Palworld’s new Legendary whale reignites Pokemon copy debate over Kyogre similarities

Palworld’s massive new Legendary Pal, Panthalus, has reignited the game’s oldest argument as players clash over whether it looks too much like Pokemon’s Kyogre.

Pocketpair officially released Palworld 1.0 on July 9, 2026, bringing the survival game out of Early Access more than two years after its original launch. The enormous update expanded its story, introduced new regions, and added dozens of creatures to the Paldeck.

Among those additions is Panthalus, a colossal Water-type flying whale that plays a major role in the new main storyline. Its Resonant Guardian Partner Skill lets players ride it as a flying mount, while assigning one to a base causes it to patrol overhead and bombard invading enemies.

However, its gameplay abilities have quickly been overshadowed by comparisons to Kyogre, the Legendary Water-type Pokemon introduced in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire.

Players split over Panthalus and Kyogre

Players began sharing side-by-side images almost immediately after footage of Panthalus spread online, pointing to the creatures’ similar aquatic bodies, glowing markings, head fins, and status as giant Legendary sea creatures.

“It’s nice that people are enjoying Palworld, but bros will look you dead in the eye and say THIS is not Kyogre,” one player wrote in response to gameplay footage of Panthalus.

Content creator Joshscorcher similarly argued that Game Freak does not own the concept of a divine whale, but claimed it would be “incredibly dishonest” to say Kyogre does not immediately come to mind when looking at the new Pal.

Others were more accepting of the similarities. Pokemon artist SoulSilverArt said Panthalus was “100% inspired by Kyogre,” but argued that it was different enough to stand as its own creature.

That assessment was strongly rejected by some Palworld fans, who highlighted Panthalus’ longer body, antler-like horns, additional fins, different tail, and turquoise color palette.

“Literally the only thing they have in common is that they’re both whales,” one defender argued alongside a direct comparison of the two creatures.

Another claimed critics were reducing both designs to the vague concept of a “blue ocean connected orca,” while pointing out that their silhouettes and markings are not identical. Similar discussions have also spread to the Palworld subreddit, where players have jokingly referred to the creature as Kyogre while discussing how to catch it.

The debate comes at an ironic time for Pocketpair. Palworld 1.0 quietly altered the appearances of several launch Pals that had faced heavy Pokemon comparisons, including Verdash, Robinquill, Fenglope, and Grintale.

Despite those efforts to give older creatures more distinct identities, Panthalus has placed Palworld’s design similarities back at the center of the conversation.