Feature: Interview with The LCV Hideout

In April 2002, a Pokémon fan called Shannon created a fansite called The Lovely Charming Villains Hideout, a fansite dedicated to Pokémon’s Team Rocket. It contained a collection of fanfiction, art, quizzes, and biographies for each of Team Rocket’s characters. I accidentally discovered her website during my research into a different project, so I was quite shocked to receive a reply over twenty years since the website was last updated.

After exchanging some messages, Shannon kindly agreed to an interview to share her memories of working on the website and growing up with Pokémon.

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A selection of banners and images from The LCV Hideout from 2002–2004

It’s lovely to be speaking with you, Shannon. I’m still quite surprised that my email reached you, over two decades since you last updated your website! I guess we should start with some introductions? Tell us a bit about yourself and the website you created.

Shannon:

Thanks for finding me and connecting me with a new era of fans and those who enjoyed the Pokémon fandom in the early aughts. I thought the website I created, The LCV Hideout, and all its content was lost to time. Finding the remnants of the site that I built and put a lot of love into when I was around 13 years old is such a trip.

Everyone knows that feeling when you are a teen and find characters and a universe that draws you into a passionate fandom. I was hooked when Pokémon first came out and I would wake up early on Saturdays at 7am (which was a feat, considering what a night owl I was) to watch the show. I started recording every episode on VHS. My older sister also shared in the enjoyment and we had the most fun quoting lines from Team Rocket. Jesse, James, and Meowth had a special characterization that I appreciated. They were funny, silly, and sometimes got meta by winking at the 4th wall.

The website, The LCV Hideout, is a fansite to all things Team Rocket. It had a childish charm to it, as I did a sort of spaghetti at the wall with content. Wallpapers, sound clips, episode ratings, paper dolls, chibi adoptions, and fan fiction: anything I found fun and wanted to share with others. I enjoyed making fanart so that was one of the central components. I also encouraged fans to email tliheir art to me so I could post it on my site.

You launched The LCV Hideout on April 4th, 2002, as a shrine dedicated to Team Rocket. What encouraged you to create the website back then?

Shannon:

In retrospect, I probably created the website to emulate the other fansites I saw so I could join the social subculture. I was homeschooled at this time, and while I had friends IRL, I also created many friendships online through fansites. This [was] the age before social media, YouTube and apps. Wikipedia was in its infancy. If fans wanted to share something, we had to do it ourselves. We connected through email or instant messaging after finding each other on other sites. At the time it felt like a natural thing to start my own website if I wanted to join the dialogue and create new fandom content. I learned HTML not only by looking up How-Tos, but by getting a starter code set from a friend which I adapted further as I learned.

The LCV’s homepage, with links to various sections of the website

One of the main features of The LCV Hideout was the Fan Art section, filled with links to Team Rocket artwork by you and other fans. How important was Team Rocket to you as an artist as you developed your style?

Shannon:

Team Rocket fanart was one of the stepping stones in my artistic journey. I have been drawing as long as I can remember, but by drawing the characters I loved and sharing them online I created a type of conversation with other artists. There was a delightful back and forth as we shared our passion to create art. I drew unique fanart for other fansites when they reached a new amount of hits on their sites (anytime someone visited a website, it was a “hit”). I drew chibi versions of Pokémon characters that were image files that someone could save to their computer, or post on their own website, saying that they had adopted them from my site. I also made comics depicting my own stories of Team Rocket. All of these drawings gave me fun reasons to create and stretch out my own style.

There were many Team Rocket-focused fansites back then, many of which you were affiliated with or linked to. What were some of your favourites, and why?

Shannon:

Revisiting some of these sites now is a wild experience. I am remembering how I used to visit all my favorite fansites every day, checking for updates and interacting with other fans.

The main one that comes to mind is TeamRocket-Video.com. I watched all their videos that they posted. There is a video that was made of a bunch of clips of Team Rocket edited playfully together to the Devo song “Whip It.” I still think of that video anytime that song comes on. The site also contained many videos from the Japanese version of Pokémon, including the banned episodes where James wears a bikini and has inflatable breasts. TeamRocket-Video also was great about creating an inclusive fan space, and [it] similarly had links to submitted fanart, including my own.

I also had a lot of fun on Pop-Rocket.com. Lots of interactive stuff, with a responsive creator. The creator of that site, Blaze, was the one to help me learn HTML.

I also appreciated Pokémon Rebirth for their unique fanart and stories.

The LCV Hideout had a biographies page, which shared information about the different characters in Team Rocket

Like many fansites from that era that were abandoned for various reasons, The LCV Hideout hasn't been updated since August 9th, 2004. What were your reasons for stepping away from the website?

Shannon:

August 2004 is when I started high school. While I had gone to some in-person classes as a part of my homeschooling, this was the first time I was going to school almost every day, a huge change for me. I was used to drawing, creating, and coding for days on end, [but] now I had to go to class and do homework. I think I just got distracted by the change and switched my focus to new friends and interests. I was now having my social needs met in person. I still enjoyed being a fan of Team Rocket afterwards; I just had less desire to express and share my fandom.

In 2023, fans saw the conclusion of Ash Ketchum's story, along with Team Rocket’s Jessie, James, and Meowth. While the door remains open for their return, we haven’t seen them again at the time of this interview. What are your thoughts on this?

Shannon:

That is wild! I actually didn’t know that the original characters were still included that far into the franchise. All stories should end, so we can appreciate the stories that were told. It’s good to make room for new characters so we can have a wide range of stories and experiences.

The LCV Hideout Adoption Center contained images that could be adopted by visitors, and placed in their own websites. All of them were designed by Shannon

At the time of interview, Pokémon is in its ninth generation, with over 1000 Pokémon characters and forms. What are your thoughts on how far Pokémon has come since you first began working on The LCV Hideout?

Shannon:

I’m quite boggled by the expanse. I only ever saw the first few seasons of the show and a couple of the movies. I did not experience most of the video games, card games, or later seasons. I did play Pokémon Go when it first dropped, which was quite entertaining for a little while. Other than that, nothing has caught my interest. I enjoy hearing other people’s enthusiasm and being able to participate in those conversations with the limited information I have of the original fandom. It is a fun universe for new generations to enjoy, but not for me.

When I put together these interviews, I love to ask our guests about any special items or merchandise relating to Pokémon that mean something to them. Do you have anything that you would like to share?

Shannon:

Oh, yes, I still have a few items from that time period. I have plastic figurines of Jessie and James. A Wobbuffet plushie. I loved Wobbuffet’s antics in the show and would imitate their wild voice. I also have a first edition Team Rocket Card from the TCG. My sister got me the trading card as a gift. Even though these are simple memorabilia, I treasure them.

I used to have the first three seasons all on VHS, but only one of them was official. I had the official VHS that had the first three episodes on it, [but] the rest were all recorded by me by hand every Saturday morning. I ended up with a whole bookshelf filled with VHS recordings. Not sure what ever happened to them.

I once had the ThinkChip Pokémon Battle Stadium toy with a foot tall Ash action figure that could talk. So [it’s a] funny story how I got this… The WB had a sweepstakes to win a ThinkChip Pokémon Battle Stadium. The rules were you could enter once an hour with an email address… So I created an obscene amount of email [addresses], my vague recollection is about twenty [addresses], and proceeded to enter into the sweepstakes with all my [email addresses], every hour. Surprise, surprise, I won the grand prize! I was beyond ecstatic at winning. I had fun playing with them at first, but it seemed to benefit from a second player so you could battle it out. Since I was lacking any friends my age who liked Pokémon, I didn’t end up playing with it very much. I ended up giving it to my brother’s girlfriend’s nephew. I still laugh at the ridiculousness of me rigging the system and winning a television sweepstakes, only to end up giving it away.

Shannon's treasured Pokémon items include figures of Jessie and James, a Here Comes Team Rocket! trading card, a ThinkChip Pikachu card, and a Wobbuffet plush toy

It’s clear to me that you put a lot of love and passion into your website, and it was an outlet for your creativity! What were your highlights and fondest memories of running The LCV Hideout?

Shannon:

I loved meeting people online who were as excited as me about making fun and sometimes bizarre fan content. From drawing fanart with others [to] learning how to code from a friend, it was all about the people. I do miss the certain simplicity and the special kind of chaos of the 2000s internet era.

Shannon, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions and help us learn more about your website. It was so nice to see an example of a fansite from this era. Do you have any closing comments you would like to make for our readers and anyone out there who may have visited The LCV Hideout during its time online?

Shannon:

Thanks for bringing back some fond memories and letting me reminisce! I hope this gets to the fans that also enjoyed this slice of the internet at the time and brings them some nostalgic feels.

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Additional artwork by Shannon

Artwork celebrating one year of affiliation between PuRR and The LCV Hideout

Art celebrating 20,000 hits on The LCV Hideout

This drawing by Shannon celebrates 30,000 hits on The LCV Hideout

Artwork of Jessie and James for The LCV Hideout

More fabulous artwork of Jessie and James

Artwork of James

Artwork of Jessie, James, and Meowth

Artwork of Jessie, who has been baking for James’s 21st birthday

Jessie giving Wobbuffet a makeover

More art of the lovable duo Jessie and James

“Minty Freshness” comic by Shannon (Page 1)

“Minty Freshness” comic by Shannon (Page 2)

“Minty Freshness” comic by Shannon (Page 3)

“Minty Freshness” comic by Shannon (Page 4)

Artwork of Musashi and Kojiro, the Japanese names of Jessie and James

Art of Jessie and Cassidy

Art of James and Jessie

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We appreciate Shannon’s time in answering all of our questions. I hope The LCV Hideout, and Team Rocket, remain a positive and happy part of her life, and we wish her the very best for everything in her future.

Interview conducted on: May 11th, 2025
Interview published on: July 10th, 2025

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Community Spotlight: PokéCommunity

PokéCommunity is a message board for Pokémon fans, which launched in October 2002 (screenshot from July 2025)

Forums in the late 90s and early 2000s were more than just a place to hang out; many of them were our online homes, where we made friends and shared our thoughts and feelings, creativity, and love for our favourite franchise. In the case of Pokémon, one of the largest and longest-running forums is still active! PokéCommunity launched in October 2002 and continues to provide a space for Pokémon fans to express themselves. We are so thankful that it is still around and urge you to check it out for yourselves!

Visit: PokéCommunity