Schedule

Current Status
Complete!

About

This is an unofficial charity zine featuring beta Pokemon, with documentation from writers as if they were encountering these Pokemon in the wild, "Photos" (art) of these Pokemon, as well as "Artist Interpretations" of what we think some Pokemon may look like if the team was unable to capture a "Photo" of the Pokemon (mostly for those whose designs we do not know fully, as we only have the Pokemon's back sprite).Beta Pokemon, for our purposes, are Pokemon designs from stages before the games were released, many of which were found in rom dumps of demo versions of the games or in other media.This zine aims to have art, writing, and merchandise showcasing as many of these beta designs as we can.Total number of contributors will vary depending on interest, but we have over 200 designs in our list.Our contributor roles will be as follows:Full Page Artist
An artist expected to do 1 full page illustration of their assigned Pokemon/evo line. Full Page artists will be assigned only 1 Pokemon/evo line.Documentation Writer
A writer expected to create documentation for their assigned Pokemon/evo line based on what little we know about these designs and expand on them as if they existed, including things about their preferred habitat, food, behaviour, etc. While we ask you to keep any official information we know about these Pokemon into consideration when writing, you are encouraged to really think about what these Pokemon would be like if they were real. Each Pokemon/evo family should have 300-500 words written for them.Merch Artist
An artist expected to create fun add-ons for the zine (bookmarks, charms, etc). Please note that this role will be added only if we get enough interest during the interest check.This zine's profits will be donated to the World Wildlife Fund.

FAQ

If your question is not answered below, feel free to send us a DM on Twitter or an email.

Beta Pokemon Questions

What is a Beta Pokemon?Beta Pokemon are non-finalized designs found in rom dumps, interviews with the designers, among others. These designs were, for one reason or another, removed from the final games or revamped into the Pokemon we know and love today.A lot of these designs are quite striking, and it's a shame some of these have been lost to time. Our aim is to honour and preserve these designs in a fun and creative way!Some designs are very well documented with very clear front and back sprites on top of a colour palette to work with, while others are much more obscure with only a back sprite to work from.
Where did these designs come from? How do you know they're real?Most of the designs are found from old rom dumps of demos for things like Space World (an old game trade show Nintendo used to put on). These have been fact checked by many members of the community and have long since been confirmed to be real.A handful of designs are featured in old design documents that have been officially documented in interviews, etc.
Many Pokemon in the list have English names. Did the names come from the roms?Most beta Pokemon designs do not have English names, as the games did not make it to the west to be translated until they were finished. As a result, most beta designs that did not morph into an official design lack an English name.For beta Pokemon designs that do not share the name of an official design, we have chosen to use the unofficial English translations graciously done by Nob Ogasawara (Pokemon's official translator for Gen 1-4). Since Nob did much of the translation work on the games themselves, we consider these as official as you can get.Artist Rachel Briggs (@RacieBeep on Twitter) has done a lot of the artwork you may have seen for these beta Pokemon and given some of them names. If Nob did not name the Pokemon, we are using Rachel's names as thanks for all the work she has put in.In the event a Pokemon does not have a name from either Nob or Rachel, we will be having the contributors work together to come up with a fan name.
Some designs are named as if they're a beta version of an official Pokemon, but look nothing alike. Why is that?While we generally only use an official Pokemon's name if the Japanese name matches its official Japanese name, there are a few instances where simply by placement in the in-game dex or ID index, we know that this was meant to be a beta version of that Pokemon.A great example is Bayleef. Bayleef's beta design looks nothing like what Bayleef is now and its name in the rom does not match the Japanese name for Bayleef, but because it was placed between Chikorita and Meganium in game, we know it eventually was reworked into Bayleef. As a result, we are calling it Bayleef even if its design looks so drastically different.
There's a beta design missing from your list!You'd probably be correct! However, the mods have gone through the designs and culled ones we felt were too close to its final official design or ones we could tell were clearly placeholders or simply unrefined.We did however keep some that might fall into the above categories if we felt the design was either fun enough or it had another beta design in its evolutionary line that was very unique.We also removed many designs from the "Capsule Monsters" days as they were very generic and don't fit the feel of what Pokemon became (Ex: the ape with a hat)If you really feel we missed a design, do let us know however!
What about the gender difference designs that were cut in Gen 4?There was indeed a rom dump that featured many beta gender differences that never got used in the final game. There are simply too many and the designs are not very different from their original non-differentiated designs, so we have chosen not to include them as it would add too much extra work about Pokemon that we already know very much about.

Zine Questions

What is the age rating of this Zine?This zine will be 100% SFW. References to canon-compliant cartoon violence (ex: Pokemon battles) may be included, but we want this to be an E for Everyone zine!
Will there be a digital version of this zine?This zine will be available for purchase in both digital and physical format. Digital formats will be distributed after physical copies have been shipped.
How is the money being divided?While we won't know the exact percentages until we are finished pre-orders, these are the plans for the money:
- Production costs including shipping to our fulfillment mods
- Shipping 1 free zine/bundle to all contributors
- Paypal/BigCartel fees
- Taxes
- Everything left over will be going to the World Wildlife Fund
Will you ship worldwide?Our fulfillment mods live in Canada and as such will ship anywhere that is reachable by Canada Post. We are not responsible for any import/duty/taxes/VAT upon arrival.Unfortunately, due to packaging laws in Germany, we are unable to ship to Germany.If, for whatever reason, we are unable to ship to your location, you will be notified to choose either to have your order held for up to 1 month (in the event of a temporary service disruption), a different address in a different country that Canada Post can ship to, or to have your order either partially refunded to switch to a digital copy or fully refunded entirely.
Will there be applications for mods?Only if we feel we need more hands. Notices will go out on social media if we need more mods to assist.

Contributor Questions

Will you allow people who do not speak English into this project?Unfortunately, we are unable to accept people who do not speak English at this time. We want to ensure there is clear communication between all contributors and mods, and English is the language we will be using.However, even if English is not your first language, as long as you can clearly communicate in and understand English, that's totally ok!
Is there a minimum age you must be to sign up for the zine?Contributors must be at least 18 to sign up.
Why do we have to put in a Discord username to apply?We will be organizing this project through a private Discord server. If you wish to work on this project, you will be required to send updates through this channel.Your Discord username will not be shared publically and collecting this information is simply so we can speed up the process of getting everyone into the server, as well as ensuring incorrect users don't get brought in by accident. Failure to join the server within a reasonable amount of time after invite will result in your spot being given to another applicant.
Will contributors get a copy of the zine?All contributors are guaranteed a free digital copy of the zine. If we sell enough zines to cover the costs, we will upgrade to a physical copy (Our goal is to send free physical copies to all contributors). However, if you are located in a country that Canada Post cannot ship to, there is a possibility you may not be able to get a physical copy.
Will we be able to choose which Pokemon we draw/write for?Once contributors have been accepted, there will be a survey to fill out to determine which are your top picks for Pokemon to work on. While we will try our best to ensure everyone gets a Pokemon or evo family they chose in the survey to work on, there is a chance that you won't get any of your top picks depending on interest.Please note that some Pokemon are going to be more popular than others, and as such, you may not get your first choice. Please only sign up if you are prepared to work on a Pokemon/family that may not be your first choice.If you end up with a Pokemon/family you really do not like, you can talk to the mods to possibly swap with someone else. Please do not harass or beg others on the project who were assigned Pokemon you want to swap with you. Applicants found doing this will be immediately removed from the project.
Can we apply to draw/write for more than 1 Pokemon/evo family or have more than 1 position?You can! Just be aware that you may not get all positions you apply for as we don't want to overwork anyone and want to include many artists/writers.
Will you accept alternative non-digital art for consideration? Ex: traditional art, clay sculpting, cosplay, etc.It depends! For traditional art like painting and clay sculpting, we will require you to be able to either nicely scan or take high-quality photos of your finished art to be put in the book, so as long as you can do this, you will be considered for acceptance!Unfortunately, other alternative art like cosplay, cooking, etc. will not fit the theme of this zine, so we won't be able to accept this kind.We will also not accept any artwork using AI generation, whole or in part.If you're not sure if your alternative art will work, feel free to ask!
Can we use an older art/writing piece we've done as our contribution to the zine?No. All contributions to the zine must be newly made specifically for this zine.
Will we be allowed to post/sell our artwork after the zine is produced?Yes! You retain full rights to your artwork. We simply ask you not to post/sell the full version of your artwork until after zines have been shipped.We will allow (and encourage) a cropped preview to be posted during the pre-order period.


What is a Pinch Hitter?A pinch hitter is someone who is brought in to do art/writing in the event one of the original contributors cannot finish their piece for any reason.Your deadline will be tighter than a normal contributor, so please only sign up for this if you feel you can produce your art/writing with a quick turnaround!

Mods

Lugidog I She/Her - "Professor Noelle"
Head Mod l Graphics & Page Layout I Fulfillment l Finance l Social Media
Twitter l TumblrRelevant Experience:
10+ Years working in Marketing & Graphic Design for Print/ProductionPrevious Zine Experience:
Fur à la Mode Zine Vol. 1 - Page Artist
Fur à la Mode Zine Vol. 2 - Page Artist
INFINITE HORIZONS: A Tales of Fanzine - Fic Artist & Spot Artist
Destination: UNOWN - Merch Artist"I've been with Pokemon since the release of Pokemon Yellow. I've been playing the games, running Pokemon blogs on Tumblr (AskUnown and Pyukumuku-Daily are my most notable ones), and more for over 20 years. This project has been rattling around in my brain for over a year now, and now I've gotten the prep work done to get this project underway! I sincerely hope you enjoy what this ends up being, whether as a contributor, purchaser, or casual viewer."
Kat I She/They - "Prof's Aide Lief"
Co-Head Mod l Graphics & Page Layout
Twitter l Tumblr l InstagramRelevant Experience:
+8 years relevant coursework and freelance in Graphic Design & Page Layout for Print/Production"My first Pokemon game was Fire Red, I've been a lifelong Pokemon fan ever since. I enjoy expressing my love for Pokemon through fan art and I have the great pleasure to be a graphic and page layout designer as part of the LostDex team. Looking forward to having you with us on our expedition!"
Keimori | He/Him - "Prof's Aide Kei"
Co-Head Mod l Beta Reader l Fulfillment
TwitterRelevant Experience:
+2 Years in Marketing and Product fulfillment
Experience being a mod on multiple discord servers and twitch channels"I've been with the Pokemon franchise since Pokemon Red, I've been playing the games ever since.
I've played every entry in the main franchise, and most of the spinoffs. I love Pokemon fan-art and this project has me very exited. I hope to help out and contribute to the best of my abilities. Please don't hesitate to ask me for any assistance."
GameJoy - "Prof's Aide Joy"
Co-Head Mod l Beta Reader l Fulfillment
Twitter"My experience with Pokemon has been pretty sparse through the years, but I've always enjoyed seeing the sheer volume of creative and inspired art that comes from the Pokemon communities and I'm happy to assist in such a cool project!"