just to jump inand start this website?
PokeJungle (03:13):
You certainly did your homework.
Um.
David Hernandez (03:17):
I try.
Thank you.
PokeJungle (03:19):
Um, yeah, so just going slightly back to the
Neopets reference, I don't knowif anyone else, played Neopets,
but there would be guilds youwere in and guilds often made
offsite websites for themselves,for their members.
And honestly, I think that wasmy first exposure to making a
website like on geo cities, andkind of some of those early free
(03:43):
web hosts.
And so I was like, wow, I wannamake one of those.
So like my first, foray into,uh, building a website was like
all the content was justcentered because I didn't know
how to make sidebars oranything.
So it was just like centeredcontent down, the webpage.
And that's kind of like what gotme into it.
but also just seeing the fansites that other people were
(04:03):
making for Pokemon, you know,maybe a year later.
I think.
Made me want to create somethingthat was a little bit more
complex.
so that was probably, I guess, aspark.
David Hernandez (04:13):
Now I know that, you know, you talked about
how each site was kind of arepresentation, it was a
creativity of the web postthemselves,
PokeJungle (04:20):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (04:20):
I know you have a higher preference for the
forums.
What do you miss about, I guessthose slower pace places
compared to now we have Discordand Facebook and everything.
PokeJungle (04:28):
Yeah, so I think forums were always, more special
for me, I guess, because I likedthe way that you could have a
conversation and you know, likewhen you're in Discord, things
are just often, you know,messages if you're in a busy,
busier server, messages arejust, you know, flying and
conversations are kind of likewhatever's being talked about at
(04:49):
the moment.
whereas forums are so much morestructured, and we still have
things like Reddit, socialmedia, that that is more
structured.
but I think with social mediaand Discord, you have like one
profile that is tied to you andyou're in a lot of different
communities and you're kind ofexposed to the whole platform.
(05:10):
Whereas forums were a place thatwas kind of carved out on the
internet and you had thataccount for that website and it
was very much more focused onthe community that was there and
you didn't necessarily have theability to like, be distracted,
by whatever else is trending or,you know, like, whatever,
whatever outside maybe yourinterest.
(05:32):
Was so, it felt a lot more closeand tight knit to me.
Um, I guess that's, yeah, that'sjust my take on it.
So I've always enjoyed that kindof feeling,
David Hernandez (05:42):
Before we dive more into PokeJungle, I know we
kind of went off the deep end.
I wanna take it a step back.
Can you remember, like what wasyour first experience with
Pokemon?
PokeJungle (05:50):
I can't pinpoint like a, a single moment, but I
definitely grew up during thePokemon craze, so.
I was in elementary school, andI think like the whole
neighborhood, would either betrading cards, you know, like if
the kids were together, we'd,you know, have cards out or, um,
there'd be discussions aboutlike what the latest episode on
(06:11):
TV was and I didn't have a GameBoy, or an N 64 later.
So I was always super happy whenI would like go over to a
friend's house and they wouldlet me borrow, their, you know,
handheld and I could play likePokemon Red or yellow.
so that was always a highlightto me and I always kind of like,
oh my gosh, I hope one day Ican, you know, have my own game
(06:33):
boy to, um, be able to play.
it was almost a longing, to beable to play Pokemon, And of
course I did have cards, um, butI, I missed out on some of the
video game experience, when itfirst launched.
David Hernandez (06:46):
So, you know, you'd go to these friends
places, y'all would, that wouldbe your only experience, I
guess, for the Pokemon Games.
It sounds like the Pokemon Animewas how you experienced it at
home.
Is that kind of how it workedout?
PokeJungle (06:55):
Yeah, I would say the cards and the anime, I would
always be trying, I have threeyounger sisters and I'd always
be trying to get them to like,oh, you know, like, let's try
having a Pokemon battle orsomething, you know, like with
the cards.
but.
They were, they were not asenthused about the franchise as
I was.
David Hernandez (07:10):
Oh, really?
So it was just kind of you andyour own little world?
Right.
PokeJungle (07:13):
A little bit.
Yeah, I think that's fair.
David Hernandez (07:15):
What did you enjoy, I guess, about Pokemon?
Because you didn't have thatmedia exposure.
Like what was it about thePokemon world that you, I guess,
was it just the fandom or thecraze or was there more to it?
PokeJungle (07:24):
I've always been into like.
Creatures I love, like, as akid, especially, like, I would
love just going out into thewoods and like hunting for bugs
or like trying to find snakesand stuff.
So to me the, the series waslike kind of very similar to
that.
Like it had creatures that Ienjoyed and then also I am just
that type of person who, youknow, I saw kind of my own
(07:46):
hobbies in the real world as youknow, being represented and
trying to collect all thesecreatures spread throughout the
world.
David Hernandez (07:53):
Wow, that's kind of interesting.
'cause I used to collect bugstoo.
I used to do Rollie pullies
PokeJungle (07:58):
Oh,
David Hernandez (07:58):
like, I would get Rollie pullies from my
school and my house and anywhereI could find them, I put'em in a
little Jack of lantern and Iwould feed them like leaves off
my little net.
We had next to the fence, uh,where I, my backyard and I would
just feed'em.
It was just kind of a littleworld to have, you know.
PokeJungle (08:13):
that is super cute.
I, I am still a bug catcher, soI actually do have an isopod
David Hernandez (08:18):
Ooh.
PokeJungle (08:19):
Also known as Rollie Pollies.
So yeah, I have powder oranges,and I have them in a little, you
know, terrarium feed'em deadleaves as well.
David Hernandez (08:29):
See, I've always been tempted to start it
and I'm like, I really kind ofwant to just recollect them.
But the problem was that Iaccidentally, the lantern didn't
have a filter and one time itstormed really bad.
PokeJungle (08:40):
Oh,
David Hernandez (08:40):
yeah, you can imagine, you
PokeJungle (08:41):
I,
David Hernandez (08:42):
kind of put two and two together, but I'm like,
I really kind of just wanna see'em'cause it's just kind of cool
to watch, you know?
It's
PokeJungle (08:46):
mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (08:46):
watching, except it's with the really
pulleys, you know?
So you know, you were alreadystarting to get in Val, the
franchise, I guess, what wasyour first experience with the
games
PokeJungle (08:55):
I finally did get a Game Boy Advance.
But I didn't start with the GameBoy Advance Games.
I actually got a copy ofCrystal, and this, I believe
this was before Gen three hadactually launched.
So crystal was basically thelatest game that had come out
and I finally got it and it washonestly everything I was hoping
it would be.
David Hernandez (09:14):
It lived up to your expectations.
PokeJungle (09:15):
Yeah.
And really to this day, I thinkCrystal has some of the best,
Sprite animations and stuff.
just some really, reallyclassic.
things, and this is a little bitoff topic, but I really hated
emerald's Sprite animations.
I was disappointed that theanimations left when, you know,
Ruby and Sapphire were released.
but then emerald's animationswere just like so much of like
(09:37):
the bouncing and stretching,whereas Crystal, had much more
customized, animations for thePokemon.
So super disappointing to me,but.
David Hernandez (09:46):
Now, when you finally had your own game, did
it kind of feel like you wereconnected to the Pokemon world
in a different way?
Like you didn't have to go toyour friends anymore?
PokeJungle (09:52):
Yeah, I do feel like that I had also moved.
so I grew up my house was kindof like in a forest, um, in a
rural area.
So it was suddenly also harderto like just see neighborhood
kids and like.
trade Pokemon.
So I actually, I think that, mayhave pushed me in the direction
of, you know, more time, uh,with the online Pokemon
(10:15):
community just because it'slike, there wasn't, you know,
like a, my neighbor was, youknow, two miles away.
So,
David Hernandez (10:22):
A little bit of a hike.
PokeJungle (10:24):
yeah.
David Hernandez (10:24):
stuck with gen two.
Did, when did you progress intogen three In the further later
generations.
PokeJungle (10:29):
I think because I had my Game Boy Advance.
I think I bought, yeah, Idefinitely bought it on release
when Gen three was released.
'cause actually like talkingabout it, I remember
pre-ordering it at Target andthe pre-order thing was a
holographic like metal coin.
sadly I was a little bitdisappointed'cause I, there was
like.
Groudon and Kyogre, and I gotthe Kyogre one, but I really
wanted the Groudon one, so,maybe that's why I remember it
(10:52):
so well.
David Hernandez (10:54):
It's a bad memory.
It's, well, not a bad memory.
It's like I didn't get what Ireally wanted.
PokeJungle (10:58):
But like now as an adult, like, I'm like, well,
it's still cool that I have, Istill have it somewhere, so,
David Hernandez (11:03):
you do?
Now around Gen three is kind ofwhen you started the PokeJungle,
you know, you got peoplewebsites all over the place.
Was it difficult for you to kindof start a site at that point?
Or were you kind of verynaturally gifted in trying to
start a web post or whatever?
I.
PokeJungle (11:17):
I don't, I don't know if I would say like I was
super gifted, but, I feel like Ihad a good community, because on
certain Pokemon forums therewere groups of like people who
had fan sites and stuff, and solike, there was people who would
help if you had questions orlike offer critiques.
so there was like kind of agroup of us that would, work
together and share knowledgeand, you know, sometimes fight,
(11:41):
sometimes a little bit of drama,but.
David Hernandez (11:44):
I mean, that's what happens in every community,
right?
PokeJungle (11:46):
Yeah,
David Hernandez (11:47):
when it came to just seeing how the sites
continue to grow and now, youknow, I guess they've started to
decrease.
How has it been to see kinda alot of the communities fade away
in time and be left with what itis.
PokeJungle (11:56):
I feel like it kind of makes sense'cause I feel like
a lot of people do, grow up andhave their interests change.
So it kind of makes sense thatthere's not gonna be a lot of
websites that run.
10, 15, 20 years.
but on the other hand, it's alittle bit sad not to see as
many new, websites try to comeup because I feel like there
are, a lot of people who were myage, you know, and interested in
(12:19):
Pokemon and creating websites.
But it doesn't seem like,there's as many people who
necessarily want to do that,and.
I may be speaking out ofignorance because I'm not as
involved, um, with, I don't, Idon't have like a community of
like, people who love to makewebsites, on a Pokemon forum,
like back in the day.
So I may be totally ignorant, soI'm not meaning to offend anyone
(12:40):
who does have a website that Idon't know about.
but from my impressions online,it just doesn't seem like
there's that much passion tolike start small fan sites.
And this is actually beyond justPokemon too.
I wish when I searched Google, Iwould find different stuff.
I wish that I would find morecontent that's written by fans
of a series or something, versuslike, I just feel like there's
(13:04):
so much kind of slap out therewhere you read three paragraphs,
to get nothing.
Like, I don't know if you knowwhat I'm talking about, but you
know, like some video gamewebsites, you read three
paragraphs and it's like, okay.
the, the headline has not beenaddressed yet.
whereas I feel like people whoare passionate about a topic,
really put a lot of effort in.
so that's what makes, projectslike, you know, your podcast and
(13:26):
also websites and newsletters soimportant, because they're, the
way that they handle content andthe topic is different, I feel
like.
David Hernandez (13:35):
I see it a lot whenever I scroll the web.
Especially doing this podcastjust looking for guests.
I wanna say Pokemon's maybebecome so hyper-focused and
maybe this is beyond Pokemon,like you said, it's become so
hyper-focused on just video
PokeJungle (13:49):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (13:50):
the only way people feel like they can
express themselves.
PokeJungle (13:54):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (13:54):
And you know, yes, I understand video is king,
but it's not the only way toengage people.
like you said, you know, bringback the discussions to where
you can write stuff aboutPokemon.
You don't see that much anymore.
You don't see, like the fanthink it's very, I don't wanna
say they're in the.
They're kind of niche.
You have to kind of go, reallydig in deep now to kind of find
it where I feel like maybe backwhen we were growing up, it was
(14:16):
more prevalent.
I think you could find it a lotmore easier compared to
nowadays.
PokeJungle (14:20):
Mm-hmm.
No, I totally agree.
And actually that's a reallygood point.
I didn't even mention video whenI was talking about that'cause
David Hernandez (14:26):
I
PokeJungle (14:26):
almost feel like it's a separate category.
In a way, I do make videosoccasionally, um, particularly
like for merchandise.
but I'm just so not passionateabout it, so it's hard for me to
like, kind of make stuff in thatspace.
I'm, I have a lot more fun likeusing, video editing apps to
make like shorts and stuff.
'cause it's just, it's easy andyou can like, you know, throw
(14:48):
something together.
that looks kind of cool.
But, I feel like the creationscene has definitely gone in the
video direction, which I don'thave anything against
necessarily, but it just makesme mourn, I guess, a little bit
for the older, like tech space,creation.
David Hernandez (15:03):
Now, you know, we've talked about how a lot of
communities faded away.
What kept you going, I guess, tokeep PokeJungle running, even
when other, you'd see some ofyour fellow hosts, web hosts,
like disappear and move on tothe sunset.
PokeJungle (15:15):
There was a time I did take a break, I think it was
like for a year.
and that was around the time ofHeartGold and Soul Silver's
pre-release lead up.
and at that time I was justreally struggling, with a lot of
stress.
And so I can definitelyempathize with people who
ultimately, you know, decidednot to, continue their website
(15:36):
or project because sometimes,you know, real life does have to
take, priority over this stuffand sometimes it can just turn
into stress.
even for me, like I have a lotof, unopened stuff.
don't call me a hoarder, but,well, I don't know.
I have a room full of Pokemonstuff and it's supposed to be a
studio, but like, I haven't, I,I gotta do some stuff and it's
(16:00):
like.
right now it probably does looklike a hoarder's room.
Um,'cause I gotta organizeeverything and that's been like
a huge thing that I don't wannado.
But anyway, so back to thetopic, like I definitely,
empathize with people who have,not been able to continue and
stuff, but, it is a little bitsad to see some of these
projects fold.
but what's kept me going is kindof my interest in covering news.
(16:24):
I like the feeling of like,trying to get, different stories
and news out that I think fansare going to enjoy and I try to
give context about it.
cause I know some sites, youknow, Serebii is obviously
extremely popular, extremelywell run website.
but their news section isusually just like a paragraph or
(16:45):
two about news.
So like when I'm doing stuff,like I want to give a little bit
more context If there's, youknow, something related, I wanna
like bring it up and have alittle bit longer, articles when
news is shared.
So just like being able to kindof cover news has really been my
passion to be honest.
David Hernandez (17:05):
Now when it comes to running PokeJungle,
have you always felt like youwere a fan or do you feel like
your relationship with Pokemonhas changed at times?
PokeJungle (17:12):
I don't really work directly with the brand too
often.
I feel like there might bedifferent feelings from, um.
I don't know, video creators,who get invited to events and
stuff, and have a strongerrelationship with actual
company.
but for me, I really am just afan still.
David Hernandez (17:33):
Well, I mean, there's so much news that comes
in.
I'm impressed that you can keepup with it all.
So that's why I'm like, uh, doesthis sometimes feel like it's
work, sometimes, like having todo all that stuff?
Or do you just enjoy like justbringing the news to the people?
PokeJungle (17:44):
Yeah, I, I mean, sometimes it does feel like
work.
to be honest, like I gotta finda better way.
Some of these, one of the thingsyou have to consider when you're
doing like, web stuff as like,optimization for images.
recently I was working on astory about black bolt, white
flare TCG set And I don'tusually cover TCG news, but I am
(18:05):
a super big, gen five fan.
So having a set that includes,um, illustration rares or secret
illustration rares for everysingle.
Pokemon from Unova was big forme, so I wanted to spotlight
that on my website, but like,grabbing images and then like
resizing them to certain,dimensions that are gonna get
like a smaller, file size.
(18:26):
And then I usually use a toollike, tiny PMG, to compress
those down.
Like it just, like the articlehonestly, I think took an hour
just to put up.
and I'm sure there's a fasterway, so like I gotta work on my
workflow, but, sometimes it'sjust like, I wish I could just
like snap my fingers and havesomething more put together.
but I don't wanna, use like AIfor content or anything, so I'm
(18:49):
doing everything by hand.
David Hernandez (18:51):
No, I understand the exactly how I
feel because I don't know ifpeople know this.
I used Photoshop 2016
PokeJungle (18:58):
Hmm.
Hmm.
David Hernandez (19:00):
there's so many limitations I have on that tool
that I
PokeJungle (19:03):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (19:04):
But it does what I need it to do.
It's just those small details.
I think the best example iswhenever I need to bend an
object, some reason, the one Ihave does not allow me to bend
objects.
So I have to go to like anonline site to bend an object,
download it, re-upload it backonto my, uh, canvas of what I'm
doing.
PokeJungle (19:23):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (19:24):
it takes just extra, those extra steps is
extra time.
It's like, I feel you.
'cause I'm like,
PokeJungle (19:28):
Yeah.
Yep.
David Hernandez (19:28):
there was a, I know there's an easier button,
but I don't wanna pay asubscription, so I don't got
that kind of money.
So.
PokeJungle (19:33):
Yep.
I actually, I switched toAffinity Photo last year because
I was like, you know what,Adobe's making some decisions.
I don't agree with Affinity isjust gonna be a flat fee, you
know, for this version.
So it took some getting used to,but like I'm actually in a good
place right now with that.
But I definitely feel you.
Yeah.
David Hernandez (19:51):
you.
Thank you for therecommendation.
I might have to check that outafter this.
(20:37):
You said Gen five is one of the,your favorite generations.
Let's talk about it.
You know, what do you enjoyabout playing?
Black and white?
Black and white?
Two bad generation of games.
PokeJungle (20:45):
you know, honestly, and this is gonna be a
controversial hot take, but Genfour was not one of my favorite
generations.
and I honestly feel like itmight be somewhat influenced by
my Ds'cause I had an original.
DS and to be honest, the screensare not that amazing.
Or maybe my console didn't havethat amazing of a screen, I
(21:05):
didn't feel like it was a hugeupgrade.
I loved the vibrant colors inHoenn and Gen three definitely
still like, was magical, I feltlike.
but going into gen four, it justseemed a little bit more muddy,
coloring.
And maybe this is only me whofeels this way, but, it just, it
was fine.
Like there's some Pokemon that Ilove from Gen four Carnival,
(21:28):
Cher.
Like, I'm not saying that I'mright off the whole generation,
but I was just super excited forsomething new by the time Gen
five, was coming and.
It just really, really impressedme.
I felt like it was great to havea whole new set of characters,
because we had been, you know,seeing Generation One Pokemon
(21:50):
for four generations, you know,in different games, and it just
felt like super fresh, superexciting.
I, I realize that not everyonefelt that way, and I think it
has like some of the lowestsales when we're comparing like
the First Games of a generation.
David Hernandez (22:05):
Now, I know that the Pokemon that's based
off of PokeJungle from theirSewaddle,
PokeJungle (22:09):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (22:10):
your favorite Pokemon or what led it to
becoming the logo or the face ofyour website?
PokeJungle (22:15):
It's definitely one of my favorite Pokemon.
honestly, I don't know, but thatkind of encapsulates my website
to me.
And also, my kind of vibes,'cause like, I love Sewaddle, if
you think about like, you seethe, caterpillars head or
caterpillar, like Pokemon's headand then a leaf encasing it.
(22:37):
So like my two favorite typesare bug and grass.
So it just really, felt likeperfect for me, I guess.
So I was, I was really happywhen it was revealed and I was
just like, well, that's what mysite has been waiting for.
That's the mascot we're gonna beusing from now on.
David Hernandez (22:52):
Well, what do you have against Paras?
I mean, Paras has been aroundfor like a long time.
PokeJungle (22:56):
And you know what I actually love, Paras too, but I
don't have as much connectionwith like the mushroom vibes.
So it, it really was like thebug and a leaf motif.
but actually, yeah, I would saylike those two are in my
favorites as well, so like,definitely for sure up there,
but it was not necessarily pokea jungle to me, you know?
David Hernandez (23:16):
I know you said bug and grass are your two
favorite.
What
PokeJungle (23:18):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (23:19):
those typing specifically that speak to you
differently compared to othertypes?
PokeJungle (23:23):
I am just like a nature kid.
So like, I loved being out, notoutdoors, like outdoor sports.
I'm not, I'm not that kind of, Iwas that kind of kid, but
outdoors as in like, hiking andjust exploring.
And so I've always loved liketrees, grass, plants.
and then also of course, youknow, like I shared, I liked bug
collecting as well, so.
(23:43):
I think those two types werejust a standout, from the whole
list of'em to me.
David Hernandez (23:48):
Now, you know, you don't have to go in specific
order, but what kind of bugPokemon or grass Pokemon speak
to you on that level?
That kind of, when you see itand you think, oh, this is
definitely nature kind of vibes.
PokeJungle (24:00):
I would say that like, personally I really enjoy
Pokemon, that have like leavesas part of their, design.
I like Bulbasaur, you know, theBulbasaur line.
and honestly like there's over athousand.
So like, I can't, I can't likego through everything, but you
know, like Carnival is just likea really classic, Pokemon that I
enjoy.
David Hernandez (24:20):
Now as you continued with Pokemon and you
know, you're running PokeJungle,what were the kind of the
challenges, especially as thelandscape shifted from, you
know, forum to the websites?
You know, how did you adapt?
PokeJungle (24:30):
you know, ultimately I closed my forums because there
just wasn't enough, activity andstuff.
So it was really hard to kind ofdeal with the changing landscape
of social media and how peoplereally flocked more to Facebook
and Twitter, over moretraditional places to have
Pokemon discussions and stuff.
(24:52):
I recently reopened my forum.
so like I am gonna be continuingto promote that as an
alternative, and kind of getaway from like billionaire
funded social media networksthat's often push, different
narratives and stuff.
But that was a challenge.
And then also I think when Ikind of switched to going to
(25:15):
college and then like.
Having classes working part-timeand also trying to manage my
website.
It was pretty difficult, for meto find a balance there.
And I think, it's easier for metoday as, you know, an older
adult.
because I have a job that allowsme to have flexible breaks and
stuff.
If there's like suddenly newsthat comes up and I need to
(25:36):
write an article real quick orsomething.
but definitely balancing likecollege and working, I think
was, was a challenge
David Hernandez (25:43):
you know, if the forms were able to make a
comeback, especially inconsidering how social media is
starting to manipulate people,you've got the algorithms,
you've got the bot accounts.
What would, I guess, be yourideal vision of what an updated
form site would look like?
Would it be same to what yougrew up with, or would it be
something more modern to whatthey're used to?
PokeJungle (26:01):
I think a mix of both.
I think there's good things thatsocial media has brought, like
we couldn't just, you know, liketype an at mark and.
write someone's username to liketag them on a forum back when I
was, you know, using them when Iwas like 12.
so there are things that socialmedia has really popularized and
like my new forum, you know,like they've incorporated these
(26:22):
forums in the years since.
but I think there's things thatsocial media brought that are
good.
but to be honest, my ideal forumis not huge.
I've always.
Enjoyed being an alternativelocation, to either discuss
things on a forum or even like,you know, my website.
I'm not trying to be the biggestwebsite out there.
(26:42):
I've always just enjoyed a moretight-knit, community and group.
David Hernandez (26:45):
Now let's go back to the Pokemon Games real
quick.
You know, we progress on to PathGen five.
What do you enjoy about playingthe games?
Do you play for the story?
Do you like the shiny hunt?
Are you collector?
PokeJungle (26:55):
honestly running, and I don't know, maybe this is
the first time I'm talking aboutthis, running a Pokemon website
has totally destroyed myenjoyment of the games in a
certain way.
because when I'm playing thegames, I am feel like I have to
catalog a lot of stuff.
Um, so I don't necessarily feellike excited to play sometimes
(27:19):
'cause I'm like, oh crap, like Ijust found like where this
location is, like I need toupdate like this page or
whatever.
And so it ends up becoming morestressful.
So.
but in general, I am more oflike, someone who plays for like
the story and collectingPokemon.
I'm not, a competitive player.
I really respect all thestrategies and stuff that the,
(27:42):
video game championship playerscome up with.
Like, it's super intriguing theway that they use different
stuff.
Like growing up as a kid, ofcourse, I was like, oh, this
move doesn't do damage.
Bye.
Um, I had no, you know, like noappreciation for any of that
kind of stuff, but I mean, youdon't necessarily need it when
you're playing against the MPCsand the games, right now, yeah,
(28:03):
I would say more like story and,getting to see the Pokemon
world.
I think it's really cool the waythat different generations have
given us a glimpse of thedifferent regions and, you know,
evolved the lore and stuff.
David Hernandez (28:15):
I mean, on that note, I guess, how do you find
that balance to kind of stepaway and just, you know, not
between burnout and passion,like how do you balance it out?
PokeJungle (28:23):
Um, yeah, I don't know if I really think about it
as two different things.
Like, to me, my passion isdefinitely kind of wrapped up in
covering news in a weird way.
Like I don't feel.
That is a chore as much actuallyas playing the game sometimes.
cause I really, really lovecovering the news versus
cataloging information.
(28:45):
So like Serebii obviously hasgreat stuff.
Bulbapedia has great stuff.
Like there are websites that doa great job at cataloging,
different stuff about the games.
Characters, that's not mypassion and I really struggle
with that.
So that's why you notice, likemy website really lacks a lot
of, pages and I gotta, I wouldlike to go through and update a
lot of stuff.
(29:05):
but to me, I guess I avoidburnout by kind of balancing how
much I spend, cataloging stuffand creating pages and mostly
focus on news to avoid,Resenting the, the franchise.
I guess
David Hernandez (29:22):
Right.
I mean, you're doing a good jobthough.
Running on 20 plus years.
You got a long way to go.
Maybe another, we'll see youanother 20.
PokeJungle (29:30):
I'll be passing it down to my kids.
Maybe I,
David Hernandez (29:33):
Oh, that'd be kind of cool.
And then I can interview'em onthe podcast Talk.
PokeJungle two.
You know, we're up towards theend What do you want to see
PokeJungle become?
You talked about how you openthe forms up.
You're hoping to kind of beanother place for people to step
away from social media.
Do you have any other vision youhave for the website moving
forward?
PokeJungle (29:50):
Yeah, I'd really like to increase our merchandise
coverage.
I really focused more of oursocial media accounts on.
Updating, fans about what'scoming out in Japan or what's
been announced, in the US andrelease dates and stuff.
But I definitely like to startbringing that more onto my
website and having a betterresource for fans who are
(30:11):
looking to learn about what'scoming out or, more of a
historical, archive if fans arelike looking for information on
different things.
So that's.
That's my next big project, Ifeel like, and um, I'm excited
to work on that.
David Hernandez (30:25):
That's awesome, man.
I look forward to kind of seeinghow this, grows.
it's crazy to think that you'vebeen going there for 20 plus
years and you still got a lotmore in you.
PokeJungle (30:34):
I guess that's one way to think about it.
David Hernandez (30:37):
This is gonna be my last question for the
close out the podcast.
And I want to think about backwhen you were just collecting
bugs and you know, you weregoing to over to, you know, a
friend's to borrow games.
If that kid saw who startedPokeJungle, now, what do you
think that they would say?
PokeJungle (30:52):
Um, I'll give you my very honest and maybe not so
positive thing, but like.
David Hernandez (30:59):
go for it.
PokeJungle (31:00):
Wow, you're 35 and you still like Pokemon.
I mean, like, I, you know, likemaybe there's a more
inspirational, answer.
Like, I would love if they say,wow, you know, you're so
passionate about that.
You're still like following yourdreams and, you know, you've
been able to create a small, youknow, following.
(31:20):
but I don't know who would tellme that.
Um.
But am I embarrassed?
No.
You know, like, I think peopleshould really try to enjoy, life
and Pokemon certainly is a hugepart of my life just because of
my website and stuff.
but it's definitely noteverything I do.
I love to, read different thingsand, broaden my horizons,
(31:44):
through other learning.
So it's not everything I do.
but I do feel like people shouldpursue things that bring them
joy because we all are on alimited timeframe as humans, as
mortal humans.
And really our job in life, Ifeel like is to both, expand our
(32:05):
knowledge and bring joy toourselves and others.
David Hernandez (32:09):
Well said.
Well said, PokeJungle.
Well said.
Thank you for coming on.
As the poke ball turns, beforeyou go, if people want to be a
part of your forms, if they wantto check out, you know your
community, where can they go?
By all means, please plug away.
PokeJungle (32:22):
Yeah.
So first of all, thanks so muchfor having me.
It's been a blast talking withyou and I've really enjoyed, our
conversation.
But if you want to follow me,yeah, make sure to check out my
website, PokeJungle.net.
Our forum is a mount moon.netand that is M-O-U-N-T mount moon
dot net.
And you know, on social media,if you search PokeJungle, our
(32:43):
council probably come up, it'susually@PokeJungle, but I think
like PokeJungle Network, whichwas the very old name, you know,
of my website.
So.
My name is Poka Jungle, and this is my Pokemon
story.
David Hernandez (00:42):
Welcome to as the Pokeball Turns, Where we
interview people about theirexperience with Pokemon.
name is David Hernandez.
I'm joined by the webmaster ofPoke Jungle, a fan run Pokemon
News and content siteestablished all the way back in
2003.
Poke Jungle, welcome to as thePokemon Turns.
Thank you for coming onto thepodcast.
PokeJungle (01:03):
Yeah.
Thanks so much for having me.
I really appreciate it, and I'mexcited to be here.
David Hernandez (01:07):
Likewise and know, when we just say 2003,
that's a long time.
You've seen this communityevolve through so many eras,
from Hoennn to Sinnoh to Alolato Scarlet Violet so many times.
wanna start off with thisquestion.
Start, what's one era or momentyou wish you could relive in
Pokemon?
PokeJungle (01:27):
honestly, I would like to go back to.
gen three I guess that was kindof a magical time for me.
I just loved, getting theupgrade to the, game Boy
Advanced Graphics and then alsohaving the internet become more
ubiquitous and, you know, thecommunity was growing larger
online.
So it was just a really fun timein my opinion.
(01:48):
And, definitely, you know, aclassic era.
David Hernandez (01:50):
And that's also the time when you started your
website too, right?
If I'm not mistaken, thetimeframe.
PokeJungle (01:54):
Yeah, very, very baby PokeJungle website.
it was, you know, a veryamateur, practice, type of,
situation.
But, there are roots way back,to 2003.
David Hernandez (02:07):
you know, you said it was growing, you know,
Pokemon's growing online.
from your perspective, what didthat growth feel like?
Was it excitement?
Was it chaos?
Was it pressure for you?
PokeJungle (02:15):
to me, and I guess this is mainly coming from the
point of view of the websitesthat I enjoyed going to and the
interests that I had, but I feellike there was a lot of,
different Pokemon forums that,conversations were taking place
in and discussions were beinghad.
And then also there was just ahuge growth of Pokemon fan sites
like my own.
(02:36):
so you had basically pokeanything, you know, like you
had, Pokemon Safari, PokemonOcean, like any, any type of,
you know, location people werelike trying to, make websites
out of.
And I really loved seeing thecreativity.
Of other people and how theywere kind of taking their
passion for Pokemon and making alittle place for themselves
(02:59):
online.
David Hernandez (03:01):
Now, I know your site originally was, I
guess, inspired by Neopets thatled to what we know today as
PokeJungle What did thatcreative spark feel like for you
when you decided just to jump inand start this website?
PokeJungle (03:13):
You certainly did your homework.
Um.
David Hernandez (03:17):
I try.
Thank you.
PokeJungle (03:19):
Um, yeah, so just going slightly back to the
Neopets reference, I don't knowif anyone else, played Neopets,
but there would be guilds youwere in and guilds often made
offsite websites for themselves,for their members.
And honestly, I think that wasmy first exposure to making a
website like on geo cities, andkind of some of those early free
(03:43):
web hosts.
And so I was like, wow, I wannamake one of those.
So like my first, foray into,uh, building a website was like
all the content was justcentered because I didn't know
how to make sidebars oranything.
So it was just like centeredcontent down, the webpage.
And that's kind of like what gotme into it.
but also just seeing the fansites that other people were
(04:03):
making for Pokemon, you know,maybe a year later.
I think.
Made me want to create somethingthat was a little bit more
complex.
so that was probably, I guess, aspark.
David Hernandez (04:13):
Now I know that, you know, you talked about
how each site was kind of arepresentation, it was a
creativity of the web postthemselves,
PokeJungle (04:20):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (04:20):
I know you have a higher preference for the
forums.
What do you miss about, I guessthose slower pace places
compared to now we have Discordand Facebook and everything.
PokeJungle (04:28):
Yeah, so I think forums were always, more special
for me, I guess, because I likedthe way that you could have a
conversation and you know, likewhen you're in Discord, things
are just often, you know,messages if you're in a busy,
busier server, messages arejust, you know, flying and
conversations are kind of likewhatever's being talked about at
(04:49):
the moment.
whereas forums are so much morestructured, and we still have
things like Reddit, socialmedia, that that is more
structured.
but I think with social mediaand Discord, you have like one
profile that is tied to you andyou're in a lot of different
communities and you're kind ofexposed to the whole platform.
(05:10):
Whereas forums were a place thatwas kind of carved out on the
internet and you had thataccount for that website and it
was very much more focused onthe community that was there and
you didn't necessarily have theability to like, be distracted,
by whatever else is trending or,you know, like, whatever,
whatever outside maybe yourinterest.
(05:32):
Was so, it felt a lot more closeand tight knit to me.
Um, I guess that's, yeah, that'sjust my take on it.
So I've always enjoyed that kindof feeling,
David Hernandez (05:42):
Before we dive more into PokeJungle, I know we
kind of went off the deep end.
I wanna take it a step back.
Can you remember, like what wasyour first experience with
Pokemon?
PokeJungle (05:50):
I can't pinpoint like a, a single moment, but I
definitely grew up during thePokemon craze, so.
I was in elementary school, andI think like the whole
neighborhood, would either betrading cards, you know, like if
the kids were together, we'd,you know, have cards out or, um,
there'd be discussions aboutlike what the latest episode on
(06:11):
TV was and I didn't have a GameBoy, or an N 64 later.
So I was always super happy whenI would like go over to a
friend's house and they wouldlet me borrow, their, you know,
handheld and I could play likePokemon Red or yellow.
so that was always a highlightto me and I always kind of like,
oh my gosh, I hope one day Ican, you know, have my own game
(06:33):
boy to, um, be able to play.
it was almost a longing, to beable to play Pokemon, And of
course I did have cards, um, butI, I missed out on some of the
video game experience, when itfirst launched.
David Hernandez (06:46):
So, you know, you'd go to these friends
places, y'all would, that wouldbe your only experience, I
guess, for the Pokemon Games.
It sounds like the Pokemon Animewas how you experienced it at
home.
Is that kind of how it workedout?
PokeJungle (06:55):
Yeah, I would say the cards and the anime, I would
always be trying, I have threeyounger sisters and I'd always
be trying to get them to like,oh, you know, like, let's try
having a Pokemon battle orsomething, you know, like with
the cards.
but.
They were, they were not asenthused about the franchise as
I was.
David Hernandez (07:10):
Oh, really?
So it was just kind of you andyour own little world?
Right.
PokeJungle (07:13):
A little bit.
Yeah, I think that's fair.
David Hernandez (07:15):
What did you enjoy, I guess, about Pokemon?
Because you didn't have thatmedia exposure.
Like what was it about thePokemon world that you, I guess,
was it just the fandom or thecraze or was there more to it?
PokeJungle (07:24):
I've always been into like.
Creatures I love, like, as akid, especially, like, I would
love just going out into thewoods and like hunting for bugs
or like trying to find snakesand stuff.
So to me the, the series waslike kind of very similar to
that.
Like it had creatures that Ienjoyed and then also I am just
that type of person who, youknow, I saw kind of my own
(07:46):
hobbies in the real world as youknow, being represented and
trying to collect all thesecreatures spread throughout the
world.
David Hernandez (07:53):
Wow, that's kind of interesting.
'cause I used to collect bugstoo.
I used to do Rollie pullies
PokeJungle (07:58):
Oh,
David Hernandez (07:58):
like, I would get Rollie pullies from my
school and my house and anywhereI could find them, I put'em in a
little Jack of lantern and Iwould feed them like leaves off
my little net.
We had next to the fence, uh,where I, my backyard and I would
just feed'em.
It was just kind of a littleworld to have, you know.
PokeJungle (08:13):
that is super cute.
I, I am still a bug catcher, soI actually do have an isopod
David Hernandez (08:18):
Ooh.
PokeJungle (08:19):
Also known as Rollie Pollies.
So yeah, I have powder oranges,and I have them in a little, you
know, terrarium feed'em deadleaves as well.
David Hernandez (08:29):
See, I've always been tempted to start it
and I'm like, I really kind ofwant to just recollect them.
But the problem was that Iaccidentally, the lantern didn't
have a filter and one time itstormed really bad.
PokeJungle (08:40):
Oh,
David Hernandez (08:40):
yeah, you can imagine, you
PokeJungle (08:41):
I,
David Hernandez (08:42):
kind of put two and two together, but I'm like,
I really kind of just wanna see'em'cause it's just kind of cool
to watch, you know?
It's
PokeJungle (08:46):
mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (08:46):
watching, except it's with the really
pulleys, you know?
So you know, you were alreadystarting to get in Val, the
franchise, I guess, what wasyour first experience with the
games
PokeJungle (08:55):
I finally did get a Game Boy Advance.
But I didn't start with the GameBoy Advance Games.
I actually got a copy ofCrystal, and this, I believe
this was before Gen three hadactually launched.
So crystal was basically thelatest game that had come out
and I finally got it and it washonestly everything I was hoping
it would be.
David Hernandez (09:14):
It lived up to your expectations.
PokeJungle (09:15):
Yeah.
And really to this day, I thinkCrystal has some of the best,
Sprite animations and stuff.
just some really, reallyclassic.
things, and this is a little bitoff topic, but I really hated
emerald's Sprite animations.
I was disappointed that theanimations left when, you know,
Ruby and Sapphire were released.
but then emerald's animationswere just like so much of like
(09:37):
the bouncing and stretching,whereas Crystal, had much more
customized, animations for thePokemon.
So super disappointing to me,but.
David Hernandez (09:46):
Now, when you finally had your own game, did
it kind of feel like you wereconnected to the Pokemon world
in a different way?
Like you didn't have to go toyour friends anymore?
PokeJungle (09:52):
Yeah, I do feel like that I had also moved.
so I grew up my house was kindof like in a forest, um, in a
rural area.
So it was suddenly also harderto like just see neighborhood
kids and like.
trade Pokemon.
So I actually, I think that, mayhave pushed me in the direction
of, you know, more time, uh,with the online Pokemon
(10:15):
community just because it'slike, there wasn't, you know,
like a, my neighbor was, youknow, two miles away.
So,
David Hernandez (10:22):
A little bit of a hike.
PokeJungle (10:24):
yeah.
David Hernandez (10:24):
stuck with gen two.
Did, when did you progress intogen three In the further later
generations.
PokeJungle (10:29):
I think because I had my Game Boy Advance.
I think I bought, yeah, Idefinitely bought it on release
when Gen three was released.
'cause actually like talkingabout it, I remember
pre-ordering it at Target andthe pre-order thing was a
holographic like metal coin.
sadly I was a little bitdisappointed'cause I, there was
like.
Groudon and Kyogre, and I gotthe Kyogre one, but I really
wanted the Groudon one, so,maybe that's why I remember it
(10:52):
so well.
David Hernandez (10:54):
It's a bad memory.
It's, well, not a bad memory.
It's like I didn't get what Ireally wanted.
PokeJungle (10:58):
But like now as an adult, like, I'm like, well,
it's still cool that I have, Istill have it somewhere, so,
David Hernandez (11:03):
you do?
Now around Gen three is kind ofwhen you started the PokeJungle,
you know, you got peoplewebsites all over the place.
Was it difficult for you to kindof start a site at that point?
Or were you kind of verynaturally gifted in trying to
start a web post or whatever?
I.
PokeJungle (11:17):
I don't, I don't know if I would say like I was
super gifted, but, I feel like Ihad a good community, because on
certain Pokemon forums therewere groups of like people who
had fan sites and stuff, and solike, there was people who would
help if you had questions orlike offer critiques.
so there was like kind of agroup of us that would, work
together and share knowledgeand, you know, sometimes fight,
(11:41):
sometimes a little bit of drama,but.
David Hernandez (11:44):
I mean, that's what happens in every community,
right?
PokeJungle (11:46):
Yeah,
David Hernandez (11:47):
when it came to just seeing how the sites
continue to grow and now, youknow, I guess they've started to
decrease.
How has it been to see kinda alot of the communities fade away
in time and be left with what itis.
PokeJungle (11:56):
I feel like it kind of makes sense'cause I feel like
a lot of people do, grow up andhave their interests change.
So it kind of makes sense thatthere's not gonna be a lot of
websites that run.
10, 15, 20 years.
but on the other hand, it's alittle bit sad not to see as
many new, websites try to comeup because I feel like there
are, a lot of people who were myage, you know, and interested in
(12:19):
Pokemon and creating websites.
But it doesn't seem like,there's as many people who
necessarily want to do that,and.
I may be speaking out ofignorance because I'm not as
involved, um, with, I don't, Idon't have like a community of
like, people who love to makewebsites, on a Pokemon forum,
like back in the day.
So I may be totally ignorant, soI'm not meaning to offend anyone
(12:40):
who does have a website that Idon't know about.
but from my impressions online,it just doesn't seem like
there's that much passion tolike start small fan sites.
And this is actually beyond justPokemon too.
I wish when I searched Google, Iwould find different stuff.
I wish that I would find morecontent that's written by fans
of a series or something, versuslike, I just feel like there's
(13:04):
so much kind of slap out therewhere you read three paragraphs,
to get nothing.
Like, I don't know if you knowwhat I'm talking about, but you
know, like some video gamewebsites, you read three
paragraphs and it's like, okay.
the, the headline has not beenaddressed yet.
whereas I feel like people whoare passionate about a topic,
really put a lot of effort in.
so that's what makes, projectslike, you know, your podcast and
(13:26):
also websites and newsletters soimportant, because they're, the
way that they handle content andthe topic is different, I feel
like.
David Hernandez (13:35):
I see it a lot whenever I scroll the web.
Especially doing this podcastjust looking for guests.
I wanna say Pokemon's maybebecome so hyper-focused and
maybe this is beyond Pokemon,like you said, it's become so
hyper-focused on just video
PokeJungle (13:49):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (13:50):
the only way people feel like they can
express themselves.
PokeJungle (13:54):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (13:54):
And you know, yes, I understand video is king,
but it's not the only way toengage people.
like you said, you know, bringback the discussions to where
you can write stuff aboutPokemon.
You don't see that much anymore.
You don't see, like the fanthink it's very, I don't wanna
say they're in the.
They're kind of niche.
You have to kind of go, reallydig in deep now to kind of find
it where I feel like maybe backwhen we were growing up, it was
(14:16):
more prevalent.
I think you could find it a lotmore easier compared to
nowadays.
PokeJungle (14:20):
Mm-hmm.
No, I totally agree.
And actually that's a reallygood point.
I didn't even mention video whenI was talking about that'cause
David Hernandez (14:26):
I
PokeJungle (14:26):
almost feel like it's a separate category.
In a way, I do make videosoccasionally, um, particularly
like for merchandise.
but I'm just so not passionateabout it, so it's hard for me to
like, kind of make stuff in thatspace.
I'm, I have a lot more fun likeusing, video editing apps to
make like shorts and stuff.
'cause it's just, it's easy andyou can like, you know, throw
(14:48):
something together.
that looks kind of cool.
But, I feel like the creationscene has definitely gone in the
video direction, which I don'thave anything against
necessarily, but it just makesme mourn, I guess, a little bit
for the older, like tech space,creation.
David Hernandez (15:03):
Now, you know, we've talked about how a lot of
communities faded away.
What kept you going, I guess, tokeep PokeJungle running, even
when other, you'd see some ofyour fellow hosts, web hosts,
like disappear and move on tothe sunset.
PokeJungle (15:15):
There was a time I did take a break, I think it was
like for a year.
and that was around the time ofHeartGold and Soul Silver's
pre-release lead up.
and at that time I was justreally struggling, with a lot of
stress.
And so I can definitelyempathize with people who
ultimately, you know, decidednot to, continue their website
(15:36):
or project because sometimes,you know, real life does have to
take, priority over this stuffand sometimes it can just turn
into stress.
even for me, like I have a lotof, unopened stuff.
don't call me a hoarder, but,well, I don't know.
I have a room full of Pokemonstuff and it's supposed to be a
studio, but like, I haven't, I,I gotta do some stuff and it's
(16:00):
like.
right now it probably does looklike a hoarder's room.
Um,'cause I gotta organizeeverything and that's been like
a huge thing that I don't wannado.
But anyway, so back to thetopic, like I definitely,
empathize with people who have,not been able to continue and
stuff, but, it is a little bitsad to see some of these
projects fold.
but what's kept me going is kindof my interest in covering news.
(16:24):
I like the feeling of like,trying to get, different stories
and news out that I think fansare going to enjoy and I try to
give context about it.
cause I know some sites, youknow, Serebii is obviously
extremely popular, extremelywell run website.
but their news section isusually just like a paragraph or
(16:45):
two about news.
So like when I'm doing stuff,like I want to give a little bit
more context If there's, youknow, something related, I wanna
like bring it up and have alittle bit longer, articles when
news is shared.
So just like being able to kindof cover news has really been my
passion to be honest.
David Hernandez (17:05):
Now when it comes to running PokeJungle,
have you always felt like youwere a fan or do you feel like
your relationship with Pokemonhas changed at times?
PokeJungle (17:12):
I don't really work directly with the brand too
often.
I feel like there might bedifferent feelings from, um.
I don't know, video creators,who get invited to events and
stuff, and have a strongerrelationship with actual
company.
but for me, I really am just afan still.
David Hernandez (17:33):
Well, I mean, there's so much news that comes
in.
I'm impressed that you can keepup with it all.
So that's why I'm like, uh, doesthis sometimes feel like it's
work, sometimes, like having todo all that stuff?
Or do you just enjoy like justbringing the news to the people?
PokeJungle (17:44):
Yeah, I, I mean, sometimes it does feel like
work.
to be honest, like I gotta finda better way.
Some of these, one of the thingsyou have to consider when you're
doing like, web stuff as like,optimization for images.
recently I was working on astory about black bolt, white
flare TCG set And I don'tusually cover TCG news, but I am
(18:05):
a super big, gen five fan.
So having a set that includes,um, illustration rares or secret
illustration rares for everysingle.
Pokemon from Unova was big forme, so I wanted to spotlight
that on my website, but like,grabbing images and then like
resizing them to certain,dimensions that are gonna get
like a smaller, file size.
(18:26):
And then I usually use a toollike, tiny PMG, to compress
those down.
Like it just, like the articlehonestly, I think took an hour
just to put up.
and I'm sure there's a fasterway, so like I gotta work on my
workflow, but, sometimes it'sjust like, I wish I could just
like snap my fingers and havesomething more put together.
but I don't wanna, use like AIfor content or anything, so I'm
(18:49):
doing everything by hand.
David Hernandez (18:51):
No, I understand the exactly how I
feel because I don't know ifpeople know this.
I used Photoshop 2016
PokeJungle (18:58):
Hmm.
Hmm.
David Hernandez (19:00):
there's so many limitations I have on that tool
that I
PokeJungle (19:03):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (19:04):
But it does what I need it to do.
It's just those small details.
I think the best example iswhenever I need to bend an
object, some reason, the one Ihave does not allow me to bend
objects.
So I have to go to like anonline site to bend an object,
download it, re-upload it backonto my, uh, canvas of what I'm
doing.
PokeJungle (19:23):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (19:24):
it takes just extra, those extra steps is
extra time.
It's like, I feel you.
'cause I'm like,
PokeJungle (19:28):
Yeah.
Yep.
David Hernandez (19:28):
there was a, I know there's an easier button,
but I don't wanna pay asubscription, so I don't got
that kind of money.
So.
PokeJungle (19:33):
Yep.
I actually, I switched toAffinity Photo last year because
I was like, you know what,Adobe's making some decisions.
I don't agree with Affinity isjust gonna be a flat fee, you
know, for this version.
So it took some getting used to,but like I'm actually in a good
place right now with that.
But I definitely feel you.
Yeah.
David Hernandez (19:51):
you.
Thank you for therecommendation.
I might have to check that outafter this.
(20:37):
You said Gen five is one of the,your favorite generations.
Let's talk about it.
You know, what do you enjoyabout playing?
Black and white?
Black and white?
Two bad generation of games.
PokeJungle (20:45):
you know, honestly, and this is gonna be a
controversial hot take, but Genfour was not one of my favorite
generations.
and I honestly feel like itmight be somewhat influenced by
my Ds'cause I had an original.
DS and to be honest, the screensare not that amazing.
Or maybe my console didn't havethat amazing of a screen, I
(21:05):
didn't feel like it was a hugeupgrade.
I loved the vibrant colors inHoenn and Gen three definitely
still like, was magical, I feltlike.
but going into gen four, it justseemed a little bit more muddy,
coloring.
And maybe this is only me whofeels this way, but, it just, it
was fine.
Like there's some Pokemon that Ilove from Gen four Carnival,
(21:28):
Cher.
Like, I'm not saying that I'mright off the whole generation,
but I was just super excited forsomething new by the time Gen
five, was coming and.
It just really, really impressedme.
I felt like it was great to havea whole new set of characters,
because we had been, you know,seeing Generation One Pokemon
(21:50):
for four generations, you know,in different games, and it just
felt like super fresh, superexciting.
I, I realize that not everyonefelt that way, and I think it
has like some of the lowestsales when we're comparing like
the First Games of a generation.
David Hernandez (22:05):
Now, I know that the Pokemon that's based
off of PokeJungle from theirSewaddle,
PokeJungle (22:09):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (22:10):
your favorite Pokemon or what led it to
becoming the logo or the face ofyour website?
PokeJungle (22:15):
It's definitely one of my favorite Pokemon.
honestly, I don't know, but thatkind of encapsulates my website
to me.
And also, my kind of vibes,'cause like, I love Sewaddle, if
you think about like, you seethe, caterpillars head or
caterpillar, like Pokemon's headand then a leaf encasing it.
(22:37):
So like my two favorite typesare bug and grass.
So it just really, felt likeperfect for me, I guess.
So I was, I was really happywhen it was revealed and I was
just like, well, that's what mysite has been waiting for.
That's the mascot we're gonna beusing from now on.
David Hernandez (22:52):
Well, what do you have against Paras?
I mean, Paras has been aroundfor like a long time.
PokeJungle (22:56):
And you know what I actually love, Paras too, but I
don't have as much connectionwith like the mushroom vibes.
So it, it really was like thebug and a leaf motif.
but actually, yeah, I would saylike those two are in my
favorites as well, so like,definitely for sure up there,
but it was not necessarily pokea jungle to me, you know?
David Hernandez (23:16):
I know you said bug and grass are your two
favorite.
What
PokeJungle (23:18):
Mm-hmm.
David Hernandez (23:19):
those typing specifically that speak to you
differently compared to othertypes?
PokeJungle (23:23):
I am just like a nature kid.
So like, I loved being out, notoutdoors, like outdoor sports.
I'm not, I'm not that kind of, Iwas that kind of kid, but
outdoors as in like, hiking andjust exploring.
And so I've always loved liketrees, grass, plants.
and then also of course, youknow, like I shared, I liked bug
collecting as well, so.
(23:43):
I think those two types werejust a standout, from the whole
list of'em to me.
David Hernandez (23:48):
Now, you know, you don't have to go in specific
order, but what kind of bugPokemon or grass Pokemon speak
to you on that level?
That kind of, when you see itand you think, oh, this is
definitely nature kind of vibes.
PokeJungle (24:00):
I would say that like, personally I really enjoy
Pokemon, that have like leavesas part of their, design.
I like Bulbasaur, you know, theBulbasaur line.
and honestly like there's over athousand.
So like, I can't, I can't likego through everything, but you
know, like Carnival is just likea really classic, Pokemon that I
enjoy.
David Hernandez (24:20):
Now as you continued with Pokemon and you
know, you're running PokeJungle,what were the kind of the
challenges, especially as thelandscape shifted from, you
know, forum to the websites?
You know, how did you adapt?
PokeJungle (24:30):
you know, ultimately I closed my forums because there
just wasn't enough, activity andstuff.
So it was really hard to kind ofdeal with the changing landscape
of social media and how peoplereally flocked more to Facebook
and Twitter, over moretraditional places to have
Pokemon discussions and stuff.
(24:52):
I recently reopened my forum.
so like I am gonna be continuingto promote that as an
alternative, and kind of getaway from like billionaire
funded social media networksthat's often push, different
narratives and stuff.
But that was a challenge.
And then also I think when Ikind of switched to going to
(25:15):
college and then like.
Having classes working part-timeand also trying to manage my
website.
It was pretty difficult, for meto find a balance there.
And I think, it's easier for metoday as, you know, an older
adult.
because I have a job that allowsme to have flexible breaks and
stuff.
If there's like suddenly newsthat comes up and I need to
(25:36):
write an article real quick orsomething.
but definitely balancing likecollege and working, I think
was, was a challenge
David Hernandez (25:43):
you know, if the forms were able to make a
comeback, especially inconsidering how social media is
starting to manipulate people,you've got the algorithms,
you've got the bot accounts.
What would, I guess, be yourideal vision of what an updated
form site would look like?
Would it be same to what yougrew up with, or would it be
something more modern to whatthey're used to?
PokeJungle (26:01):
I think a mix of both.
I think there's good things thatsocial media has brought, like
we couldn't just, you know, liketype an at mark and.
write someone's username to liketag them on a forum back when I
was, you know, using them when Iwas like 12.
so there are things that socialmedia has really popularized and
like my new forum, you know,like they've incorporated these
(26:22):
forums in the years since.
but I think there's things thatsocial media brought that are
good.
but to be honest, my ideal forumis not huge.
I've always.
Enjoyed being an alternativelocation, to either discuss
things on a forum or even like,you know, my website.
I'm not trying to be the biggestwebsite out there.
(26:42):
I've always just enjoyed a moretight-knit, community and group.
David Hernandez (26:45):
Now let's go back to the Pokemon Games real
quick.
You know, we progress on to PathGen five.
What do you enjoy about playingthe games?
Do you play for the story?
Do you like the shiny hunt?
Are you collector?
PokeJungle (26:55):
honestly running, and I don't know, maybe this is
the first time I'm talking aboutthis, running a Pokemon website
has totally destroyed myenjoyment of the games in a
certain way.
because when I'm playing thegames, I am feel like I have to
catalog a lot of stuff.
Um, so I don't necessarily feellike excited to play sometimes
(27:19):
'cause I'm like, oh crap, like Ijust found like where this
location is, like I need toupdate like this page or
whatever.
And so it ends up becoming morestressful.
So.
but in general, I am more oflike, someone who plays for like
the story and collectingPokemon.
I'm not, a competitive player.
I really respect all thestrategies and stuff that the,
(27:42):
video game championship playerscome up with.
Like, it's super intriguing theway that they use different
stuff.
Like growing up as a kid, ofcourse, I was like, oh, this
move doesn't do damage.
Bye.
Um, I had no, you know, like noappreciation for any of that
kind of stuff, but I mean, youdon't necessarily need it when
you're playing against the MPCsand the games, right now, yeah,
(28:03):
I would say more like story and,getting to see the Pokemon
world.
I think it's really cool the waythat different generations have
given us a glimpse of thedifferent regions and, you know,
evolved the lore and stuff.
David Hernandez (28:15):
I mean, on that note, I guess, how do you find
that balance to kind of stepaway and just, you know, not
between burnout and passion,like how do you balance it out?
PokeJungle (28:23):
Um, yeah, I don't know if I really think about it
as two different things.
Like, to me, my passion isdefinitely kind of wrapped up in
covering news in a weird way.
Like I don't feel.
That is a chore as much actuallyas playing the game sometimes.
cause I really, really lovecovering the news versus
cataloging information.
(28:45):
So like Serebii obviously hasgreat stuff.
Bulbapedia has great stuff.
Like there are websites that doa great job at cataloging,
different stuff about the games.
Characters, that's not mypassion and I really struggle
with that.
So that's why you notice, likemy website really lacks a lot
of, pages and I gotta, I wouldlike to go through and update a
lot of stuff.
(29:05):
but to me, I guess I avoidburnout by kind of balancing how
much I spend, cataloging stuffand creating pages and mostly
focus on news to avoid,Resenting the, the franchise.
I guess
David Hernandez (29:22):
Right.
I mean, you're doing a good jobthough.
Running on 20 plus years.
You got a long way to go.
Maybe another, we'll see youanother 20.
PokeJungle (29:30):
I'll be passing it down to my kids.
Maybe I,
David Hernandez (29:33):
Oh, that'd be kind of cool.
And then I can interview'em onthe podcast Talk.
PokeJungle two.
You know, we're up towards theend What do you want to see
PokeJungle become?
You talked about how you openthe forms up.
You're hoping to kind of beanother place for people to step
away from social media.
Do you have any other vision youhave for the website moving
forward?
PokeJungle (29:50):
Yeah, I'd really like to increase our merchandise
coverage.
I really focused more of oursocial media accounts on.
Updating, fans about what'scoming out in Japan or what's
been announced, in the US andrelease dates and stuff.
But I definitely like to startbringing that more onto my
website and having a betterresource for fans who are
(30:11):
looking to learn about what'scoming out or, more of a
historical, archive if fans arelike looking for information on
different things.
So that's.
That's my next big project, Ifeel like, and um, I'm excited
to work on that.
David Hernandez (30:25):
That's awesome, man.
I look forward to kind of seeinghow this, grows.
it's crazy to think that you'vebeen going there for 20 plus
years and you still got a lotmore in you.
PokeJungle (30:34):
I guess that's one way to think about it.
David Hernandez (30:37):
This is gonna be my last question for the
close out the podcast.
And I want to think about backwhen you were just collecting
bugs and you know, you weregoing to over to, you know, a
friend's to borrow games.
If that kid saw who startedPokeJungle, now, what do you
think that they would say?
PokeJungle (30:52):
Um, I'll give you my very honest and maybe not so
positive thing, but like.
David Hernandez (30:59):
go for it.
PokeJungle (31:00):
Wow, you're 35 and you still like Pokemon.
I mean, like, I, you know, likemaybe there's a more
inspirational, answer.
Like, I would love if they say,wow, you know, you're so
passionate about that.
You're still like following yourdreams and, you know, you've
been able to create a small, youknow, following.
(31:20):
but I don't know who would tellme that.
Um.
But am I embarrassed?
No.
You know, like, I think peopleshould really try to enjoy, life
and Pokemon certainly is a hugepart of my life just because of
my website and stuff.
but it's definitely noteverything I do.
I love to, read different thingsand, broaden my horizons,
(31:44):
through other learning.
So it's not everything I do.
but I do feel like people shouldpursue things that bring them
joy because we all are on alimited timeframe as humans, as
mortal humans.
And really our job in life, Ifeel like is to both, expand our
(32:05):
knowledge and bring joy toourselves and others.
David Hernandez (32:09):
Well said.
Well said, PokeJungle.
Well said.
Thank you for coming on.
As the poke ball turns, beforeyou go, if people want to be a
part of your forms, if they wantto check out, you know your
community, where can they go?
By all means, please plug away.
PokeJungle (32:22):
Yeah.
So first of all, thanks so muchfor having me.
It's been a blast talking withyou and I've really enjoyed, our
conversation.
But if you want to follow me,yeah, make sure to check out my
website, PokeJungle.net.
Our forum is a mount moon.netand that is M-O-U-N-T mount moon
dot net.
And you know, on social media,if you search PokeJungle, our
(32:43):
council probably come up, it'susually@PokeJungle, but I think
like PokeJungle Network, whichwas the very old name, you know,
of my website.
So.
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