News Archive
17 August 2023:
Round 2's spectator prompt has begun!
19 July 2023:
ROUND 2 HAS BEGUN!
14 July 2023:
Round 2's teaser is now up and ready to solve! Round 2 begins on Thursday!
11 July 2023:
Round 2's roster has been decided! In no particular order:
Team Hokum
Team Lucky Foot
Team Rose Golden
Fangria!
Team Kyūryō
Team Steel Wind
Team Rapture
Team Ice-Breaker
¡Quítate!
Bionic Meteorsaurus
Team Soul
Jitsu-Yama
Team Verdict
Horo Sentai Miraiger
Team Steampunk
Team Riders
3 July 2023:
With individual extensions now over, Round 1 is being judged! Stay tuned for updates!
17 May 2023:
Round 1 has been EXTENDED BY 3.5 WEEKS (25 days)! This means its deadlines are now:
Sunday 25th June for competitors;
Thursday 13th July for spectators.
13 May 2023:
Round 1's spectator prompt has begun!
5 April 2023:
ROUND 1 HAS BEGUN!
4 April 2023:
Round 1's teaser is now up and ready to solve! ROUND ONE BEGINS TOMORROW!
2 April 2023:
Competitors' Team Colours have been announced!
18 March 2023:
Auditions are now closed! The timeline for the coming weeks is as such:
Individual extensions & round 0's spectator prompt end on March 25th;
We will distribute a form for competitors to fill in so we can gauge the roster's preferences for prompts (to be considered starting in round two);
Once team colour allocations are announced, we will have a three-day feedback period in which competitors may request changes to their team's colour (on the understanding communication must be quick so as not to hold things up);
We will release a teaser for round one's prompt (essentially a puzzle to be solved for a clue toward the prompt's nature);
Auditioners will be able to request their score, score sheet, and/or placement in the rankings once we make the relevant announcement, and may also ask for a brief critique (these will roll out across April);
ROUND ONE!
11 March 2023:
Character applications are now closed! This means newcomers to the OCT unfortunately cannot enter. A few people have individual extensions which will enable them to submit their character applications in the coming days.
We've slightly rearranged a few of our pages here to reflect this and keep things tidy: our News Archive, Character Creation, and How to Enter pages can now be found under Archives. Character Creation and How to Enter contain information still relevant to prospective spectators, as well as a section on submitting entries going forward (they've been moved to keep the About page list from being too crowded).
4 March 2023:
Requests for Individual Extensions are now open! Please see the relevant page for information on what they are, how they work, and how you can get one if you need it.
1 February 2023:
Following our audition interest check, we've decided that a 3-week extension is in order! This places our deadlines as follows:
Character application deadline: 11th March
Audition submission deadline: 18th March
Round 0 spectator prompt deadline: 25th March
22 January 2023:
Tune in on Haywire's Twitch at 7PM GMT (11AM PST / 2PM EST) on Wednesday 25th (his birthday) Friday 3rd February for some silly Hyperspace sketching! Drawing suggestions will be taken via Discord on the day.
As of recently we're posing questions of the day in our server! You can use our QotD Submission Form to suggest a question, Haywire will hopefully get to them all in due time.
Also: take a look at our Auditions page to see our first entry!
13 January 2023:
Happy New Year! Today's our first "Format Friday" - a meme format will be posted each Friday from today until 3rd Feb! Check out our new Meme Formats page, which contains a link to the template for our first meme - Species Swap.
24 December 2022:
A few updates and reminders:
8 weeks remain for character submissions! We appreciate people getting characters in sooner rather than later if at all possible; remember that submissions are compulsory - no screening, no audition. You've been warned!
This means 9 weeks remain for auditions! We'll discuss extensions in the new year.
Our winter collaboration is finished - take a look on our Community Collaborations page! hanks to everyone who joined in, it turned out wonderful.
A secret Santa dropout form is available in our #announcements channel - if anyone who signed up is no longer able to contribute, respond ASAP! That way we can fill any gaps with new artists.
19 December 2022:
General information regarding our Spectator Tournament has been revealed! We encourage everyone to try their hand at our main tournament (the one most of this website is dedicated to), but if spectating is more your pace then go and take a look.
2 December 2022:
Our holiday-themed collaborative piece is now open for contributions! Check then #announcements and/or #oct-art channel of our Discord server for details on how to join in. Deadline to contribute (you're strongly encouraged to send it in ASAP but this is the final time to do so): 24th December, 07:59 GMT (23rd December, 23:59 PST).
27 November 2022:
Sign-ups for our secret Santa event are open until 30th November at 23:59 GMT! Details can be found on that form and in the announcements channel of our Discord server. Come and take part if you're able! Note that due to the results of our interest check form, this is for visual art only - any skill / experience levels welcome.
21 November 2022:
AUDITIONS ARE OPEN!!! Woohoo! Check out the prompt!
20 November 2022:
We are currently updating our rules surrounding new moves, abilities, and mechanics from Scarlet and Violet - please be patient with any new implementations in the coming days! No major changes will occur, but minor things may need to be added. Thank you for your patience - we can't wait to start meeting your characters!
29 August 2022:
Note to those of you who viewed the site when it was first launched: we've been updating the FAQ regularly to reflect new questions we encounter and our list of Prizes has expanded significantly! Check them out if they're of interest to you.
8 August 2022:
We will open auditions this November after the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet! For now, read this site for info and consider joining our friendly Discord server.
Scarlet / Violet Changelog
This log only includes major changes, or crucial information for those considering using new Pokémon (or ones that received major changes). There may be some places where generation 9 Pokémon are used as examples that aren't listed here, for instance.
28 February
Rule specification: Munkidori, Ogidogi, Fezandipiti, Ogerpon, and Terapagos have been added to our banned species list (due to their introduction after our audition phase beginning).
22 November
Rule specification: As it is presently uncatchable (and has no ability / moveset / stats), Roaming Form Gimmighoul is banned.
New rule: Hisuian Pokémon can learn moves from their datamined Scarlet / Violet movepools (you can find these on PokémonDB and Bulbapedia). This doesn't go for other species that will be added with Home support or events (such as Charizard).
21 November (part 2)
New rule update: Clarifying that Revavroom with any moves / abilities / typings exclusive to Team Star (the Starmobiles) are banned. There are so many different quirks to the Starmobiles it's worth phrasing Revavroom-related rules as a blanket ban rather than specific exceptions.
Rule change: Battle Bond is now permitted so long as it uses the mechanics shown in generation 9. Ash-Greninja is still banned.
21 November (part 1)
New rule update: Skeledirge, while having two bodies, cannot count as both halves of an expedition team (much like Slowbro / Slowking).
Rule specification: Herba Mystica can be included in your entries and have culinary and/or medicinal uses, however it cannot be used to turn Pokémon into titans.
Rule specification: while Pokémon can re-learn moves without the assistance of a move remembering service, this doesn't work the same way as it does in Legends: Arceus or Scarlet / Violet where a Pokémon can seemingly remember a move on a whim; it requires specific effort or a moment of great importance to happen, as with learning any other move.
20 November (part 2)
New rule: Speed Boost Revavroom is banned (seriously, what is up with Team Star's Revavrooms???).
Rule specification: changed moves and abilities can appear in any form they have taken in the main series games (for instance, Intimidate activating multiple times in a battle or just once), but you should make clear which version your character possesses if it's not the most recent - the exception is typing, which must always be up-to-date.
Rule specification: removed moves are allowed for Pokémon which used to be able to learn them, but new Pokémon cannot learn moves which used to be universal (like Hidden Power).
New rule: Tera Blast is banned (explanation given under the Moves section of the Character Creation page).
Pokémon with multiple heads (and sometimes bodies) added to "Do Pokémon with multiple heads (or bodies) have multiple consciousnesses / personalities?" under the Pokémon Species and Abilities section of our FAQ. Species concerned: Scovillain, Tandemaus, Maushold, Wugtrio, Sandy Shocks, Iron Jugulis.
New rule update: Palafin must return to Zero form by the end of each round at the latest.
New rule: details on how Revival Blessing is to be used can be found under "Do moves have Power Points (PP)?" in the Premise / World section of our FAQ.
20 November (part 1)
Pokémon over 4m added to "How do height restrictions work?" under the Pokémon Species & Abilities section of our FAQ. Species concerned: Farigiraf, Slither Wing, Dudunsparce, Cetitan, Dondozo.
Strange ability mechanics explained under the Pokémon Species & Abilities section of our FAQ. Species concerned: Palafin, Dondozo, Tatsugiri.
Legendary Pokémon added to banned species list. Species concerned: Ting-Lu, Chien-Pao, Wo-Chien, Chi-Lu.
New rule: Pokémon added to the franchise after today will be banned.
Rule specification: paradox Pokémon are permitted.
New rule: Blazing Torque, Wicked Torque, Noxious Torque, Combat Torque, and Magical Torque are banned.
Character creation specification: while you may specify what your characters' tera types are, this isn't a requirement. There's every chance terastallisation will never be relevant in the OCT - our prompts haven't been decided yet!
Rule specification: judge NPCs' tera types are up for interpretation.