Welcome to Vol. 4, issue 11 of Johto Times! In this issue, we spoke to Tiff of Pokémon Desert Shadow, a Pokémon fansite which was online for twelve years between 2005 and 2017. Tiff also discusses the origins of her website and the helpful resources that it featured. As usual, we also have a roundup of the latest Pokémon news.

Later this year, Johto Times will be hosting our first awards event, celebrating Pokémon fansites and the wider Pokémon community. This was inspired by fansites of the past which would give awards to each other, and acknowledge what they enjoyed about each other’s websites. They would be displayed proudly on dedicated "Awards" pages. I love the idea of acknowledging what other communities do, it's something positive that I hope a lot of people will want to get behind.

Currently, we are deciding who should be considered for our shortlist, and we want your input to make it happen! Each of the following categories will be judged upon by a panel throughout October and November, with the exception of our final category, which will be voted on by Johto Times readers and the wider Pokémon community. The window for these suggestions is closing very soon, on September 30th, 2026 so if you want your say, head over to the dedicated Johto Times Awards 2026 thread on our forum, and share your suggestions!

Pokémon and The European Space Agency (ESA) are teaming up to celebrate World Space Week from 4–10th October, 2026

POKÉMON CHAMPIONS

• Regulation Set M-C of Pokémon Champions began on September 9th, 2026, adding several returning Pokémon, moves, and balance changes to the game. Several more Mega Evolutions that debuted in Legends: Z-A have received Abilities for the first time: Mega Golisopod (Tough Claws), Mega Baxcalibur (Thermal Exchange), Mega Garchomp Z (Levitate), Mega Absol Z (Sharpness), and Mega Lucario Z (the brand new ability Aura Guard). Regulation Set M-C will run until December 1st, 2026.

Source: In-game news

POKÉMON POKOPIA

• A one-minute trailer for Pokémon Pokopia Expansion Pass Part 2 was featured in the September 2026 Nintendo Direct, primarily showcasing new accessories and adding several new Pokémon such as Skitty to the game. Part 2 of the Expansion Pass is set to release in late 2026, with Part 3 to release in 2027.

Source: Nintendo Direct

POKÉMON GO

• The next Pokémon GO Wild Area has been announced, featuring Steel and Dragon-type Pokémon, as well as the debuts of Dynamax Dialga, Dynamax Palkia, and Machamp wearing a modern jacket costume. The in-person events will take place in Sendai, Japan and Mexico City, Mexico from November 6th to 8th, 2026, while Pokémon GO Wild Area: Global will be available worldwide on November 14th and 15th, 2026.

Source: Pokémon GO Wild Area

ANIME

• VIZ Media has announced a 24-film complete Pokémon Blu-ray collection that will be released exclusively on Amazon.com on November 24th, 2026. The set will feature the English dubs of every movie, housed in a Pokéball casing and disc book, for $400 USD.

Source: Bluesky

• A new animated feature from the Japanese studio CloverWorld, Pokémon: Wild Card, "tells the exciting story of a Pokémon TCG player and his partner Mimikyu." The film was announced on August 30th, 2026, and will be the first feature-length Pokémon film released since Secrets of the Jungle in 2021.

Source: Wild Card

GENERAL

• The European Space Agency has announced a collaboration with The Pokémon Company International to celebrate World Space Week, October 4th-9th, 2026: "This unique, limited-time collaboration brings together two worlds united by curiosity, exploration and imagination." Pokémon Go has also announced a collaboration event and Timed Research with the ESA at participating museums throughout Europe during World Space Week.

Source: ESA, Pokémon GO

• The full 22-minute version of the Pokémon All Stars 1025 Japanese Pokérap was released to Youtube on September 3rd, 2026.

Source: Pokémon All Stars 1025

Feature: Interview with Pokémon Desert Shadow

Pokémon Desert Shadow (PokéDS) was a Pokémon fansite which was online between 2005 and 2017, featuring high-quality written content, and offered a creative space for its users with its Oekaki (art board). Tiff (shadowfiles), the creator of the website, kindly agreed to an interview to share more information about the website.

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Pokémon Desert Shadow logo

It’s great to speak with you, Tiff! Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Tiff:

Hey!! I'm Tiff. I used to go by shadowfiles online, and I've been a Pokémon fan since around 2001 or so. I first got into Pokémon when my dad found a copy of Pokémon Crystal for sale for $15 at a local flea market one day and brought it home. I started playing the game and immediately got hooked. As a kid, I also collected Pokémon cards and really enjoyed drawing Pokémon.

A screenshot of Tiff’s first website, Pokémon Land Guild, from January 2007

Prior to Pokémon Desert Shadow (PokéDS), you ran a fansite called Pokémon Land Guild, back in 2005. What encouraged you to make a fansite in the first place?

Tiff:

I started Pokémon Land Guild as a Neopets Guild in 2005! I was super into Neopets at the time, and I would hang out on the fan forums a lot, talking to other Pokémon fans. I was honestly so obsessed – because back then, I wanted to go online just to chat with people about things like our favorite Pokémon and stuff. I remember I would tell people that I planned to be a Pokémon fan for the rest of my life - that I was sure I'd still like Pokémon a lot even when I was old.

So I ended up doing the natural thing that someone who talked to Pokémon fans on Neopets all the time in 2005 might do: I started a Pokémon guild. Then, I made a website for my guild. This was how I got into web development!! Back then, all the Neopets guilds used GeoCities for their websites, so I made mine using GeoCities as well. I remember learning HTML from the Neopets HTML tutorial and just kind of trying it out. I also remember using MS Paint to draw graphics for my website.

PokéDS’s layout in February 2010

The website went through a few different hosts before settling on its final home as PokéDS, where its first post was made on February 13th, 2010. How did things develop during that time period?

Tiff:

The early days of finding hosting were definitely a challenge! Back then, I was a kid who didn't have a credit card or money, so I could only use free web hosts. In the early 2000s, free web hosts were constantly churning. I can't remember exactly why I left GeoCities initially – I think it might have been because I wanted PHP access, so I could do more with my website. But GeoCities eventually shut down anyway. And there were hosts like 1asphost which worked well but then eventually started adding things like ads to your website – I think I moved to avoid that. Logical Host was an absolutely amazing free web host for a while, giving me everything I ever wanted, including generous bandwidth limits and more. But I think they weren't very profitable, so they shut down quickly.

I decided to change the website's name to Pokémon Desert Shadow because, at that point, I was no longer playing Neopets, so letting go of the guild name made sense. The other thing is that, back then, I was starting a web comic called Desert Shadow that wasn't related to Pokémon, so I kind of wanted to unify my sites a bit. I ended up trying to create a collection of different websites under the "Desert Shadow" brand, and I decided my Pokémon site would be "Pokémon Desert Shadow". In the end, however, my Pokémon site was definitely the website project I still spent the most time on, even as I started to explore other website ideas. That was one reason I think it made sense to give PokéDS its own domain name and identity.

Also, at some point, a family friend learned about my websites and offered to pay for web hosting and a domain name. This was great because, even though I was a bit older, I was still a kid without money or credit cards.

PokéDS layout in April 2012

PokéDS featured various resources, such as game guides, calculators, and a Pokédex! What were some of your favourites?

Tiff:

One of the guides I was most proud of was the PokéRadar shiny chaining guide I wrote for Pokemon Diamond and Pearl – I did a ton of research to write that, and I wanted to try to really demystify shiny chaining for others because it was very difficult for me to figure out how it worked and how to reliably catch shinies using this method. Once I figured it out, I became obsessed with shiny chaining and wanted to share the good word with others. I think this ended up being one of the most popular pages on the site, and lots of people would find it just by searching for advice on PokéRadar chaining.

I was also proud of the moveset type effectiveness calculator and the Secret Base maker features. At least when I made it, there was nothing quite like the moveset type effectiveness calculator. And I just loved the Secret Base feature from Ruby and Sapphire, so I enjoyed getting to turn that into an online feature. Coding those sorts of interactive tools was new to me then, so I still remember the experience of putting those features together! I'm a professional software engineer now, so sometimes I think about remaking some of my favorite PokéDS tools with the better coding skills I have now.

PokéDS layout in August 2012

I personally enjoyed the Pokédex. I know a lot of websites had that information available, but I appreciated how well it was laid out, and I am sure it was super helpful for people back then. How did that come together?

Tiff:

I'm really glad to hear you liked the Pokédex!! I remember having a lot of fun thinking about how to design my personal ideal Pokédex back then, even if it was a common feature on websites. I definitely tried to put a lot of thought into the layout, so I appreciate hearing that it was noticed.

When I made the Pokédex back in the day, one of the most helpful resources was that the website Veekun offered database dumps of their entire Pokédex, so I could download their database and use it to create my own. I remember constantly trying to improve the Pokédex with stuff that would make it more convenient for myself to use. Like I remember trying to add features and links to make it easier to find Pokémon that could pass along egg moves to [a given Pokémon] and the like. It was fun to get to improve on the Pokédex as I used it to help myself play the games!

PokéDS Pokédex page from January 2016

I was impressed with your original Pokémon art, where you were starting to draw all 649 Pokémon that had been released at the time. While your challenge was cut short, I loved what you created! How has Pokémon inspired your artistic creativity?

Tiff:

Pokémon has been a huge part of my art journey!! I literally started drawing because I wanted to draw Pokémon. Like, I would doodle Pokémon in all my notebooks and all over my assignments constantly. I was obsessed with drawing Pokémon. In 4th grade, my classmates would request drawings of their favorite Pokémon, so I would just keep making Pokémon drawings to give them.

My early art journey was heavily defined by online Pokémon communities. Like, I first started using oekakis because they were discussed on the website Mew's Hangout. I would read through the tutorials and try them. I ended up spending a lot of my early online days on various Pokémon oekakis. I was also super active in the Pokémon deviantART community back in the day – I'd be in fan clubs for Pokémon and try to follow all the major Pokémon artists. I remember being so obsessed with Pokémon art that for many years I made a rule refusing to upload anything that wasn't Pokémon to my gallery, and I'd also refuse to favorite any non-Pokémon artwork, haha!! I ended up letting go of that rule a couple of years in and started drawing non-Pokémon art – but that should give you an idea of how big a part of my life Pokémon was.

Tiff’s original Pokémon art page from September 2012

It wasn’t just your artwork that had a part to play on PokéDS; your community was also very creative, with many contributions to your website’s Oekaki, an online drawing board where users can draw and publish their creations. What were some of your favourites?

Tiff:

I really enjoyed hanging out with the creative community on PokéDS! For a while, I even added a deviantART-like art gallery feature to PokéDS where users could upload their own artwork and comment on others' art. I had a lot of fun seeing the sorts of things people would upload! We also once had an event where we asked people to draw what they thought Diglett looked like underground, and submit it - there were many fun submissions. Unfortunately, even though the page is still on archive.org, it looks like the actual submissions people made never got archived. So I don't know if they are still around somewhere – but those were fun times.

PokéDS Art Gallery page from May 2017

In addition to an art gallery, your community also had a home on the PokéDS forum, which had hundreds of members. How would you describe the PokéDS community from those days?

Tiff:

I would describe the PokéDS community as small but close knit back when it was active. We had a chatroom where many people, including myself, frequently hung out. I remember adding a "poke" feature back in the day around when Facebook first came out and poking was a thing there. Often, we'd have fun playfully poking each other or playing forum games. Many regulars were very energetic and liked to goof around a lot. There was also a competitive battling community that met on PokéDS and used a Facebook group to chat. And of course there was the oekaki you mentioned earlier! People tended to gravitate toward the areas they were interested in; the forum was a mix of everyone, while other features tended to be preferred by folks with specific preferences.

PokéDS forum front page in September 2016

Like many fansites, updates on the site became less frequent in its final years, and on April 23rd, 2017, PokéDS received one final update, with a page confirming its closure sometime during July 2017. After more than seven years online, what was the reason for its closure?

Tiff:

Ultimately, what ended PokéDS for me was that, as I became less involved, unfortunately, the site started getting overrun with spam. Since I coded PokéDS entirely by hand, our spam protection mechanisms weren't super sophisticated. I had actually created a custom CAPTCHA system that would quiz new users on the type of a particular Pokémon. For many years, this custom CAPTCHA was actually almost 100% effective at keeping spammers out!

But, unfortunately, as spam bots became more sophisticated, they started guessing Pokémon types and getting through. Since I started to become a busy adult with a new job, unfortunately, I just didn't have the time or energy to clean up the spam situation and work to prevent it in the future. So I ended up deciding to close the site instead.

PokéDS layout in October 2012

At the time of this interview, Pokémon is celebrating its 30th anniversary! The franchise currently has nine generations of Pokémon, with over 1000 monsters and regional forms and a tenth generation on the way next year. I am curious to hear your thoughts on Pokémon today and what the franchise still means to you!

Tiff:

Even though I'm not as solely obsessed with Pokémon today as I used to be, I still love Pokémon a lot and identify as a Pokémon fan!! I still buy the new Pokémon games when they come out and play through them. I put my Sobble keychain from my preorder of Sword and Shield on my backpack, and I often randomly meet other Pokémon fans in my everyday life just from wandering around with a Sobble on my backpack.

I enjoy getting to connect with people over Pokémon, and I see Pokémon as a really major part of my history, especially because Pokémon is what got me into both programming / web development (my profession) and drawing (still one of my main hobbies today)! I will often tell my coworkers about how I "learned to program because I wanted to make a Pokémon fansite".

Also, now that I'm an adult with money, I end up doing things like buying lots of Pokémon plushies, haha. I have so many Pokémon plushies in my apartment, haha. I would have more Pokémon plushies if space weren't limited!

PokéDS layout in April 2017

What Pokémon-related items or merchandise do you have which mean something to you?

Tiff:

I've got a ton of Pokémon plushies all over my apartment!! Since I live in a small space, I tend to focus on a curated set of plushies of my favorite Pokémon, but some of my favorites include my giant Snorlax plushie, my life-sized Sprigatito plushie, and my Alolan Vulpix plushie. Here are some photos of my Pokémon plushies!

A photograph of just some of Tiff’s large collection of Pokémon plush toys, which includes a giant Flareon!

Tiff’s Sprigatito plush

Tiff’s giant Snorlax plush

Tiff:

I also have a small but curated collection of Pokémon cards, mostly specific cards that I like the art on! A few years ago, I got really into painting on top of Pokémon cards to try to make "full art" versions of them using acrylic paint!! That was a ton of fun, and I keep those guarded safely. Here are some pictures:

An example of Tiff’s custom full art cards, featuring Doduo

Tiff’s custom full art card of Umbreon, painted on a Darkness Energy card

Three custom full art cards featuring Sobble, Scorbunny and Grookey

A custom full art Fire Energy card featuring Vulpix and Alolan Vulpix

A custom full art Fire Energy card featuring Gyarados and Magikarp

Tiff, it has been great to speak with you and learn about PokéDS and the cool things you did with your website back then! Do you have any closing comments you would like to make to our readers and anyone who may have visited PokéDS back in the day?

Tiff:

It was such an honor to get to do this interview!! Thanks for reaching out to me. I enjoyed reflecting on how Pokémon influenced me. For anyone who visited PokéDS in the past and might be reading this, I want to express my deep thanks for being part of the PokéDS community. Even though I wasn't able to keep up the site, I really enjoyed meeting and chatting with everyone who stopped by and left a note. I think about being that lonely kid who went on the Neopets forums to find other Pokémon fans – and I feel that by creating the PokéDS community, I really got to live out that dream of connecting with other Pokémon fans for a while. So really, thank you, all.

A final farewell message from Tiff on PokéDS, as of July 2017

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We would like to thank Tiff for taking the time to speak with us about PokéDS and wish her well with her current projects and future endeavours.

Interview conducted on: May 31st, 2026
Interview published on: September 24th, 2026