How PokeJungle Built an Online Pokémon Community

By the time I was heading into high school, most people around me had already given up on Pokémon. It wasn’t cool anymore. It was childish, embarrassing, almost felt taboo. So I hid it. I kept my Game Boy close, but quiet. No one knew how much Ruby and Sapphire meant to me, how often I’d disappear into Hoenn to escape the noise of home, or how badly I wished I had someone to share it all with. I didn’t have forums. I didn’t have fan sites. I just had a cartridge and the comfort of a world that never judged me for loving it. That’s why this story moved me.

At a time when I was retreating in silence, he was building. While I was afraid to show my love for Pokémon, he was creating a place for it, not just for himself, but for anyone searching for community, connection, or belonging. And 20 years later, he’s still doing it. This is the story of how PokeJungle became a legacy. And how one steady devotion lit the way for the rest of us to follow.

A Website Built From Wonder

Screenshot of early PokeJungle site

PokeJungle’s journey started with sincerity. He wasn’t chasing trends or trying to become popular. He was just a kid who loved Pokémon and found his spark on Neopets, where guilds often created off-site pages to connect. That eventually inspired him to make his own site, even if, at first, he didn’t know how to add a sidebar.

“My first site was just centered content all the way down. I didn’t even know how to make sidebars yet.”
—PokeJungle

What followed was a wave of Pokémon fan sites, a golden era of online creativity where “poke-anything” was fair game. It was messy, experimental, and magical. And PokeJungle stood right in the middle of it, carving out a home for himself and others one line of code at a time.

The Forums We Left Behind

Screenshot of PokeJungle forums

Back then, forums were more than message boards, they were community anchors. Every username had a history. Every thread had weight. You didn’t scroll or swipe left, you visited, you engaged, you made connections and exchanged ideas. And for PokeJungle, those slow, thoughtful conversations meant everything.

“Forums were a place carved out on the internet. You weren’t just part of a platform, you belonged to that space.”
—PokeJungle

But forums faded when Social media surged. And the Pokémon fandom splintered into algorithms, hot takes, and fleeting replies. Still, he never stopped believing in something smaller, slower, and more sincere. And today, he’s brought his forums back, not as a relic, but as a resistance. A place where community isn’t optimized, it’s earned.

Choosing Depth Over Speed

PokeJungle website logo

Running a news site for over two decades sounds impressive, and honestly it is. But it’s also a grind. Between juggling web maintenance, optimizing images, keeping up with merchandise releases, and cataloging updates, it’s easy to lose sight of the passion that started it all. PokeJungle never has:

“I’m not trying to be the biggest website. I’ve always just enjoyed a more tight-knit group.”
—PokeJungle

Rather than chase traffic, he chooses context. Rather than rush announcements, he adds meaning. His content isn’t about getting there first. It’s about getting it right.

Why Sewaddle?

Sewaddle, the Bug/Grass Pokémon wrapped in a leaf, isn’t just a mascot. It’s a mission statement. It represents everything PokeJungle stands for: Nature. Niche. Personal. Persistent.
A reminder that you don’t have to shout to be heard. You just have to be rooted deep into your vision.

“My favorite types are Bug and Grass. Sewaddle felt like the perfect reflection of who I am and what the site stands for.”
—PokeJungle

Where others chase the meta, he celebrates the overlooked. Where others build empires, he builds ecosystems.

PokeJungle Used Bug Buzz

When I think about the kid sitting in my room, quietly playing Pokémon, while the rest of the world moved on, I wish I had known there were people like PokeJungle out there.

People who never stopped.
People who built when others gave up.
People who created the kind of spaces I didn’t even know I needed back then.

This episode reminded me that legacy isn’t always for the most popular or outspoke ones. Sometimes, it’s a single leaf held up for others to follow.

🎧 Listen to the full story here: TRAINER'S EYE #157: PokeJungle

🌟 Want more inspiring stories from Pokemon community leaders around the world?
Check out the full Community Leaders Playlist and discover how Pokemon continues to bring people together, even across the greatest challenges.