Palworld's Pokemon Mod Returns with a Twist

Palworld's big Pokemon mod is back -- sort of.

By Tanner Dedmon

A Pokemon mod for Palworld has been brought back to life, though it looks a bit different than it did before. Content creator and modder ToastedShoes who previously announced a Palworld mod that turned creatures into Pokemon announced on Tuesday the release of a new mod: "The legally-distinct pocket creatures into Palworld Mod Pack." As the name suggests, this Palworld mod features creatures that look sort of like Pokemon that people will recognize pretty quickly, though depending on who you ask, that's how a lot of people view Palworld as it is.

The arrival of the new mod that's now live for people to download follows the previous reveal of a more direct Pokemon mod for Palworld that was subsequently and unsurprisingly taken down. "Nintendo has come for me," ToastedShoes said when videos of his previous version of the mod were struck by copyright claims shortly after they went up, so we'll see if this one stays up for longer.

"Legally-Disctinct" Pokemon in Palworld Mod

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The new Palworld mod is live on Nexus Mods now as of January 30th. The mod in question turns thins like Lamball into "braided sheep" and Cattiva into "Yellow rat." Lamball, for reference, has been compared to the Pokemon Wooloo by many with Wooloo sporting two braids in the front, so this mod makes Lamball look more like that Pokemon now. "Yellow rat" is naturally supposed to be Pikachu, the poster boy for Pokemon. The protagonist of this mod that previously resembled the iconic Ash Ketchum has now been turned into a "Custom ToastedShoes Character with 'red and white' cap."

"Welcome to the 'The legally-distinct pocket creatures into Palworld Mod Pack' which adds your favourite original pocket creatures to Palworld which is not based on a franchise owned by an Italian plumber," the description of the mod reads.

Other creature transformations in this mod featured in ToastedShoes' images and videos seen here include Hoocrates becoming "Educated Owl," Eikthyrdeer becoming "Floral Deer," and Mamorest becoming "Vegetative Turtle." Some are better than others with "Yellow rat" much more recognizable than Dinossom becoming "Floral Raptor," but if you're familiar with Pokemon to any degree, you'll probably be able to pick out which Pokemon these creatures are supposed to be. You can download the mod in question here.

Pokemon mods were inevitable when it came to the release of Palworld, a game which has been doing extremely well thus far, but it seems that unofficial or "legally-distinct" mods like this one are going to be the only ones that we see hosted in any truly accessible ways. Nexus Mods, for context, previously said that it was "not comfortable" hosting these kinds of mods on its platform due to the possibility of legal action from The Pokemon Company and Nintendo. It seems that decision was probably a smart one given that the original version of this mod didn't say up very long, and soon after Nexus Mods made its stance known, The Pokemon Company announced an investigation into Palworld.

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"We have received many inquiries regarding another company's game released in January 2024," the statement from The Pokemon Company said. "We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game. We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon. We will continue to cherish and nurture each and every Pokémon and its world, and work to bring the world together through Pokémon in the future."

No further developments stemming from this investigation have been shared at this time.

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