There are two parts you must have when getting a character ready for submission: the visual application and the written application.
Both must be submitted at the same time for review!
This page details what is and is not allowed for character designs, the types of clothing you're allowed to use by default, and what ways a character's body may be changed to become something more fantastical!
If you are choosing the Solo Leader or Team with a Friend option, use the single application template.
The single application template is also used for future non-Mythical recruits.
If you are choosing the Two-Leader Team option, use the duo application template.
✦ Application art must be fullbody and cannot use bases or be traced
✦ Flat color is required, but shading is optional
✦ Collaborations, commissions, and adopted designs are allowed as long as they are used with permission and credited appropriately
✦ You may change the color of the background
This is a Gijinka group, which means that your character should be a humanoid with Pokemon attributes. Gijinkas can have elements such as ears, tails, eyes, hair, teeth, and claws inspired by the Pokemon they are based on. Your character cannot be an anthro/furry.
For example, a Charizard gijinka could be a person with Charizard's wings, horns, and tails but is otherwise primarily humanoid with a human's face and proportions. As a baseline, we recommending making your gijinka roughly 75% human(oid) and 25% Pokemon.
These percentages are not strict and are merely a place to start!
Characters are allowed to have fantasy skintones. So long as it matches their Pokemon’s palette, it should be viable!
A general rule of thumb is if the only thing "strange" about your character's skin is that it's of an unconventional color (i.e. no glowing marks, no translucent skin, not made of material and has no material add-ons such as plants or gemstones, etc.), it is permissible without the use of potions.
Ghost Pokemon may have ghostly / wispy limbs, limited to only 2!
With a Potion or Juice, you'll be allowed to modify of your character's body, however for base designs, we require that they are still mainly corporeal and cannot be visibly showing bones, organs, or other gorey elements.
Characters may have exposed bones or see-through body parts only if there is no gore or internal organs visible! A good example of this is shown on the character Melinoë from Hades 2.
Gijinkas can have up to 1 additional set of eyes (up to 4 eyes maximum) only if it makes sense with the Pokemon they are based on and only on their face! Eyes in strange places such as on hands or stomach are not allowed.
Extra eyes cannot be grotesque or horror-inspired or otherwise deliberately meant to be disturbing to others.
For example, a Joltik may have an additional set of eyes.
Attire, accessories, prosthetics/disability aids, and additional gadgets can have fantasy elements when designing them! Anything more modern looking, futuristic, or cyberpunk-inspired may require a potion or an accessory pack depending on how advanced it is!
Any object-based aids created with magic are allowed such as an enchanted scarf that acts as a "hand" for a character who does not have the ability to use their own.
When it comes to what is and is not allowed in terms of characters with bare chests and/or other revealing attire (or lack thereof), the group follows a loose set of guidelines regardless of gender. Designs will ultimately be checked case-by-case by moderators.
However, as a rule-of-thumb, ask yourself...
✦ ...if the character's appearance would be considered public indecency in the real world
✦ ...if the character's application art will need a warning applied or to be hidden when uploaded to your art site of choice
(i.e. DeviantArt, Toyhouse, Unvale, etc)
If the answer to one or both is "yes", then the character should have an outfit that covers their skin appropriately -- at least for the visual application.
Members are allowed to depict nudity in works that are submitted for Poke as long as it is not sexually explicit. If you wanted to have an alternate look for a character who doesn't quite work with the above questions, you are free to use that version of the design in future submitted work -- even if it's a different look from their application art -- as long as it's been appropriately tagged.
Some gijinkas are also allowed to have builds like mythological creatures such as centaurs, mermaids, and satyrs-- as long as it suits the Pokemon.
Creatures that are allowed to be used are: Winged, Nagas, Fish and Aquatic creatures, Satyrs, Bird-Legged or Pawed creatures, and centaurs.
Driders are unfortunately unable to be used at this time-- giving your two-legged characters spindly legs from their back is fine!
➤ More Information on Fantasy Body Types
Naturally winged Pokemon can have wings without needing a potion.
Any Pokemon that doesn’t have wings will need a potion or juice applied.
A gijinka may have a naga lower body ONLY if the feral is serpentine. Potions do not allow for non-serpentine Pokemon to be serpentine.
A gijinka may have a mermaid tail ONLY if the feral is aquatic with a tail itself. Pokemon without aquatic features will need potions applied if they want an aquatic theming with a mermaid tail. Likewise, cephalopod pokemon can have tentacles in place of mermaid tails.
Gijinkas may have animalistic legs that match their feral counterparts. Monster juices can be used to achieve legs/feet that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
Centaurs are the only ones that can waive the 70% human rule. The gijinka may be a centaur ONLY if their feral is four legged AND has hooves. For Pokemon without hooves, if they are quadrupedal they may also be taurs.
Potions and Juices are not a catch-all solution however, and there are still limits to what you can do with them if you are aiming to achieve a specific fantasy body type with a specific Pokemon. It is always best to ask the staff if you are unsure about anything!
Along with the humanoid / gijinka forms that characters have, characters in this world also have a feral form, which is their base Pokemon form! They are transformed into their feral forms when entering Mystery Dungeons and potentially in other areas around the world.
Characters cannot freely transform between their feral and gijinka forms however.
Silhouette’s can be broken if a member’s art style calls for different anatomy or style changes to a Pokemon’s silhouette. That being said, a Pokemon should still have all of its noteworthy traits and attributes to tell us that it is in fact the Pokemon you say it is. If you want to change the anatomy a bit, you'll need to use a Form Modification Pack!
(I.E. Pikachu has long ears, Eevee has the fluff on its neck, Jigglypuff remains round)
Feral designs are allowed to have minor color changes without the use of a potion. Because people’s art styles differ, anatomy changes are also welcome so long as it still resembles the Pokemon. It should stay close to its original design.
For example, a normal Zorua’s red markings could be slightly darker or lighter but if you turned them pink, you’d need a Hue Berry or another Potion. Another example is giving a Shaymin hooved feet or making a Sigilyph bird-like.
Large-scale changes to a Pokemon’s color or changes to its anatomy such as adding wings, horns, or traits it may not have may require transformative items like Potions, Juices, or a Form Mod Pack.
A Form Modification Pack can also be used to apply traits from the Pokemon’s evolutionary line. Such as a Psyduck with a gem on its forehead, a Gible with a back fin, or a Jigglypuff with a white belly.
For simple color or pattern changes, you may want to use a Hue Berry or Deco Berry.
Pokemon with fur or hair on their head(s) are allowed to have it somewhat stylized. While you are allowed to do things like give your Eevee bangs or have your Kirlia with pigtails, anything that would drastically break the silhouette of the Pokemon or make it difficult to make out the shape of its head cannot be used on unaltered Pokemon designs. Non-furred species may also not have "hair" by default.
There is an item to allow you to break these conventions however, letting you give your feral full on ponytails and styled hair and allowing non-furred Pokemon to have styled "hair" with materials that match its body. If you want to do this, you need to have a Hair Accessory Pack.
For Pokemon with multiple forms such as Burmy, Oricorio (if unspecified), Rotom, Furfrou, and Castform, you may choose one of their forms to use when submitting your character. This is the form they will take by default. The form may only be changed after submitting by using the Pokemon Form Change item.
Similarly for Pokemon with regional variants, if the regional form you received was unspecified (such as when rolling for your leaders), you can freely choose whenever form you'd like! In order to change the regional form later, you must use the Regional Potion item.