The Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest 2024 includes works from artists in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and this time around the theme was “Magical Pokémon Moments.”
For their pieces, artists could feature the following Pokémon in their cards: Charizard, Pikachu, Eevee, Feraligatr, Flygon, Absol, Bidoof, Melmetal, Amped Form Toxtricity, or Koraidon. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top artists in a handful of categories, and each of the top winning cards will be made into a promo card.
Just a week and a half back, Pokémon Co. revealed the top 300 artists from this year’s contest, and fans were quick to point out that multiple pieces seemed to feature AI-generated artwork. It seems those accusations caught the attention of the Pokémon Co., who has now gone through submissions once again with a fine-toothed comb, which has led to the disqualification of multiple artists.
The Pokémon Co. released a statement on the matter, and while they didn’t say specifically that AI-submitted pieces were the cause for the submissions to be yanked, it’s easy enough to put two and two together. You can read the entire statement from the Pokémon Co. below.
