I will make a wild assumption that Palworld did indeed get tested before launch and this type of testing ( there's a few more) was part of it. Unless they were completely oblivious to the Pokemon association/comparison π€·ββοΈ
Since there's a lot of speculation regarding Palworld/Pokemon here's my take as someone who worked in game testing.
There's a specific type of testing called Compliance testing - where you test for 3rd party infringement. It also works with platforms so they comply with that too
Going to do a meetup today after the LB finals! I am going to force @SVGDota to join so his discord fiends get a chance to say hi to this reclusive streamer