Farming Sim “Pokémon Pokopia” Gets Extended Trailer Before March 2026 Debut

While fans suspected something dark might be at play in the background after watching the initial promo video for the upcoming Pokémon Pokopia farming game, the newly released extended trailer confirmed said suspicions about the narrative.

Nintendo has announced a March 8, 2026, release date for Pokémon Pokopia for the Nintendo Switch 2. The upcoming video game, developed by Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force, allows players to take the role of a humanoid Ditto and then begin working on creating habitats to attract Pokémon. Pre-ordering the game will get you a Ditto-shaped rug to decorate your in-game room.

The extended trailer introduced viewers to the various gameplay mechanics. The narrative will have your humanoid Ditto meeting a Tangrowth who goes by the name Professor Tangrowth. This particular Pokémon hasn’t seen other creatures or human beings in a while. Professor Tangrowth will serve as a guide to assist with understanding more about the biome you’re operating in and how to help attract more Pokémon to the area. I wasn’t expecting such a game to include a Professor-like character. So, I’m quite pleasantly surprised.

As for the Pokémon that will show up, most of them can teach your humanoid Ditto abilities. For example, Squirtle can teach you Water Gun to irrigate plants and trees. Bulbasaur can teach you how to grow more grass in the area. Charmander is shown capable of lighting a campfire.

Your humanoid Ditto can also transform into Pokémon such as Lapras and Dragonite to Surf and Fly, respectively. I don’t know how expansive the world is going to be, but the ability to Surf and Fly does make it seem quite expansive.

The missions vary from creating items and habitats for a variety of Pokémon to helping them reach specific areas they might be interested in experiencing. Certain Pokémon might be stuck in dangerous situations and awaiting your aid.

As with the usual life sim fare, you will have access to a Craft Table to create and build numerous objects, including toys, furniture, and more.

Certain objects, for example, a Pikachu-themed statue, can be built by you and a team of other Pokémon. I have a feeling that the game will keep some of the constructs locked until you gain access to specific Pokémon to help you complete said building task.

Of course, other players can visit your biomes and lend a hand with building and playing games. Also, take note that even though this is going to be a Nintendo Switch 2 release, it does feature GameShare, allowing you to share your copy of the game with someone else on the Nintendo Switch or the Nintendo Switch 2 systems without the other person needing to buy the title for the system they own.

Frankly, I like GameShare. It’s a good way for households to save on buying certain Nintendo Switch games.

Of course, I have to talk about the biggest reveals from the trailer and the dark undertone. The humanoid Ditto seemed to be inspired to take on a human Trainer-like appearance after looking at an image on a Pokédex. Seeing an abandoned Pokédex on the ground does feel eerie.

The starting biome appears quite desolate, including a severely damaged Pokémon Center and other buildings.

Some fans are speculating that the game is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans might have gone extinct. I mean, I don’t want to go that far, but I think something major likely happened to have severed the connection between humans and Pokémon.

The trailer treated fans to a new variant of Snorlax, called Mosslax. As the name implies, it’s basically Snorlax after sleeping for so long that its body has been encased in moss.

There’s also Smearguru, a variant of Smeargle, which has paint all over its body. Smearguru is likely going to play a major role in helping with painting items and buildings in the biomes, more or less, being in charge of unlocking color palettes after you meet certain requirements.

The loudest reaction was due to Peakychu, a Pikachu variant with pale fur. Yeah, I think that particular Pikachu might be dead. I’m here for a Ghost/Electric variant of Pikachu.

Here’s the extended trailer!

While I’m excited about getting an official Pokémon life farming game, a bunch of fans have shared certain criticisms online. The biggest gripe is how Pokémon Pokopia is going to be a Game Key Card release. For those who might not be familiar with the term, it essentially means that even if you order online or visit a game store to buy the physical version, you will only be receiving a plastic case with a keycode to download and install the game. So, yeah, the plastic case is just for looking pretty on your game shelf.

Even though numerous players are okay with digital-only releases, there’s a valid reason behind certain players wanting physical games, with their support for physical releases talking about game media preservation and actually being able to own a video game instead of paying full price for merely a license to play a game (which is the case with digital releases).

Other fans have shared that they will be waiting to pick up Pokémon Pokopia after being disappointed by Pokémon Legends ZA. Even though the developers are different, certain fans think that Pokémon Pokopia might be biting more than it can chew in the life sim genre, especially when titles such as Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley exist. They are okay with waiting to see what reviewers (the ones they trust) have to say about this particular title.

As for me, I understand where the hesitation is coming from. While I enjoyed playing Pokémon Legends ZA, I can’t ignore the performance and graphical issues. My quick verdict about the game continues to be that while fun, the close to $90 CAD price tag wasn’t justifiable, especially when Pokémon is the largest IP out there and there’s a “standard” to be expected from expensive video games in 2025.

Frankly, I’m not sure if I’ll buy Pokémon Pokopia on March 8, 2026. I might wait a bit. See how the gameplay looks and what it actually has to offer instead of the interesting trailer content.

What about you? Are you excited about Pokémon Pokopia?

Let us know.

–

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

The Geekiary was recently targeted in financial fraud, leading us to launch a GoFundMe to help with bill payments to keep the website afloat.

Please consider donating and sharing the campaign.

Thank you!

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary