Given how submissions as of late have been almost constantly rejected because they simply do not defy stereotypes at all, I believe I should attempt to assist members in explaining what does and does not belong in our group by listing some stereotypes that many commonly depicted pokemon exhibit and explaining (hopefully in better detail) how one might avoid submitting work that does not defy stereotypes.  I suppose one could consider this a overdue part 2 to my previous entry "Gardevoir Overload" ( [link] ) in which I discuss alternatives to simple gender stereotyping and I will attempt to explain how one might defy such stereotypes (even though it should be somewhat obvious, though I'm mostly doing this for our newcomers).

Common Gardevoir Stereotypes:

-Almost all of them are depicted as female.
-If it's a male, it is probably homosexual.
-Laid back, peaceful, caring.

Lopunnies suffer similar stereotypes:

-Almost all of them are depicted as female.
-If it's a male, it is probably homosexual.
-Laid back, peaceful, caring.
-And, of course, extra horny...  Yeah...

Now, how might a pokemon "defy" one or all of these stereotypes?  By being the exact opposite of one or all of these characteristics. A caring female gardevoir could instead be an insane male one (or like the gardevoir in the previous journal) .  However, not all of these stereotypes need to be defied in order for it to qualify.  For example, A lopunny could be laid back and caring....but also be male and maybe straight (Yes, I know it seems like I'm a broken record, but you wouldn't believe how many depictions of male-on-male gardevoir/lopunnies are made simply on the basis of a feminine looking pokemon being male somehow meaning it's homosexual).  Or, better yet, a male lopunny who is also badass and will tear apart anyone who gets in his way, like this one:



As I said in the previous journal, don't limit yourself to just swapping a pokemon's gender and saying, "There ya go!"  While this does not in any way break the rules, it limits creativity and, after a while, gets rather bland.  But when you combine elements and characteristics that would otherwise be unseen in a particular pokemon.  As depicted in the previous journal, who would have thought that a Roselia, a grass type, would enjoy playing with fire?  Literally?!

It's even ok to make genderbends of pokemon who are ordinarily gender exclusive.  Take this image for instance:



Miltank are female exclusive, but here's a male one!  A MALE MILTANK!  AND IT'S BLUE TOO!  Oh wait...it's just shiny.  Well, you get the idea.

There are all kinds of possibilities to explore, like a Primeape who is nice, or a Machoke/Machamp who isn't instested in working out and showing off feats of strength.  I'm sure you can come up with other examples.

Hopefully you now have an understanding of what does and does not go in the group.  If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to leave a comment.

EDIT: Also, let's not forget natures.  You know: Jolly, Timid, Quirky, Lax, Hardy and all the others?  These can also be taken into consideration when defying stereotypes.  Take the example of the Machoke/Machamp I mentioned earlier.  This kind of Machamp might qualify as a "modest" or "lax" natured creature since it doesn't want to show off.  A timid Gyarados is another good example, since these sea serpents have nothing to be afraid of (except, maybe, electric type pokemon).