Pokémon TCG art contest plagued by ‘AI-adjacent’ submissions in quarter-finals

Pokémon TCG just announced the top 300 quarterfinalists for the Pokémon Illustration Contest 2024, but six of those submissions are under fire for breaking the rules in more ways than one.

The Pokémon Illustration Contest seeks to turn fan art submissions into promo cards, and the top 300 pieces were just announced and displayed for everyone to see. While this was supposed to be a time to celebrate all the quarterfinalists who made it to the next stage, the Pokémon community is outraged by six specific pieces that appear to be generated by AI and submitted by the same participant.

The six submissions in question included two Pikachu and four Eevee illustrations—all by people who happen to have the same V.K. initials. We have either “Vigen K,” “Vigen Khachadoorian,” “Vigo K,” or “Vigo Khachadoorian.” As the original poster joked, “Maybe Vigo and Vigen are just really lucky twins with an identical artstyle.”

If all six of these submissions turn out to be from the same person, that would be completely against the rules. “There is a limit three (3) unique Submissions per person. You may be disqualified if you submit more than three (3) Submissions,” the official contest rules state. “Any attempt, successful or otherwise, by any Entrant to obtain more than the permitted number of Submissions by using multiple and/or different identities, forms, registrations, addresses or any other method will void all of that Entrant’s Submissions and that Entrant may be disqualified at Sponsors’ reasonable discretion.” 

And let’s just say “Vigo” and “Vigen” really are two separate participants with three submissions each. Even then, their submissions are being picked apart by Pokémon fans who strongly believe it’s all created by AI. Some are pointing out the awkward Vaporeons in two of the Eevee pieces, while others mention inconsistencies with the background and anatomy.

AI-generated images are not explicitly mentioned in the official rules, but it does say “each Entrant warrants and (unless you are resident in the UK) represents that their Submission is original, has not been previously published, submitted or won any award, has been created by them alone.” If AI were involved in the creation of any of these six submissions, that would mean they weren’t solely created by art skills alone—and yet another rule would be violated.

As you might expect, fans hope the judges take another look at the submissions in question, disqualify them from the contest if they’re proven illegitimate, and give those quarter-finalist spots to real artists who deserve it.

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