There are no shiny Pokémon in Pokopia. That’s either a shame or a relief, depending on your attitude toward shiny hunting. Only one of each unique Pokémon exists in the game, and it will never be shiny, so you do not have to agonizingly reset your game again and again in hopes of a slightly off-color Bulbasaur. However, because Pokémon players are sadists or something, they’ve managed to find another rare “variant” to hunt down. This time, it’s furniture.
Pokopia players have discovered that some items in the game seem to have rare “variant” versions that appear on occasion when you set them down. For example, the Chansey Plant item is a big ol’ topiary that looks just like a Chansey. But sometimes, when you set it out, its face will be a Ditto face instead of a Chansey. Please enjoy:
Every time you set down an item that has a variant appearance, it seems to have a random, low-ish chance of appearing with its different form. You can try and spawn the rare looks by putting away and taking out the item over and over until the version you want shows up.
Aside from the topiary, we’ve been able to confirm independently that the Pikachu Fountain can also have a Ditto face, and the Arched Barrier item can occasionally appear with a design that looks like the top of an Oddish.
We’re still not sure what other items this might apply to — some people in the Reddit comments suggest that this could be impacting beds or lamps, though it’s also possible they acquired patterned versions by other means.
Interestingly, these variants seem to work differently depending on the item. When I tried to take pictures of the Ditto-faced Chansey plant to 3D print it, it just registered as the regular Chansey plant and 3D printed as such. But when I took a picture of the Arched barrier variant, it appeared as “Arched barrier (leaf pattern)” and I was able to 3D print that specific version.
And as one Reddit user pointed out, the Arched barrier pattern is directly based off of the same fencing in Pokémon Let’s Go! Pikachu and Eevee:
Are there other items that have secret variations, or is it just these? We’re still trying to find out! But it’s another cool little easter egg in Pokopia. Since we’re here, there’s one more I learned about while researching this article that isn’t a “variant” per se but is pretty cool: If you set down two Game Boy items next to one another, they’ll automatically attach via Link Cable, just like in the good ol’ days. Cute!
I cannot stop playing Pokopia, despite how terrible I am at building nice-looking things — certainly compared to the players who are pushing the game’s limits with incredible builds like working calculators. I called Pokopia in my 9/10 review “an enjoyable, personality-packed building simulator set in a surprisingly deep world that is stuffed with fun things for its delightful Ditto protagonist to do and create.” If it’s still April 1 where you are, there’s an event going on where you can get an inflatable Sudowoodo tube man, or as I am now calling it, Tubowoodo.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
