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Pocketpair dropped a new Paldeck video featuring Palworld’s Foxcicle, but the only thing gamers are talking about is the icy Pal’s resemblance to two specific Pokémon.
To showcase each Pal in Palworld, Pocketpair releases new Paldeck entries along with short gameplay clips. April 20’s Paldeck entry centered around Foxcicle—a foxlike Pal who “looks up at the sky during an aurora and sings with the most beautiful voice.” A few days later, everyone is talking about Foxcicle, but for the wrong reasons.
After IGN put out a tweet about the Foxcicle clip, Pokémon fans all pointed out the same thing about the Pal: It looks like a combination of two beloved Pokémon, Glaceon and Ninetales. Like the Ice-type Eeveelution Glaceon, Foxcicle is an Ice element Pal with a very, very similar light blue color scheme. Glaceon’s most defining features have to be the flaps that hang down both sides of its face like floppy rabbit ears, and to no one’s surprise, Foxcicle’s design also has those same flaps. They also happen to share the same darker blue socks.
Meanwhile, Ninetales’ features can be seen in Foxcicle’s multiple fluffy tails, sharp eyes, and the tufts of fur on its head and chest. On top of this, Ninetales’ more recent Alolan form also has the same light blue fur with an Ice typing.
Now, you can argue that Glaceon, Alolan Ninetales, and Foxcicle all draw inspiration from arctic foxes, but you can’t deny that Foxcicle looks like it could be the baby of both Ice Pokémon. Because of that resemblance, players are again calling out Pocketpair for “lazy” designs. After all, this isn’t the first time Palworld has been flamed for Pals that look too similar to Pokémon or fusions of them. “Are they even trying?” one Pokémon fan asked. “I can’t even defend this one,” another commented.
Others threw lighthearted shade at Foxcicle, including popular Pokémon content creator, ShadyPenguinn: “I really love this original design! I just hope they go the extra mile for creativity and make a fire variant to make it standout even more!” A few players even joked about Foxcicle being a teaser for Glaceon’s Mega Evolution, a battle mechanic that should be returning in the upcoming Pokémon Legends: Z-A game.
The thing is, Palworld does have another foxlike Pal, Kitsun, which has one of the very best designs in the Pal-collecting game while not looking like a ripoff of any fox Pokémon. Intentional or not, it would’ve been nice to see more unique Pals like Kitsun and a few less like Foxcicle or one of the original offenders, Verdash.
