I think I ran out of characters, so I'm using this for other Pokepolls, too. Check the pinned post for the rules of this smash or pass poll set I also am going to have multiple side polls unrelated to the smash or pass set
Making a new rule/intro post since the blog changed a bit
No "obviously or confirmed to be a kid characters" such as Tate or Liza, unless they had a time skip where they grew into an adult, like Blue or Red, in which case the adult designs will be used Characters whose ages are unknown will have a disclaimer on the post. I am a 30 year old who looks 16, so PLEASE don't use "But they look---" as an argument if you disagree on a character's age. Should I post a character who is CONFIRMED OFFICIALLY to be a minor, let me know and please use sources.
For some characters who got redesigns I may post both of the designs. In these cases, vote based on which design you prefer.
The main polls are Mondays between Noon and 1 CST and last a week
I add other polls on a whim
Propaganda is welcome
Adding this 10/1/24
Please do not make serious accusations based on the votes. Joke ones like "YOU'RE ALL COWARDS" are ok. Accusing people of racism, fatphobia,
Adding 10/31/24
This blog was made BEFORE THE TERALEAK. It is coming to my attention that characters who previously had no known canon age are now having their ages confirmed. I apologize that some of these characters are turning out to have been minors.
March 3, 2025
This happened:
I know these are fictional characters, but this is not ok. I've talked about this before, I am NOT OK with casually making light of suicide. From here on out, I am BLOCKING people who do this.
My, my… what big teeth you have! Meet the Pacific stargazer (Astroscopus zephyreus). Found in coastal waters from California to Peru, this fish is an ambush hunter. Spending most of its life buried beneath the sand, the stargazer’s upturned face is an adaptation that allows it to see even when most of its body is concealed. What’s more? This species is capable of stunning prey with electrical shocks of up to 50 volts!
Photo: alboertoalcala, CC BY 4.0 iNaturalist
The rules should be pretty familiar and straightforward by now! All candidates must be or primarily be based on a lizard (NOT a dinosaur, NOT an amphibian (the class, not the adjective), and NOT a dragon!).
*** CHECK THE LIST BEFORE SUBMITTING. If it is obvious you did not do this, I will ignore your ENTIRE ask! ***
Submissions must have:
The name and origin of the character; please be specific!
An official image representation of some kind! Please submit one if you can, it makes things easier for me, but you don't have to if you really don't want to or are unable to! If no such image exists on the internet at all though, the character is not allowed!
Additionally, propaganda for anyone can be submitted at any time! Unfortunately, I was unable to figure out how to get image propaganda working in time, so text/links only!
Also, please try and only submit characters you're actually interested in! Don't feel the need to just "complete a series" or anything similar. This isn't a rule, of course, just a suggestion/request!
*****
Before I get into specifics, let me clarify what I mean by "primarily based on", as I think this caused a bit of confusion last time. A simplified explanation:
Two things matter when evaluating characters: design and intent. Design is how much is it actually a lizard (in this case), intent is how much did the creators think/intend for it to be a lizard. Pretend we give every character a score of 1 to 10 in both categories, and you need at least an average of say, 7 to 8, to be qualified (don't get too caught up on the specific numbers).
For example, Charmander was clearly intended to be a lizard (the salamander naming convention is an English only thing), and it does more or less look like one, so this ranks highly in both.
Meanwhile, the Lava Lizards from Spyro are called lizards, but based on design and context, are obviously intended to be in dinosaurs, so it would rank pretty low in both despite the name.
And finally, Salazzle is hard to pin down. It does clearly have some salamander/newt designs, but it's also associated with a few lizard-like traits as well as the mythical salamander, and a certain kind of lizard/dragon from Hawaiian myth, so it's hard to tell whether the developers intended for it to be strictly an amphibian, a lizard, or if they don't know/care about the distinction. I would personally lean towards not allowing it, but it's on the fence for sure!
Anyway, detailed rules under the cut as usual.
Also, please excuse any delay in processing these. Not feeling that well physically for a while, so my mood/ability to work on this will come and go!
Be A Lizard: Obviously. Note that dinosaurs are NOT lizards at all, or vice versa. Dragons, even wingless ones, are also NOT lizards for our purposes in general, though specific instances may count depending. As I said, dimetrodon is not a reptile at all. And finally, salamanders (the amphibian) are NOT lizards, but salamanders (the mythical creature) are kind of a gray area, so those are case dependent.
Images: Candidates MUST have at least one official depiction in image form. Fanart is NOT allowed.
Past Performance: Characters that made it into the Quarterfinals or later in a previous tournament will not be allowed! Try not to dwell on this one; I believe for our purposes, it only excludes Serperior and Godzilla, if you count them as lizards. Also, I suspect you'll see any such characters again in the future...
Humanoids: Humanoid lizards CAN count, so long as they are more lizard than human; i.e., not just a guy with scales, no nose, and a tail, but a notably lizard-like body/head structure. In other words, "a two-legged lizard" and not "a guy with lizard/generically reptilian attributes".
Constructs: Any kind of construct that is shaped like a lizard, such as a golem, robot, create made of lava/water/etc, WILL be allowed, as long as it is an actual autonomous entity and not just the shape of an attack. A swordsman that shoots lizard shaped fire blasts, for example, cannot enter said fire blasts. But, a witch that creates an autonomous lizard creature from tree bark and grass MAY be able to enter it, provided it sufficiently qualifies.
Existing Myths: Characters from real life myths (that is, myths of existing cultures) are ONLY allowed if they are not directly worshiped or sincerely believed in by the culture in question (as I do not feel comfortable classifying them as "fictional"!). Youkai, for example, are generally allowed, as they're usually more or less cryptids even if they have more cultural significance. But any god or similar figure from an actively practiced religion is NOT allowed.
Ethics: Any extremely offensive characters or characters from extremely offensive series will not be allowed. This is a very very loose rule; pretty much the only thing I can think of that meets this criteria is Harry Potter. I will not judge series for having "problematic" elements on a granular level; if the series is not as globally repugnant as JKR has made Harry Potter, and if your character is not a direct racist depiction, you're certainly safe!
Securing a solid victory against Skales, with a score gap that remained remarkably consistent, as well as finally breaking the Pokemon curse, Dunsparce wins the Best Fictional Snake tournament, and becomes the first Pokemon to enter our hall of fame! Dunsparce will join fellow tournament winners Mononykus (Best Fictional Dinosaur), Petrie (Best Fictional Pterosaur), and the Great A'Tuin (Best Fictional Marine Reptile).
A huge thank you to all who participated; this tournament was short by our standards, but that didn't stop a lot of colossal problems arising in my personal life over its duration. This tournament was one of the few highlights I had during this time so, I really appreciate each and every person who voted, and extra appreciate anyone who reblogged or commented on the posts too!
As ever, though, stay tuned for an announcement over the next few days/weeks...
Securing a solid victory against Skales, with a score gap that remained remarkably consistent, as well as finally breaking the Pokemon curse, Dunsparce wins the Best Fictional Snake tournament, and becomes the first Pokemon to enter our hall of fame! Dunsparce will join fellow tournament winners Mononykus (Best Fictional Dinosaur), Petrie (Best Fictional Pterosaur), and the Great A'Tuin (Best Fictional Marine Reptile).
A huge thank you to all who participated; this tournament was short by our standards, but that didn't stop a lot of colossal problems arising in my personal life over its duration. This tournament was one of the few highlights I had during this time so, I really appreciate each and every person who voted, and extra appreciate anyone who reblogged or commented on the posts too!
As ever, though, stay tuned for an announcement over the next few days/weeks...
Make sure to reblog, so we know for sure who the best fictional snake is!
Propaganda for Skales [Ninjago]:
"he used to be a cunning general as a result of his entire species being imprisoned, and now he actively avoids being dragged into conflict to protect his wife and son because he knows that everyone on either side is too stupid for the fight to be worthwhile. also, he's sassy."
Our two finalists (Skales [NInjago] and Dunsparce [Pokemon]) have been decided, and the final poll in our tournament will go live tomorrow! For now, let's look at some stats:
Total Average Score (Individual):
Skales: 21st place (60.84)
Dunsparce: 16th place (61.60)
Total Avg Votes (Individual):
Skales: 3rd place (172 votes)
Dunsparce: 2nd place (191 votes)
Total Average Score (Series):
Ninjago: 10th place (61.46)
Pokemon: 16th place (58.93)
Total Average Votes (Series):
Ninjago: 1st place (171)
Pokemon: 6th place (136)
As you can see, things are pretty neck and neck! Dunsparce performs slightly better in individual votes, but the Ninjago series performs notably better compared to the Pokemon series. And neither gap is very significant, so, be sure to vote when the poll goes live tomorrow morning!
I probably won't reblog much (if anything) from them, again, because I tried following the page, and my dash got FLOODED with propaganda submissions that buried all the other posts I wanted to see, so I unfollowed it entirely.
