Palworld's Biggest Pokémon Clones Explained

"Palworld" has become an overnight sensation, selling millions of copies and garnering rave reviews for its mix of monster-catching and survival mechanics. Though it's proving to be much more than just "Pokémon with guns," "Palworld" is still having a hard time distancing itself from accusations of plagiarism. Simply put, the game's design aesthetic is highly reminiscent of the franchise that inspired it, and many "Pokémon' fans are crying foul.

There is a reason for these similarities, of course. "Palworld" developer Pocketpair has not hidden the fact that it has drawn inspiration from Nintendo and Game Freak's long-running "Pokémon" franchise. However, the devs and the game's fans have typically maintained that "Palworld" is a work of satire, rather than an attempt to rip off one of the world's biggest video game companies. Even so, critics maintain that some of the game's Pals look too close to the genuine article.

There are a handful of Pals that are nearly indistinguishable from real-world animals, so we won't be including those here, even if they also look like a recognizable Pokémon. Sure, Lamball may look a heck of a lot like the Pokémon Wooloo — but at the end of a day, a sheep is a sheep, right? With that caveat out of the way, here are some of the most frequent examples of Pals that "Pokémon" fans have called out as clones.

Anubis' look is clearly inspired by its namesake, the dog-headed Egyptian guardian of the underworld. This can be seen in both its canine features and its pharaoh-style sash. However, Anubis also bears a bit more than a passing resemblance to the Legendary Pokémon/"Super Smash Bros." star, Lucario. Though Anubis certainly has more humanlike hands, the jewel in the center of the creature's chest and its angular canine head have been pointed out by suspicious "Pokémon' players as the most noticeable similarities between the two. Much like Lucario, Anubis also favors high-speed combat scenarios, with its "Guardian of the Desert" ability enabling it to quickly dodge enemy attacks. Some gamers have argued that Anubis' look has more in common with Lucario than many classic depictions of the Egyptian Anubis himself.

this is head of Anubis, as you can see there are multiple ways to go about it, but after all it's just a dude with a jackal head

interestingly enough, none of the below look verbatim to Lucario like the one from Palworld does pic.twitter.com/4UQTJmA9tO

— Kuba Przetakiewicz (he/him) (@kubaworks) January 25, 2024

Tocotoco is a winged Pal with an explosive temper, as well as a design and color scheme remarkably similar to Xatu, a psychic Pokemon modeled after ancient totem poles. Despite Tocotoco's helmet of feathers and longer beak, this is another one that's pretty difficult for "Palworld" players to argue with. Some have even pointed out that it might make more sense to incorporate Tocotoco's exploding abilities into its design in some way. To this end, one fan on X replaced the markings on Tocotoco with a more armored look, making for a more medieval-looking Pal.

I redesigned #tocotoco from #Palworld to have an explosive motif since it's whole thing is it explodes but it looks a lot like xatu with no explosive motif #PalworldArt I based it off of hornbills, grenades, explosions, bazookas and land mines pic.twitter.com/SKObxWROkR

— Chook/Lily (@CParrotLady) January 28, 2024

There's something quite elegant about Broncherry, from its piercing blue eyes to its pink eyelashes and flowery collar. Even the way it carries itself, with its long neck and snout usually pointing skyward, suggests that this is one fancy Pal. Unfortunately, some "Pokémon" fans have argued that Broncherry might have gotten its finest features from Gen 2's Meganium and Gen 5's Serperior. Namely, the aforementioned floral accents and the Pal's serpentine head and neck feel quite reminiscent the two evolved Grass Type Starters.

Grintale was one of the first Pals to raise a commotion when "Palworld" was nearing launch. Though possibly inspired by the Cheshire Cat from "Alice in Wonderland," "Pokémon" fans have also noted that it shares a few obvious characteristics with the Galarian version of Meowth introduced in "Pokémon Sword" and "Shield." In fact, some have outright accused the developers of yoinking the face off of Meowth and transplanting it onto Grintale. Meanwhile, fans of "Palworld" have pointed out another possible Studio Ghibli inspiration for Grintale: The eerily adorable Catbus from "My Neighbor Totoro." The Pal's glowing eyes and toothy grin certainly do give off a similar vibe.