Welcome to Vol. 3, issue 37 of Johto Times! Quite often, we like to share the personal memories of Pokémon fans who grew up with the franchise, and learn what the series means to them. Today, we have some from Michael, who began his journey as a fan of Pokémon when he was seven years old! As always, we also have a recap of the latest Pokémon news.

The Johto Times Favourite Pokémon Poll (2025) has reached its Grand Final stage! Which Pokémon will be voted as the fan favourite? Click here for more information.

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Mega Malamar has been revealed for Pokémon Legends Z-A

POKÉMON LEGENDS: Z-A

• Official Pokémon social media accounts have been having fun this week with a My Friend Malamar campaign, which ended with a reveal trailer for Mega Malamar, available in Pokémon Legends Z-A when it launches next month. Be sure to check out the SPECIAL REPORT: The Truth About Malamar video, and gameplay footage featuring Mega Malamar in the links below.

Source: Pokémon (SPECIAL REPORT: The Truth About Malamar), Pokémon (Mega Malamar Gets in Your Head!)

POKÉMON SCARLET & VIOLET

• Total victories against Shiny Ting-Lu have reached a total of 3,556,583. Players can claim it through Mystery Gift from now to September 30th, 2025.

Source: Pokémon

POKÉMON GO

• The game is bringing City Safari to global locations on September 27th and 28th, 2025. Trainers can explore cities with Pokémon by their side, enjoy location-themed wild Pokémon encounters, and complete event-exclusive Special Research. Cities hosting the event include Amsterdam, Bangkok, Cancún, Valencia, and Vancouver.

Source: Pokémon GO

• In conjunction with the Pokémon Concierge Celebration Event that launched on September 9th, 2025, players can redeem the code PokemonConcierge on the Pokémon GO web store to receive a Bonus Timed Research that awards 5000 XP, 2500 Stardust, and a Psyduck wearing an inner tube costume. This Timed Research expires on September 14th, 2025.

Source: Pokémon GO

POKÉMON UNITE

• Draft Mode has been updated as of September 4th, 2025. Teams can now ban up to 3 Pokémon, and all participants have one vote each to determine bans. A Pokémon receiving 2 or more votes is confirmed as banned. If additional bans are needed, remaining slots are filled randomly from Pokémon with a single vote. These changes aim to diversify team selection, reduce selection time, and improve the Ranked Matches and Custom Battles experience.

Source: Pokémon Unite community

• The game has been updated to version 1.20.1.3 as of September 4th, 2025. In Theia Sky Ruins (Groudon), experience from defeating Regidrago has been reduced to keep matches more balanced. Pawmot received stat and move adjustments: increased HP, Defense, and Special Defense; faster HP recovery from basic attacks; Volt Switch and Thunder Punch deal more damage; and the Unite Move now resets cooldowns and has improved range and gauge gains. A bug causing Thunder Punch to damage allies has also been fixed.

Source: Pokémon Unite community

POKÉMON TCG POCKET

• Bonus Week has started in-game. Special missions will be available throughout the week.

Source: Pokémon TCG Pocket X profile

POKÉMON ANIME

• New episodes of Pokémon Concierge are now available on Netflix, expanding on Haru’s journey.

Source: Pokémon

• Pokémon Horizons: Season 2 The Search for Laqua Part 1 is now available. Liko, Roy, and Dot continue their journey alongside the Rising Volt Tacklers as they uncover the secrets of the Ancient Adventurer, Lucius.

Source: Pokémon

Feature: Michael's Pokémon Memories

Michael is a Pokémon fan who has a long history with the Pokémon franchise. He began his own journey with Pokémon on his seventh birthday back in 1999, when his parents bought him his first Pokémon video game! Michael has continued to explore the series in the years that have followed, and he was kind enough to share his personal story of being a fan with Johto Times!

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A photograph of Michael taken by his father on his seventh birthday as he opened up his gift of Pokémon Red

Michael:

I remember the first time I played a Pokémon game. I was at my friend’s house in 1998, and he let me play his Game Boy. When I turned it on, he already had a save file, and Red was in his house. I was just walking around when Eric came over and showed me how to go into the grass to encounter Pokémon—and that was it.

Fast-forward to 1999: my parents got me Pokémon Red for my birthday. I was seven years old—and I remember it vividly.

When I first played, I chose Charmander as my starter—simply because my friend, who was also at the party, told me to pick the one on the cartridge because they were the strongest. After about an hour of playing, I went back and started a new game with Squirtle. The rest was history.

I think the hardest Pokémon game I ever played was Pokémon Yellow. Since I was forced with Pikachu, and Brock being the first Gym Leader, I was too young to realize I had to train other Pokémon for the advantage. I’m embarrassed to say how long I was stuck behind Brock’s badge. I came across a Nidoran while wandering around in areas prior to Brock’s gym. I caught them, and began training them up. They learned Double Kick, and once I learned how strong that was against Rock-type Pokemon, it was over for Brock.

I still remember the first time I was traded a Pokémon that was too high-level to obey me—I didn’t have enough Gym Badges yet. I had Pokémon Gold and was struggling, so my best friend at the time gave me an Umbreon, a Steelix, and a Gyarados to help me progress through the game. But most of the time, they ignored my commands. I had no idea why back then.

Michael’s love for Pokémon has continued throughout the years, playing many of the games that followed.

Michael:

I’ve played a good number of Pokémon games over the years. In addition to Pokémon Red, Yellow, and Gold, I played Ruby, Sapphire, LeafGreen, Emerald (my favorite), HeartGold, Diamond, Black, X, Moon, and Let’s Go, Pikachu!

When I replay a majority of these games, I always find myself going back to my same starters. This may be a controversial list, but they’re as follows:

• Red: Squirtle
• Yellow/Let’s Go, Pikachu: Pikachu
• Gold/Heart Gold: Cyndaquil
• Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald: Treecko
• LeafGreen: Bulbasaur
• Diamond: Turtwig
• Black: Snivy
• X: Chespin
• Moon: Rowlet

Clearly, I’m a lover of the Grass type.
And last, my favorite Pokémon, probably, of all time is Steelix.

Fun fact: all of my original Pokémon from the GBA games have been transferred to the DS/3DS games and then into Pokémon Home. So I still have all of my originally found Pokémon from the GBA and DS/3DS generations.

I haven’t really gotten into the newer games on Switch, but I’ll probably give Legends: Z-A a try next.

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Michael, that photograph has such huge 90s energy! It was so cool to see it and to read your memories of Pokémon. Thank you so much for sharing them with us. We hope you enjoy Pokémon Legends: Z-A and that Pokémon will continue to hold some positive and happy memories for you in the future!