Nintendo is a legendarily litigious company—with mods and emulation often falling under the gaze of its burning, all-seeing eye. Nexus Mods has even enacted a unilateral ban on Pokémon conversion mods for Palworld, citing Nintendo’s record of “mercilessly submitting legal challenges.”
As is the case with YouTuber Toasted Shoes, who received a DMCA notice after uploading a teaser trailer for a Palworld to Pokémon mod to Twitter. 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.
Nintendo’s litigiousness aside, this is obviously worse than Pikachu carrying a pickaxe. Much worse. Palworld has come under fire for its derivative Pal designs, which are sometimes too close for comfort—but they’re at least nice to look at. They were designed by somebody, rather than strapped together with royalty-free models and set loose upon an unsuspecting public.
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.
There’s something about seeing his little head poking over the top of a menacing legal document—and by ‘something’, I mean it’s my new sleep paralysis demon for the foreseeable future. Nintendo’s copyright may be ‘protected’, but a terror has been unleashed into the world instead. One that’s wildly, horribly aware that you have rights. The constitution says you do.