Personally, I think of an alpha as like a "sample" of gameplay, a little taste of what it's going to be like but not enough to really constitute as part of a game, whereas a beta is enough progress that it's starting to look more like the start of a real game than just a game demo.
Except a beta; all it has so far is an alpha, with a single mission. The hacks showcase requirement calls for a beta that goes through the first two "gyms" in the game (or, I assume, the first two gym-equivalent events). ToxicPurple's alpha hasn't even gotten past one gym-equivalent event. I'm not going to submit it to the hacks showcase until there's some gameplay worth showcasing, not just a demo.