(cross-post from the original GSC Category Extensions forums)

Call me a romantic, but I think of Category Extensions not just as a home for extra leaderboards, but as a place where we can foster all the fun aspects of Pokémon speedrunning. In my ideal world, Category Extensions will serve to better the community in many different fashions. Here are just a handful of ideas of what I think Category Extensions could (and should) be:

We'll have a handful of shorter, simpler, and less serious categories mixed in with the others. We should aspire to make it easier to capture potential new runners from an audience who might otherwise be hesitant about getting into Pokémon speedrunning. Some examples: Beat Lance (for a shorter run than Glitchless), Manipless and Gold Any% No Save Corruption (for more accessible categories for a first Pokémon run). We can add other category ideas along these lines, as they come up.

Category extensions allow us to explore the games we love in ways the official leaderboards don't allow for, free of judgment. Do you want to use a different main poke (Alt Main Pokes), use a bunch of different Pokémon (Baton Pass), catch all of the Pokémon (Catch 'Em All), or just relive getting rekt at Battle Tower like you did as a kid (er, that might just be me)? Categories that add freshness and variety and provide new ways to make us nostalgic for these games are perfect fits for Category Extensions.

Routing is an extremely enjoyable aspect to many involved in Pokémon speedrunning, but one that's at a stale point for a lot of official leaderboard categories. Category Extensions provide a massive new terrain for routing creativity and fun. Any category with real, appreciable, original routing is something that will have a place here. (The fun is already getting started: Alt Main Pokes has taken off recently, in large part due to Exarion's Fastest Pokemon Project for Gens 1-3.)

Sometimes the original games just aren't enough for the truly vivid imaginations in our community. What if we had access to different starters? What if the Rocket segments were removed? What if every trainer was a spinner? Category Extensions provide a place where we can answer these types of deep & burning Pokémon speedrunning hypotheticals.

"Minihacks" had their heyday from 2014-2016, with fun and awful ideas alike (see the original PSR forum thread). It would bring me great joy if we happen to re-energize the romhacking segment of the community and keep them busy with new ideas.

Meme categories are most welcome, and we will bring memes back to the people. Category Extensions are a paradise for those who treat memeing just as competitively as they treat Pokémon speedrunning. Who is the best at coming up with memey categories? What is the memeiest category we can design? Can we beat the word meme into the ground and deprive it of all meaning? (Most likely, yes; yes we can.)

Some random examples of meme categories that would be welcomed with open arms: "Nintendo Power%" (see here), "Poison a Nidoran" (spoilers: it involves Twineedle), "Obtain L69 Poke". Have other ideas? Go ahead, show just how big you can meme.

Submitting on behalf of rinchanDX, from this post.

Proposed category name: Game Boy Tower (N64)

Applicable game(s): JPN Crystal (also applicable to ENG Crystal, and both ENG/JPN Gold/Silver)

Quick summary of goal/restrictions: Beat the game, using speedup modes available in Stadium 2's Game Boy Tower.

Category type: Glitchless.

Timing method: Timing starts when New Game is selected and ends when the last textbox is cleared after Red is defeated.

Category-specific rules: Subcategories possible for (1) ENG and JPN, (2) Gold/Silver and Crystal, (3) Dodrio (3x speed) and Doduo (2x speed).

Link and info for completed run(s):

JPN Crystal Dodrio (3x speed)

• rinchanDX: 1h19m26s (Nov 10, 2019 on N64)

JPN Gold/Silver Dodrio (3x speed)

• A few times listed here (bottom of the page)

Other general comments about the category:

Doduo (2x) mode may not be necessary as a category; it hasn't been run yet, and is slower than Dodrio (3x) mode, without adding anything. Can still leave things open for future inclusion.

• Reply in this thread to request a new Alt Main Poke subcategory if it isn't currently on the leaderboards (use the request format at the bottom of this post)
• There must be at least one (1) completed run before the subcategory will be created
• See this thread for how to submit proposals for other new categories; this thread is specifically for handling new Alt Main Poke requests, which follow established common rules (and thus require less information to get added)

(NOTE: See the leaderboard rules for either Crystal or Gold/Silver for what qualifies as an "Alt Main Poke" run.)

Include the follow information in your requests (a simple bulleted list is fine):

• Main Pokémon used * - (specified by the final evolved form at the end of the run)*
• Applicable game(s) * - (i.e. Gold/Silver or Crystal)*
• Link and info for completed run(s) * - (if possible, include all of the following info: (1) link to video, (2) name of runner, (3) time (run length), (4) platform used, and (5) date the run was performed)*
• Link to route document * - (optional)*

Proposed category name: Any% No ACE

Applicable game(s): Gold/Silver (also applicable to Crystal)

Quick summary of goal/restrictions: Beat the game, without the use of arbitrary code execution (ACE).

Category type: Glitched.

Timing method: Timing starts when New Game is selected and ends when the last textbox is cleared after Red is defeated.

Category-specific rules: Arbitrary code execution, and other machine-level "holy grail" glitches (arbitrary ROM execution, arbitrary memory corruption) are not allowed.

Link and info for completed run(s):

• entrpntr: 1:04:19 (Aug 30, 2017 on GBP)

Link to route document: PB route can be found here, rough outline of new route that saves 20+ minutes can be found here.

Other general comments about the category:

• werster and cp1414 also completed qualifying runs, on attempts of Gold Any% prior to the discovery of Coin Case ACE (using the "funky colors" map corruption route, showcased most prolifically in AGDQ 2013).
• The run is also possible in Crystal, but would very likely be a bit slower due to lack of TM47 map corruption, as well as key item underflow being less cooperative than in Gold/Silver.

• New category proposals should be submitted through the SRC forums (use the below format)
• There must be at least one (1) completed run of the category before creating a proposal thread
• Category guidelines can be found here
• Common rules for all categories can be found here
• Requests for new Alt Main Pokes subcategories should be submitted here instead

See this thread for an example category proposal. Also see the rules pages for existing leaderboard categories for an idea on the format, or if you just want to copy some common phrasing for your submission.

> NOTE: New subcategories for Alt Main Pokes should be submitted here instead.

Thread title should contain "[Category Proposal]" and the proposed category name (e.g. "[Category Proposal] Any% No ACE").

• Proposed category name
• Applicable game(s) (rename to "Minihack info" if it's a minihack)
• Quick summary of goal/restrictions
• Category type (i.e. Glitchless/Glitched/Execution Segment)
• Timing method (i.e. start and end points of the run)
• Category-specific rules (including technical clarifications)
• Link and info for completed run(s)

• Link to route document
• Other general comments about the category

• Be specific if something other than English Gold/Silver/Crystal
• Subcategories will be added for Gold/Silver and Crystal if category applies to all games
• Submissions for "minihacks" must include hack's homepage and/or a description of the hack (but avoid directly linking to the ROM)

• Explaining the category in simple English should take ~100 characters maximum
• Save technical explanations/clarifications for the category-specific rules section

Include as many technical rules and clarifications for the category as needed.

Some specific things worth noting (depending on category type):

• Glitched: Are there any specific glitches banned? (e.g. Save Corruption, ACE, Instant Victory, Underflow, etc.)
• Glitchless: Are there exceptions for specific glitches? Acceptable in rare cases if good justification provided. Examples: Catch 'Em All "Dupe Glitch Only" (saves ~10 hours, glitch is extremely well-known casually); "Start with TM47" and "PC Jack" minihacks (point of the hacks is explicitly to allow 1 specific glitched mechanic).
• Execution Segments: Must be amenable to console (e.g. soft reset between trials instead of loading savestate). Must also include a link to a savestate (or .sav) file and/or provide detailed info how save should be prepared.

• If possible, include all of the following info: (1) link to video, (2) name of runner, (3) time (run length), (4) platform used, and (5) date the run was performed

Before attempting and submitting runs, please make sure to view the category's rules (click the "View Rules" button on the leaderboard page) to make sure your runs are valid. Each set of rules contains a link to the PSR wiki page for common category rules, which should likewise be reviewed before any attempts/submissions.

In general, Category Extensions leaderboards are less serious than the official PSR leaderboard categories. Failing to comply with rules once won't be a huge deal, and I'd like to avoid rejecting runs due to innocuous mistakes if there is a simple enough fix. In the end, these still are leaderboards, so we'll have to have to enforce some minimum standards.

Some other notes:

• We can use Category Extensions as a testing ground for prospective rules changes for the official leaderboards. For instance, I've decided to tentatively allow BGB 1.5.7 (in speedrun mode) as an approved emulator.
• A mod will add a post to this thread whenever there is a "major" rules update, and also post in #gsc-category-extensions on the PSR discord.
• Category guidelines can be found here.

Call me a romantic, but I think of Category Extensions not just as a home for extra leaderboards, but as a place where we can foster all the fun aspects of Pokémon speedrunning. In my ideal world, Category Extensions will serve to better the community in many different fashions. Here are just a handful of ideas of what I think Category Extensions could (and should) be:

We'll have a handful of shorter, simpler, and less serious categories mixed in with the others. We should aspire to make it easier to capture potential new runners from an audience who might otherwise be hesitant about getting into Pokémon speedrunning. Some examples: Beat Lance (for a shorter run than Glitchless), Manipless and Gold Any% No Save Corruption (for more accessible categories for a first Pokémon run). We can add other category ideas along these lines, as they come up.

Category extensions allow us to explore the games we love in ways the official leaderboards don't allow for, free of judgment. Do you want to use a different main poke (Alt Main Pokes), use a bunch of different Pokémon (Baton Pass), catch all of the Pokémon (Catch 'Em All), or just relive getting rekt at Battle Tower like you did as a kid (er, that might just be me)? Categories that add freshness and variety and provide new ways to make us nostalgic for these games are perfect fits for Category Extensions.

Routing is an extremely enjoyable aspect to many involved in Pokémon speedrunning, but one that's at a stale point for a lot of official leaderboard categories. Category Extensions provide a massive new terrain for routing creativity and fun. Any category with real, appreciable, original routing is something that will have a place here. (The fun is already getting started: Alt Main Pokes has taken off recently, in large part due to Exarion's Fastest Pokemon Project for Gens 1-3.)

Sometimes the original games just aren't enough for the truly vivid imaginations in our community. What if we had access to different starters? What if the Rocket segments were removed? What if every trainer was a spinner? Category Extensions provide a place where we can answer these types of deep & burning Pokémon speedrunning hypotheticals.

"Minihacks" had their heyday from 2014-2016, with fun and awful ideas alike (see the original PSR forum thread). It would bring me great joy if we happen to re-energize the romhacking segment of the community and keep them busy with new ideas.

Meme categories are most welcome, and we will bring memes back to the people. Category Extensions are a paradise for those who treat memeing just as competitively as they treat Pokémon speedrunning. Who is the best at coming up with memey categories? What is the memeiest category we can design? Can we beat the word meme into the ground and deprive it of all meaning? (Most likely, yes; yes we can.)

Some random examples of meme categories that would be welcomed with open arms: "Nintendo Power%" (see here), "Poison a Nidoran" (spoilers: it involves Twineedle), "Obtain L69 Poke". Have other ideas? Go ahead, show just how big you can meme.