PS VGC Chat Rules

Welcome to the Pokemon Showdown VGC chatroom! Generally speaking, remember that VGC is different from other forms of competitive Pokemon, as you can potentially meet and play these people at in-person tournaments. Parents, younger children, and people from all around the world play VGC. If you wouldn't say something you're going to say to someone's face, it's probably not a good idea to put it in the VGC chat. The distance of the Internet only lasts so long.

General chat rules:
1. All global rules for Pokemon Showdown apply (https://pokemonshowdown.com/rules).
2. VGC-specific chat rules also apply in VGC room tournament games.
3. Don't be a jerk. Moderation of the chat is done at the discretion of the VGC room staff.
4. No discussion about Verlisify. First-time offenders may receive an hourmute, and repeat offenders may receive bans from the VGC room.
5. No hacking discussion. This includes discussion about PKHeX, talking about what counts as a legit Pokemon, how to set up the capability to generate your own Pokemon, discussion of modern RNG methods, or accusing other players of using hacked Pokemon.
6. Do not share spoilers from leaks of upcoming Pokemon games in the VGC room. Material officially published by Pokemon itself (e.g. on their official YouTube/Twitter) is not considered a spoiler.

7. Do not continuously ask for tournament creation. Asking for a tour once in a while is perfectly fine, but spamming "can we have tour plzzz?!?!?" in chat is not. We know the difference.
8. Do not spam the chat with your battle replays. It's ok to link a game or replay if you have a question about what happened in the game or want to start some meaningful discussion, but don't just post replays to show off your fourth epic Zubat sweep or anything of the like. We know the difference.
9. Do not force the chat into building a team for you. It's totally fine to ask for help when teambuilding! However, try to have some games done with the team beforehand, and have a general idea of what needs to be improved / fixed when asking the chat. Asking, "what's a good way to build around this Pokemon?" or "hey I struggle a lot against this matchup, what can I do to improve it?" is fine, but just posting a link and saying "rate team plz" is not. We know the difference.

(Especially for rules 7-9, if you're not sure how to say something, feel free to PM a VGC room staff member to ask! They have %, @, or # before their name.)

10. Don't link to other Pokemon Showdown or Discord servers.
11. Moderation for spam, etc. is automatically enforced with our bot, BoTTT III. If you feel like you were unjustly muted, please PM a VGC room staff member.
12. If you feel like you were unjustly muted or banned by a staff member, please PM a room owner (#) with all relevant chat logs, screenshots, etc. describing your situation.
13. Above all, we want new users and old alike to have a positive experience in the room, to learn new things, and make new friends! Be chill and enjoy the PS VGC community!

Note: rules are subject to change, so if you're not sure about something, check here first to make sure nothing's changed.