So, I'm hearing the site admin has gone missing or something?

Question

Sorry for the muted reaction to the threads over the past week. It was kinda 4 AM on a Monday morning when my old DB~Valet service showed up in the dead of the night to say he's finally giving Pokemaster the arse.

Where the heck have you been for the last ten years? And who's doing your performance review?

Upvotes to the left if you remember.

Jokes aside, I'm not intending this post to be a grand mission statement or a meta ironic analysis of Pokemaster's activity or anything. I had actually planned to write about the whole situation some time after Legends: Z-A released, and I still plan to.

But I felt it was important to show my face now and acknowledge a few home truths on behalf of the staff. Yep, Pokemaster's not around anymore, and yep, it's a serious problem.

I feel the need to mention this is not new. As others have brought up, I've been pushing back against Pokemaster's indifference towards PokeBase for years, and people (for better or worse) have been pushing for me to have admin powers for years. Arguments over what to do with RMT have existed since 2012, unanswered suggestions have existed since literally 2010.

But clearly there's a new complexion on all of this in 2025 that has never been there before.

Pokemaster has responded to the concerns before, to the effect that there's not much of a problem and I (or whoever) couldn't do much more to help the community. I don't agree, and I will be passionately laying out my reasons why once I've had more time to stew on it all.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A releases today, funnily enough. So depending on how much of a backseat this community takes to that, Pokemaster might already see us scribbling on his walls. If that happens, then I don't want him to take away negativity. I want him to see why this community matters.

Answer this post with what this site means to you (or meant to you in the good old days!)

As briefly as you like, and not through a veil of disaffection. Say genuinely why you are invested in seeing PokeBase be the best version of itself. I will start.

Comments

You cooked

Answer 1

This community matters to me because I grew up with it. I was a kid when I asked dad for his email address so I could sign up for this sweet as Pokemon website. PokeBase was barely six months old then.

Old heads will remember I was an absolute PITA back then. If trachy is reading this, thanks for not banning SuperFlygon! Maybe I convinced you I was in this for the long run with this post.

The site had a big activity spike in 2012-14, which I and many others remember very fondly. I'd come home after school and hang with whoever in the US was staying up late, and answer whichever questions you lot left behind for me. It had its problems, but on the whole it was a positive community with a real sense of belonging. We had in-jokes and famous pariahs and competition on the Showdown server to riff off of.

Things slowed down around the time I became mod in 2015. As time has gone on, and another activity spike in 2020-21 reminded me of what this is all about, I have been trying harder to be more welcoming and set postitive examples of what this community meant to me as a teenager. Balancing that with my wish to have high standards for content can be difficult, but we have a team of staff who genuinely care and share this vision for the site.

The good health of forums like this is a resistance against the negativity and ensh*ttification that plagues social media and algorithm-based platforms.

I don't begrudge Pokemaster if he doesn't want to be part of this. Some day I will be too old for it too. But we have a good thing going here that deserves better and can be better with increased collaboration and TLC. I will always want to see that though.

Answer 2

This post found me right as I'm in the middle of a demotivated breakdown.

I'm a newgen, sure, maybe a bit past that, but the nostalgia still exists (probably because I feel nostalgic about everything somehow)

When I joined, it was coincidentally a month before my birthday, and I decided to RMT a random person's NatDex team.

A few months later, Anchor9 the goat wrote on my wall for the first time. I met CinderClod in Chat Room.

The BCD alliance happened, and we clashed against the Mareep Cult. The 3 of us were like brothers; still are to this day. All 3 of us disappeared for reasons, and returned for quite possibly my best time on the site, late 2024. Chat Room was chaos, I made a quotes wall and became its Eternal Guardian, started trying to write a competitive guide...made friends.

The friends I made on PokemonDB are some of the greatest I've ever had in my life. Sure, they may not be beating out some of the true IRL friendships, but there's something about us that just...fit. Every night, 10pm ish, I know I can open Chat Room to find Fish shiny hunting, or JATP, or RM, or on rare occasions, Amethyst himself. It was...fun.

But going back to this post...activity sure has gone down lately.

And I'm not saying it was always higher than this; in fact, I know I've missed the golden age of DB, like, 10 times maybe. But I want it to have a resurgence, somehow. Not to just be a great source of Pokemon information, but also a source of Pokemon friends.

I know I probably ranted a bit too long (like I said, nostalgia affects me a lot), but I really enjoyed the community here, being the truest I've ever been in. I've been in a few others since joining DB, but none felt the same as our shared passion for DB along with the conglomerate of chaos all of us bring to Chat Room.

To me specifically, though, this feels more like brotherhood than friendship.

TLDR: i liek db community and chat room, i want moar chat room people and moar fun :D

Answer 3

This site means the world to me.

Without going into a lot of detail, I had a really tough childhood. I had undiagnosed Autism and ADHD that isolated me from my classmates, and CPS was involved in my family. My #1 hyperfixation was Pokemon. my brother got me involved with Pokemon when I was 3; he set up Pokemon Crystal for me, and I fell in love, even though I couldn’t read, I became obsessed. The idea of little pet friends who will face challenges by your side was amazing. I only cared about Pokemon, and nothing else.

When I was 9-10, I found comfort in a small online community that liked the exact same thing I did. I didn’t have any friends in school, and no one to talk to Pokemon with, and so it was completely fascinating to me. I could talk to EVERYONE about Pokemon, and I had a real-life Pokédex at my fingertips. I got permabanned a few times, but I didn’t give up rejoining the community; it was that important to me. I finally found a place where I could like Pokemon and not be bullied. I quickly made friends with a bunch of other kids who loved Pokemon just as much as me. We helped each other in the games, traded, and most importantly of all, I made real connections with real people. I met Vinnycat (Previously called Cosmic; I forget his username), whom I called my twin. I met Jellohamster, whom I had my first love with. I met Candy, who was my mother-replacement, as I didn’t have anyone else to guide me. I met FaithefulMawile, who taught me that it isn’t a sin to be Queer. And so, so, so many more amazing people who helped me learn, grow, and evolve. I learned not only about Pokemon, but about the people, and the world.

I disappeared off the site for a bit, due to being in foster care and not having internet access. But, by the time I was 17, I had decided this was a place I wanted to protect. I wanted to help guide people like my friends helped guide me, while sharing my love and knowledge of Pokemon. I worked hard, and eventually became a mod with this goal in mind. Frankly, this site raised me. I would not be the person I am today if it weren’t for this site.

That’s why it’s so important to me that this site be saved. It deserves to grow like it helped me grow.

Please Pokemaster, if you’re reading this, please let me help take care of this site. As much as I love being able to protect the children in this community in the chat room, I want to give back more to this site. It breaks my heart seeing the userbase decline. It’s sad not having posts to moderate. I want to edit pages to make them up to date, and make fixes to errors on the site. I want to implement the suggestions that were given from users from forever ago. I want to see this site flourish; it has so much potential, and I’m not the only one who sees this.

Please, from the bottom of my heart, make a change. We understand you’re a grown man and that you’re busy. We will not ask you to be as active as you were in 2012. However, please don’t let this website be a grave. Make a change so that at LEAST Fizz can do things in your absence, but I would love to be able to make more direct changes myself.

With much love and respect,
Ty

Thank you for indirectly saving my life

Answer 4

It sort of boggles my mind that it's been over 9 years since I first joined the DB. I still feel like a dopey kid in the 2020 heyday. But damn if those weren't some of the most fun months of my life!

The Database is special to me because it's the first time I've ever been able to definitively be an expert on anything. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to convert my enthusiasm for Pokemon into substantiated knowledge that makes a difference for other people. The DB — and the people on it — have made me a better person, and I couldn't be happier for it.

Speaking of the people, I think we're incredibly lucky to have such a close-knit community. I am an ardent hater of Discord replacing forums, so I think it's great that we're maintaining this early-internet style of communication. It just isn't the same anywhere else.

I've spent more time on the Database than any other website and I am deeply interested in continuing its success. This place means the world to me and I would love any chance to make it even better!

Answer 5

I joined here when I was 10, in 2015, and then through 2017 or 2018, the first thing I'd do every day when I got home from school was hop on the chat room. The community was incredible and unintimidating, it was easy to just join the site and feel like you were kinda integrated into it after a few days. Sure, cliques formed, but they weren't really alienating. I think at the height of my activity, chat was the main draw of the site, but I believe everybody who was active in Chat was also active in the main Q&A part of the site, and I think it heavily contributed to the site's activity.

I've had a lot of friends on the site, some lasting longer than others, some closer than others, but I wouldn't have made two of my closest friends if not for the chat room. If you were active from around 2019 to 2022 you probably saw myself, Felix , and cranpper (or Jimmy, for those who remember) goofing off in chat. Felix was also involved with almost every April Fool's joke I did. Those guys are still two of my closest and most reliable friends. Cranpper and myself have seen each other in person several times, which has resulted in all sorts of shenanigans, including him getting me to jump off of a bridge, and he and I got a chance to see Felix in person just a couple weeks ago (fizz knows. we messaged him. and he had some sort of snarky, fizz-styled response).

Obviously, not everything that happens on the site is all peachy, I'll be the first to admit that. But kids today have r/teenagers (gross) and weirdos on Twitter, as well as other communities that are incredibly large and, in my opinion, have too many people to really create a genuine sense of community, thus making it harder to feel like you're a part of something. Pokebase has the advantage of being specific to one topic, and was large enough that the community alive, while also being small enough that it was easy to get into the community and really feel like a part of it. There are multiple reasons that the community has shrunk and become less active, but having an active admin would certainly help. As much as kids on the internet suck and are kind of annoying, they deserve a real community.

I've had a lot of fun here over the years, and though most of that time is now spent saying weird things in chat and then disappearing (or getting excessively in-depth about music), this community deserves better.

Answer 6

I joined this site when I was extremely into Pokemon, probably around 2021. I collected the cards, loved the games, and everything about Pokemon was enjoyable to me. I know that when I first joined, things might have been a bit crazy. I definitely wasn't smart back then, that's for sure. However, the people I met on this site welcomed me and forgave me for what I did. They made me feel special, like I could talk to them about Pokemon all day long.

I remember when I used to sort out all my Pokemon cards and would sit in DB chat not being able to keep up with the messages being sent. I remember being that dumb little kid who would build bad competitive sets, but thought they were really good. I remember the excitement I got after writing my big answers with 3-4 votes.

Due to me being in homeschool, I don't have many friends in real life, but DB introduced me to some friends that loved what I loved. Banana, Anchor, and Raptor are some. They and everyone else accept me for who I am, and we all love each other like family.

It's sad to see such a good site die down a lot. Nobody is as active anymore, including me, and it feels like only a handful of people are keeping this site alive. I'd love to see this site rise in popularity again, and I'd love for Pokemaster to realize how many people actually want to see this site grow. I love DB so much, and hope one day it'll be a site almost every Pokemon fan knows.

If you see this Pokemaster, know that we want the best for this site.

Answer 7

It's bizarre knowing I've been on this site for over half my life now... Times have really changed since 2013, huh? Internet forums are buried by AI results and the same 3 websites in search engines, and there's that general, stale feel of eshittification all over the internet. Even in 2025, though, Pokemon Database is an outlier in both of these. It's still right up there on Google alongside Bulbapedia and Serebii, and the few users who trickle through the interface into Pokebase's chat room are curious, genuine, fans that remind me of myself when I first joined.

I still remember the day I made my account, back in 6th grade - whipping out my new Kindle Fire and connecting to school internet... It was like opening a portal to another realm. A bustling chat room, a fun Q&A system to build points, and people who genuinely influenced my life; one of the first friends I made here, Silver, was my preteen self's first relationship - and we're still friends to this day. One of my longest-lasting and most meaningful connections, straight off a Pokemon forum and into real life.

Objectivity aside, Pokemon DB is very special to me. It was a safe haven and social center filled with talk all about my favorite series, back during a time the real world was starting to rear its ugly head. Family problems, social isolation, neurodivergency - and the trials & tribulations of middle school in general - it all melted away when I sat down with my tablet and opened that chat room.

I can say without bias, though, that this is one of the few remaining forums with potential to be something more than just a relic of the past... New users still make accounts daily, for the purpose of making new friends over a shared interest, asking questions, giving their answers. At the end of the day, PokemonDB was and still can be a hub for fun, even, important connections over the series that made our childhoods. Several mods here have made it clear they're willing to work to bring a bit of the golden age back, and I sincerely hope they're able to see that through.

Answer 8

PokemonDB means a lot to me. I joined in early 2018 (feels like forever ago) as I was drawn to the site’s sleek layout while searching up info about Pokemon. While exploring more of the site, I stumbled upon a recent unanswered question that I had knowledge of, and the rest is history. Everyone was very welcoming and helpful, with multiple users giving greetings on my wall while I’ve barely started getting accustomed. The chat room was easily the best part though. Back when it was active and there weren’t hour-long gaps between messages, it was great to meet some of the regulars and even new users that would stop by even before posting a question. Shoutout to Staka, SYL, X-Scizor, Helix716, SpillThePolteageist, Nuivo, Hellfire Taco, iloveflareon, and anyone else I missed.

I was extremely casual back when I first joined the site and stuck to just exploring SM and USUM on my Pikachu 3DS. I had made a Showdown account just a couple months before joining the Database and crafted up a really bad Gen 7 OU team that contained Terrakion. Upon exposure to the Meta section, where the glorious tournament thread lied, and the chat room pointing out that we had our very own Showdown server, I became hooked to competitive Pokemon and gained a basic/slightly above average understanding of it.

My activity in the first year and a half paled in comparison to when the pandemic hit. The Showdown server, which had a measly user base before, ended up populating with old gen users of the site. The chat room became overwhelmingly active with the flood of new users coming in, and whenever I didn’t decide to join in on the conversation, I set my sights on something bigger. I wanted to become an Expert. At the time, I thought the idea of being able to edit other user’s posts was pretty awesome. So in the time between hanging out in group chats and the DB Discord server (where all the cool kids are), I obsessively answered questions over the summer. It was the most competitive era in years, so I unfortunately got sniped a bunch. My efforts in the summer of 2020 culminated in reaching the big 6K on August 31. It was a great feeling, to say the least. I got to even join the elusive staff discord (was I supposed to mention that?). I could kick back and relax in other sections knowing that I accomplished what I set my mind to. While there was a sizable amount of drama in 2020, being a part of such a lively Pokemon community more than made up for it.

While my priorities began to change, I still felt like I was a part of the site when I would pop in for a Random Battle on the Showdown server or lurk in the chat room. I haven’t been nearly as active ever since, but there’s always been moments throughout the year where I really want to contribute again. I miss the old vibe, and while I acknowledge that most people would’ve just moved on regardless, I feel that it’s a fault of not bothering to freshen things up that has contributed to the site’s sharp decline. There’s no new features anymore. The only thing that can inject life into the site is the release of a new Pokemon game, but what’s the point when these new users have nothing that excites them? I wanted to write a statement because I want the best for Pokemon Database. If Pokemaster just decides to move on and ignore all of our grievances, I can at least say that I helped to try to steer us in the right direction. This site is a blessing in contrast to the slop content that plagues modern social media. It has so much potential to be better and I wish that our Super Administrator would recognize that. I can say like everyone else posting in this thread that I grew up with this site, and it would be for the best if we could get a full on reinvention instead of Pokemon Database becoming just a fragment of our memories.