It looks like a recent art contest for the Pokemon TCG has been mired by some dishonesty sneaking into the finals.

Following the conclusion of the international Pokemon TCG Illustration Content 2024 – where the top winners will have their cards printed as actual promo cards – The Pokemon Company has released a statement clarifying that some of the contest’s 300 finalists have been disqualified.

“We are aware that select entrants from the top 300 finanlists 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.

Furthermore, additional artists participating in the contest will soon be selected to be among the top 300 finalists.

We’re committed to upholding the integrity of the Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest and appreciate fans’ continued support as we celebrate the artistic abilities of the talented Pokémon community.”

While The Pokemon Company did not share the reason for the disqualifications, this statement comes in the wake of Pokemon fans accusing many finalists’ submissions as being AI-generated. Additionally, some contestants were accused of submitting multiple entries under different names, which isn’t allowed.

Hey it looks like several GenAI Art submissions, likely from a single person, got through to the final round. Really ought to be disqualified. pic.twitter.com/R7UG6TbjqC

— Corey Brickley Illustration. Justice for Palestine (@CoreyBrickley) June 14, 2024

I hate to make claims without concrete proof but these 2 pieces have that ai stank to them…. pic.twitter.com/21IDsXB9B8

— Morgan !! (@CheezBurgrLuvr) June 14, 2024

Why one of your winners who already broke the rules by submitting under 4 names and placing 6 times, double the amount of maximum entries allowed, also show heavy signs of using other people’s fanart to generate their ai piece? pic.twitter.com/GdUlNbJPl1

— ✩ Konpeimimi ✩ 🐑✨ (@Konpeimimi) June 14, 2024

While it appears to be the end of this saga for now, it remains to be seen if The Pokemon Company will be enforcing stricter rules on future iterations of the Pokemon TCG Illustration Contest.

What do you think? Feel free to share below.