PokeMMO’s Terms of Service and Code of Conduct dictate what you’re allowed to do when using the services we provide. These rules are enforced through a mixture of automated processes and manual reviews by Game Masters.
The guidelines below explain what’s expected of you, how we handle rule-breaking behavior, and what you can expect from other players of the game.
These rules apply to every service we provide, including all websites and the game itself.
Global Moderators and Game Masters are experienced members of the staff team who work within standardized procedures to handle rule-breaking behavior. The penalties they issue are overseen by Senior Game Masters and the Head Game Master of each region.
In addition to manual review, we also implement automated rule enforcement for certain types of offenses, such as to curb the effectiveness of botting.
Penalties for rule-breaking behavior are based on your behavior as a person, not by the service you use. For example, if you performed a severe offense on the Forums, you may also have your Game accounts closed.
While most penalties are standardized and will follow the procedures listed below, accounts which participate in egregious violations of the rules, repeat offenses, and those which appear to be made specifically to break the rules may be closed with no warning.
In severe instances, we may close your account even for behavior on other websites. We typically only do this when dealing with coordinated harassment campaigns or to dismantle groups participating in real money trading and cheating.
This depends on the type of penalty, what the offense is, and who is responsible for enforcing it. For example:
When it comes to cheating and real money trading, we don't usually ban players immediately once we’ve found them. We batch together large groups of players we've identified as cheating, then ban them all at the same time at a later date.
This approach allows us to dismantle botnets and real money trading groups effectively and helps ensure the integrity of the game.
Our responses to rule-breaking behavior vary depending on the severity of an offense. Depending on the player’s history and the nature of the offense, we may:
If you believe we’ve made a mistake or that a warning, ban, or mute we issued was unfair, you may appeal the penalty via https://support.pokemmo.com/.
Please be patient while your penalty is being reviewed. We try to answer requests as quickly as possible, but typical times can range from a few days to a week after you submit your request for review.
This is a list of rule violations which we commonly see and punish for. Neither this document nor the Code of Conduct are intended to be exhaustive. If a staff member directs you to stop doing something, you need to follow their instructions.
If you’re concerned whether your actions violate the Terms of Service, reconsider them. While we do issue warnings for minor offenses, some rule-breaking behavior, like cheating, always results in a permanent ban.
This category includes minor annoyances and misusing public chat channels, specifically:
Depending on the severity or repetitiveness of the offense, we may:
Publicly visible chat channels are more heavily moderated. This includes any setting where you don’t know the other players, such as in link matchmaking or whispers to strangers.
We believe players are responsible enough to moderate themselves in private settings where you know each other (such as teams, links between friends, and whispers between friends). Except in extreme circumstances, we don’t usually enforce these rules in private chat channels.
If you’re receiving unwanted messages from strangers, you should Block them using the in-game menu. You may also refuse to receive any whispers from other players using the in-game Settings menu. If you’re still receiving messages from them (such as by an alternate character of theirs), you can report them for harassment via https://support.pokemmo.com/.
We don't allow chatting or linking to content in public which is:
Depending on the severity of the offense, we may:
This category applies to public settings. It includes chatting or linking to content which accuses other players of theft, scamming, unfair market practices, or other rule-breaking behavior.
We don't allow players to publicly accuse others of rule-breaking. To report a player for breaking the rules, use the support panel at https://support.pokemmo.com/. If you’re the victim of a scam or theft, you can ask us to reverse a trade at the same time as your report.
Depending on how the player makes the accusations, we may:
This category applies to all chat channels, both public or private. This category includes content, messages, or links to material which:
Depending on the severity of the offense, we may:
If you're aware of illegal content being distributed through the game, you may report it using the support panel or via email to [email protected].
This category includes chatting or naming your character with intent to:
How we respond to this offense depends on whether there's another offense involved, such as faking being a staff member in order to scam other players or pretending to be another player in order to defame them.
Depending on the severity of the offense, we may:
This category includes naming your character or team in a way which violates our naming policy. While this isn't an exhaustive list, you may not choose a name which:
Depending on the severity of the offense, we may:
This category includes:
Depending on the severity of the offense, we may:
This category includes:
We don't offer leniency for cheating or using hack tools.
Depending on the severity of the offense, we may:
This category includes:
We don't offer leniency for real money trading purchasers or sellers, no matter what you bought or sold.
Depending on the severity of the offense, we may:
This category applies to common trading activity in the game. It includes:
Depending on the severity of the offense, we may:
If you're the victim of a scam or theft, you may petition us to reverse a trade through the support panel, https://support.pokemmo.com/. If a rule violation has been found, we'll attempt to compensate you through either a replacement item or an equivalent value of in-game currency.
While we don’t usually interfere with the game’s marketplace, we may forcibly halt any game activity we deem to be unfair, deceptive, or disruptive to the game’s economy.
We do not allow you to trade anything except in-game assets and services pertaining to the game. This means you may never:
Depending on the severity of the offense, we may:
This category includes:
Depending on the severity of the offense, we may: