Rules Pokémon Anime and Manga Rules (Updated July 5, 2025)

Neo Blaze

Neo Blaze

It's Morphin' time
Bulbapedia Administrator Fuecoco Fan
Joined
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Pronouns
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Welcome to the Pokémon Anime and Manga section! Here you can talk about anything related to the Pokémon Anime and the Pokémon Manga.

Rules

1. Please follow all forumwide Bulbagarden Rules

2. Do not create threads or posts to advertise petitions or other fan campaigns in the forums
  • Signatures and blogs can be used for this purpose instead.
3. Do not provide or ask for illegal content
  • This includes fansubs and fandubs of the Pokémon Anime.
  • This includes fan edits and fan translations of the Pokémon Manga.
  • Also do not mention any sites providing fansubs.
  • Uploads of full episodes of the Pokémon anime on YouTube that are not uploaded by any official channel are also considered illegal content. Short clips or short scenes are allowed however.
4. Do not steal other people’s content or fail to credit them
  • Any translations/summaries that are taken from a different forum, website, or source must give credit to the original creator.
5. Use spoiler tags when referring to future events in the anime
  • Mark spoilers in spoiler tags when posting, including in Preview threads. Leaked information must also be spoiler tagged.
6. Do not share the personal details of any staff member working on the anime or manga
  • This includes ALL staff, so directors, writers, animators, voice actors, etc.
  • This includes e-mails, Facebook profiles and other personal info.
  • Also do not brag about having said details.
7. Do not make Preview threads for episodes until more substantial info is available (such as a title)
  • Bulbagarden only allows Preview threads for episodes to be created if there is enough information available to discuss and speculate on. If there is no known information for an episode other than its episode number and airdate, please do not make a Preview thread for it.
8. Episode names in thread titles should be consistent with Bulbapedia titles, while also matching the respective language title for that version
  • For example, if a thread is created for the Japanese version of XY079, the title should be XY079: Fierce Battle in the Monster Ball Factory! Pikachu VS Nyarth!! rather than XY079: A Frenzied Factory Fiasco!, since that's the name of the Japanese episode. This includes items, moves, and locations, which should be written in their Japanese formats (e.g. Monster Ball rather than Poké Ball). Similarly, if a thread is created for the English version of XY002, the title should be XY002: Lumiose City Pursuit! rather than XY002: Mega Evolution and the Prism Tower!, since that's the name of the English episode. Basically, this means you should make sure the titles match the respective language of the episode, for both consistency and so people clearly know which version is being discussed.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to ask below or contact any of the section's moderators:

@Alola
@Sheep
@Ghost Diplocaulus
@Rockapheller
@Welkamo
 
Neo Blaze said:
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I'm not sure if this is the right place, but...could we add a rule say that episode preview and review threads should open only by the moderators? Because it's clashing with the whole point of ignore function when the person we ignored can open those kind of threads, and we can't see those threads unless we remove that person from our ignore list. It's really annoying to be forced to do that.
 
martianmister said:
I'm not sure if this is the right place, but...could we add a rule say that episode preview and review threads should open only by the moderators? Because it's clashing with the whole point of ignore function when the person we ignored can open those kind of threads, and we can't see those threads unless we remove that person from our ignore list. It's really annoying to be forced to do that.
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It seems like it would be really unfair for the moderators to prevent the common folk from making preview/review threads just to make things more convenient for a few members who have extensive ignore lists. Wouldn't it just be easier to be mature and remove people from your ignore list? This is a Pokemon forum not 4chan or Stormfront or some other site full of awful people who say degenerate things, so I can't even imagine that there are that many people here who are so controversial that you'd go as far as to purposely block in the first place.
 
Yami-no-Game said:
It seems like it would be really unfair for the moderators to prevent the common folk from making preview/review threads just to make things more convenient for a few members who have extensive ignore lists. Wouldn't it just be easier to be mature and remove people from your ignore list? This is a Pokemon forum not 4chan or Stormfront or some other site full of awful people who say degenerate things, so I can't even imagine that there are that many people here who are so controversial that you'd go as far as to purposely block in the first place.
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Well, making preview/review thread has literally no advantages as a user, so there shouldn’t be an issue with a moderator making them.

And the ignore function is introduced to not see content you don’t want to. The mods have even advised using it to prevent arguments that go fiery. If someone continues to post things you don’t like, and you can’t resist replying, it’s better to ignore for some people.
That’s literally why the ignore function was introduced.
 
martianmister said:
I'm not sure if this is the right place, but...could we add a rule say that episode preview and review threads should open only by the moderators? Because it's clashing with the whole point of ignore function when the person we ignored can open those kind of threads, and we can't see those threads unless we remove that person from our ignore list. It's really annoying to be forced to do that.
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I have brought this up with other Mods and I'll get back to it at a later point.
 
PkmnTrainerV said:
And the ignore function is introduced to not see content you don’t want to. The mods have even advised using it to prevent arguments that go fiery. If someone continues to post things you don’t like, and you can’t resist replying, it’s better to ignore for some people.
That’s literally why the ignore function was introduced.
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While I get where you're coming from, I dunno why it's hard for people to simply not respond to posts that they don't like. I mean from my own experience in this subforum, I dislike maybe 95% of the posts that I read on a daily basis and so I just avoid responding to certain things rather than adding 95% of the members here to my ignore list. It doesn't take that much self control to just not quote something that's mildly annoying, so the idea that some people feel the need to place certain members on their ignore list instead of just going about their business as usual is foreign to me. The point of a forum is to discuss ideas, but if you have to go as far as to pretend that certain people don't exist, it kinda defeats the purpose of being on a forum in the first place in my opinion. :unsure:

BigDocFan said:
Would be a shame as I enjoy creating Preview/Review threads
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And you do a great job keeping them updated with the latest details. (y)
 
I just don’t see the downside to mods being the only ones able to make threads. People who contribute other information can still do so with their own posts.

If it makes things easier for some people with no downsides, it should be implemented. And the "people shouldn’t ignore anyone" thing isn’t really an argument since the fact that this feature exists shows that ignoring is perfectly fine by the mods, in facts, they’ve asked us to do that if things get heated.

If you don’t like ignoring anyone, fine! (Even I don’t ignore anyone, for the record), but if the feature exists, it should be accommodated so that one can see the essential threads of the anime section.
 
This is actually something I suggested a while ago, also.

I basically fail to see what difference it actually makes if someone opens the thread or posts in the opened thread, in addition to give people benefit of preventing to see the provocative content they are unwilling to see, which seems reasonable to me rather than immature.

And no, I haven't blocked anyone yet. But why wouldn't I need it in the future.
 
There are perfectly solid reasons to allow users to open preview and review threads instead of just Moderators. If that wasn't the case we would have implemented such a rule a long time ago. I won't go in to these reasons right now as I don't want to make it seem as if we've already made a decision. We're currently looking at both sides of the arguments, looking at all the different possibilities and making a fair judgment based on that. No decision has been made either way yet. In any case I would like to thank everyone in advance for all their input.
PkmnTrainerV said:
If it makes things easier for some people with no downsides, it should be implemented. And the "people shouldn’t ignore anyone" thing isn’t really an argument since the fact that this feature exists shows that ignoring is perfectly fine by the mods, in facts, they’ve asked us to do that if things get heated.
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Just for the record: in general we don't encourage users to use the ignore button. We only advise people to use it if they have a really hard time with a user to the point they can't control themselves in angrily/sarcastically replying to them, leading to constant heated arguments. Some people just don't get along, no matter what. In that case it's better for everyone if you just make use of that function.

If you're only slightly annoyed with someone's posts, one could consider just putting up with it. In real life, you also can't just block out colleagues or family that annoy you. But in the end everyone is free to use the function as they wish. We don't want to force anyone either way.
 
Neo Blaze said:
Just for the record: in general we don't encourage users to use the ignore button. We only advise people to use it if they have a really hard time with a user to the point they can't control themselves in angrily/sarcastically replying to them, leading to constant heated arguments. Some people just don't get along, no matter what. In that case it's better for everyone if you just make use of that function.

If you're only slightly annoyed with someone's posts, one could consider just putting up with it. In real life, you also can't just block out colleagues or family that annoy you. But in the end everyone is free to use the function as they wish. We don't want to force anyone either way.
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These situations are exactly what I meant. I'm sorry if it wasn’t clear.
My point was that users should be able to see important anime section threads if they choose to use the ignore function.
 
Yami-no-Game said:
It seems like it would be really unfair for the moderators to prevent the common folk from making preview/review threads just to make things more convenient for a few members who have extensive ignore lists.
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That's a big assumption you made, that I have an extensive ignore list, which is not true. I also don't usually ignore people when they slightly annoy me, only when there is a deliberate and continuos behavior on their part that I find annoying. If there is some bad repercussions of what I asked for, I'm sorry about that.
 
martianmister said:
So, any difference?
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Sorry, I got quite busy and it got moved to a to-do pile. But me and the other mods were already quite unanimous on this so I had already written something up:

The users inconvenienced by having to unblock someone to see certain threads are extremely small in number. In fact, I can only think of one other instance where we received a complaint about this (and that was a long time ago). We do not create rules based on the needs of one or two people, however unfair that may seem to those affected by this.

It would be a sliding scale to the point where any single user can just request a rule to be made for a personal problem they are inconvenienced by. One or two people once complained about some users only using the Japanese names of Pokémon and characters; we didn't create a rule that only allows the use of English names. One or two people recently complained about the like system leading to arguments; we didn't abolish the like system. If the problem discussed here was something that a substantial amount of people complain about on a regular basis, it would be a different story. But that is not the case.

By creating such a rule, we would also intrude on the fundamental right of users to be able to post what they want (as long as they keep the rules in mind). This is not in line with the spirit of this section, or this forum as a whole. We will only tread on this right if it's for the greater benefit of a substantially large amount of people or the wellbeing of the forum as a whole. Which, again, is not the case here.

We have also found that regular users opening preview and review threads is benificial to the section as a whole. Moderators are not robots and can not be expected to always open these kind of threads on time (especially when it comes to preview threads). With help from our visitors we can assure most preview and review threads are opened on time and not way after the fact. It helps keep this section relevant and up-to-date, which is important especially in a time where forum visitor numbers are already dwindling. Basically, it keeps the section thriving.

We have also looked at any technical measures that could be taken with our Tech Staff. Unfortunately, we concluded that there is not much we can do in this department.

This is not to say we don’t acknowledge the other side of the argument. We do apologize if anyone is negatively affected by this. It’s just that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, so to speak, in that such a rule would affect both the spirit of the forum and the relevancy and timeliness of the section, and conversely would only be convenient to a handful of people.
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If anyone has any fundamental objections with this, please let us know.
 
Hi all,

Recently the staff of this section has noticed a slight influx of people bringing up Bulbapedia-related issues in the threads in this section. Notably, people often seem to complain about how Bulbapedia handles certain issues, how it presents its information and how certain editors over there operate. While it is completely fine to critcize Bulbapedia, its modus operandi, its staff and its users, I would like to remind everyone of the following forumwide rule:
BMGf Forum Rules said:
7. Don't try to provoke arguments (Baiting)
Don't bring issues from other sites to Bulbagarden; this includes arguing about what users or staff do on other sites and gloating about your site.
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I understand that it might get confusing here, and that this is the main reason why we've seen more and more complaints about Bulbapedia in the Anime & Manga section, so let me try to explain:

Bulbapedia and the Bulbagarden forums are both part of the overarching Bulbagarden community. However, that does not mean they are the same site. The "Bulbagarden" in the rule I quoted refers to this forum, and not to the community as a whole. Most sections on this forum have little to nothing to do with Bulbapedia; it is its own thing.

So when users bring drama or complaints over from Bulbapedia to this section, it really has no place here. It's no different than if drama from another forum was constantly brought over to this section. This section aims to be a platform for Pokémon anime and manga-related discussion, and Bulbapedia-related matters really have nothing to do with that. It should also be noted that Bulbapedia offers enough space to discuss any issues or feuds that are going on. You are always free to reach out to Bulbapedia staff, or use one of the many Talk pages present on Bulbapedia. There is also an entire section dedicated to Bulbapedia, where you can offer suggestions or voice complaints about anything related to it.

So what I'm asking is to keep any complaints about Bulbapedia, its modus operandi, its staff and its users to a minimum in this section. This (and especially the drama related to it) really has no place here; there are enough other places perfectly suited for it. This all does not include the general contents that Bulbapedia offers. Feel free to continue discussing those here, as long as they are relevant to what is being discussed.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or other A&M staff.
 
The Anime & Manga staff has been made aware of some recent events happening in the section, which have been cause of general discontent among users.

The case at hand involves the character Gou, who has gotten the label of “psychopath” and has been described as such by multiple people and in many threads already. While the initial intent behind that term seems to have been as a sort of joke and exaggeration, we felt the need of addressing this matter.

Psychopathy, sociopathy and other similar conditions are serious mental illnesses, which shouldn’t be brought out so lightly nor used as a source for jokes and sarcasm. Throwing terms like “psychopath” around without being fully aware of how a psychopath truly is or behaves and/or without proof for claim is really insensitive, inconsiderate and hurtful toward people who have dealt with actual psychopaths in their lives.

Same goes with using terms pertaining to other mental illnesses (ie, “sociopath” and “schizophrenic”). Using those terms on fictional characters doesn’t make it any more justifiable than using the same terms on real life people.

Exaggerated “evil” expressions aren’t a sign of psychopathy. They are simply a funny anime visual gag, no more and no less. So, claiming that a character is a psychopath based on those traits alone is really uneducated and actually trivializes real issues affecting real people.

As such, we ask users to refrain from using these terms without reason and without knowing what they truly mean. Mental illnesses are no joke, so they shouldn’t be treated and used as such.

At last, we would like to add a general reminder: if you feel uncomfortable about some topic in the future, either in this section or in the forums as a whole, you are more than welcome to reach out for us members of the staff. We are always open to questions and concerns — including questions regarding this topic — so hit us with PMs and reports to bring issues to our attention. We’ll make sure to get to them as soon as we can.

Thank you all for your attention.
 
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