FAQ

What is an OCT?
An Original Character Tournament: a bracket held between storytellers, each with their own protagonists in a shared universe. Prompts are issued for each round, and competitors must show their character(s) (and any opponent characters) in a piece of media which fulfils said prompt. Judges then decide winners. The winners' stories each round are considered canonical, and they progress to the next round.

Check out this OCT guide by ChaosComposer if you want further information!

What forms of entry can I submit?
All media! Comics, splash pages, visual novels, videogames, storyboards, animatics, animations, literature, illustrated literature, audiobooks, audio dramas, etc. You may use multiple forms of media (be that across entries or even in the same one).

• If your entry is any form of game, it should have one canonical story to avoid confusion. If it is skill-based, provide screen capture footage of you (or someone else) completing it.

• If your entry is audio-based, provide a transcript.

For newcomers, it's worth noting that a majority of OCT entries fall under comics and literature, and no medium will be regarded as inherently superior or inferior; what matters most is your story.

Where do I submit my entry?
This is explained in depth on our How to Enter page. Essentially:

• Submissions are to be made via email to HyperspaceOCT@gmail.com.

• You MUST provide a link within your submission to somewhere anybody can see your entry - a Google Drive folder, Imgur, public social media account, free-to-play itch.io game etc. The link to your entry will be posted on this website.

Keep in mind that, before auditioning, you will need to submit your team's reference sheet for approval by the judges to ensure you've correctly followed our guidelines.

How long should my audition / future entries be?
It depends! That's your creative choice - keep in mind the prompt you need to fulfil and your story's pacing, that's the most important thing. We have no hard upper or lower limits on length.

Can I join up with my friends and make a team of creators?
The most people we will allow to work together as a "competitor" is 2. How you distribute work is up to you! Only one of you needs to correspond with the judges (this includes asking questions and submitting entries). You can have other people contribute small additions to your entry or use royalty-free assets, so long as you credit them. Details can be found in our Rules.

Do I have to join the Discord server to compete?
Yes; no exceptions.

While submissions must be made via email and updates will also be given on this site, Discord provides a way for both judges and other competitors to get in touch with you directly which is very crucial!

How much will I need to know about Pokémon?
Nothing you couldn't find fairly easily on Bulbapedia or Serebii. Brush up on relevant type matchups, move effects, and abilities! We have a bit of a homebrew system in the OCT anyway, so everything else should be explained in our prompts and guidelines.

If you have any queries, there's a channel called "pokémon" in the Discord server where you can ask the community for information about the franchise.

How familiar will I need to be with the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games?
Not very! All you really need to keep in mind is that the tournament's dimensions are home only to Pokémon - no humans or other creatures.

Will there be a spectator tournament?
Yes!

What happens if I want to change what medium I'm using between entries?
Go ahead! You can use as many or few mediums as you like during the tournament - just make sure it's easy enough to follow what's going on. Individual entries can be mixed media (for example: illustrated literature, comics supplemented by an animatic, an animatic with a live-action section, etc) and you can also switch altogether (for example: creating your audition as a comic, then switching to illustrated literature for round one and so on). We recommend experimenting with mediums if you'd like to - OCTs can be a great opportunity to learn new skills.

What happens if I want to change my characters / expedition team?
After character applications close, you can't switch out your characters. That said, if you realise your characters aren't quite what you want and you would like to change your reference sheets BEFORE the deadline, feel free to email an updated character application - we will remove your initial characters from the site and assume your latest application reflects your final choice unless you tell us otherwise.

I'm working with another artist to create entries and one of us doesn't want to compete anymore. What now?
Let the judges know if this happens. In a team of two, it's permissible for one competitor to "drop out" and the other can continue the story where you both left off.

I'm working with another artist to create entries and we want to split off and do our own things. What now?
Unfortunately, having a team split into two separate competitors creating their own entries would break the tournament's format, so we can't allow this. It's up to you whether you continue to work together or if one of you wishes to drop out.

Can I change the name of my character / expedition team during the tournament?
Absolutely, if there's an in-story reason. For example, maybe a character wants to change their name / team name upon evolving.

If this is a purely out-of-universe choice, we discourage it as this may confuse people, but will allow it. You may have personal reasons for wishing to change a character's name and that's understandable, so we won't pry.

Make sure you reflect the change in your reference sheet.

Can I change my character's pronouns during the tournament?
Absolutely, regardless of reasoning. Just be sure to reflect the change in their reference sheet, let the judges know, and be understanding if your opponent makes some mistakes (especially if the change happens during a round).

If my character evolves, do I need to update their reference sheet?
While not required, we strongly encourage it. If you don't update it within a week of the result of your advancement to the next round being announced, your opponent won't be penalised for inaccuracies in their design.

If my character learns a new move, do I need to update their reference sheet?
While not required, we strongly encourage it. If your character learns a new move, you MUST make it clear (in your entry, its description, an updated ref sheet, and/or the email you send to the judges to submit your entry) which other move has been forgotten if the character already knew four moves.

We will be posting a list of each character's species, ability, and moveset with each matchup we announce to make those basic facts easy to check without looking at a reference.

Read the Premise & Prompts and Rules pages for more information.

How many competitors will there be?
We can't say for sure until auditions are over. We need at least 8 competitors to run the OCT.

How many rounds will there be?
We can't say for sure until auditions are over - definitely between 3 and 6 (not including auditions).

How long will rounds last?
By default, rounds will be 8 weeks long, with the exception of the semi-final (10 weeks) and final (12 weeks) - keep in mind that extensions are likely. Auditions will last about 3 months.

How long will judging take?
We will aim to have judging completed in 5-12 days for each round, with a further 2-7 days to prepare and release the next prompt. This gives competitors a chance to rest and keeps up suspense! If there is: a high volume of entries or several which are particularly long, very difficult decisions, or judges face exceptional circumstances in their personal lives - there is a chance judging will take longer. We will keep you posted.

What about extensions?
There are two kinds of extensions we will offer when deadlines draw near.

Mass extensions apply to all remaining competitors and last a maximum of 2 additional weeks (unless in very extreme circumstances).

Individual extensions are granted on a case-by-case basis and require direct communication with the judges. These could be given for a multitude of reasons, including:

• Medical (mental, emotional, or physical health issues),

• Life events (moving house, weddings, funerals, exams etc.),

• Technical mishaps (power outages, lost work etc.)

We won't ask for proof of any of these claims, please be honest! We'll try to be as reasonable as we can be. Details on how to apply for extra time will be shared a few weeks before each deadline.

Individual extensions could technically last any length of time but will be capped eventually to be courteous to other competitors.

Will everybody who auditions be admitted to Round 1?
Maybe, it depends how many auditions we get! We will publish an update when auditions end to let everybody know what our plans are.

Can I submit my own NPCs?
No, sorry. It could increase our workload as well as competitors' workload tenfold if we allow this. There are enough characters for people to handle and work with between the Judge NPCs and the roster-to-be! You may include additional OCs:

• in your audition (but Hoopa won't let them into its pocket dimension)

• in flashbacks, visions, dreams, and concurrent scenes in other locations,

• during round prompts themselves (if it makes sense, and again these characters can't enter the pocket dimension).

The most characters any individual competitor (or duo of competitors) or spectator can submit is two.

Do I have to enter two characters?
Yes, 100%. Spectator expedition teams are the sole exception to this rule - to enter spectator prompts, you can use one or two characters.

Do alters / systems ("other personalities" experienced in dissociative identity disorder) count as additional characters?
No - some prompts will require two Pokémon to complete. We ask that if either of your characters is a system, they don't have too many alters to keep things manageable for other people when it comes to depicting your character. Refer to our rules on Pokémon with multiple heads (under "Pokémon Species & Abilities") for a better understanding of our expectations for characters consisting of multiple personalities.

Read the Premise & Prompts and How to Enter pages for more information.

What about stats / levels / EVs / IVs / natures / characteristics?

• Levels, EVs, and IVs don't exist in Hyperspace's universe - feel free to show your character as inexperienced or a veteran, fairly strong or fairly weak, but don't attach a numerical value to it. You may use base stats as a guideline, but much like in real life there aren't numbers which dictate a character's abilities.

• Feel free to assign your characters natures and/or characteristics (even ones which aren't listed in the games), but keep in mind this won't affect their stats and isn't a viable substitute for a full personality section.

What about tera type?
While you don't need to specify your characters' tera types on their reference sheet(s), you're free to! We don't know if terastallisation will be incorporated into any prompts yet, and finalists are free to incorporate the mechanic if they wish, but it may never be relevant to the tournament. If you don't specify it, other people are free to choose a tera type for your characters should it be relevant in their stories.

The judge NPCs' tera types are all up for interpretation.

Which species are allowed?
This is explained under Character Creation with a comprehensive list. Essentially, any species found in main series games (including Legends: Arceus and Scarlet / Violet) except:

• Legendaries, Mythicals, Ultra Beasts,

• Pokéstar Studios opponents,

• Smoochum and Jynx,

• Non-catchable Rotom / Revavroom forms (dex, bike, phone, drone, Rotomi, Starmobiles).

In cases where Pokémon are manmade or use manmade elements (e.g. the Porygon line and Rotom's non-base forms), it's up to you how they work. Perhaps highly advanced Pokémon societies made them, maybe they are golems, they could have simply manifested that way, etc.

Can non-Paldea-native Pokémon learn moves in their Scarlet / Violet movepool (especially Hisuian Pokémon)?
This depends (catchability in Paldea refers to a Pokémon's inclusion / exclusion before 21st November 2022 - i.e. before Pokémon Home support rolls out in Spring 2023 / any potential DLCs) -

• Pokémon you CAN catch in Paldea: CAN of course know / learn moves in their Scarlet / Violet movepool - regardless of whether they could learn those moves in previous games,

• Most Pokémon you CANNOT catch in Paldea which WILL be added with Home support: CANNOT know / learn moves exclusive to their Scarlet / Violet movepool (those they could not learn in any previous game) regardless of datamines,

• Pokémon you CANNOT catch in Paldea which WON'T be added with Home support: can only learn moves in their earlier movepools,

• Hisuian Pokémon: CAN know / learn moves exclusive to their Scarlet / Violet movepool (you can find datamined generation 9 movepools on PokémonDB and Bulbapedia) - this rule is in place due to the limiting nature of movepools in Legends: Arceus.

What about Pokémon with manmade elements (Magnemite line etc.)?
You don't need to have an explanation for their existence - feel free to assume they're naturally occurring, or have them originate from a factory - be that in a PMD world or one with humans in it, too. You could put your own spin on it that they are more like golems - or even spirits in the case of the Porygon line - just so long as you keep their type, move pool, and ability the same.

What about Rotom?
For the sake of Hyperspace, key items which enable Rotom to change its form at any time (like the Secret Key and Rotom Catalogue) don't exist. It can only change forms using one of the items it is shown to possess in the games in combat: a fan, lawnmower, oven, or freezer (Rotomi, dex, phone, drone, and bike are banned). You may have your Rotom change forms up to once per round, but no more.

Given there are ruined factories in the PMD universe, it is safe to assume Purrmageddon has access to these appliances in their stores, but your character would need to convince them to hand one over for it to change forms - alternatively, if it makes sense for the specific setting, you could have them find one during a round prompt. Additionally, changing forms alone doesn't merit learning a new move as it does in the games.

What about Ditto?
Ditto is allowed (either with the Impostor ability or Limber and the move Transform), and it is assumed it will turn back into a Ditto after disengaging with the target it's mimicking. It can then (and only then) turn into a new target.

While Dittos are permitted to turn into Hoopa, using Hyperspace Hole is strictly forbidden in the tournament. Doing so is an immediately disqualifiable offense - and Hoopa can sense rifts in the fabric of any reality it is in, so will immediately identify any Ditto attempting to break this rule and kick them from the running.

What about Zorua and Zoroark?
Both allowed - Illusion works the same way as seen in the games, but they can choose who to appear like among nearby Pokémon.

What about Smeargle?

• Otherwise legendary and mythical-exclusive moves are banned from its moveset,

• To learn a new move, it must first observe it and use Sketch,

• It can only know up to 4 moves at a time, at which point it will need to forget one and re-learn Sketch before copying something new - it can do this up to once per round,

• Remember - it can't learn Chatter or Struggle (outside of the event it loses all PP in Struggle's case).

What about Nincada, Ninjask, and Shedinja?
Your expedition team must start out with two characters, and remain so throughout the OCT (until the semi-finals when it can drop to one by the end of the round). This means that, if you wish to include a Nincada, you can:

• Show it evolve in your audition and enter an expedition team consisting of both its evolved forms,

• Hand-wave and show your Nincada evolve during the tournament into either Ninjask or Shedinja (whether you show the other form in any capacity is up to you, but it can't serve as an extra character in any meaningful sense and cannot return to base camp),

• Keep it as a Nincada throughout the tournament and never show it evolving,

Keep in mind all our rules slacken in the final, it is up to the finalists to finish whatever story they're telling how they want to. We will, of course, still be judging it, but if you wanted to pull some Nincada line antics not described in our rules in the final, we won't stop you (and if it's well-executed it will not harm you in judging).

What about Slowpoke, Slowbro, Slowking, and Shellder?
Slowbro / Slowking and the Shellder attached to them are considered, for all intents and purposes, to be one Pokémon.

While it's sometimes implied that a Slowbro or Slowking reverts to its Slowpoke state if the Shellder biting it is removed, there is no precedent for this happening in canon material (outside the anime, where the Slowbro / Slowking's fate is left ambiguous). De-evolution isn't something we allow in Hyperspace, outside the possibility of a prompt involving such a phenomenon.

This means if your team consists of a Slowpoke and a Shellder, the Shellder biting the Slowpoke will not cause it to evolve by default. You could depict this with the Shellder remaining a separate entity, but don't have it become a part of the Slowbro or Slowking's body. As per usual, these rules are relaxed in auditions before your characters reach Hoopa's pocket dimension as well as in the final.

Keep in mind that Shellder, Slowpoke, Slowking, and Slowbro have different movepools, abilities, and stats - having them be interchangeable is too complex for the purposes of this OCT.

What about Skeledirge and the fiery bird on its snout?
They are considered to be one Pokémon. Despite having two bodies, they cannot form both halves of an expedition team as the bird is not its own species and has no moves or abilities.

What about Eggs?
This is the only case in which we allow a "spectator character" of sorts. Due to the nature of prompts, Eggs can't be considered part of expedition teams - however, we have decided to allow teams of two to bring an Egg with them with these stipulations:

• Don't have the Egg hatch until the final round (if at all) - this is to keep things fair and simple,

• Hoopa won't let all 3 (both teammates and the Egg / whatever hatches from it) through the hyperspace hole to the human world - if the Egg is to make it through, one of the others must stay behind.

Can fishlike Pokémon breathe air?
Yes!

How do aquatic Pokémon move?
We recommend you take a look at their walking and running animations to draw inspiration. If they lack legs, you can make them float close to the ground.

Can flying-types / individuals with the Levitate ability / Pokémon shown flying in canon material fly?
Kind of. The assumption is yes so long as they are shown flying in canon material, with flying-types being the most proficient, followed by Levitators, followed by others (e.g. Beedrill, Garchomp, Ribombee) who can fly - the move Fly offers extra stamina if the Pokémon can already fly (as well as an aerial attack as seen in the series), with other species it's assumed to be a huge leap. However, there will be in-universe rules against flying too high during rounds to keep things fair.

Doduo and Dodrio can't fly, they just jump super high. Same goes for Magikarp. You can make other flightless flying-types if you like! For example, a Starly with a broken wing.

Can ghost-types phase through walls?
Yes (if the wall is up to 1m thick), but at a cost. They will start to feel woozy, and after doing it three times in one round will begin to take damage if they use this ability.

The move Phantom Force can be used to pass through solid objects (within reason) without repercussion if the Pokémon knows what is on the other side and can picture where they will end up.

Do Pokémon with multiple heads (or bodies like Exeggcute, Slowpoke's evolutions, Wishiwashi, Falinks, and Drakloak / Dragapult) have multiple consciousnesses / personalities?
That's up to you - they can be a hivemind (pun intended in Combee's case), communicate telepathically between themselves, or just speak normally. We strongly discourage giving complex personalities to all of a Pokémon's heads/bodies when it has multiple, as this will make the character complicated to use - for you and potential opponents. We have a few proposed solutions:

• Give one head a strong personality, and the others very simple ones,

• Give all heads simple personalities,

• (In the case of multiple-bodied Pokémon; Exeggcute, Slowbro / Slowking, Falinks, Drakloak / Dragapult, Tandemaus / Maushold) have all the heads function as one collective consciousness with each body functioning as a body part,

• (In the case of multiple-bodied Pokémon; Exeggcute, Slowbro / Slowking, Falinks, Drakloak / Dragapult, Tandemaus / Maushold) have your character be one (or multiple, but fewer than the usual number) body which has lost its companions - e.g. a lone Exeggcute seed, a brass Falinks without its troops / a troop of five Falinks with no brass, a Dragapult with no Dreepies,

• School Form Wishiwashi is assumed to be a collective consciousness or a very close-knit team - the school would break apart leaving a Solo Wishiwashi otherwise.

In Drakloak and Dragapult's cases, the Dreepies they house cannot have their own movesets and are only to be used in the move Dragon Darts UNLESS your expedition team is explicitly a Dreepy and one of its evolutions which it happens to nest in.

Can Pokémon with multiple consciousnesses / personalities count as separate team members?
If they have multiple bodies, yes! You could have a Falinks split into two teams, or two Exeggcute from the same batch, for instance. However, you must make clear how the Pokémon is split up if it has more than two bodies.

If they share a body, no. Some prompts will require two participants.

Slowbro and Slowking count as single bodies, as there is no precedent in canon material for Shellders to detach from their host Slowpokes for more than a simple gag in the anime. The same goes for Skeledirge and the fiery bird on its snout.

What about abilities / moves which summon other Pokémon (Schooling, Gulp Missile, Attack Order, Defend Order, Heal Order)?
Unless you'd like to propose a different solution, feel free to put this down to magical Pokémon logic and/or make it a running gag which doesn't make sense.

How does Tatsugiri's Commander ability work?
It is assumed that Tatsugiri with the Commander ability can control:

• Any Dondozo that willingly allows them,

• Their expedition partner Dondozo (if it is one), regardless of this.

Tatsugiri can leave Dondozo's mouth at will, but only after the pair have left combat. The stat boost that comes with Tatsugiri entering Dondozo's mouth will wear off when this happens.

How does Dondozo's signature move Order Up work?
As in the games, it always works but requires the help of a Tatsugiri sitting in its mouth to cause a stat boost (depending on the Tatsugiri's form).

What about moves which copy others (Sketch, Mimic, Copycat, Metronome)?
Each works slightly differently:

• Sketch copies a move the user has witnessed (whether in or out of combat), which they can continue to use permanently. See the "what about Smeargle?" section above for rules about it.

• Mimic copies a move the user has witnessed (whether in or out of combat) - it keeps that move until the engagement is over. It can be used once per round, after which the user will forget the copied move and be able to use Mimic again.

• Copycat copies a move the user has witnessed during an intense engagement (combat, overcoming an obstacle etc.) - this enables a one-time use of the target's move, after which the user will need to use Copycat again in order to replicate it.

• Metronome replicates one move at random each time it is used - regardless of the user's experience of it. If Metronome is solely used as a plot convenience, this will most likely be frowned upon - it could be done for comedic effect, but you should make sure it doesn't nullify your story's stakes.

None of these moves can replicate otherwise legendary- and mythical-exclusive moves (e.g. Dark Void, Sunsteel Strike, Hyperspace Hole).

What about moves / abilities that have been removed since their introduction (Hidden Power, Wring Out, Hail etc.)?
These are allowed for Pokémon which could learn them in previous generations - for instance, Glaceon can learn Hail. However, they aren't allowed for new Pokémon (for instance, Baxcalibur cannot learn Hail) even in cases where moves were once universal (like Hidden Power).

What about moves / abilities that have been changed since their introduction (Bite, Intimidate, Protean etc.)?
You can choose which description / mechanics to follow! Just make sure you're clear about which version of the move or ability your character uses.

The exception is moves which have changed type such as Bite, Karate Chop, and Sand Attack; always use their current typing.

Can my Pokémon change forms during the tournament?
That depends.

• Yes, at any time, if: the change is possible and purely aesthetic (e.g. different Furfrou hairstyles, not different Basculin colours),

• Yes, under the correct conditions, if: the change is conditional (e.g. Mimikyu's disguise being busted, Ditto transforming, Cherrim and Castform's weather-based transformations - a location's natural weather will be stated in each round's prompt),

• Yes, between rounds, if: the change requires an item (e.g. Oricorio's nectar-based forms - you can choose any form for it to start from, and the Espurrs can provide all types of nectar) - Rotom is a unique case, check the "What about Rotom?" section above,

• No, if: it's a change which can't happen naturally (e.g. Lycanroc-Midday to Lycanroc-Midnight, Kantonian Marowak to Alolan Marowak, whatever Team Star's Revavrooms have going on).

How does Palafin's Zero to Hero ability / form change work?
This comes under the "conditional change" category of permitted form changes. For the sake of Hyperspace, a Palafin can take its Hero form if it:

• Engages in combat with its expedition team partner (though it doesn't have to deliver or take a hit, it should at least be susceptible to do so for a moment),

• Steps away from combat and doesn't contribute until its opponent has moved at least twice,

• Returns to combat.

It can return to Zero form whenever you'd like with the understanding it must revert at the end of each round.

Can my Pokémon evolve into a regional form?
Yes - you can ignore location and have your Pokémon evolve how you like - but all evolutions must be possible. Pikachu can evolve into Kantonian or Alolan Raichu, for instance, but a Galarian Meowth will always evolve into Perrserker, a Hoennian Linoone cannot evolve into Obstagoon, Johtoian (modern) Qwilfish cannot evolve into Overqwil, etc.

My Pokémon has an obscure evolution method / one impossible within the bounds of Hyperspace, what do I do?
As stated on the Character Creation page, you can ignore canonical requirements for a Pokémon's evolution. That said, you may also flavour the evolution method to make it something similar while still being possible within the tournament. For example:

• Galarian Yamask evolving into Runerigus by taking damage before going to a significant location,

• Ursaring evolving into Ursaluna under a full moon in a swampy area,

• Finizen evolving into Palafin by battling with friends,

• Rellor evolving into Rabsca by walking a long distance,

• Pawmo evolving into Pawmot by taking on a high number of battles, regardless of difficulty.

Of course, these are all just examples and you can stray much further from the canonical methods / come up with your own alternatives!

How do height restrictions work?
Pokémon's Pokédex-defined "height" (longest measurement when outstretched) can be stretched a bit for your character - within 25% of its standard height (0.75x to 1.25x). However, to prevent huge size differences and the complete destruction of base camp by large Pokémon, there is a HARD height limit of 4 metres (13 feet 2 inches). This means:

• Species between 3.2m and 4.0m (Farigiraf, Slither Wing, Serperior, Arbok, two-segment Dudunsparce, Dhelmise, Dragonair) can be their normal length, shorter, or taller up to 4.0m but no taller,

• Species between 4.1m and 5.0m (three-segment Dudunsparce, Cetitan) have to be on the short side for their species (between 75% of their listed height and 4.0m),

• Species 5.1m and over (Milotic, Gyarados, Wishiwashi's School Form, Onix, Steelix, Alolan Exeggutor, Dondozo, Wailord) are still allowed, but are weird exceptions and have to be really short for their species at exactly 4.0m.

Read the Character Creation page for more information.

Evolved forms?
Yes, absolutely! They may also evolve during the OCT if they aren't fully evolved yet.

Baby Pokémon (Pichu, Togepi, Chingling etc.)?
Yes, absolutely! Species-wise, this is fine, just make sure your character isn't too child-coded.

A different number of fingers / thumbs / toes than seen in canon material?
Yes, absolutely! Keep it sensible of course, but in general that's fine.

Additional features in the form of mobility aids / prosthetics?
Yes, absolutely! Objects to help disabled characters with their daily lives are fine.

A fakemon?
Nope!

A different typing to their species' usual one?
Nope!

Additional powers beyond its moves, ability, species' benefits (like claws and teeth), and typing?
Nope!

A Shadow Pokémon?
Nope!

Custom moves?
Nope! We encourage you to find reasonable ways to flavour moves they can learn - or even abilities- to have the desired affects.

Moves outside their movepool / learnset?
Nope! We encourage you to find reasonable ways to flavour moves they can learn - or even abilities- to have the desired affects.

Battle Bond Greninja / Ash-Greninja?
Nope! Battle Bond is banned because Ash doesn't exist in this universe, and your character can't have ties to canon Pokémon characters.
UPDATE (21st Nov 22): Battle Bond as it appears in Scarlet and Violet is allowed. Ash-Greninja / pre-gen 9 Battle Bond is still banned.

Roaming Form Gimmighoul?
Nope! Although allusions have been made that this may change (particularly in Pokémon GO), Roaming Gimmighoul is uncatchable as of 21st November 2022, having no movepool / stats / abilities and is therefore not allowed. If you choose to make a Chest Form Gimmighoul character, it may leave its chest between rounds (in Hoopa's pocket dimension) if you wish.

A Revavroom knowing one of the Torque moves (Blazing, Wicked, Noxious, Combat, Magical) / with Speed Boost etc.?
Nope! How Team Star's Revavrooms learn these moves / have these abilities is unclear, and they cannot be learned by the player's Revavroom by any means so we have elected to exclude them.

A Missingno?
Nope! You must choose an official Pokémon species recognised by the Pokédex across the franchise - so Missingno and other glitch Pokémon aren't allowed. This includes the Bad Egg.

A weapon?
Nope! Pokémon are strong enough without them! They may carry one in your audition but it will be confiscated during rounds themselves. Purrmageddon can look after it! This is an out-of-universe rule - don't show your character stealing this item back from the NPCs because we'll disqualify you.

Note: one of your expedition team members wielding the other as a weapon is totally fine (e.g. if one of them is a Honedge / Doublade which the other carries).

Armour?
Yes and no. Armour must either:

• Cover less than about 20% of the character's body OR

• Be a singular piece (so for instance a large-chested Golurk can still wear a chestplate even though that's more than 20% of its surface, the same goes for a Haunter wearing a helmet).

Keep in mind:

• You can show your character wearing more armour in the audition, but the "can my character have a weapon?" rule above applies,

• Armour is treated like held items; it's aesthetic,

• No matter what, we should be able to tell what critter is under there!

And of course, naturally-armoured Pokémon like Escavalier and Corviknight are fine as they are. You can give them additional armour in accordance with these rules, if you find a place to put it.

A fusion / crossbreed of two or more species?
Nope! You can draw some small elements from other designs so long as it makes sense (e.g. giving a Noibat wings which are structurally more similar to a Zubat's).

Environmental adaptations (e.g. a Venusaur with a cactus on its back)?
Nope! ...Well, very slightly. Your character can have small changes like this - for instance, a Maractus with flowers based on a different cactus species - but they should look more like an Arbok with different patterns than a regional variant. Don't alter their biology / physiology beyond minor tweaks.

Read the Character Creation page for more information.

Is the "human world" from the in-universe prize our world, or the Pokémon one (like in the main series games & anime)?
As stated in our premise, it's our one! No Pokémon. Your characters can misinterpret this fact, but the Judge NPCs would likely correct any misconceptions they found out about.

Additionally, in the final, you can show that the Judge NPCs were wrong or something else happens to change where the dimension leads to. For the bulk of the tournament, though, the bulk of the characters should believe it to be the vanilla non-Pokémon human world.

Can Pokémon die?
Yes. BUT!

• This won't be allowed until later in the tournament. We'll keep you posted.

• If you want to kill off your opponent's character(s), ASK FIRST. You need their permission or you will be disqualified - so keep receipts.

• Keep in mind even a powerful attack usually only causes a Pokémon to faint. Death is rare.

• There is an in-universe rule against murdering your opponents - any character the judges spot killing another will be disqualified (but their teammate can stay in the running).

• You can't kill off any of the judge NPCs... Until the final, that is.

• Keep in mind the judge NPCs have access to other dimensions via Hoopa, and Ho-oh can canonically resurrect the dead; they would probably go looking for a means to bring characters back to life after the tournament ends.

If a Pokémon dies, can it come back as a ghost type?
Within the tournament (Hoopa's pocket dimension & round prompt dimensions), usually no - with the exception of the final as we'll allow you much more creative freedom then.

The exceptions are as follows:

• Heavily flavoured non-ghost-type to ghost-type evolutions (i.e. Primeape to Annihilape, Cubone to Alolan Marowak, Quilava to Hisuian Typhlosion, Nincada to Shedinja, Snorunt to Froslass, Dartrix to Alolan Decidueye, Crocalor to Skeledirge, Charcadet to Ceruledge) where it is shown the character evolved upon death,

• The heavily flavoured form change of an Oricorio to its Sensu form (this would mean that Oricorio would no longer be capable of transforming into its other forms),

• A Ninjask dying and turning into a Shedinja.

In these cases, you are permitted to show character death (your own characters or your opponent's with their permission) during rounds before we introduce the general "you can kill off characters" rule in the late stage of the OCT. However, it is understood that these cases will be resolved within the round they're depicted in, so by the end of the entry, the expedition team still has exactly two members.

In your audition before your characters reach Hoopa's dimension, you can show your character die and turn into a ghost-type (e.g. a human to a Yamask, a Clefable to a Gengar, or anything else - including less precedented options like a Stufful to a Banette).

Can a Pokémon change its colour scheme upon evolving / changing forms (regular to shiny, piebald to albino etc.)?
If it's in your audition before they reach the pocket dimension or in the final, go for it! During the bulk of the tournament, no.

Can Pokémon use their bodies (teeth, claws, fists, etc.) outside of moves for similar effects?
Kind of - such actions will be less powerful than moves themselves, and have no type. This is similar to the PMD games in which every Pokémon has a weak typeless attack which deals 5HP of damage regardless of stats. You don't need to describe this on their reference sheet and don't need to restrict yourself to one typeless attack (even if it doesn't know Scratch and Bite, a Meowth can still both scratch and bite things) - just apply common sense when taking the character's design into account.

How do type immunities work?
To an extent you can flavour these as you'd like (and they can be affected by abilities and such), but by default it is assumed:

• Normal- and fighting-type moves phase through ghost-types,

• Ghost-type moves phase through normal-types,

• Electric-type moves dissipate when channelled into ground-types, rendered inert,

• Ground-type moves can hit a grounded flying-type, but are incredibly easy for flying-types to dodge under normal circumstances,

• Dragon-type moves deflect from fairy-types, as if magnetically repulsed,

• Poison-type moves will make contact with steel-types but slide off their hide ineffectively,

• Psychic-type moves will either deflect (as with dragon vs fairy) or contact to no effect (as with poison vs steel) against dark-types.

Whether fighting- and normal-types can physically touch your ghost-type character (outside the use of moves with different types) is up to you. The same goes for whether ghost-types can touch a normal-type.

Can Pokémon mega evolve / use Z-moves / dynamax / gigantamax / terastallise during the tournament?
By default, no. These phenomena have external requirements (energy & items) which won't always be present (and balancing issues are also relevant). However, there might be prompts in other dimensions which involve these gimmicks. Don't bank on it!

If this happens, we will allow the creation of your own custom mega evolutions, exclusive Z-moves, and gigantamax forms, especially for species which don't canonically have them in the franchise (including not-fully-evolved Pokémon).

As with most things, rules are slackened in the final because it's intended as a playground for the finalists to wrap up their stories as they see fit. With that said, we'll still be judging the entries, so be careful how you utilise these phenomena.

Do moves have Power Points (PP)?
Not in the same way they do in the videogames, but it's worth keeping in mind that moves shown to have few PP will be harder to use and therefore tire a Pokémon out faster; a character repeatedly using Tackle will feel much less fatigued than one repeatedly using Close Combat.

A notable move with regard to PP is Revival Blessing. We will not enforce a "one-use-per-round" policy, but strongly encourage you to strictly limit its usage! Whether this is by only using it once per round (maximum), giving it a recoil against its user, or other means is up to you.

Can moves be remembered at any time like in Legends: Arceus / Scarlet and Violet?
Not quite. While Pokémon can relearn moves without the assistance of a move remembering service, it still requires training, battling, or a strenuous event to happen - as with any other move. This is to prevent characters from functionally having an enormous moveset, and to ensure that learning a move (even one the Pokémon used to know) feels earned rather than convenient.

How do temporary stat changes (resulting from Intimidate, Justified, Snarl, Sticky Web, Quiver Dance, Acupressure, Coaching etc.) work?
Rather than being tied to a Pokémon "switching out", they wear off after time. It takes about 5 minutes for each stat to return to normal.

How does the Herba Mystica work, and can we include it?
While the Herba Mystica cannot be used to turn Pokémon into titans (unless specified in a round prompt), it can be used for culinary and/or medicinal purposes (particularly by Gran).

Read the Premise & Prompts and Rules pages for more information.