Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have jointly secured a patent involving summoning a character and letting it fight another. It’s reminiscent of what we see in Pokémon games where players can send creatures out to battle.

A few days ago the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) approved the filing, which is for Patent No. 12,403,397. This also ties in with a separate patent (No. 12,409,387) related to the “smooth switching of riding objects” mechanism.

The thought here is that Nintendo is registering new patents or modifying others so that it can further combat Palworld. On top of that, it could deter other games from competing. However, the idea of summoning a character and letting it fight another could apply to many different titles that have already been released, and it could impact future projects as well.

The patent was actually first filed in March 2023. The USPTO then granted it this summer before issuing it last week.

This is happening against the backdrop of the legal battle brewing between Nintendo and The Pokémon vs. Palworld. After the game was hit with a lawsuit, Pocketpair implemented changes to Palworld, including removing the ability to summon Pals.

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