The Pokémon Company disqualifies TCG contest entries following rule violations and suspicions of gen AI use 

On June 14, Creatures Inc. and the Pokémon Company revealed the 300 entries that have passed the first round of the Pokémon Trading Card Game Illustration Contest 2024. However, this announcement was followed by speculation from users on social media about some of the entries being AI generated. Further controversy ensued amid the possibility that the same person may have submitted more entries than the contest rules allowed. 

In response, the Pokémon Company’s official X account announced yesterday that some illustrations have been disqualified for breaking the contest’s rules. Furthermore, the judges will be selecting entries to replace the disqualified works. 

The Pokémon TCG contest has been held every year since 2019. This year, people residing in six countries (including Japan and the US) were invited to submit entries between October 12, 2023, and January 31, 2024. Out of 10,830 submissions, 300 were selected this month and featured on the official website- soon prompting speculation on social media about certain entries being AI generated. 

Although the contest has no regulations that specifically prohibit AI generated images, it does limit the number of submitted works to three per person. Even though the X post did not specify which rules were broken, it seems likely that the same person submitted more entries than the regulations allowed. Social media commenters had previously highlighted a number of entries by users with similar-sounding names that portrayed the same Pokémon and were done in the same style. 

The winner of the Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest 2024 will take home $5000 USD, with runners up receiving $3000. Therefore, the possibility of one person submitting numerous AI illustrations to increase their chances of getting a cash prize has infuriated commenters. 

The upcoming second round of judging will determine the finalists. In addition to taking action against rule-breaking entries, the contest intends to strengthen its selection methods to ensure that only legitimate submissions are chosen for the prizes. 

Written by. Verity Townsend based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2024-06-25 15:57 JST)