Pickmon, a so-called "multiplayer open-world survival crafter" as per its official Steam page, has been making rounds online thanks to its glaring similarities to both Nintendo's Pokemon and Pocketpair's Palworld – and now, apparently, fan artists' own work, too.If you haven't heard of Pickmon yet, it's a creature collector that plays much like a blend of both Pokemon and Palworld… and looks a little bit too much like them. Heck, its developer is even called PocketGame – no, not Pocketpair. PocketGame.
From its Charizard-esque monsters to its guns and survival-aligned gameplay, it's no surprise that Pokemon and Palworld comparisons are just about everywhere online right now.But, amid all the discussions surrounding possible lawsuits akin to The Pokemon Company's own against Pocketpair for patent infringement, there are folks trying to shed light on what they allege is Pickmon ripping off their personal fan art.
Elpsy, one such person, writes in a post, "Pickmon stole one of my designs!" Attached are images comparing Mega Meganium, a grass/fairy-type fan 'mon they created… and Pickmon's supposed doppelganger.
Pickmon stole one of my designs! #Pokémon #pokemonart #pokemonfanart pic.twitter.com/ua1za5XzcMMarch 9, 2026
It's hard to deny the similarities, really – in fact, it appears as though the only difference is in some coloration and detail. As Elpsy puts it, "They didn't even try to change something and make it a bit less obvious."
Apparently, they're not alone in the matter either, as fellow Pokemon players flag in the comments that other fan artists have seemingly had their designs ripped by Pickmon's devs, too.One fan links to a separate thread, in which fan artist Jayjaymons says, "No, it's literally my fan design for Mega Ceruledge stolen right there." Much like Elpsy's own post, this one includes an image of Jayjaymons' own design in response to the alleged copy seen in Pickmon's trailer.To be fair, this one resembles both Jayjaymons' art as well as Pokemon's official Ceruledge 'mon, but it's important to note that various creators are sharing concerns over potential stolen art.People are pointing out how ridiculous it all appears to be, with one reply under Elpsy's post reading, "God, they couldn't even be bothered to change the pose, the antennas literally line up perfectly" – and, yeah, they certainly seem to.
As for the ever-elusive PocketGame, the Pickmon studio has yet to respond to any of the controversy online… but it's quite hard to believe they've not seen it, or at least, considered it would happen."Hurry up with Palworld 1.0": An impatient fan spams Pocketpair's indie publishing arm with a "great pitch" begging for the survival game's full launch.
