It was inevitable: Palworld already has a Pokemon mod

A Pikachu, Wooloo, and Torchic look over a trainer who is lying on the ground in Palworld's Pokemon mod
(Image credit: PocketPair / Nintendo / Toasted Shoes)

It was inevitable, but someone has already modded Pokemon’s pocket pals into the new creature catcher on the block, Palworld

Content creator Toasted Shoes posts a tease of an upcoming YouTube video on Twitter that’ll likely leave a Nintendo lawyer or two feeling Gastly. In it, we see the player character replaced with Ash Ketchum, with the anime trio rounded out thanks to Brock and a shotgun-toting Misty. Naturally, you’ve also got the sight of plenty of familiar ‘mons being put to task – like Pikachu hurling a pickaxe toward a stone. If you’re wondering if anything has been done with the first boss, you’ll be glad to know they’ve been replaced with Jessie from Team Rocket. 

If you want to download the mod pack for yourself, Toasted Shoes says the full video will be on their channel tomorrow. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Comparisons to Pokemon have been frequent for Palworld since it launched in Early Access. While Palworld is a survival game more akin to Rust or Ark regarding how it plays, how particular Pals appear is raising eyebrows. Social media is not short of posts comparing the similarities in the creature designs of certain pocket pals.

The accusation is something the CEO of Palworld developer PocketPair has already shot down, stating, “we make our games very seriously, and we have absolutely no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies.”

Palworld bosses

Palworld

(Image credit: Pocketpair)

Do Palworld bosses respawn? We've got the answer in our guide.

The CEO goes on to say that other games are far more akin to Pokemon regarding gameplay, whereas Palworld has more in common with Ark. 

Controversy aside, Palworld is enjoying a fine start to Early Access. At the time of writing, Palworld has hit a Steam concurrent player peak of 1,298,049. To put that in perspective, only PUBG has done better when it comes to paid games; paid games including Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur’s Gate 3, and more. 

Here's the full Palworld type chart and all the weaknesses data you'll need to get going.

Deputy News Editor

Iain joins the GamesRadar team as Deputy News Editor following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When not helping Ali run the news team, he can be found digging into communities for stories – the sillier the better. When he isn’t pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new hat, you’ll find him amassing an army of Pokemon plushies.