Pokemon has officially paired up with just about everything in the 25 years since it first came into our lives, from Krispy Kreme donuts to kids’ milk. Fortunately, The Pokemon Company has yet to dip its toe into the unappealing world of NFTs, and a cheeky attempt to make people believe it had been noticed and immediately sought out by the giant it claims to have partnered with via an unofficial game called PokeWorld. .
Reported by Kotaku, and first noticed by Vooks, The Pokemon Company is about to take legal action against a company called Pokemon Pty Ltd via the Federal Court of Australia. Responsible for an NFT-based mobile game called PokeWorld, the company name appears to have been registered six years ago. However, the Kotiota Studios name it now operates under has appeared on The Pokemon Company’s radar after PokeWorld launched in November.
As if including the word Pokemon in your company name wasn’t a bold enough move when you have no connection to the franchise whatsoever, Kotiota even sent out press releases to various websites claiming to have collaborated with Pokemon’s creators on the new game. One look at PokeWorld’s website, which is shockingly still live, should be enough proof for even the most casual Pokemon fan that there is no official partnership when it comes to this baseless mobile project.
Among the dead giveaways that PokeWorld has absolutely no official connection to The Pokemon Company are the shiny ‘mon designs, potions mistakenly labeled “poisons”, and the plural for Pokemon mistakenly referred to as “Pokemons”. Come on, even mom has learned not to make that mistake. As for gameplay, a short video shows Pikachu battling Charmander, a PvE mode where players take on Charizard, and an adventure mode where you hunt for Pokeballs.
On the surface it all sounds nice and Pokemon-ish, but all of that is quickly ruined by NFTs. Win matches to earn $POKESHARD and anything you spend the worthless currency on in-game becomes an NFT. How the minds behind PokeWorld ever thought they’d get away with this is still a mystery, and if you happen to be an early adopter of PokeWorld, the good news is that you’ve been saved from wasting more money on it.
