Welcome to Gaia! ::

These rules govern your conduct within the RP, and include some general rules about Pokemon. They are subject to change with or without notice. It is your job to check them for updates.

1. No Spamming. This includes, but is not limited to, chatting about signatures, advertising websites, single word posts, using Chatspeak (ROFL, LOL, LMAO, ect.), posting anything not RP related in HQ, using the wrong sub-forum, double and triple posting, and OOC chat.
............Violation #1: Warning and post deleted.
............Violation #2: Suspended for 4 Days.
............Violation #3: Banned.


2. No Flaming. This includes, but is not limited to, caps lock, putting down every idea they have, being generally mean, hateful or disrespectful.
............Violation #1: Warning and post deleted.
............Violation #2: Suspended for 4 Days.
............Violation #3: Banned.


3. God-modding will not be tolerated! This includes, but is not limited to, having your Pokemon take on an impossible number of enemies with only taking minimal to no damage, using Character Powers to become invincible or take down 101 Team Rocket Admins, etc.
............Violation: Handled on a case to case basis. If your are God-modding with powers, powers are taken away and not returned and the user is warned. If God-Modding with Pokemon, suspension, demotion and banning become more likely. With this rule, only 1 warning is given.



4. All Pokemon must be caught in a mission or RP. The only exception would be Pokemon Eggs, which are, in fact, not caught, but obtained.
............Violation: Pokemon taken away until a proper way to obtain is completed. Should the violator continually do this, more severe action may be taken.


5. All evolutions and egg hatching must be approved by someone in the Crew. For the most part, Pokemon require 10 Evolution Points (Evo Points) to evolve. Eggs hatch after you've owned them for a certain number of days. See the Pokemon Rules for more information.


6. You must keep track of the evo point total of your Pokemon in your profile. Failure to do so will result in your Pokemon not being able to evolve. Crew members will check for this information every time a Pokemon is asked to be evolved. See the Pokemon Rules for more information concerning evolving.
............Violation: Pokemon not able to evolve. User notified. More serious action may result should it continue.


7. All trades must be approved by someone in the Crew. Trading must be agreed upon by both people involved. Trading with an NPC is not allowed. Also, trades may not happen until both owners have had the Pokemon for at least 5 days. You may ask for trades in the The Aqua Shop and Garden sub-forum.
............Violation: Pokemon not traded. Users notified. More serious action may result should it continue.


8. Try your very best to be active. Yes, life happens, but we would still love for you to post at least once a week to let us know you haven't fallen off a cliff. Inactive member's profile will be moved to the Profile Archives, and depending on the situation, you could receive a rank down upon return. To participate in contests, you must post in HQ at least 3 times each week during the contest dates. Should you wish to terminate membership, please notify a Crew member.


9. All members must create a profile in the Profile Subforum. The profile must follow the guidelines post within the Subforum.
............Violation: If a member is active in the RP for a few days but is yet to create a profile, they will lose rights to participate in the RP until a profile is created. We understand that profiles may take a few days to set up properly.


10. All posts should be kept PG-13. So no excessively vulgar language, sexual content, excessive violence, or any other unacceptable materials should be seen in a post.
............Violation: Handled on a case to case basis. Usual procedure: Post edited, or deleted and person warned. Should the behavior continue, more severe actions may occur.


11. Above all, we are a Team. This means that no members should be added to another member's "Ignore" list on Gaia. If you have a problem with someone, please talk it over in PMs, but under NO circumstances should you completely ignore someone. This causes serious problems as you cannot see "Ignored" user's posts which could cause issues if something plot oriented is going on.
............Violation: Ignoring user asked to remove ignored user from Ignored list. Should Ignoring continue, banning or suspension of Ignoring user may occur and all future attempts to join Aqua will be ignored.


12. Training Role-Play Missions may be hosted by anyone in Tier 4 and higher. People below Crew are limited by rank in the number of TRPs they can host, but may participate in as many as they like. A Training RP (TRP for short) is an exploratory mission, with at least one other person, that gives you the chance to battle wild Pokemon and strengthen your team. The Pokemon you can catch during a TRP depends on your rank.
............Tier 6: Only Baby- or Basic-stage Pokemon. No Legendaries.
............Tier 5: Anything up to 1st-stage. No Legendaries.
............Tier 4 and up: Anything up to 2st-stage, except Legendaries.

13. Concerning people who lead RPs/TRPs. After you host an RP/TRP, it is your responsibility as host to compile a list of which users in the RP caught what Pokemon and, if you are allowed and gave out a rank-up, to list who ranked up to what and from what. It will then be your job to either edit these changes into the Rank and Pokemon List or PM the list to a Crew member so they can do it. This may sound confusing, so feel free to send Maddymage a PM for a more in-depth explanation and a template to follow.
............Violation: Rights to host RPs/TRPs temporarily taken away. If the problem persists, rights to host are permanently removed.

14. This is a Pokemon RP. No one is allowed to be any species other than human or have any magic powers/strange weapons and the like. This RP takes place in the Pokemon Universe. We live with Pokemon and we fight using our Pokemon. At this time, hybrids (Pokemon human crossbreeds) are not allowed. If you have any concerns, message a Crew member.
............Violation: You will be asked to change whatever is not Pokemon-related about your character. Failure to do so will result in not being allowed to participate in the RP until changes are made or a possible banning.