Welcome to the Lab & Lounge

RotomLabs is a community of curiosity. We are here first and foremost to enjoy the Pokémon games we love. We are also here to research mechanics, build tools, foster community, shiny hunt, play competitively, and just have fun. Whether you’re just chatting in General, debating the best starter in Pokémon, or joining us in Pokémon > Mechanics, this is a shared space for learning and hanging out.

These guidelines will help keep the "signal-to-noise ratio” high while keeping the community strong.

Debate the Topic, Not the Person

In a community focused on subjective preferences, like Pokémon, we will often disagree on our favorites, on good strategies, or on research and mechanics outcomes. Remember that disagreement is healthy; disrespect is not.

  • Criticize the discussion, not the coder. If you disagree with someone, talk about their argument. If someone’s math is off, correct the math. Do not attack intelligence or personality.
  • Show your work. In our mechanics and research threads, try to always provide data. Show screenshots, spreadsheets, or other information to back it up.
  • Be patient with learners. Everyone started somewhere. If someone asks a “basic” question about the games, point them in the right direction rather than shutting them down.

Keep the Community Organized

We have a mix of casual and technical categories. Keeping them separate helps people find what they need.

  • Read the room. Please refrain from posting memes in Research threads (where we are trying to collect and analyze data), and don’t post complex analyses or data in General (unless you’re telling a funny story about it).
  • Search before you start new topics. Before posting a “does X happen?” or a general question, do a quick search to see if it’s already been discussed or is under active research.
  • Use the right category
    • General - Casual discussion for general topics, there are a few sub categories for more specific discussion.
    • Pokémon - Casual discussion for the Pokémon games (favorite Pokémon threads, shiny hunts, cool finds, etc.).
    • #pokemon:mechanics- For confirmed knowledge and guides.
    • Site Feedback - For suggestions for the forums, bug reports about RotomLabs tools, and errors found elsewhere

Zero Tolerance for Toxicity

We are a “safe for work” and family-friendly community.

  • No hate speech: Racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia have no home here. You will be banned.
  • No harassment: Do not dogpile or grief other users.
  • Keep it clean: Avoid sexually explicit content or excessive gore.

Credit Your Sources

We respect the work of others. Researchers, community members, artists, developers, and more deserve credit.

  • Don’t steal work (artwork and otherwise): If you post art, code, or a discovery found outside these forums, please link to the original creator and their source.
  • Remember that anything shared here is considered public information. While this is a public forum, do not use content shared here to dox, harass, or target our members on other platforms. If you share anything from this community with the intent of negatively affecting our users, you will be banned.

Spoiler Content

Spoiler discussion is encouraged here as long as it is in the right place and respect is shown to those that do not wish to see it.

  • Tag it: If discussing upcoming content/leaks, please be sure to use [spoiler] tags or the Blur Spoiler tool in the editor so others can choose whether to see it.

Intellectual Property & Leaks

We discuss game mechanics and history, which sometimes involves leaked information. We draw a strict line between discussion and distribution.

  • Discussion is allowed: You are allowed to discuss findings, beta designs, or cut content revealed in leaks.
  • Hosting is prohibited: Do not upload leaked source code, internal proprietary documents, unreleased builds, or assets directly derived from stolen material to this forum. We want to keep this site online; hosting stolen IP puts the entire community at risk.
  • Absolutely No Piracy: Do not ask for or share links to ROMs, ISOs, BIOS files, Switch keys, or any form of pirated software. We are not pirates and have zero tolerance for piracy here. Admitting to or encouraging piracy is ban-worthy.

Fair Play & Cheating

RotomLabs is dedicated to understanding game mechanics and improving player experience through knowledge.

  • Online Play: We have zero tolerance for cheating, hacking, or using external tools to gain an unfair advantage in online competitive play. Do not ask for help creating “legal” Pokémon or bypassing anti-cheat in multiplayer games.
  • The “Research” Distinction: Discussing how to manipulate RNG for single-player research (e.g. shiny hunting) is welcome. Using that knowledge to grief others online is not.

See Something? Flag it.

The Moderators (and the Admins) are here to keep things running, but we can’t read every post instantly.

  • Do not feed the trolls. If you see spam or toxicity, do not reply. Replying just bumps the post and gives them attention.
  • Just flag it. Use the Flag button to alert staff, and we will handle it.

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