From what I get, canon characters aren’t allowed but there are some grey areas I’d like to inquire about. I’ll use Spongebob as an example.
So I’m not allowed to make a character profile that’s just Spongebob
But if it was an oc based IN Spongebob’s universe, like a cousin or something, is that allowed?
And then for rooms and areas, would Bikini Bottom be allowed as one or not?
Given that Pokemon characters are prolific, I should think “original character from an existing IP” is generally allowed. In Pokemon’s case, Ash or Detective Pikachu wouldn’t be allowed, but original pikachu characters are fine.
Alright, but then would a Lumiose City area not be allowed or…?
The rules only prohibit canon characters and say nothing about locations.
But as a non-admin non-rules-setting person whose intuition is not fact, my intuition says a specific canon location like Lumiose City or Bikini Bottom wouldn’t be allowed. That said, I’m pretty sure you could have, say, Speedo City that’s very much like Bikini Bottom but doesn’t have anything canon in it.
One of the guidelines we’ve always used is literally “You can be a Pikachu but not Ash’s Pikachu.”
Settings are… iffy. You can say you’re from Bikini Bottom but not recreate it as an area. You could of course make something like it. Just not it.
Snickers. “Speedo City…”
I could totally see someone making a restaurant in Speedo City and have it’s slogan be ‘Better than Crabby Patties!’