Azure Heights
| Azure Heights Pokémon Laboratory | |
|---|---|
 Site logo | |
| Language | English |
| Status | Active |
| Run | 2000 - Present |
| Date opened | c.2000 |
| Creator | M.W.F et al |
| Forum | Azure Heights Forum |
| Mascot | Porygon, Koffing, & Magikarp |
| Website | Main page |
Azure Heights was a research website for Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon Yellow, and Pokémon Stadium. Much of the knowledge regarding the intricacies of these titles can be attributed to the work carried out by the users here. Its purpose in the Pokémon community was largely superseded by Smogon in 2004, wherein its informational updates ceased. It's run through the University of Miami's Department of Mathematics.
The website itself was last updated on the 30th of December 2004, but its website and forums remain active, albeit with user registration natively disabled as of around 2011.
Website
Azure Heights was one of the first Pokémon websites to feature comprehensive information on Pokémon stats, move statistics, type matchups, stat experience, determinant values, and overall Generation I mechanics. Its website features calculators for damage, stats, and more.[1] There is, finally, a now-defunct IRC chat section, and outlinks to other Pokémon websites that assisted in Azure Heights' inception, such as The P Files, Pokémon Forever, and Pikacard.[2] The site also featured a modified version of Porygon's Big Show, an early Pokémon battle simulator for Generation I battles with rudimentary graphics. While significantly outdated by modern standards, it remains available as of April 2023.[3]
Azure Heights forums peaked at over 3,900 members and feature boards for Generations I through IV, as well as general research, online competitive battling, and other miscellaneous topics. The "Azure Arena" forum popularised the "War Story" phenomenon in the Pokémon community[4], something that would transfer over to other websites well into the 2010s. Being an early adopter of detailed information regarding the Pokémon games, Azure Heights became something of an epicentre for early competitive battling, with players sharing strategies for competitions like the Pokémon 2000 Stadium Tour. Some famous competitive movesets, such as "TobyBro", would be popularised here. Finally, Azure Heights was notably one of the areas where "Tradebacks"—the concept of trading Generation II Pokémon to Generation I through the Time Capsule to get otherwise unobtainable moves—would first be debated, the result of which would lead to Smogon first adopting the ban on Tradebacks during its inception.[5]
Founders
The following users assisted in the founding and creation of the website.[6]
- M.W.F (Mawufytuff)
- Master Magikarp-X
- Tiggy
- Toby Martin (Wintermute)
- Cat-Gonk
- Erich Owens
- Jon Ference
- JT Toad
- Dreadite
References
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This article is a part of Project Fandom, a Bulbapedia Project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every aspect of the Pokémon Fandom. |