How often do we hear about people trying to cheat in competitions? Or contests? It seems almost mandatory these days.

Back in October of 2018 the brand name clothing manufacturer, Uniqlo, held a competition, allowing fans of the popular Pokémon franchise to design their own T-shirts, that would later be announced to appear in the latest upcoming Pokémon games, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. The winner of said competition was to receive $10,000 dollars prize money, as well as a special trophies and invitations to an award ceremony in Tokyo and 2019 World Pokémon championship.

Earlier today, it was revealed that the winner of this competition, a Chinese artist by the name of Li Wen Pei, had breached the guidelines and rules of the competition. Fans from across mainland China were quick to point out that Li Wen Pei’s design had been used elsewhere, revealing that the design was already being used on various other pieces of pre-existing clothing and merchandise.

In a statement provided to Nintendolife.com, translated from Chinese to English by Nintendo Soup, Li Wen Pei, stated:

“Hello everyone. I sold a small number of smartphone cases with the same artwork (before I submitted it for Pokemon UTGP 2019). Unfortunately there are pirates who have pirated my artwork. Therefore please do not share the pirated goods.”

The official rules of the competition stated that any qualifying designs must not have been published before their submission to said competition. Li Wen Pei quickly took down his comment from the social media website, Weibo, and a new status suggests that Li Wen Pei has contacted Uniqlo. 

Nether Uniqlo or the Pokémon Company have made any comments on the matter.