View source for Bulbapedia:Manual of style

{{policy|guideline|proposed}}

This is the working space for the upcoming refresh of the Manual of Style.

==Keeping continuity with existing style==
The Manual of Style attempts to provide general guidelines for Bulbapedia's preferred style.  It cannot address every possible style dispute, and some styles or conventions may be established across Bulbapedia without being formally defined in the Manual of Style.  When a style is established (e.g. used across multiple pages), or where two styles are used interchangeably, a style should not be changed without a good reason.  If you want to discuss using an alternate style, please use an article's Talk Page or discuss on the Manual of Style talk page if an edit is needed to the Manual of Style to reconcile differing styles.

==General style guidance==
This section deals with the general writing style across Bulbapedia.  For guidance using wikicode, see [[Bulbapedia:Wikicode|Bulbapedia's Wikicode page.]]

===Article titles===
The conventions for titles dictate that all proper nouns are capitalized, as are all locations, and names unless specifically not capitalized. Titles are '''not''' written like book titles with most words capitalized (unless the article is about a {{cat|books|book}}); note the title of this page as "Manual of style", not "Manual of Style".

Uniformity in the titling of pages is much appreciated in that it makes for a much more professional appearance with regards to the public perception of Bulbapedia. Any page title including the name of a person should write their name as "[first name] [last name]", not "[last name], [first name]"; i.e., "Gary Oak", not "Oak, Gary" as the page title for [[Gary Oak|Ash's rival]]. In cases where only a first name ([[Bill]]) exists, or where a character is known by a title (such as [[Professor Oak]]) more than their proper name, those should be used as the page's title. In the case of Professor Oak, redirects from "Prof. Oak" and "Samuel Oak" may be created.

In most cases, titles referring to a specific group should be kept singular, such as [[item]] rather than items. This does not apply when the group name is plural, for example with the title [[Eevee brothers]] rather than "Eevee brother".

Also, only link to an article once within a given portion of text; if you say "Ash" more than once in a paragraph, only link it the first time. Instances further apart may be linked to more than once, it is up to you how far apart to place repeated links. For consistency, if most elements of a list are links, then link to an article as many times as needed ''in that list''.

Japanese words in page titles should be ''romanized'', but see the following sections for details.

===Opening line===
The full name of the subject of an article should appear within the first few words of the article itself. Alternate and popular names may be included anywhere afterwards. For song, episode, and movie titles, the "full name" that should appear first should ''translated'', not romanized if it is not English.

If the subject originates from a non-English language (Japanese, for the great majority of Pokémon subjects), then the subject's original name should be included immediately after the Anglicized name in parentheses. If the subject has not officially been given any name in English, then only the parenthesized original name should be included along with a romanization if necessary. For Pokémon names, the [[List of Japanese Pokémon names|trademarked romanization]] should be used in the parenthetical. Names besides English and the original language should not be included in the opening line, but rather later in the article, preferably in a section titled ''In other languages'' near the bottom with only ''Related articles'' and ''External links'' following after.

Some examples of opening lines follow:

; Archaic
: '''Liam Pomfret''', better known as '''Archaic''', is the current head of Bulbagarden.
; [[Hirokazu Tanaka]]
: '''Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka''' (Japanese: '''田中宏和''' but usually credited in hiragana only) is a Japanese composer and musician, born on December 13, 1957, best known for creating or co-creating various video games by [[Nintendo]].
; [[Hiromoto SIN-Ichi]]
: '''Hiromoto SIN-Ichi''' (Japanese: '''ヒロモト森一''' ''Hiromoto Shin'ichi'') is a manga artist, born on January 4, 1966. 
; [[Professor Oak]]
: '''Professor Samuel Oak''' (Japanese: '''オーキド・ユキナリ博士''' ''Dr. Yukinari Ohkido'') is a [[Pokémon Professor]] who lives and works at his [[Professor Oak's Laboratory|research lab]] in [[Pallet Town]] of the [[Kanto]] region.
; {{p|Blastoise}}
: '''Blastoise''' ([[List of Japanese Pokémon names|Japanese]]: '''カメックス''' ''Kamex'') is a {{type|Water}} {{OBP|Pokémon|species}} introduced in [[Generation I]].
; [[Aim to Be a Pokémon Master]]
: '''Aim to Be a Pokémon Master''' (Japanese: '''めざせポケモンマスター''' ''Mezase Pokémon Master'') is the first Japanese opening theme of the [[original series]], with a cover by [[Whiteberry]] being the fourth.
; [[Inakano Town]]
: (Japanese: '''イナカノタウン''' ''Inakano Town'') is an {{pkmn|anime}}-exclusive location in [[Unova]].

===Writing style and opinion===
Bulbapedia is an encyclopedia, and as such should use a clear, easily understood literary style. Writing should be informative and brief, and avoid flowery language or unusual sentence structures. A second-person perspective should be avoided. Instead of "You can get the Reaper Cloth in Turnback Cave", an article should say "The Reaper Cloth can be obtained in Turnback Cave."

Check for spelling and grammatical errors before saving changes to a page; if you notice factual or spelling errors on a page other than the ones you have created, please correct the problems, as Bulbapedia is an open project.

In order to avoid disagreements over factual accuracy, it is best to cite sources for controversial statements. If presenting one point of view, it is best to also present a contrasting opinion with it.  

This policy does not prohibit Bulbapedia from including differing opinions where they exist in the fandom or the games.  However, Bulbapedia does not take a stand on these differences or elevate one point of view over another.

===Names of people===
All modern persons should have their names given in Western order. Since the definition of "modern" may vary from culture to culture, for the Japanese, all names from the [[wp:Taishō period|Taishō period]] onwards should be given in Western order. Names from the [[wp:Meiji restoration|Meiji restoration]] may be given in Western or Eastern order -- use prevailing convention on a person-by-person basis. Names prior to the Meiji restoration should be given in Eastern order.

When a person has a specific preference for the way their name is rendered, or where convention differs, use that instead. For example, use [[Hiromoto SIN-Ichi]], [[Ikue Ohtani]], and [[Rica Matsumoto]], instead of Shin'ichi Hiromoto, Ikue Ōtani, and Rika Matsumoto.

===Disambiguation===
The bracketed terms used to disambiguate articles with titles that would otherwise be the same should be a single short word and lowercase, except when proper nouns are involved. The following are commonly used:
; Pokémon
: An article for a general species of Pokémon, for example, [[Bulbasaur (Pokémon)]]. Short link: {{Template|p}}
; move
: An article for a [[move]], for example, [[Tackle (move)]]. Short link: {{Template|m}}
; ability
: An article for an [[ability]], for example, [[Pressure (Ability)]]. Short link: {{Template|a}}
; type
: An article for a [[type]], for example, [[Normal (type)]]. Short link: {{Template|t}} {{Template|type}}
; game
: An article for a game, or a character from a game, for example, [[Silver (game)]]. Short link: {{Template|game}}
; anime
: An article for an anime, or a character from an anime, for example, [[Brock (anime)]]. Short link: {{Template|an}}
; Adventures
: An article for [[Pokémon Adventures]] characters, for example, [[Silver (Adventures)]]. Short link: {{Template|Adv}}.
; TCG
: An article for a product, set, or other aspects of the [[Pokémon Trading Card Game]], for example, [[Base Set (TCG)]]. Short link: {{Template|TCG}}
:: Specific cards within the TCG are identified using the TCG ID format, for example, [[Alakazam (Base Set 1)]]. Short link: {{Template|TCG ID}}
; TFG
: An article for a product, set, or other aspect of the [[Pokémon Trading Figure Game]], for example, [[Next Quest (TFG)]]. Short link: {{Template|TFG}}
:: Specific figures within the TFG are identified using the TFG ID format, for example, [[Charizard (Next Quest 1)]]. Short link: {{Template|TFG ID}}

For a list of all link templates, please see {{bp|list of link templates|this page}}.

===General formatting guidance===
* For backgrounds and templates, obtrusively bright colors should be avoided. Generally, Bulbapedia style favors pastels, particularly green, blue, or gray, depending on the content.
* Smaller tables are generally considered better, assuming they still have adequate information. Even little things, such as a thin 1px border, are preferred to large borders.
* When listing a TM or HM as an item, make use of the {{template|TM}} or {{template|HM}} templates, written as <code><nowiki>{{TM|50|Overheat}}</nowiki></code> for {{TM|50|Overheat}} and <code><nowiki>{{HM|08|Dive}}</nowiki></code> for {{HM|08|Dive}}.
* {{cat|Navigation templates}} should aspire to be as useful as possible, not as large as possible. Navigation templates do not need to be exhaustive to be useful.
*Unless there is a specific reason to order them otherwise, lists of Pokémon should be sorted according to their [[National Pokédex]] number.

==Pokémon franchise terminology==
When addressing franchise topics, wiki links should be as specific as possible.  References to "the anime" should link to the page "[[Pokémon anime]]"; topics for the game should either link to that game's [[generation]] or the specific game page. Linking to general pages such as "anime", "games", or "manga" is incorrect. 

===The é and other special characters===
The e-acute ('''é''') is always used where appropriate; always use "Pokémon", not "Pokemon."

With regards to romanized Japanese titles, omit macrons and apostrophes in the title (but create redirects from the accurate romanization if appropriate).

Technical limitations include mandatory capitalization of the first letter of titles and the identical treatment of space, '''+''' and '''_''' as spaces. Use {{Template|Wrongtitle}} to make a note of any wrong titles due to technical limitations. Also, note that formerly '''&''' was not an acceptable character, but now it is acceptable to use ''up to two'' ampersands in a title - more than two ampersands in a row will cause problems. Special care must be taken with '''?''', though usually things will work as expected.

===Naming conventions===
Naming conventions in Bulbapedia have been determined to go by English names of characters unless a character does not currently have an English name. Redirects from Japanese names should be created in order to alleviate confusion. For instance, the page [[Kasumi]] redirects to Misty.

Formerly, the style was to name articles based on whichever name a character was most "well known by". However, this created debate as to who judges which name is most commonly known, and thus created unnecessary conflict given how rarely a character is known to the English-speaking fanbase more commonly by anything but their English name. Hence, the style has since been abandoned.

An article titled with a Pokémon name with a very well known instance in any form of canon should have a disambiguation page. For example, due to [[Meowth (Team Rocket)]] being extremely well-known, a disambiguation page exists at [[Meowth (disambiguation)]].

Some specific naming conventions include:
* Evolutionary levels should be designated as "unevolved," "first evolution," and "second evolution" for Pokémon that have undergone zero, one, and two evolutions respectively during their development. The TCG terminology of "basic Pokémon," "stage 1 Pokémon" and "stage 2 Pokémon" are not used outside of the TCG pages. 
** For example, in the TCG {{p|Pikachu}} and several other Pokémon are considered Basic Pokémon, but have a pre-evolved form, making them first-evolution Pokémon. This discrepancy typically applies to evolutionary families that include a [[baby Pokémon]].
* When writing episode or chapter names, write them as <code><nowiki>''[[Episode code|Episode name]]''</nowiki></code>; for example, the fifth episode of the [[original series]] is ''[[EP005|Showdown in Pewter City]]''.
** Note only English titles are used in this way otherwise the episode or chapter code is used, such as in [[XYS06]].
* When multiple numbered [[route]]s are to be listed, they should be listed in numerical order, and only the first should have any prefix to it; for example, "{{p|Jigglypuff}} appears on [[Route]]s {{rtn|3|Kanto}}, {{rtn|4|Kanto}}, {{rtn|5|Kanto}}, {{rtn|6|Kanto}}, {{rtn|7|Kanto}}, {{rtn|8|Kanto}}, {{rtn|34|Johto}}, {{rtn|35|Johto}}, and {{rtn|115|Hoenn}}, depending on the [[Core series|version]] played" is preferred to "{{p|Jigglypuff}} appears on {{rt|3|Kanto}}, {{rt|4|Kanto}}, {{rt|5|Kanto}}, {{rt|6|Kanto}}, {{rt|7|Kanto}}, {{rt|8|Kanto}}, {{rt|34|Johto}}, {{rt|35|Johto}}, and {{rt|115|Hoenn}} depending on the [[Core series|version]] played". The {{cat|Link templates|link template}} {{template|rtn}} can be used for handily linking route numbers.

===Types===
Types are always capitalized.

* As adjectives, types are "<typename>-type."
**Example: {{p|Squirtle}} is a {{type|Water}} Pokémon.
*As nouns referring to a Pokémon of that type, they are "<typename> type"
**Example: {{p|Squirtle}} is a {{t|Water}} type.
**Example: [[Blaine]] specializes in {{t|Fire}} types.
*As nouns referring to the types themselves, they are "<typename>" or "the <typename> type."
**Example: {{t|Fire}} is super effective against {{type|Grass}} Pokémon.
**Example: The {{t|Steel}} type was introduced in Generation II.

Types rendered with a hyphen are adjectives, so should never be pluralized. For example, "Water-types" is never correct. (Anime episode titles may go against the standard, such as ''[[DP031|The Grass-Type Is Always Greener!]]''.)

===Hyphenation===
* "Super effective" is never hyphenated. It formatted with a space when used as the object of a conjugation of the verb "to be" ("The attack was super effective"), but is formatted as one word when used adjectivally in front of a noun ("A supereffective attack").
* "[[Day-Care Couple]]," "Day-Care Man," "Day-Care Lady," and "Day-Care Checker" are all hyphenated as "Day-Care" is used as an adjective in these phrases. "[[Pokémon Day Care]]" and "Day Care," when used as nouns, are not hyphenated.

===Plurals===
* The plural of "Pokémon" is "Pokémon" and the plural of every Pokémon species is the same as the singular, much like {{wp|moose}} or {{wp|sheep}}. For example, ''Those Pikachu are Electric-type Pokémon''.
* Note the following special plurals for item names:
** The plural of "[[Deep Sea Tooth]]" is "Deep Sea Teeth".
** The plural of "[[Old Gateau]]" is "Old Gateaux".
** The plural of "[[Guard Spec.]]" is "Guard Specs."

===Capitalization===
* The word Pokémon is always capitalized, as are all nouns starting with "Poké" (such as [[Pokégear]], [[PokéNav]] and [[Poké Flute]]).
* The names of Pokémon, moves, Abilities, items, and locations are always written in title case (every first letter of a new word capitalized).

<div style="display:grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr">
<div>
====Capitalized====
The following are always capitalized:
*Pokémon
*{{pkmn|Trainer}}
*[[Original Trainer]]
*[[Pokémon Professor]]
*[[Legendary Pokémon]]
*[[Mythical Pokémon]]
*[[List of Pokémon with form differences|Forme]]
*[[Ability]]
*Hidden Ability
*{{pkmn|Egg}}
*[[Egg Group]]
*[[Egg Move]]
*[[Evolution]] (when referring to the concept)
*[[Mega Evolution]]
*[[Berry]]
*[[Gym]]
*[[Badge]]
*[[Symbol]]
*[[Shiny Pokémon]]
*Types of battles ([[Single Battle]], [[Double Battle]], [[Horde Encounter]], etc.)
*[[Bag]]
*[[Nature]]
*[[Characteristic]]
*[[Prop]]
*[[Plate]]
*[[Ribbon]]
*[[Accessory]]
*[[Backdrop]]
*[[Fossil]]
*[[Move Tutor]]

*Box ([[Pokémon Storage System]])
*[[the Underground]]

*[[Shadow Pokémon]]
*[[Décor]]

*[[Friend Area]]
*[[Special Episode]]

*[[Browser]]

*[[Special Traits]]
*[[Toy Pokémon]]

*[[Perfect Link]]
*[[Warrior]]
*[[Warlord]]
*[[Warrior Skill]]
</div>

<div>
====Uncapitalized====
The following are not capitalized:
*[[move]]
*[[item]]
*[[level]]
*[[gender]]
*[[List of Pokémon with form differences|form]]
*[[wing]]
*names of [[status ailments]]
*names of [[Season (mechanic)|seasons]]
*names of [[weather conditions]]

*names of [[Phenomenon|phenomena]]
*[[wild Pokémon]]
*[[baby Pokémon]]
*[[rental Pokémon]]<!--while capitalized in Pokémon Stadium, it is uncapitalized in its most recent usages-->
*{{m|substitute}} (the doll created by the move {{m|Substitute}})
*[[physical move]]
*[[special move]]
*[[status move]]

*[[scalchop]]
*[[scalchop|seamitar]]

*[[link]] ([[Pokémon Conquest]])
*kingdom ([[Pokémon Conquest]])
*move rank ([[Pokémon Conquest]])
</div>
</div>

The names of all people, Pokémon, moves, Abilities, items, Trainer classes, stats (except accuracy and evasion), and [[villainous teams]] are also always capitalized, as are officially named locations (places like "Kurt's house" do not count).

All unofficial terms are lowercase by default, with the exception of the names of generations. While the term "[[generation]]" is uncapitalized, specific generation names (e.g. [[Generation II]]) are.

===Definite article===
It is not always immediately obvious whether a particular location or concept should use the definite article "the." The below is a list of such cases according to whether the indefinite article should be used.

In the [[Generation VIII]] core series games, the [[List of locations by index number (Generation VIII)|summary location]] makes clear which locations should use "the" and which should not, so they are not listed here.

<div style="display:grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr">
<div>
====Present====
The following always have "the":
*The [[Slowpoke Well]]
*The [[Glitter Lighthouse]]
*The [[Bell Tower|Tin Tower]]<!--the usage of 'the' is inconsistent in Generation II, but in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum the man at Hotel Grand Lake uses 'the'-->
*The [[Bell Tower]]<!--although the sign in front of the Barrier Station omits 'the,' NPCs and the official guidebook use 'the'-->
*The [[Whirl Islands]]

*The [[Cave of Origin]]
*The [[Sky Pillar]]

*The [[Eterna Forest]]<!--'the' is absent in a map description and official guidebook, but present on the sign inside the forest, in the anime, and in NPC dialog-->
*The [[Vista Lighthouse]]
*The [[Spear Pillar]]
*The [[Snowpoint Temple]]

*The [[Skyarrow Bridge]]
*The [[Driftveil Drawbridge]]
*The [[Tubeline Bridge]]
*The [[Dreamyard]]
*The [[Desert Resort]]
*The [[Relic Castle]]
*The [[Cold Storage]]
*The [[Celestial Tower]]
*The [[Abyssal Ruins]]
*The [[Entralink]]
*The [[Entralink|Entree Forest]]

*The [[Pokémon Global Link]]
*The [[Pokémon Dream World]]
*The [[Global Battle Union]]
*The {{dwa|Pleasant Forest}}
*The {{dwa|Windswept Sky}}
*The {{dwa|Sparkling Sea}}
*The {{dwa|Spooky Manor}}
*The {{dwa|Rugged Mountain}}
*The {{dwa|Icy Cave}}

*The [[Bittercold]]
</div>

<div>
====Absent====
The following do not use "the":
*[[Victory Road]] (all)
*{{DL|Global Terminal|Geonet}}
*[[Pal Park]]
*[[Soul Dew]]

*[[Viridian Forest]]
*[[Indigo Plateau]]

*[[Trainer Tower]]

*[[Marvelous Bridge]]
*[[Pinwheel Forest]]
*[[Liberty Garden]]
*[[Battle Subway|Gear Station]]
*[[Mistralton Cave]]
*[[Chargestone Cave]]
*[[Twist Mountain]]
*[[Unity Tower]]
*[[Dragonspiral Tower]]
*[[White Forest]]
*[[Black City]]
</div>
</div>

==Sectional style guidance==
For detailed style guidance applicable to various projects on Bulbapedia, please review the subpages below.

===Anime===
{{Mos|Anime}}

===Core Games===
{{Mos|Core Games}}

===Manga===
{{Mos|Manga}}

===Side Games===
{{Mos|Side Games}}

===TCG===
{{Mos|TCG}}

==Language==
American English should be used rather than Commonwealth English in Bulbapedia articles. This consistent with most English language Pokémon games, as well as much of Pokémon media as a whole. In general, Bulbapedia follows standard American English style conventions, not all of which are listed within the Manual of Style.
* Exceptions to the preference for American English are made if the spelling is officially the Commonwealth one, such as "[[Décor|Catalogue]]."
* 's should be included at the end of singular possessives ending in s. While it is correct to either omit or include the s after the apostrophe in these cases, Bulbapedia follows the games' convention (for a multitude of reasons, including the games' usage) and appends the s. For example, Iris's should be used, not Iris'.
* The {{wp|serial comma}} should be used where applicable (matching the syntax of the Pokémon games).
* In an article, the title of an album should be italicized. When writing the titles of individual songs, including anime opening and ending themes, italics should not be used.
* In an article, the names of series, games, or generations are not italicized.


===Japanese===
====Kanji====
{{Mos|Kanji}}

====Romanization====
{{Mos|Romanization}}

==Multimedia and external content==
Addressing images, videos, and content from other websites and sources.

===Images===
''For further details, please see the [[a:Archives:Manual of style|Archives manual of style]]''

Images are often a helpful visual addition to the content of articles. However, in some cases, it is questionable what images are best used for articles.
* If there is official artwork, such as the Sugimori stock artwork or video game sprites, this is always the preferred image.
* If there is no official artwork, such as screenshots from episodes or manga, ones created by the contributing user are preferred over images taken from other sources. There will inevitably be disputes about which user-created image is best, as there is no exact policy on such; however, the image should generally be the highest quality and most informative image.
* Animated images should be avoided proportionately with how large and distracting the animation is. Small uses, such as a blinking dot on a world map to indicate location, are non-obtrusive and acceptable.
* Overwriting existing images is acceptable, since Bulbapedia favors the image with the higher quality, not the greater seniority. However, please avoid disputes by discussing the change with the user who uploaded the former image ''before'' uploading the new image.

===Videos (including YouTube)===
Like images, videos are often helpful visual additions to the content of certain articles. Videos that are hosted on YouTube can be either be embedded directly into a article using the {{template|YouTubeEmbed}} template or linked to using the {{template|YouTubeVid}} template. Due to loading size and other server strain, please note the usage policy regarding '''embedded''' video:

'''Mainspace pages which may have embedded video:'''
* Glitch pages. Note that this is specifically pages about glitches, and '''''not''''' sections on an otherwise non-glitch page.
* [[Pokémon commercial]]
* Song articles, including Anime openings & closings 

'''Mainspace pages which must NEVER have embedded video:'''
* All [[move]] pages
* All [[species]] pages

For all other instances not mentioned above, or if unsure about a certain instance, please check with a member of staff.

===Integration of content from other websites===
It is against Bulbapedia's policy, and may be a violation of copyright, to directly copy text from other websites without permission. If other sources consent to allowing their text to appear on Bulbapedia and be subsequently edited and expanded upon to better fit Bulbapedia's style and standards, then and only then editors can directly copy their text into Bulbapedia. In this case, the source must be credited and the text on Bulbapedia will be covered by Bulbapedia's {{bp|copyrights|licensing terms}}.

If Bulbapedia already has information addressing a topic, users should seek to edit and expand that text rather than replace it with another source's words, even if the other source has allowed their text to be used and has more information. Bulbapedia's preferred style prefers original content directly provided from its contributors over content taken from another website.

===An important note about Wikipedia content===
No matter how similar the two may be, ''Bulbapedia and Wikipedia do not have compatible licenses.'' Therefore, for legal reasons as well as those of style, Bulbapedia does not allow articles to be copied directly from Wikipedia.  Note that while in the past articles were started with Wikipedia content, this approach is not allowed under current policy.