Today is a big day for Lake Valor, it is the 10th anniversary of the site's creation! So many events, so many friends and so much art and roleplay. To celebrate this the mods and admins figured it would be kinda nice to have everyone drop a few lines here about what LV means to you. All the comments will be put into something special later so take a bit of time to write something from the heart. Oh I almost forgot, since the 22nd will be the great Wavepearl's joining day from way back in 2012 we invited some cute pika friends over to hang out at the lake for everyone to enjoy. From now until December 1st, all cosplay pikachu forms will be made available in the catcher, this includes 3 forms what were never available before on the site! We also added a very special pikachu in honor of Wavepearl to the catcher. Drop by the Catcher forum to let us know if you spot one!
For me, LV is a place where I have shared my ideas with the Pokémon community--and met plenty of new friends in the process! I've come to love the community here, and will cherish the memorable RPs that unfolded with them. Here's to at least 10 more years of adventures!
LV is the one forum I actively try to check and post in. I lurk in the discord almost every day to chat with you wonderful people. 10 years man. I can only imagine the people who have been long gone think we died but no we're still clinging on here. May LV continue another ten years. Long Live LV.
LV is a great place where I've gotten to know so many fellow Pokémon fans. I'm eternally grateful to have served as a mod for this wonderful community for three years.
Welp, never thought I'd start to RP here (and thoroughly enjoy it despite my somewhat inconsistent participation in many stories) even though there are other forums more dedicated to RPs out there. Thank you LV, and happy birthday!!!
I remember how excited I was when I was first invited to this forum by a user who shall not be named over on FF.net, as nothing had like that had happened to me at that point. I'd joined a couple of forums before then but never stuck around long as they weren't really my thing. But LV was different somehow and I quickly found myself a part of this community through good times and bad, to the point where this has been my primary social group for the better part of a decade at this point. I also remember staff applications opening up after a troubled time I now refer to as 'The Purge' where there were plenty of vacant mod positions that needed to be filled, and I decided to through caution to the wind and send in my application even though I didn't think I was remotely qualified or had any chance of being accepted. Then I took a shower and when I got back I had a DM from one of the admins at the time (I actually don't remember which one) asking me to apply. I've been a mod ever since then and was eventually promoted to my current position as Admin. There's even something of a running joke about how I'll never be Member of the Month since I never got it before becoming disqualified thanks to my staff position (though I was nominated a couple times both before and after). Lake Valor is, in many ways, my home. This has been my primarily social group since a time when all of my IRL friends were moving away to college and now, after all of these years, I can honestly say that some of you are the closest friends I've ever had. I don't know where I would be without this place, but I would be worse off for having never been a part of this. If I could go back and change anything, I think the only thing I would want to change would be to find this place even earlier.
LV is a VERY important place to me. So important in fact that I came back from the dead literally just to post this. It's also the reason that despite my inactivity, I still donate monthly. To me, LV is a place where I have made some very long lasting friends. To some on this website and the discord, I am simply a familiar face, or someone who they've chatted with. But there are some users whom I have met on this website, and our friendship had evolved much more than that. We got together online outside of LV and played games together on other consoles and different video game media, and hung out every possible moment. To me, LV is a place where despite your interests, you can find some place to fit in, and have a conversation with others. (God knows that I STILL don't own a Pokémon game, despite hanging around a Pokémon forum.) If your interests are writing, art, trivia, playing, or simply just hanging out, you can simply do so here in LV. LV will ALWAYS have a place in my heart. And despite my inactivity, I will continue to love this website. I have built so many memories and have built so many relationships thanks to this website. Thank you, LV, and all the amazing users who made this website into a great place.
'ELLO! I have only been on LV for about half of the time it's existed, but man what an awesome five years it has been. The community here truly is insane and irreplaceable and I do not regret joining at all. Here's to another ten years of whatever it is we do here! WOOO
I don't remember a lot about when I joined Lake Valor nearly 10 years ago. I remember being invited from DeviantArt when I was in my signature-making phase, and I decided to check it out. Lo and behold, I found another place where my artwork could be appreciated. I eventually found a home in the roleplay section, despite never having done something quite like that before. I remember things fizzling out after a few years for one reason or another. I lost interest in the site and left for a while. Then, I got an email out of the blue inviting me back, and... well, the rest is history, I suppose. I'm not nearly as active as I once was - most of my activity in recent years has been during Summer Scrambles - but I lurk on Discord and look throughout the Lake from time to time to see what's happening where. Those sweet, sweet PokePoints aren't gonna farm themselves, after all. In a way, Lake Valor was my creative outlet for some time, through signatures, roleplay, and the occasional short story I'd cook up. More recently, it also gave me my first opportunity to actually play Dungeons & Dragons, feeding the growing interest I had in it, and that is something I'm forever grateful for (though my wallet may disagree...). Despite taking a leave of absence, I still felt welcome when I returned, which I also appreciate. I'm thankful for the ways the Lake has allowed me to express myself.