Hands-On Preview: Pokémon Pokopia

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There’s something special about relaxing video games – they can really draw you in and improve your mood. Many Switch players will remember how popular Animal Crossing: New Horizons became in 2020. If you’re familiar with this type of game, you know they offer a welcome escape from everyday stress, even if just for a little while.

Pokémon is a beloved franchise that brings back fond memories for many, but the new game, Pokémon Pokopia, looks particularly inviting and relaxing. Launching on March 5th for the Switch 2, Pokopia appears to be taking inspiration from the Animal Crossing series, focusing on a cozy and charming experience.

In late January, I traveled to New York City to try out some new games coming to the Nintendo Switch 2. One of these was a demo for Pokémon Pokopia, a new game developed jointly by The Pokémon Company, GAME FREAK inc., and KOEI TECMO GAMES. I played for about an hour, experiencing both the single-player and multiplayer modes.

Even though my first look at Pokémon Pokopia only covered a small part of the game, I’m already confident it’s going to be incredibly popular when it releases on March 5th, and it seems like there are good reasons for that excitement. Are you ready to jump in? Me too!

Cozy Charm for Days

Okay, so in Pokémon Pokopia, you actually start by making a human character – like, designing what you want to look like. But here’s the cool part: you’re playing as Ditto! It transforms into the character you created. The story hints that this human form is actually what Ditto’s old trainer looked like, which is why Ditto chooses to become them. It’s a really neat way to connect you to the game and explain why Ditto looks the way it does!

This establishes the foundation of Pokopia’s story, which is surprisingly dark if you consider it closely. Humans are gone, and Pokémon are now incredibly scarce in this area. The exact cause of this remains a mystery, but it hints at a post-apocalyptic setting – an unexpected twist for a game aiming for a cozy atmosphere.

Pokémon Pokopia is going to be absolutely huge, and for what seems to be good reason.

Don’t worry, the game quickly becomes inviting after the initial introduction. You’ll meet Professor Tangrowth, who immediately explains everything. The camera is close and personal – more zoomed-in than games like Animal Crossing – and you’ll soon be exploring a rundown area with the goal of restoring it, rebuilding, and attracting both Pokémon and people back to life.

You won’t be able to manage everything on your own, so Pokopia quickly showed me the original starter Pokémon – Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander – to get us started. As a Ditto, you can learn helpful moves by copying other Pokémon, such as Leafage from Bulbasaur and Water Gun from Squirtle. These moves can be rotated for different effects, but they use up energy as you use them, so you’ll need to manage your resources carefully. They’re really valuable tools for navigating this world, though!

So, I discovered this cool ability called Leafage that lets me rip up patches of tall grass – you know, the kind where Pokémon love to hide! Then I unlocked Water Gun, which is awesome because I can instantly bring dead plants and trees back to life. Later on, I even got a move from Drilbur that lets me till the ground. Basically, the moves you learn aren’t just for battling; they’re how you interact with the world and make things better around you.

Pokopia is full of materials you can gather – starting with simple things like sticks, stones, and leaves. You can use these at crafting stations scattered around the world to build lots of different furniture and items. These crafted goods will help you complete quests given to you by Professor Tangrowth or the Pokémon friends you make during your adventure.

Tangrowth told me to build a campfire to draw Pokémon closer. I gathered sticks and stones, and Charmander helped start the fire. Bulbasaur wanted a comfier bed, so I made one out of leaves. Don’t worry, all these tasks are saved in a quest log on the pause menu, so you can easily keep track of what needs doing.

I later discovered an old Pokémon PC that gave me lots of small side quests. Completing these quests earned me rewards, similar to Nook Miles in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. These tasks included things like collecting a certain number of sticks or attracting specific Pokémon, and I could use the coins I earned to unlock new items and crafting recipes.

Habitats for Hire

While the game felt a bit like other relaxing life sims I’ve enjoyed, Pokopia truly became special when I discovered how to attract different Pokémon. By investigating shiny spots, you can pick up a Pokémon’s scent, revealing what kind of home they like. This is key to getting them to move to your town!

I discovered that Blastoise seems to like areas with Hydrated Tall Grass near water. I used Leafage to create a four-piece patch of this grass next to a pond. While it doesn’t guarantee a Blastoise will appear right away—especially for rarer Pokémon—it’s fun to learn what habitats attract your favorite Pokémon and then try to lure them out.

I began to appreciate Pokopia’s unique qualities when I discovered how carefully designed its environments are to attract different kinds of Pokémon.

I once built a habitat for Makuhita by stacking four boxes on a cart, and it actually worked! A Makuhita appeared after just a few minutes. We’re still discovering how many Pokémon are in Pokopia, but I love that you ‘catch’ them by creating the perfect environment for them to live in.

So, that’s pretty much everything I got to experience playing Pokopia by myself. Honestly, I was shocked by how much time we actually had with the demo – it felt like a proper, lengthy play session! But even with all that time, it still wasn’t quite enough to really get the hang of everything and feel totally comfortable with the game.

That’s perfectly fine! Games like Animal Crossing usually take a few hours to get fully going, letting you settle into the relaxing gameplay. It looks like Pokopia will be similar – right now, there isn’t much to share about specific details beyond the core gameplay of building habitats, attracting Pokémon, learning moves, crafting items, and completing quests.

The preview definitely achieved its goal – I’m really excited to see what else Pokopia offers! What I’ve played so far was enjoyable, unique, and quite endearing, but I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. I fully anticipate this game will quickly become a hit with many players, though it’s too early to say just how popular it will become.

I finished playing through the single-player part of the Pokopia demo, but I still needed to try out the multiplayer mode.

Chaotic, Cool Co-Op

After a short break, the event staff started a multiplayer game with me and the three other journalists seated nearby. That’s when we finally got to play in Pokopia, and our main task was to rebuild a ruined Pokémon Center. We needed to gather some materials and specific Pokémon to do it.

So, we jumped into Pokopia and just went wild for a while, exploring everything we could. It’s got this cool mix of Minecraft and Dragon Quest Builders, and you can actually change the landscape, which is awesome. I missed it myself, but apparently one of my friends built this huge tower and then tested if there was fall damage – by jumping off! He turned into this Ditto blob that splatted on the ground, then just bounced right back up. It was hilarious!

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I immediately loved the new transformation options! I could turn into a funny-looking Dragonite to fly, or a Lapras that looked like Ditto – and even wore my baseball cap – to surf anywhere. These transformations are incredibly charming, and I’m excited to see what other forms become available in the future.

I soon discovered a nearby village populated by popular Pokémon living in homes. I spotted Umbreon and Arcanine, and immediately used a button prompt to have them follow me – they’re definitely two of the most awesome Pokémon around!

It hit me later – I could actually get water from the vending machine and just… keep spitting it out! I basically flooded the whole area. I overheard one of my teammates wondering how it even happened, and honestly, I was trying really hard not to burst out laughing. I just stood there quietly enjoying the chaos.

After a lot of experimentation and figuring out what Pokopia could do, our team successfully completed the main goal of the demo: rebuilding the Pokémon Center. It felt great to achieve that, and I wonder what else we could have accomplished if we’d had more time.

During this session, it was immediately obvious that the multiplayer mode is incredibly fun and unpredictable – a true playground for players. We believe this is where it will really shine and become a huge hit. This could give Pokopia long-term appeal, creating countless unique and funny experiences with friends, and generating plenty of shareable, viral moments online.

Multiplayer could be incredibly fun and unpredictable, and I believe that’s where it will really succeed.

I’ve had a chance to explore Pokémon Pokopia, and I’m increasingly excited about it, whether you plan to play alone or with others. We won’t have to wait much longer to find out more – Pokopia comes out on the Switch 2 on March 5th!

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2026-02-11 17:14