Bulbasaur screaming “Let’s get this place HUMID!” wasn’t on my bingo card this year, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless.
Welcome to the world of Pokémon Pokopia, the latest release from Nintendo and co-developer Game Freak that brings us face-to-face once again with our favorite Pocket Monsters. Only this time, instead of getting into battles with any gym leaders, we’re stepping into the shoes of a Ditto that’s doing its best to make an island livable for Pokémon again.
While the main draw of Pokopia is its cozy, Animal Crossing-esque approach to world-building, players immediately latched onto the game’s out-of-pocket dialogue boxes.
Throughout Pokopia, you’ll have multiple opportunities to chat with the Pokémon moving onto your island. Interactions tend to veer on the side of silly: think a Charmander telling you they “frew up” or Professor Tangrowth reminding you that “chairs are NOT food!”
Other pieces of dialogue have quickly gone viral. A confused Magikarp asking, “Yo, where am I?!,” a Volbeat wondering aloud about what human butts look like, and a Cubone telling you that their mom would have probably liked the gravestone they live in are just some of the dialogue screenshots making their rounds around the Internet. (There’s also a Drifloon that tells you that “human kids” in particular give them lots of energy.)
Beyond the dialogue, though, the actual gameplay never takes itself too seriously. Players have been enjoying the Stockpile move, which allows your Ditto to swallow a number of times (e.g. a picnic basket, boulders, a table) and vomit everything out onto a preferred plot of land. The Rock Smash move also allows your Ditto to punch the crap out of walls, the ground, and other Pokémon.
Although the game developers have yet to comment on the more-than-amusing dialogue of Pokopia, Game Freak director Shigeru Omori noted that the inspiration for the game came from wanting to share the joy of creating the world of Pokémon with fans. “I’ve been making Pokemon RPGs for a long time,” said Omori in an interview with Famitsu, “but I was always searching for a game that could express the individuality of Pokemon in a different way to RPGs.”
Pokémon Pokopia is currently only available to play on the Nintendo Switch 2.
