Palworld Modder Changes ‘Pokémon’ Mod To Include Generic Characters Instead

Well, this is certainly moving fast. We had begun talking about the recently released PC game Palworld as a great example of the idea/expression dichotomy in copyright law, specifically as the game has both been described as “Pokémon, but with guns” while also not containing any specific Pokémon copyrighted expression within it. While the Pokémon people had begun making some noises about wanting to look into whether the game does infringe any of its copyrights anyway, modder ToastedShoes released a mod for the game that almost seemed perfectly designed to illustrate the point I was making. His mod specifically injected actual Pokémon characters and assets into the game. Nintendo promptly took down a video preview of the mod via a DMCA notice as a result.

And sometimes that’s where these stories end. Other times, such as in this case, the modder decides to make some changes after the complaint that are specifically designed to give the rightsholder something of a middle finger. It seems that ToastedShoes has gone back and redesigned the mod such that it now includes mostly generic placeholder characters once more, rather than specific Pokémon expressions, with one notable exception.

He explains in a video that “we were planning on releasing [the mod] for free on Nexus”, which clearly isn’t possible anymore. The intended video went up on YouTube, but before it could even hit 100,000 views it was taken down. Not one to be stopped, Toasted Shoes’ team of modders has instead devised an infernal concoction of bootleg Pokémon, straight from the pits of Hades.

Using a mod that is “not a reference to anything, I promise,” the YouTuber plays through the adventures of “teenage boy in cap” as searches far and wide, catching legally distinct creatures. This ‘loveable’ cast of characters includes Yellow Rat, Braided Sheep, Fire Fox, and everybody’s favourite—Fat Cock.

You can see from the video embedded below that the changes made somehow both create characters that are fairly distinct from actual Pokémon characters while also retaining the clear impression that ToastedShoes’ mod is inspired, in some cases quite sarcastically, from those same characters.

Will any of this keep the Pokémon people at bay? I doubt it, given their reputation as jealous protectors of both their IP rights and the rights they sometimes imagine they have. But at the end of the day we are back to the idea/expression dichotomy. “Teenage boy in cap” is an idea, while Ash Ketchum is expression. The character in this game is not Ash Ketchum, no matter the inspiration for the character to begin with.

As for that one notable exception? It has nothing to do with Pokémon, but could land this into DMCA territory with an entirely different player, I suppose.

Teenage boy in cap’s ordeals culminate in a climactic battle with Saul Goodman, who conjures a giant cease & desist letter out of a small mason jar. It’s a reskin of the game’s Syndicate Tower battle with Rayne, who rides astride an Electabuzz Grizzbolt. I mean Grizzbolt. Don’t hurt me, Saul, I have a family.

Points for humor and creativity, to be sure, but we’ll see just how this all shakes out with the Pokémon people, AMC, and whoever else wants to take IP potshots at this game.

But if all of this does nothing else, I at least appreciate the way it illuminates just how far from copyright infringement the original game, Palworld, actually is.