It’s looking like Pikachu is going to hit the mines and earn its place in society.
On Friday, developers Pocketpair released Palworld, a game where players can collect Pokémon-like creatures and put them to work. It’s been less than a week since release, but the game has already become a hit with over 1.5 million concurrent players on Steam. Now, the YouTuber ToastedShoes has taken any Pokémon comparisons to a new level by showing a new mod that adds actual Pokémon to the game.
Palworld is an open world, multiplayer adventure where you hunt and work to survive. Throughout your journey, you can capture adorable creatures called Pals. Palworld itself is not a Pokémon game, but it’s been compared to the beloved series for the way it allows players to capture and fight with cute creatures. Other than that, its gameplay is very different from an actual Pokémon game and contains a blend of elements from a variety of genres like open-world RPGs and survival games.
From the looks of it, the mod will allow players to capture beloved creatures like Pikachu and Torchic, and put them to work in brutal conditions. ToastedShoes teased a clip of the mod in action on Monday via X. The creator describes it as an, “overhaul” that converts “everything into” Pokémon in the video. In the short clip, we see a clip of Ash hunting a Torterra and fighting an Electabuzz. Brock and Misty are there too, and Misty wields a gun.
Palworld does not have mod support at time of publication, but the developers said the team plans to add it as part of a future update in a Steam FAQ. ToastedShoes did not mention if the mod will ever be released. All we know is that the YouTuber plans to publish a longer video showing more gameplay footage on Tuesday so we could get more information then.
Even if the mod does get published, it could be hard to download. Nintendo has a history of litigating copyright infringement and taking action against creators. Nintendo’s lawyers will likely have the mod taken down quickly if it ever does get formally published on a site. So your dream to put Pikachu to work in the mines might have to be put on hold.
