Pokemon communities

[noobcubed]

It has been a long time since I've posted an OI vanity thread - but having seen some comments in the "little things you like" thread about how welcoming and non-toxic Smogon is (relatively, at least - remember this is still the Internet), it got me thinking just how community-oriented a series Pokemon is. It really is the original "multiplayer single-player" game, ie a single-player game which is enhanced by interaction with other players. It has developed all kinds of communities - competitive communities like this one, a let's play/top ten community on Youtube, and of course most recently Pokemon Go, which has taken things one stage further by bringing players face-to-face, blending the virtual and real worlds.

So I guess this thread is mainly to ask people how they got where they are, Pokemon-wise. Has Pokemon helped you make friends? Or perhaps you have encountered online unpleasantness? Where else, apart from Smogon, would you recommend? Do you think there's a certain amount of friction between different communities? Etc.

 

[Codraroll]

Good idea for a thread!

By the way, just to get it off early, we won't tolerate bashing of other communities here. Posts like "Pokewhatever sucks, it's full of noobs" or "Glad this isn't some loser site like Whateverpokes" is not okay. In general, speak of them like you would of other people. Smogon is too good to fall to pettiness.

 

[WaffleTitan]

Smogon is the only Pokemon site I have an account on, I definitely use bulbapedia and serebii a lot, but I feel as though there isn't much on any other site that I can't get to some extent here. That being said, if anyone highly recommends a site, I might give it a go. On to the next topic; have I made any friends through Pokemon? Well, not really... I have many friends that happen to play Pokemon, but we were definitely not brought together because of it. I don't really think it's possible to make legitimate friends just from meeting on a Pokemon forum. I think you have to meet in person or REALLY have a conversation to become friends, neither of which I've done yet. In the Orange islands forum, pretty much everyone seems to be a good person, no trolling or flaming, and although there are lots of intense arguments, I don't think anyone (for the most part) really holds grudges against anyone else. That's why this is really the only forum I post in. Some of the other forums in smogon... well it's not quite the same case. It's not all bad, but there is a fair amount of trolling and also intentional insensitivity, which might suppose can be said of anywhere on the Internet. I generally don't post in other forums because it seems to me that they each have their own exclusive group, to some extent, and if you haven't managed to make it in, you will primarily be ignored or reacted to coldly. I would like to clarify, I don't mean this in a negative way, just an objective one. I'm sure if I frequented other parts of the site more, it might be different, but from a newcomer standpoint, it's tough. I guess I've strayed a bit from talking about other communities, as I've only talked about our own, but all in all I don't think I want a different one, cause this one's pretty darn good!

 

[Billy the Uncle]

Smogon is the only Pokémon community I visit regularly and take a (minimal) part of. I've been a lurker for quite some time before I eventually decided to sign up and spread my largely unwanted opinion on the forum.

What made me like Smogon is the methodical approach to Pokémon (I am a sucker for game mechanics and whatever things most people find boring) and the general level of competence which is much higher than what you can find on the Internet (and not just on Pokémon-related sites). Not saying Smogon is perfect or the home of enlightened but it appeals me in that way.

I also visit Bulbapedia regularly, but only for infos and I don't have an account there. It's the best resource on the Internet in my opinion, and sometimes I look at it just for the trivias if I feel bored.

 

[Vinc2612]

I started on a french community called PokémonTrash (I swear I'm not bashing, that's the actual name) That's where I learnt the basic of competitive battling.
Then I discovered the wonderful world of TPO (Team Pokémon Officielle!). At those times, the French community was divided by teams, each player trying to join any of them. Every two weeks or so, we were playing what we called interteams, the best players of a team facing the ones from another. While the concept sounds fun, it was ruined by the fact that we were 15 year old immature boys trying to be the very best, leading to the biggest amount of salt you can't even imagine (no seriously, smogon is nothing compared to how we raged). That ultimately led to the end of the TPO, people losing interest and, sorry for the wording here, getting tired of this shit.

So finally, I went on Smogon (especially after learning a bit of English!), for the new level of competitive Pokémon. I'm here mostly for tournaments, although more free time during the weekdays recently led me to visit other parts of the site (mainly the UU subforum and the Orange Islands).

Has Pokémon helped you make friends?
> Yes, definitely. While most people or just people I like to talk with, I consider two people I met there as real friends. Alf', who I met several times IRL, I even met his family (we're ready to get engaged). And Mentagrill, we also met IRL three times, she is the one who got me my current job. We played several RL tournaments together, one being in Tag battles, definitely someone I have a lot of fun with.

Or perhaps you have encountered online unpleasantness?
> Yes, also true. I told you about the TPO, this obviously led to rivalities, and often unhealthy ones. Even on Smogon, there are a couple of people I don't like, and that I'd rather avoid all in all. But on the other hand, the more I grow up, the less it happens, so it is encouraging to stay!

Apart from Smogon, I don't have much to recommend. Like many other, I visit Bulbapedia and Serebii daily, but I'm not interested in the community, I have everything I need here on Smogon.

I generally don't post in other forums because it seems to me that they each have their own exclusive group, to some extent, and if you haven't managed to make it in, you will primarily be ignored or reacted to coldly. I would like to clarify, I don't mean this in a negative way, just an objective one. I'm sure if I frequented other parts of the site more, it might be different, but from a newcomer standpoint, it's tough.

Ahah that is so true, and not even only from a newcomer standpoint. I've been around for years now, and as stupid as it sounds, I feel like there would be something wrong showing up only now in the RMT section (for example) and starting to help with the rates. I know I have no reason to feel that way, but I guess I'm afraid to look like a badge hunter or something like that? I mean, why else would I only rate teams now? It can't be that I have more free time and that I am willing to improve my own build, right?

 

[Oddish.]

Although I've been a fan of pokemon since I was about 4, Smogon is the first actual pokemon community I ever joined. I considered making a Serebii account multiple times, and lurked around on there, but it just never happened. At first it was out of shyness, but then later on in just lost interest. I did, however, join Tumblr for the pokemon fandom, back when I was in 9th grade. Though I haven't actually used Tumblr in several months now. I find Tumblr to be kind of exhausting to use sometimes.

I came to Smogon because I decided to get serious about learning competitive battling. I dabbled in competitive battling a bit back during gen 5, but I didn't actually take the time to learn anything and got discouraged when I kept losing battles and gave up lol. I was about 12 or 13. Though my interest in competitive battling came back after getting into Youtubers like Pokeaim and Cybertron. And that's when I decided to make an account here so I can sign up for B101. I initially didn't have any intention of using this account for much else, but then I figured, "Hey, I'm here, might as well see what's going on in the other forums."

I came to OI first because I figured it'd be the easiest for me to jump into. And sure enough, I was right. I took part in the SM conversation with no issues whatsoever. I admit I was initially nervous about just going in and posting, but everyone was nice. I'm pretty comfortable in Smogon now and I didn't expect to enjoy it here as much as I did.

About making friends, I have some in real life but I wouldn't really say we're friends because of pokemon, rather we all just happen to like it. I did make some friends on Tumblr because of pokemon. I'm still too new here to have any friends lol.

When it comes to friction between communities, there's obviously the competitive vs casual thing. However, from what I've seen, Smogon isn't nearly as elitist as some people make it out to be. I don't think Smogon as a whole gives a shit about whether or not you're a casual or competitive player. True, Smogon is seen as a mostly competitive site, but if it was entirely one, forums like this wouldn't exist. Smogon also does try to help newer players get accustomed to battling. I think the only time Smogon gets mad about noobs is when they post stupid things in competitive threads when they obviously have no idea what they're talking about. Like "unban x" or whatever.

Overall, I really like it here.

 

[Antihaxxer]

I've been in a lot of communities (Series, Games, International or French) and Orange Islands is one of the nicest place ever ! I don't really go on others sub forums of Smogon (Maybe Competitive OU + Others Metagames), but Orange Islands is my favourite subforum ! Thanks guys <3

 

[Lady Vader]

As I've said before (and I have a feeling that comment lead to this thread), Smogon is the best forum I've been on. The vast majority of people here are nice, intelligent, and it is possible to actually have a good debate on here without it devolving, unlike other forums I've been on.
When it comes to Pokémon, the only other online community I've been part of was a short lived Facebook one with friends and friends of friends that existed around the wait time for Black 2 and White 2. It died shortly after those games were released, especially as I was the only one who really posted (I kept everyone up to date). Well, there was another Facebook one revolving around trading when X and Y came out, but I didn't really contribute much other than shutting down one person's grumbling about IVs (he said that the rest of us were pathetic for asking for Pokémon with perfect IVs).

 

[Taistelu]

Smogon is the main Pokemon Community I actually use. I haven't really been on other Pokemon Forums, or other Forums in general, really. Smogon has always seemed like a very friendly site for the most part, and I really enjoy it. There was one other Pokemon Forum I visited before this, and that was PsyPoke's under a different username and it looks...dead. It's far from Smogon where new posts come constantly flooding in from all sub forums and I barely see any users online when I look, compared to Smogon's 500-900 range I typically see on at one time. (Not trying to bash PsyPoke here, just saying what I see) and it does sadden me since it was the first Pokemon Forum I visited. In terms of the real world, Pokemon has bought me together with a small number of other people, which is just fine by me. Online unpleasantness tend to be almost everywhere so avoiding that is rather difficult.

 

[Cresselia~~]

Smogon is the main Pokemon Community I use. Although I participate in many Cantonese facebook groups, most people aren't into competitive Pokemon, and there are very few people who are both active and knowledgeable at the same time.

I'm so surprised that there are so few noobs on Smogon. People on Smogon are also very logical and use good English (in terms of grammar, spelling and vocabulary).
The only other website that can compare is probably RationalSkeptical forum.
I like how you are expected to do research before you speak, rather than asking people questions they've heard for many times.
(Just... who'd like to explain the same things over and over again?)
Smogon is actually a place where I can learn stuff, rather than only teach people.
It's a place to meet like-minded people, I guess, since most people are probably nerds like me who do in-depth research all the time.

Sadly, since I live in Hong Kong, I'd probably never be able to meet any fellow Smogonitese in real life.
I do value real life meet ups a lot. I meet up with Poke fans in Hong Kong quite often too.

 

[Gabe]

The community here is one of the reasons why I don't feel like I could quit Pokemon. I've met so many genuine, funny, and cool people during the six years or so I've been here. I actually miss the people who leave or disappear a lot more than I miss people from adolescence.

I've only tried Serebii and Nuggetbridge besides this. Serebii is where I began, but generally the crowd there was a lot younger so relating to them was difficult. At the time I was really into the DPP meta, and wanted to get better so I came here. Of course, I heard of the rep Smogon gets but it was anything but that. My favorite sub forums are Wifi and OI. Cong and Firebot are fun too but they have their moments where I wanna close the window and walk away lol.

Pokemon is communal, and that is what I've always loved about it. Trading and battling with other people helped me make a lot of good friends and acquaintances. I'll always be grateful for the experience.

 

[Blue_Tornado]

I'm gonna take some time to ramble about my own history with Pokemon communities, so sit back and get comfortable.

PS: I RAMBLED TOO MUCH. The first two parts are about how I found my way to online Pokemon in general. I talk about communities later.

Early Days

We'll say it was 2007, but I don't really remember, it could have been earlier or later. When I wanted to look for info on games, I would find all sorts of guides on IGN and GameFAQs. I remember an IGN board about the first Mystery Dungeon game pretty fondly - it had a guide for clearing Purity Forest, recruiting that damned Kelceon, etc. I wanted to find those threads right now, but I think the board is lost in time or something. Uhh, nevermind, I just googled the title and got it.[1] That should show you how well I remember those times.

The other thing I'd do is follow Serebii's main site for news. I don't remember how I found it, but it was the other source I had for all sorts of gameplay info and tips. I didn't know they had a forum at all.

At some point I also started watching YouTube videos. Like, in general. Not long passed until I searched for Pokemon videos and found out there were people uploading Wi-Fi battles. From that point I'd just constantly search for "Pokemon wifi battles" all the time - it was pretty amazing seeing competitive videos for the game series you liked so much and knew so much about. I mean, in retrospect they were pretty horrible videos, but when you've never seen a competitive battle before, you get impressed by anything. This was just the time Marriland, MTGxerxes and others were uploading videos, so I wasn't the only one being impressed.

Then something led me to Serebii's forums. Maybe some of the links from the main page's headlines. I was super impressed they too had a forum like IGN, and it took me only a few minutes to find posts that mentioned Smogon. Hilarious in hindsight, this made me check out this site and I never signed up for Serebii, despite lurking on the main site for years.

Relatively Old Smogon

This was around the beginning of 2009. I hadn't signed up for the forums yet, because the first thing I noticed was the damned Pokemon battling simulator that you could use to play against people all over the world. I was dumbstruck. I had my old man set up the port for Shoddy Battle and started battling. It didn't take long for me to feel the need to make an account on the forums, maybe because of tournament signups or something. I wasn't original with names. There were plenty of people called Blue something, it sat at the back of my mind and I just went with it.

I was a big fan of team showcases (Rate My Team) and battle showcases (warstories). I'm not sure these things even exist nowadays. They had the archive for good RMTs and warstories, which made me post some of my own. I also joined some small tournaments, but I didn't really have any friends from the forums. Funny that the opening post praised Smogon for its hospitality, because between Trou du Cul, Firebot, the shunned Wi-Fi subforum and the general elitism culture left by the oldies, those were some pretty different times! I rediscovered one of the old Garchomp videos a few weeks ago and I had a great time watching it again.[2]

Anyway, it took me a stroke of luck to branch out a bit. One day the main Shoddy server was down, so I tried one of the smaller ones...

Splinter Communities

I checked out some of the smaller servers, and they were ordered by the number of people present on the servers, like you'd expect. I think I went through some foreign language servers first, though, which wasn't a great time. I eventually went to some server called Pokecentral101 which had around a dozen people on it. The ladder was working fine, though, and I battled the same few newbies until I almost topped their leaderboard. I mean, with a small community, that's not really a problem. Then the guy on the top of the ladder showed up, we traded a few losses, and he invited me over to their forum. This was my first time interacting with other communities, let alone a really small one, but I quickly figured that I could have a lot of influence on a smaller board, so I started executing all the things I wanted to do on the Smogon forums - type out Pokemon analyses, make a new tier between OU and UU, host tournaments, all sorts of things in the competitive sphere.

I'd never been on an online chat aside from Shoddy, which never felt very personal, so the possibility of a community chat didn't cross my mind. One day the site admin hollered me over to a webchat that all the frequents hanged out in. I had to do a little sleuthing (all of these sites are dead now, christ[3][4]) to remember what the site was called, but the site was called "xat", and it was some flimsy webchat that allowed avatars and link embedding and some more, along with auth and kickbans and other things you'd expect. This was a little while before I was introduced to IRC, and xats seemed pretty cool at the time, not to mention I wanted to hang out with the people from the community, so I stuck around for a while.

Hanging out in small communities was a pretty big deal. It introduced me to a lot of Internet Drama, people getting mad over nothing, some anxiety, but also a lot of in-jokes and good times. I had Wi-Fi battles with friends over the chat and participated in all sorts of streams and competitions we organized. I still remember a lot of the things we did back then, and I also remember a lot of the people I hung out with. It's a constant source of nostalgia whenever I catch someone I remember from those days, and we can reminisce.

Wrapping Up

Around the time my old communities broke up, I already had other hobbies and I started to branch off from Pokemon. I couldn't ever really reproduce the sense of community I had back then, but maybe that's just me looking back fondly at my teenage years. Still, to this day I think having a small, close-knit community to share your hobby with is pretty top. Kinda like in life, if you float around and not really get into a community and talk to people, you will not have done much by the time you move on.

I mean, Smogon has all sorts of subforums and tiny IRC channels you can hang out in, but it's a little different when it's all interconnected under the same site. Having your own independent group of friends doing your own thing is what I'm talking about, and that's why I'm a pretty big fan of spread-out, tiny communities. There's problems with small communities like toxicity and stuff, but you just gotta make sure not to focus on bashing other people as your pastime and you guys should be fine.

___
Footnotes
[1] lapton32s guide to Purity Forest, or indeed any other Level 1 Dungeon / IGN game boards
[2] Smogon's Truth: The Real Garchomp Story / YouTube
[3] http://www.pokecentral101.com/
[4] http://regileague.forumup.com/

 

[The_Snub_Bro]

This community seems like the penatagon of pokemon with very good organization and very good troll watch while other communities are over run by the infestation of trolls this community is really mature and relaxed and doesnt judge.