Bulbapedia:Manual of style/Anime

This article is an official policy on Bulbapedia. Its contents are strongly binding and can be considered law on Bulbapedia.

History

This notability policy was created after a flooding of the Anime Pokémon section of Bulbapedia with many articles that failed to meet notability standards. After many discussions among Bulbapedia users on talk pages, the forums and meetings, these rules were written down to finally determine which articles should be redirected and which should be kept.

Notability rules

The following are guidelines to which Anime Pokémon are notable to get their own articles on Bulbapedia:

1. Pokémon that are owned by Ash, Misty, Brock, Tracey, Dent, May, Max, Dawn, and Iris are all notable, provided they appeared in more than one episode. If they did not, then they would have to have had a significant impact on the plot of the episode or the series as a whole.
2. Pokémon that are owned by Jessie and James are also only notable if they appeared in more than one episode. Once again, exceptions can be made for Pokémon that had a significant impact on the plot of the episode or the series as a whole. One example would be James's Gyarados.
3. For rival characters and other recurring characters, only their signature Pokémon may have an article created about them. An exception may be made if another Pokémon that is not the signature has had an impact on the series. One example of this would possibly be Gary's Arcanine. Jimmy and Marina also fall into this category. If a rival's signature Pokémon does nothing more than battle or has no major impact on the plot, then it is not notable for an article and instead should have a section on its Trainer's page.
4. Gym Leaders may have an article about their signature Pokémon, but only if it did more than just battle in the episode(s) it appeared in and had some impact on the plot. Examples would be Blaine's Magmar, which saved the Cinnabar Gym and developed Charizard's personality, or Clair's Dragonair, which helped save the Dragon Kingdom. Elite Four members and Frontier Brains also fall into this category.
5. Recurring wild Pokémon may only receive articles if they had a significant impact on the plot AND appeared in at least three episodes. An example of this would be the Snubbull/Granbull that followed Team Rocket around, and the Jigglypuff that followed around Ash and his friends. All others should have a section on the recurring wild Pokémon in the anime article.
6. Pokémon that have appeared in movies are notable if they were the main character in that movie. The other movie Pokémon may sometimes be notable only if their role was significant in the plot. If possible, merged articles should be created for those Pokémon, such as for the legendary birds from The Power of One.
7. Pokémon that belong to characters of the day are never notable for their own article. However, in rare instances, an exception may be made if the Pokémon itself was a character of the day.