Meet Palworld's secret unreleased Mewtwo-like Pal, the "Dark Mutant"

What you need to know

• A Palworld player has discovered an unused Pal called the "Dark Mutant" hidden in the game's files.
• The Pal's a Dark-type, and is coded to have the Level 3 Handiwork, Level 3 Medicine Production, and Level 2 Transporting work skills.
• A Paldex entry for it was also found, with the text suggesting the Dark Mutant can "tear holes into other dimensions," which may have led to the creation of some other Pal species.
• Notably, the Dark Mutant looks remarkably similar to the Mega Mewtwo Y, a Mega Evolution for the first-generation legendary Pokémon Mewtwo.

Between all of its regular Pals and the special "Fusion Pals" you can get through breeding, there are a grand total of 135 Pals available to catch and own in Palworld. One fan, though, has come across one more — an unreleased Pal hidden away in the game's files.

The creature — which looks remarkably similar to Mega Mewtwo Y, a Mega Evolution of the first-generation legendary Pokémon Mewtwo — has a black and purple body, with sharp claws, horns, a long tail on its head, and the ability to levitate. It's referred to as the "Dark Mutant" in Palworld's code (I'd wager it'll be renamed to something else if added officially), and even has a Paldex entry.

"Some say a beam from a {characterName id=|DarkMutant|/} that has perfected its technique can tear holes into other dimensions," it reads. "It's even believed that certain species of Pals were born from such phenomena."

You could probably guess this based on the name, but the Dark Mutant is a Dark-type Pal, which would make it highly effective against Neutral-types if it was in the game. It'd also be a solid worker at any Palworld base, as it's got Level 3 Handiwork, Level 3 Medicine Production, and Level 2 Transporting.

Brian Cozzens, the fan who found the Dark Mutant, told Windows Central that he found the Pal while he was putting together his Palworld interactive map that shows the location of every dungeon, Syndicate Tower, Alpha Pal miniboss, Lifmunk Effigy statue, and fast travel point. He also made a 3D model viewer, too, and it includes an entry for the Dark Mutant.

At the moment, it's unclear why the Dark Mutant hasn't yet been put into Palworld itself, though perhaps developer Pocketpair still needs to adjust its design or decide which moves it'll be able to learn. It's also possible that, for whatever reason, the studio has chosen to scrap this Pal entirely.

Notably, the discovery of the Mewtwo-like Dark Mutant Pal comes soon after Palworld became entangled in controversy, with many artists and gamers claiming that Pocketpair committed plagiarism by stealing Pokémon designs and assets to develop the game. The Pokémon Company issued a statement responding to these concerns earlier this week, announcing that it intends to "investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights."

Either Nintendo or The Pokémon Company also recently took down a video of a Palworld mod that added actual Pokémon to the game. As a result of this, the mod's public release was delayed indefinitely.

Speaking with Automaton, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe maintained that Palworld "cleared legal reviews," and that the studio has "absolutely no intention of infringing upon the intellectual property of other companies."

Amid all of this, Palworld has enjoyed what is unquestionably one of the most successful game launches of all time. Since its release late on Xbox and PC last week, it's sold over 8 million copies on Steam alone, and became the second most-played game in Steam history with a peak concurrent player count of 2,030,659. It costs $30 to purchase directly, though it can also be played through Xbox Game Pass.