If you set out to create a game involving collecting, or even looking at and cataloguing, a bunch of different fantasy creatures, you’re going to have some that are at least a little similar to pokemon
I think Cassette Beasts pulled off the Pokemon gameplay format without making anything that Nintendo could try and sue over.
I jumped through a couple hoops to get Pokemon Infinite Fusion working on my Steam Deck & I’ve been having a blast slapping shit together to see how fucked up it looks.
Cleffa + Geodude made me giggle for a good 5 minutes.
I feel that making a game exclusive can sometimes make better games, because you’re making one game instead of 2 or 3. Even with games that are on multiple systems, one version always ends up being “the definitive”, and the other versions are not up to the same standard because they’re put out just to appeal to a wider audience. Focusing on one system let’s you put everything into making your game great instead of making it accessible.