if significant forms are pixel-for-pixel identical then it'd be considered an edit regardless of the process. it's primarily for quality reasons that this will be sent back though, and I'd encourage you to open a thread in the WIP forum for helpful feedback on improving your sprite.
This isn't quite an edit, it's a completely unique sprite that I made using the conventions for characters in the Pokémon games (unless that counts as an edit, in which case, should I remove this?)
we don't allow edits (which I assume this is)
also, it's generally best not to mix resolutions (single pixels and 2x pixels), just for aesthetic reasons.
lastly your colors are oversaturated, and the sprite itself is pretty noisy
Cool. I figured I should change it a bit anyway, and I'll double-check to see how similar it is to other "official" sprites. Thanks for the C&C.