Pokémon TCG Art Contest Disqualifies Participants for Alleged AI Use

The Pokémon Company has decided to disqualify numerous entries in their latest run of the Pokémon TCG art contest, the reason being allegations of AI usage in the art.

This week, the Pokémon TCG art contest was interrupted by allegations that a few of the entries submitted were doctored using AI . The prestigious competition is designed to showcase high-quality fan art, and the winners get cash prizes and have their art featured on playable Pokémon Trading Card Game cards. Below is the official statement made by the Pokémon X (formerly Twitter) account , detailing the reason for the disqualification.

The official statement reads “Select entrants from the top 300 finalists of the Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest 2024 have violated the official contest rules. As a result, entrants in violation of the rules have been disqualified from the contest.” While the reasoning didn’t explain that the cause of disqualification was due to AI , there is writing on the wall, and fans have complained with their ‘evidence’ also on the X platform. Users like artist CoreyBrickley have made posts pointing out inconsistencies in the artwork, and how it shows ‘very little’ editing was done to AI-generated images to seem legitimate.

The Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest is a chance for artists to not only compete for cash prizes (up to $5000), it’s an opportunity for an artist to have their work immortalized on an actual Pokémon card, so while the reasoning for the disqualification wasn’t said, the disqualified parties will be replaced by the next runner up artwork selected in the competition.

Interestingly enough, another artist has recently found themselves in the news based on AI image generation. Artist Miles Astray recently submitted a non-AI image titled “F L A M I N G O N E” to an AI-based photo contest in the People’s Vote Award at the 1839 Photography Awards, and he won. Of course, he was also disqualified for being “in violation of the rules”.

While the entries that violated the rules have been removed, the final top 300 entries for the Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest 2024 can be seen on the official website .