Hello, and welcome to the sixth annual Pokémon Watties! This community-driven, fan-run account is meant to promote the best fan-fiction this community has to offer. 

The following chapter showcases our rules. These are meant to foster a competition that is both fun and fair.

RULE ONE

Participant Etiquette

Please refrain from making inappropriate or unsportsmanlike statements towards contestants, judges, staff, and the admins. This includes any racial, sexual, or homophobic slurs, hating on or bullying others, advertising your book on our books or message board, or spam. Spamming also includes attempting to vote multiple times on your own book. One offense will result in you being banned from this year's competition. Repeated offenses, lying, or denial of the offenses you committed will result in a permanent ban from the Pokémon Watty Awards.

RULE TWO

Book Criteria

The story must be a Pokémon fan-fiction to qualify. Fics on Pokémon spin-off games, crossover fics with a strong Pokémon presence, and Pokémon-centered poetry are allowed. We do not accept role play.

RULE THREE

Plagiarism Policy

Any plagiarism or use of someone else's work will result in an automatic one-year ban from the competition, and possible barring from entering in the future. We've had instances of plagiarism in the past, but no plagiarized work has ever made it to judging before being caught. We now screen each story for plagiarism, so you won't be able to slip through the cracks.

RULE FOUR

Collaborations and Consent

Collaborations are allowed, so this rule does not mean that the entry must be the work of one person. However, both people must agree to enter the story. Books based on other fanfiction in the community are allowed if the original author gives consent.

RULE FIVE

Participant Criteria

All authors, even previous winners, can enter their story. There is no minimum age requirement. The only people who cannot enter are banned authors and staff.

RULE SIX

Past Entries

  Books entered in previous years should not be entered again. However, if the story has undergone significant changes since the last entry, it may be evaluated to see if it can enter again. The changes must be significant; however, a story that lost in a previous year will not win in its same state years later.

If your story was pulled before the judging period or was not completed by the due date of a previous competition, you may enter again without having to make changes. 

RULE SEVEN

Mature Books

Mature books that do not comply with Wattpad's Mature Policy are not eligible for entry are also vulnerable to termination by Wattpad moderators. Please treat serious subjects with seriousness and gravitas. We accept mature fics, so long as they don't represent a serious, more controversial topic in an inaccurate light.

Mature fics can include:

Non-trivializing depictions of self-harm, suicide, developmental disorders, or mental disorders

Graphic, intense, or realistic depictions of gore or physical violence

Characters mentioning sexual relationships in a non-graphic way, or are implied to have had sex without actively describing the act

Explicit sex scenes that contribute to the narrative

A fic, under no circumstances, can include:

Pornographic stories written solely for sexual stimulation

Implied or graphic sexual content with someone younger than 16 (pedophilia)

Stories promoting non-consensual sex (including, but not limited to, rape, sexual assault, kidnapping for sexual purposes including sexual slavery, bestiality, or necrophilia)

Stories promoting violence or hatred towards anyone based on their race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, age, or sexual orientation. This includes any content intended to bully, threaten, or harass others

Media attached to any part of the story that displays any private parts, any form of sexual imagery, self-harm, or suicide

RULE EIGHT

Amount of Entries

A single author is only allowed to enter one book per category offered that year.

If the author tries to use multiple accounts to enter twice, it will result in disqualification for the year. Repeated attempts to enter multiple times will result in a permanent ban from the Pokémon Watty Awards.

In the event categories have to merge due to lack of entries, authors with books in all categories must make sacrifices in order to accommodate for this rule.

RULE NINE

Deadline

All entries must be completed by the deadline. Books can enter incomplete but they must intend to be completed by the deadline.

Pacific US Daylight Time (UTC-7) 9pm on October 15th

Mountain US Daylight Time (UTC-6) 10pm on October 15th

Central US Daylight Time (UTC-5) 11pm on October 15th

Eastern US Daylight Time (UTC-4) 12am on October 16th

West European/Irish/British Standard Time (UTC+1) 5am on October 16th

This list is based on what countries most often visit this page, but you can go to www.timeanddate.com/time/map to figure out what time zone you are in and plan accordingly if your timezone is not listed.

RULE TEN

Completeness Policy

To be considered eligible for judging, your story must be completed and entered in the entry book by the deadline. To mark your story as complete, go to "My Works", go the editing page for the entered book, and change your story to complete under "Story Details".

When a book is marked complete, it must actually be complete, meaning it must have a conclusion. Cliffhangers count as a conclusion, but books marked complete when the book is really only half-finished will be considered ineligible for judging. Completeness is subject to the staff's discretion.

A fic that does not meet all of the criteria above will not be eligible. If you don't make the deadline or lack the requirements, feel free to enter your story again next year in the 2019 Pokémon Watty Awards.

RULE ELEVEN

Books in a Series

The book must contain a plot structure of its own, it isn't a cliffhanger continuation (meaning it isn't the same plot from the previous book continued into the next book), and the judges must be able to read and understand the book without reading the prequels beforehand.

No two books in the same series may be entered in the same year.

If you have any questions regarding these rules, feel free to comment on this chapter or send us a private message.