Palworld just released and everyone’s calling it a Pokemon clone already, but how similar are they really? Here’s a list of Pals that look the most like Pokemon and how likely we think they are to encroach on Pokemon’s copyrighted designs.
Comparing Palworld and Pokemon Creature Designs
Cry havoc and let slip the pocket monsters of war! Palworld and Pokemon; two peas in a pod who couldn’t be any more different. One’s a turn-based strategy battler and the other is an open-world experience. One deals with the story of a trainer earning the respect and prestige of their peers through battle while the other lets you arm animals with guns.
These two are not that similar in those regards, but the internet isn’t being set ablaze for no reason. Many parallels have been made between the two games’ creature designs and we’re here to see if that really is the case.
Precedence of Pokemon Copyright Infringements
Memes aside, it’s very important to understand the context of copyright laws and claims before we start a deeper discussion about what would and would not infringe on intellectual property rights. Simply put – this varies from region to region, so do not consider this to be legal advice – copyright laws do not cover stories and ideas, they cover how such stories and ideas are expressed.
In the case of Palworld and Pokemon, the former should be safe unless a certain Pal is explicitly and undeniably a Pokemon under Nintendo’s copyright. Similarities between creature designs are okay as long as one can still be differentiated from the other in any noticeable way.
As the meme goes, Nintendo would sue any party using their licensed characters into oblivion no matter how inconsequential the infringement may be. In one notable case, a Seattle Cafe owner was slapped with a lawsuit for hosting and publicizing a Pokemon-themed party featuring copyrighted characters in his establishment.
Meanwhile, Digimon, a game and anime series often compared to Pokemon due to its use of companion monsters and the “mon” moniker, remains undisturbed. The difference lies in the efforts to differentiate from one another and avoidance of using licensed characters without any notable changes to the designs. Plentiful as the similarities may be, unless Palworld actually adds Pikachu or Charizard to the roster, they should be fine.
Other issues have arisen regarding Palworlds use of Pokemon's 3D assets to design their Pals. This isn't a problem of unfair use of the Pokemon image per se, but rather a different matter altogether. Assuming that the 3D assets were proprietary, using them at all, distinction and unique design notwithstanding would land Palworld in hot water if they weren't used with approval from Nintendo.
That being said, even if they aren’t straight-up carbon copies of Pokemon, pointing out the similarities is absolutely fun, and so, here we are. At the end of the day, take our opinions with a grain of salt as we are not lawyers and this isn’t legal advice.
The Palworld vs. Pokemon Similarity Scale
We’ll be taking many things into account when analyzing each Pal and Pokemon pairing, including their colors, shape languages, inspirations, names, and silhouettes. To give you some idea of how similar the paired creatures are and how likely we think it is for them to be flagged by Nintendo, we’ll be rating them on a scale from 1 to 10, as elaborated below:
| Rating | Similarity to Pokemon Designs |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Unique. Most similarities between these creatures are excusable and make perfect sense for each game's setting. |
| 3-4 | Inspired. Some features and designs were clearly inspired by the other, although changed somewhat to make more sense in the context of Palworld's setting. |
| 5-6 | Noticeable. The similarities between the two creatures are hard to ignore but still excusable within a reasonable doubt. This could be because their designs drew from the same source or because their place in the narrative dictates it so. |
| 7-8 | Uncanny. It's easy to confuse the two creatures for one another. One might even think they're from the same evolutionary line. Too many aspects are similar for them to be readily distinct and it shows. |
| 9-10 | Copycat. Almost every feature and design of this Pal was directly ripped from Pokemon, including color, silhouette, theming, naming convention, and typing. Nintendo's gonna be bearing down on this one. |
Scrafty and Leezpunk
Whatcha lookin' at, punk? Let’s kick things off with a debatable pairing, Pokemon’s Scrafty and Palworld’s Leezpunk. These two aren’t that similar at first glance, sporting vastly different color schemes and silhouettes. It’s even likely that you weren’t expecting this matchup, but there are similarities between the two, you just need to know where to look.
Superficially, their commonalities can still believably be chalked up to coincidence. They both sport mohawks and loose-fitting "clothes" but the colors are completely different. They’re both bipedal lizard creatures, but Scrafty looks significantly more slender than Leezpunk, who has a more traditional chubby shape. Lastly, there’s Scrafty’s face, which has his iconic downturned eyes and permanent frown. Leezpunk looks like a cartoon dinosaur and doesn’t even have a mouth. Going through all that, it’s a wonder these two are compared at all.
We can dig deeper to find more damning similarities, though; specifically in their concept as a character. The elements of Scrafty’s design were made to evoke street gangs and delinquent activity, specifically the Mohawk with its crest and loose-fitting clothes with its shed skin. Leezpunk was designed to evoke the same attitude with its spiky hoodie, mohawk of spikes, and its name. It’s good to note that while Scrafty likely draws inspiration from Punk and Hip-Hop, evidenced by its loose “jeans”, Leezpunk likely draws from Punk and Goth/Emo aesthetics, as seen with its coloration.
Similarity Verdict - 2/10
As I said before, this comparison is debatable. Yes, they are both bipedal lizards made to evoke delinquent behavior, but they draw from vastly different movements of punk. They both wear clothes but, apart from the hoodie, they look nothing alike. Using the scale I introduced earlier, this one is a solid 2/10 in similarity.
Lucario and Anubis
Moving up the scale is a pair of bipedal canid martial artists, Lucario and Anubis. This pairing is as debatable as the previous one because their names are nothing alike and their concepts are only tangentially comparable. They also only kinda look like each other. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s look at these two as they are before we compare.
Lucario is a rather famous Pokemon: it’s been in a couple of movies and video games outside of the main series, most notably Smash Bros. It even had a speaking role in some of these appearances, courtesy of its telepathy, and so many fans actually ended up liking this Pokemon.
Lucario sports a deep blue coloration, canid features, a spike in its chest, and a distinct head shape similar to an Egyptian pharaoh’s mask. Anubis is similarly based on Egyptian history, drawing its name, design, and concept from the famed god of the dead.
Comparing the two, they're similar enough to draw comparisons, but distinct enough that I think it’s not an explicit ripoff – likely an inspiration at worst. Let’s start with their colors. Though Lucario has a light blue often used in Egyptian jewelry, it doesn’t really have any of the main colors usually associated with that culture, which are gold, charcoal black, and blood red. Anubis, on the other hand, is adorned from head to toe with gold, red, black, and blue.
Their silhouettes are also quite similar, sharing canid ears, snouts, and claws on a bipedal frame. This can probably be attributed to coincidence, though, as Anubis – the Egyptian god from which both creatures draw inspiration – has been depicted this way historically. Apart from these, they both seem to be martial artists, which could be damning evidence of copycatting… if "punching and kicking" was a concept unique to Pokemon.
Similarity Verdict - 3/10
This one isn’t as bad as some would expect. Anubis looks more like an Egyptian god than a Lucario from Wish, so don’t expect too much trouble with this pairing. Using our scale from earlier, I’d give it a 3/10 because their silhouettes and shape language are somewhat similar despite their varying colors.
Gardevoir and Lyleen
Getting into the territory of genuine lookalikes, we have Gardevoir and Lyleen. Gardevoir is perhaps one of the most iconic Pokemon in the franchise, so there was no mistaking its similarities with Lyleen when it was introduced as one of the 113+ Pals included in Palworld’s early access. That being said, this one’s more than just a two-way lookalike, as our analysis will reveal.
Gardevoir is a dual-typed Pokemon known for its oddly humanoid appearance and feminine features. Despite its white and green colors, this slender Pokemon is actually not a grass-type, but rather a psychic/fairy-type. Lyleen, similarly, also has a slender, almost gown-like appearance, but it leans into the plant-like features that Gardevoir lacks. While this assists in differentiating it from Gardevoir, it does make it look like another dress-wearing grass Pokemon, Bellossom.
This makes Lyleen look like a freakishly tall cross between the two aforementioned Pokemon, especially with its twin flowers and wide eyes. This similarity only becomes more apparent when you consider Gardevoir’s mega-evolution, which makes its usually slender dress balloon into a full ball gown. Conceptually, they’re not at all related, so there’s that. It’s still difficult to shake the resemblance, though.
Similarity Verdict - 6/10
Using our earlier scale, it’s clear that the inspiration for Lyleen’s design came from Mega Gardevoir’s silhouette. Its similarity to Bellossom may be coincidental – more a consequence of distancing itself from Gardevoir’s design than a deliberate attempt – so we can chalk it up to that. Overall, a solid 6/10 on the similarity scale.
Decidueye and Robinquill
This one might not be such a stretch. Everyone’s familiar with Decidueye, the marksman archer owl who serves as the final evolution of Rowlet’s line from Pokemon Sun and Moon, but have you heard of Robinquill? That’s right, Palworld has its own avian archer and the similarities are hard to ignore for this one. Let’s run through them, shall we?
Firstly, both creatures have almost the same color palette, the only difference being their main body colors. Decidueye is more noticeably a bird, and so it has cream-colored feathers around most of its torso and legs. Though vaguely avian, it’s hard to tell what Robinquill is, especially with its black, featherless head and body.
Secondly, these two are conceptually similar in name and aesthetics, with both drawing from the idea of marksmen – specifically Robin Hood, in this case – birds, and forests. Decidueye is a portmanteau of "Deciduous" – pertaining to trees – and Deadeye, slang for an accurate marksman. Robinquill’s name is simply a mashup of a Robin – the bird – and quills, another word for feathers.
Lastly, these two employ some sort of bow to attack, with Decidueye arching its wing to fire its own feathers. Robinquill does not do this, although it does carry an actual archer’s bow to achieve the same effect. Combined with their similarly green hoods, terracotta orange cloaks, and striking eye patterns. It’s plain to see why these two are compared often.
Similarity Verdict - 8/10
There’s just no excuse for this one. I can understand a few design similarities between character concepts, especially if they’re drawing from the same legend, but this is excessive. Same hood, same patterns, same colors, heck, they even have the same weapon. Robinquill’s only saving grace is that it is not explicitly a bird and is only an archer because of its weapon. That’s a solid 8/10 similarity on our scale.
Boltmane and Luxray
If the previous pairing was inexcusable, this one borders on deliberate parody. Boltmane and Luxray is a pairing that’s gotten so much attention because…well…it’s a little obvious that one was derived from the other. There’s a lot to compare, so let’s just get right into it.
Let’s discuss the obvious ones first and work our way down to the finer details. Boltmane and Luxray share a silhouette for one reason, the mane. Yep, that’s it. This is the design feature that pulls it all together; a jagged black mane of fur surrounding a quadrupedal feline with fierce, glaring eyes. Props to Boltmane for actually having "Bolt" in its name, but this is completely unmistakable.
Another obvious similarity is in their colors. Granted, Boltmane is a dull beige and black with yellow accents, completely separate from Luxray’s black and sky blue. This would be a redeeming comparison if Luxray’s shiny version didn’t echo Boltmane’s base hues. They are so similar in design that one could probably convince a Pokemon novice that Boltmane was a shiny or mega-evolved version of a normal Luxray. At least their names are unique.
Similarity Verdict - 9/10
This one is an egregious pairing that leaves no doubt in my mind. Using our scale from earlier, this is an easy 9/10. There have been rumors that Boltmane has been removed from the game due to its extremely similar design to Luxray, but this remains to be confirmed.
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Sources:
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