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PokéBeach: Difference between revisions
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==History== | ==History== | ||
After teaching himself web design and working at other Pokémon websites for several years, Water Pokémon Master opened PokéBeach to the public on July 15, 2003 when he was only 14 years old (although he had been working on the site privately since 1999). In his grand opening post, he promised that he would "never abandon PokéBeach." Since then, the site has become one of the most popular and influential Pokémon fan sites on the internet. | After teaching himself web design and working at other Pokémon websites for several years, Water Pokémon Master opened PokéBeach to the public on July 15, 2003 when he was only 14 years old (although he had been working on the site privately since 1999). In his grand opening post, he promised that he would "never abandon PokéBeach." Since then, the site has become one of the most popular and influential Pokémon fan sites on the internet. He has been labeled as one of the Pokémon community's "Big Name Fans" on websites like TV Tropes due to his contributions to the franchise for over 15 years. As of 2015, the site claims to receive over 100,000 visitors a day, and WPM himself oversees a staff of over 50 staff members from all of the website's different departments. Day to day, WPM personally researches and writes all of the news stories for the front page, of which there are thousands spanning over a decade. Although WPM personally writes all of the news stories himself, he is always "on call" to post breaking or developing news whether it's day, night, or he's on the road, so news coverage always happens at any hour of the day. | ||
Although PokéBeach focuses on all aspects of Pokémon, of which WPM is a fan, it's more often known for its coverage of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The site features the latest Pokémon TCG news and insights, scans of Pokémon cards, card translations for new sets, and guides for how to play the game. Because of how quickly and consistently | Although PokéBeach focuses on all aspects of Pokémon, of which WPM is a fan, it's more often known for its coverage of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The site features the latest Pokémon TCG news and insights, scans of Pokémon cards, card translations for new sets, and guides for how to play the game. Because of how quickly and consistently WPM has updated the website since 2003, the website is often considered the keystone of the TCG community, visited daily by TCG fans, collectors, tournament organizers, players, distributors, stores, and even officials working at the company. Before it shut down in 2013, the official Japanese Pokémon TCG Facebook page even listed PokéBeach as one of their only "likes," one of the few times, if ever, that the official company has acknowledged or linked to a fan website. | ||
In 2008, Water Pokémon Master sought out [[Masamitsu Hidaka]], the original director and storyboard artist for the Pokémon anime, and held a historical interview with him. In the interview, Hidaka revealed much previously unknown information about the {{pkmn|anime}}, including the writer's decisions behind certain plot points, the nature of the series, and what goes on behind the scenes. For example, the interview revealed why Brock was replaced in the Orange Islands, the nature of the GS Ball, if Misty would ever return to the series, Ho-Oh's relation to Ash, the show's cyclical nature, and much more. Hidaka also personally invited WPM back for a second interview where he revealed even more information about the anime. Both interviews are the closest any fan has gotten to someone who works on the raw anime and their revelations are still discussed by fans to this day. | In 2008, Water Pokémon Master sought out [[Masamitsu Hidaka]], the original director and storyboard artist for the Pokémon anime, and held a historical interview with him. In the interview, Hidaka revealed much previously unknown information about the {{pkmn|anime}}, including the writer's decisions behind certain plot points, the nature of the series, and what goes on behind the scenes. For example, the interview revealed why Brock was replaced in the Orange Islands, the nature of the GS Ball, if Misty would ever return to the series, Ho-Oh's relation to Ash, the show's cyclical nature, and much more. Hidaka also personally invited WPM back for a second interview where he revealed even more information about the anime. Both interviews are the closest any fan has gotten to someone who works on the raw anime and their revelations are still discussed by fans to this day. | ||