Fan newsletter Johto Times tracks down Pokémon pop legends for an interview

Johto Times, a Substack newsletter run by Darren, a dedicated Pokémon fan, published an interview with members of the official musical group “Johto” who were responsible for some of the classics from the Pokémon animated series’ music during the Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver era.

Out of the six original members, Shareef, Élan, Shwaun, and PJ share their experience auditioning and recording songs for Pokémon, as well as additional insights, such as a planned concert tour that (unfortunately!) was cancelled at the last minute. I recommend you read the full interview at Johto Times!

Many of their songs, which many older Pokémon fans will no doubt recognize, were released on the album Totally Pokémon in 2001. The song Pokémon Johto was used as the opening theme for the animated series during its Pokémon: The Johto Journeys season, is embedded below for an instant nostalgia trip.

If you want to listen to the Totally Pokémon album, it’s luckily available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music.


Let us know if the Johto-era songs bring back any memories for you. They certainly do for me! Leave your thoughts in the comments below and join our Discord server!

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