Pokemon Pokopia director thought up the Animal Crossing-like while placing grass for Ruby and Sapphire, as he wanted to give players "the experience of creating their own Pokemon world"

A Snorlax covered in moss sits in a dark room with moonlight streaming in from above. A screenshot from Pokopia.

Senior director of Pokopia, Shigeru Omor,i says that the game's concept comes from when he was working at Game Freak in 2001, and his first task was to place grass in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire.

In an interview with Famitsu translated by GamesRadar+, the long-time director of the Pokemon series explains where the original idea for Pokopia came from. As one of three people who began prototyping the concept following the release of Scarlet Violet, Omori created the concept for a Pokemon-themed sandbox city builder.