Thanks for your questions! I will attempt to answer them as fully as I can. If anyone has follow-up questions I am happy to answer those too!
pokejungle Do you talk about Pokémon preservation offline at all with friends, family, etc.? Or do they mostly not know about Johto times?
I speak to a few friends about preservation and my growing interest in it since working on Johto Times. One friend is particularly interested in the preservation of lost video game media, and another wants to see missing episodes of Doctor Who found and preserved. While neither of these friends have any interest in Pokémon, we can relate to one another on the basic principle that if we want our love and passions continue to be enjoyed by others in the future, we need to document and preserve them carefully, and in appropriate ways.
pokejungle What is the "golden age of Pokémon" to you? Is it now? Or sometime in the past?
I often speak fondly of my love of Pokémon Crystal and what it meant to me growing up as a child. It could be when I started buying and collecting Pokémon cards starting with the Fossil set, when my parents could finally afford to give me pocket money to buy them, and filling out my collection in my folder. However, it has to be playing Pokémon Blue in August 2001 and Pokémon Crystal a few months later, and then spending the following year battling, trading and exchanging Mystery Gifts with my friend down the street, is what I consider to be the golden age of Pokémon to me. In addition to that, I was collecting the Neo sets of the Pokémon TCG, and I have very fond memories from that time period.
pokejungle If you could have a real-life Pokémon (just one), what would it be?
Now sit down for this one, because it may shock you to hear its Rowlet! I know we talk about this little green birb fairly often, but it would be great to have one.
ZoranaDragon As someone who's favorite Pokemon region happens to be Johto, why Johto Times specifically?
Thanks very much for signing up to the forum and sharing this question @ZoranaDragon I hope you'll stick around! You kind of answered your own question there with why I called the newsletter Johto Times. I wanted a project which reflected my interest in Pokémon, and the "times" part was to make it sound more like a newspaper or newsletter. I recall someone pointing out the irony of me calling the project Johto Times, despite my first game being Pokémon Blue, and my favourite Pokémon being from the seventh generation...
Thank you for your questions @bluemooncinco I appreciate you taking the time to answer them! Unfortunately, nothing comes to mind in terms of a battle, but my favourite Pokémon moments have to be when I was performing a Mystery Gift with my friend's copy of Pokémon Crystal, and I received a Nintendo 64 decoration for my room and he received a Tropic Plant. I laughed at how bad the trade was, and he was so upset that he went indoors crying and didn't come out for the rest of the day. Poor Mason 🙁
During the early days of Pokémon GO I recall getting a ticket to attend a Mewtwo raid. I had to travel quite far to get to it, and lots of other people were there trying to do the same. I can't remember how many Poké Balls I had left, but I think I was down to my final one when I caught it. I actually ended up on my knees cheering because of how close I came to missing out on it. I had no knowledge of tricks to increase my chances of catching it, so it was pure luck that I got it.
Shamefully, not many! I have been trying to complete Pokémon Blue recently with a living dex, but it is such a chore and sadly I am not sure if i'll return to it any time soon. I completed Legends Arceus and Let's Go Eevee, but those games make it quite easy to complete.
bluemooncinco -In any order, what are your Top 3 all time favorite games? (Pokemon or otherwise)
In terms of video games, my top three continue to change. I have fond memories of certain games which I don't feel the same for today, or have found titles that exceed it entirely. I think the best way to approach this is to give you my top three Pokémon games (1st. Explorers of Sky, 2nd Pokémon HGSS, 3rd Legends Arceus) which may even change themselves in time.
In terms of video games I consider to be my favourites of all time, I ADORE Ori and the Will of the Wisps. It is nothing short of a master piece in terms of its art, sound, gameplay and story. I have always appreciated Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door and was so happy to see it come to Nintendo Switch. Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, and Animal Crossing New Leaf are just a few titles in an exhaustive list of games I enjoy. I think I could be here all day answering this question, so this will have to suffice.
