Welcome to the Pokémon Knowledgebase, or PokéBase for short! On this platform, you can ask and answer questions about Pokémon. The best answers receive votes and rise to the top of the page, making useful information and advice easy to access.
PokéBase is not a traditional forum — questions should be answerable, not discussed endlessly. This rules page will help you get familiar with the platform. Please read it thoroughly before starting! We've also put together a comprehensive starter's guide that we highly recommend reading.
The community is based around four sections, which are addressed in turn below.
- PokéBase: The main area for general questions about Pokemon. (PokéBase is sometimes used to refer to the entire community area.)
- Rate My Team (aka RMT): The place to post competitive battling teams, movesets, and TCG decks.
- Meta: The place to ask questions about this site itself, make suggestions and report errors.
- Chat room: For live chat about Pokemon and any off-topic discussion.
Note that this rules list is new as of 2024 — many topics are handled differently than in the past. There are links to several additional questions/posts that give more detailed information.
#0. Site-wide rules
#0.1. Usual "netiquette" applies. Be kind to other people. Post in good faith and stay on-topic. No bigotry. Don't abuse privileges. Keep content PG. Accept constructive criticism. Don't post people's personal information, including your own.
#0.2. Put care and effort into your posts. Both your questions and answers should be detailed and properly researched. Write using proper English, and use formatting tastefully (e.g. don't bold your entire post).
#0.3. Use clear question titles and tags. For example, "How did this happen?" is vague, but "How did Slurpuff outspeed Greninja?" is clear and concise. Include tags for the main elements in your question — if you're not sure, include the game or generation that applies.
#0.4. Use your own words. Don't mass copy-paste from other websites or AI. You may include quotes, but make sure you reference them and include your own writing. When reasonable, avoid posting links as answers.
#0.5. Post in the right area. Posts made in the wrong section will be hidden. Use comments instead of answers to reply to others. Post different questions in their own separate threads. Create new threads instead of posting questions as comments.
#0.6. Full answers in the answer box. Each answer should be an attempt at completely resolving the question. If you only know one part of the answer, post a comment instead. If you're posting an updated answer, make sure it also includes the original info, where relevant.
#0.7. No duplicate posts. To keep content organised, we will remove any question that is the same as an existing one, or covered in the common repeat topic list or starter's guide. If the existing question has no satisfactory answer, report it here. If you post on a question that is answered already, make sure your answer is better or adds something new.
#0.8. Official Pokémon games and media only. No fan games. Don't ask for cheats and don't recommend cheating to others. Don't ask about unusual behaviour if you used mods, cheats, or an emulator. Don't link to ROMs. Otherwise, we're permissive of custom tools (e.g. Wiimmfi, CFW) where relevant. Pokémon Showdown! is another exception.
#0.9. No excessive use of images. Use images only to make posts easier to read or understand. If you have a large image (>500 pixels in length), link it normally instead of embedding it. Please only use standard sprites on popular posts, like the moveset questions. You can find these in our sprites area.
#0.10. Don't make more than one account. Staff can see accounts that break this rule. Please read this post for more information, especially if you know somebody personally who uses PokéBase.
#0.11. Respect the voting system. Vote based on the contents of each post — don't be spiteful. Don't vote the same person repeatedly. Don't ask for up-votes (or ask not to be down-voted). Earn points honestly.
#0.12. Let staff handle the rules. Please don't instruct other people on what they may do here. If something is amiss, it's best to leave a flag, or message us directly. Don't answer rule-breaking questions, and don't derail questions discussing whether they are allowed.
#0.13. Avoid flooding. Don't post many similar questions all at once. Avoid posting on "What is a good moveset...?" questions (for example) so fast that it fills the front page.
#1. PokéBase (main section) rules
The main section is green. It is for asking questions about anything in the Pokémon franchise, with a focus on the games.
#1.1. No opinion questions, polls, or discussion threads. PokéBase is for answerable questions, not endless discussions. The focus should be on sharing knowledge and advice. Topics like "What should I name my Pokémon?" can be taken to the chat room or a different website.
#1.2. Include specific details when asking questions. For example, if you ask "Which Pokémon is better?", then you need to explain what the purpose is. Are you doing a playthrough? If so, which game? If competitive, what format? If you're asking about unusual behaviour in your game, include pictures or steps to reproduce.
#1.3. Don't ask for trades, Friend Codes, and the like. It doesn't belong on this platform. You can try the chat room, our Discord and Pokemon Showdown servers, or another website.
#1.4. Do basic research before posting. For example, don't ask questions requesting plain statistics, like what level Piplup evolves at. Similarly, please double-check the accuracy of your answers and include links to references where needed. Don't post silly guesses like "Your game glitched!"
(Exception: If an accurate answer cannot be found on our database, then it is OK to ask the question.)
#1.5. Don't ask "What is a good moveset...?" or "What is a good team...?" questions (or any variation of them). This applies even when new releases occur. These are special questions managed by staff, to keep them organised. You can suggest new team/moveset questions using this thread.
#1.6. No questions about your team. We find our advice conflicts too often with personal preferences for these to have value. Instead, ask general questions like "Easiest way to beat Totem Lurantis in S/M?" and "Aggron or Golem for Emerald playthroughs?". Competitive teams can be posted on the RMT section.
#1.7. Questions should have a precise focus. For example, "What are some facts about Cyndaquil?" and "How do I beat X/Y?" are too vague/open-ended for this site. Other questions like "How do I get started playing VGC?" are broad, but still welcome since there is a specific topic/problem we can help with.
#1.8. No theorising questions. We will close questions like "Why can Wooper learn Ice Punch?" and "Will there be a game in Mexico?" if they can't be answered without insider knowledge. Also be mindful of hypothetical scenarios, like "Would Mega Flygon be good?"
#1.9. Questions should specifically relate to Pokémon. Don't ask why your 3DS doesn't work, what game you should buy your cousin for Christmas, what your merch is worth, etc. Questions should ask for information from the Pokémon franchise.
#1.10. No hyper-individualised questions. For example, "What are all the routes with Ace Trainers on them?" and "What Pokemon would suit my fanfic?" and "How do I beat Platinum with only Skitty?" are unlikely to be relevant for other people.
#1.11. New threads must actually be questions. For example, "Why does Sword/Shield suck???" is a rant, not a question. Also, avoid posting guides as questions; the content is very welcome but follow this process instead.
The staff reserve the right to curate content on this site. We will make calls on low-quality posts not covered by these rules where we see fit.
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