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Nintendo's Lawyers Hate This One Trick: How I Created 151 Legal 'Not-Pokemon' for My Indie Game

Tyler Kimon 2 months ago

Nintendo's Lawyers Hate This One Trick: How I Created 151 Legal 'Not-Pokemon' for My Indie Game

The email arrived at 3:47 PM on a Tuesday.

"Dear Mr. Kim, It has come to our attention that your mobile application 'Pocket Creatures GO Ultra' contains copyrighted characters bearing substantial similarity to Pokemon intellectual property..."

My heart stopped. Six months of development. 50,000 downloads. One cease and desist letter.

But here's the thing about getting legally threatened by Nintendo - it's basically a rite of passage for indie developers. It also forced me to discover the bizarre, wonderful, legally-distinct world of Fakemon creation.

Now, three months later, I have 151 completely original creatures, zero legal threats, and a game that players describe as "Pokemon but weirder in the best way."

Here's exactly how I did it.

The Expensive Education: What Makes a Pokemon a Pokemon

Before I could make not-Pokemon, I needed to understand what legally defines a Pokemon. Turns out, my lawyer's $400/hour explanation boiled down to:

The Pokemon Formula They Own:

  • Specific character designs (obviously)
  • Names that sound like portmanteaus
  • Evolution chains of 3
  • Type combinations they've used
  • Even certain color palettes (looking at you, Pikachu yellow)

What They DON'T Own:

  • The concept of collectible monsters (thank god)
  • Elemental types in general
  • Evolution as a concept
  • The RPG battle system
  • Cute creatures that fight

Armed with this knowledge and a burning desire to not get sued, I began Project Fakemon.

First Attempt: The "Definitely Not Pikachu" Disaster

My first creation was... unfortunate.

"Zipmouse": An electric rodent with yellow fur and red cheeks.

My lawyer's response: "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

The problem wasn't just the obvious similarity - it was that I was thinking like someone trying to copy Pokemon instead of creating something new. I needed a completely different approach.

The Revelation: Every Culture Has Monsters

At 2 AM, stress-eating pocky and diving deep into mythology Wikipedia, I had an epiphany: Every culture has its own monsters. Pokemon just modernized Japanese yokai. What if I modernized OTHER mythologies?

Suddenly, the possibilities exploded:

  • Slavic folklore creatures as ice/dark types
  • Aztec gods as legendary fire/psychic types
  • Celtic fae as grass/fairy types
  • Urban legends as ghost/steel types

But I still needed to design 151 creatures in a way that felt cohesive. Enter: AI.

The AI Pipeline That Changed Everything

After testing every AI art generator known to humanity, I discovered the perfect pipeline using AI Pokemon and Fakemon generators.

My Fakemon Creation Process:

Step 1: Conceptual Foundation Instead of "fire mouse," I'd start with:

  • "Baba Yaga's chicken leg house + volcanic rock"
  • "Mothman + solar panels"
  • "Chupacabra + cactus symbiosis"

Step 2: AI Generation with Specific Prompts Bad prompt: "Pokemon-like creature" Good prompt: "Cartoon creature design, chimera of praying mantis and origami paper, angular geometric shapes, pastel green and cream colors, simple design suitable for animation, Studio Ghibli inspired"

Step 3: The Legal Safety Check Run every design through reverse image search. If it looks too similar to any existing Pokemon, back to the drawing board.

Step 4: Cohesive Style Filtering All creatures needed to feel like they belonged in the same universe. I developed style rules:

  • Maximum 4 colors per creature
  • Geometric shape bases (circles, triangles, squares)
  • Consistent eye styles across species
  • No gradients (keeps that classic animated look)

The Creatures That Emerged

Let me introduce you to some of my legally-distinct children:

Crystaqua (Water/Rock type)

A hermit crab that uses geodes as shells. As it evolves, the crystals grow into elaborate formations. Its final form, Gemperor, has a castle of amethyst on its back.

Origin: Started with "hermit crab + mineral collection hobby"

Noodlagon (Dragon/Psychic type)

Literally a dragon made of ramen noodles. Its whiskers are green onions, its breath weapon is steam. Evolves from Brothling (a sentient cup of miso soup).

Origin: 3 AM hunger + "what if food was alive?"

Glitchbit (Electric/Ghost type)

A corrupted digital sprite that escaped from a broken arcade machine. Looks like a mashup of missing textures and error messages. Its cry sounds like dial-up internet.

Origin: Creepypasta + 90s nostalgia

Bureaucat (Normal/Dark type)

A cat in a tiny business suit that gets stronger the more paperwork it processes. Its signature move is "Red Tape Wrap."

Origin: Office life trauma + cats knock everything off desks

The Evolution Problem (And Solution)

Pokemon evolution is iconic but also legally protected in specific ways. My solution? Alternative progression systems:

Metamorphosis Paths

Instead of linear evolution, creatures transform based on conditions:

  • Caterpillar → Chrysalis → (Butterfly OR Moth depending on time of day)
  • Tadpole → (Frog OR Salamander depending on environment)
  • Seed → (Different plants based on items used)

Fusion Evolution

Two creatures combine (think Digimon DNA evolution):

  • Flamingo + Lawn Ornament = Flamango (a war-ready yard decoration)
  • Cloud + Sheep = Cumulamb (flying sheep that causes rain)

Regression Evolution

Some creatures get smaller but stronger:

  • Giant Boulder → Pebble with compressed power
  • Ancient Tree → Bonsai with concentrated life force

The Uncanny Valley of Familiarity

Here's what nobody tells you about making fake Pokemon: they need to feel familiar WITHOUT being familiar. It's a psychological tightrope.

My "Sparkowl" (electric owl) got flagged because Noctowl exists.

Too Different: Player Rejection

My "Flesh Cathedral" (a sentient building made of meat) made playtesters uncomfortable. Back to the drawing board.

Just Right: Familiar Yet Fresh

"Clocktopus" - an octopus with clock gears for suckers. Weird enough to be original, logical enough to feel "right."

The Name Game: Portmanteaus Without Plagiarism

Pokemon names are deceptively simple: Squirtle (Squirt + Turtle), Charmander (Char + Salamander). But try making 151 names that:

  • Don't exist in Pokemon
  • Sound good in multiple languages
  • Are trademark-able
  • Make sense immediately

My naming tricks:

  • Use dead languages (Latin + modern words)
  • Onomatopoeia + animal (Buzzard → Bzzzard)
  • Emotion + element (Furyphoon, Gleecierg)
  • Food puns (Hambush, Pizzard, Tacolotl)

The Accidentally Genius Creations

Sometimes the AI made mistakes that were better than my intentions:

Intended: "Ice cream cone dragon"

AI Created: "Sundread"

A melting ice cream monster that gets stronger as it melts, racing against time. Its final form is just the cone, having absorbed all the melted power. Players LOVE the tragedy of it.

Intended: "Tree + WiFi router"

AI Created: "Routree"

A tree that provides internet to the forest, with LED leaves that blink when transmitting data. Became the mascot of the digital/nature type combination.

The Community Response That Shocked Me

Posted my first batch on Reddit expecting roasts. Instead:

  • "These are more creative than recent Pokemon generations"
  • "Noodlagon is my new religion"
  • "I would die for Bureaucat"
  • "Tutorial on making these PLEASE"

Fan art started appearing. Discord servers formed. Someone made plushies (legally questionable but adorable).

The Pokemon Company's Unexpected Response

Here's the plot twist nobody saw coming:

A Pokemon designer (who shall remain nameless) DMed me on Twitter: "Love what you're doing. Creativity in the space raises all boats. Keep going."

No legal threats. No cease and desist. Just... encouragement?

Turns out, as long as you're not directly copying, you're contributing to the monster-collecting genre ecosystem. Pokemon WANTS competition - it keeps them innovative.

The Technical Deep Dive: Building a Fakemon

For fellow creators, here's my exact process:

1. Concept Phase (No AI Yet)

  • Base animal/object/concept
  • Type combination
  • Role in ecosystem
  • Three personality traits

2. Mood Board Creation

  • Historical references
  • Color palettes
  • Texture inspiration
  • Silhouette studies

3. AI Generation Round 1

Using AI Fakemon generators:

  • Generate 20-30 variations
  • Pick best elements from each
  • Note what doesn't work

4. Refinement Prompts

  • "Simplify the design, animation-friendly"
  • "Adjust proportions for cuter appeal"
  • "Add unique identifying feature"

5. Evolution Line Consistency

  • Maintain core design elements
  • Gradual complexity increase
  • Color palette evolution
  • Size progression logic

6. Final Polish

  • Clean line art
  • Consistent style application
  • Back sprite creation
  • Shiny variant design

The Money Question: Did It Work?

Three months after the rebrand:

  • 180,000 downloads (up from 50k)
  • $45,000 in revenue
  • Zero legal threats
  • One acquisition offer (declined)

But more importantly:

  • Players create fan fiction about MY creatures
  • Kids draw Noodlagon in their notebooks
  • Someone got a Bureaucat tattoo (why???)

The Lessons Learned

What Worked:

  1. Cultural mythology base - Unlimited inspiration, natural diversity
  2. Consistent design language - Everything feels cohesive
  3. Embrace the weird - Players want NEW, not Pokemon-but-slightly-different
  4. Community involvement - Let players name creatures, vote on evolutions
  5. AI as tool, not crutch - Human creativity directs, AI executes

What Failed:

  1. Over-designing - Simple is better for animation and memory
  2. Forcing type combinations - Some don't need to exist (Grass/Grass?)
  3. Inside jokes - "Redditaurus" was funny to me, confusing to everyone else
  4. Too many legendaries - Makes them less special

The Surprise Success Stories

Some Fakemon became unexpectedly popular:

Trashpanda (Poison/Dark)

Literally a raccoon made of garbage. Its evolution, Wasteland, is a kaiju-sized trash monster. Environmental message + cute design = viral hit.

Karenptor (Flying/Fighting)

A pterodactyl that demands to speak to managers. Its signature move is "One-Star Review." Created as a joke, became the most memed creature.

Voidcat (Dark/Psychic)

A cat-shaped hole in reality. You can see through it. Minimalist design that took 30 seconds to create, most popular creature by far.

Your Turn: The Fakemon Challenge

Want to create your own legally-distinct creatures? Here's your starter pack:

The Formula:

  1. Pick two unrelated things
  2. Find the connection
  3. Make it cute or cool
  4. Give it a punny name
  5. Imagine its role in an ecosystem

Example Process:

  • Toast + Ghost = Toasp
  • Connection: Both can be "burnt"
  • Design: Floating toast with butter pat eyes
  • Role: Haunts kitchens, evolves into Breadgeist

Tools You Need:

The Future of Fakemon

The space is exploding:

  • Temtem (successful Pokemon competitor)
  • Palworld (Pokemon with guns)
  • Cassette Beasts (monsters on cassette tapes)
  • My game (Pokemon but weird)

We're in a golden age of creature collection games. Pokemon created the genre, but they don't own it.

Final Boss: Creating Your Legendary

Every Fakemon collection needs its legendary. Mine?

Litigation, the Lawsuit Pokemon (Steel/Dark)

  • Learns every copywritten move but can't use them
  • Ability: Cease and Desist (prevents opponent from using similar moves)
  • Shaped like a gavel crossed with a dragon
  • Its cry sounds like paper being served

Too on the nose? Maybe. But it's MY nose now.

The Real Victory

Last week, a kid at a game convention ran up to me:

"Are you the Noodlagon guy?! It's my favorite! I drew all its evolutions and made up new ones!"

That moment was worth every legal scare, every failed design, every 3 AM crisis. I didn't just avoid a lawsuit - I created something people love.

Take that, Nintendo lawyers. With respect. Please don't sue me.

Ready to create your own legally-distinct creature collection? The world needs more weird monsters. Start with the AI Fakemon Generator and remember: if Nintendo hasn't sued you yet, you're not trying hard enough (legally distinct joke, please don't sue).

P.S. - Yes, I'm working on Noodlagon plushies. Yes, they're legally cleared. Yes, you can preorder. No, I don't know why I chose ramen dragons as my hill to die on.