Pokémon Pokopia deepens Cubone’s tragic backstory

I'm still very early into Pokémon Pokopia, but reading fan reactions and uncovering the big lore reveals has already made one thing clear: the game feels especially sad when you zoom out. Some of that melancholy comes from its darker premise, and some from Game Freak and Omega Force leaning into the more somber backstories the series has long dabbled in.

Cubone remains a particularly wrenching example. The skull-wearing ground type from the original Red and Blue wears the skull of its deceased mother as a helmet, a detail the series has used for both drama and comic relief — even turning up in the Detective Pikachu scene where Tim Goodman tries, and fails, to relate to a Cubone.

In Pokopia you attract Pokémon to your island by preparing habitats to their liking. Many requirements are straightforward, such as setting out a patch of grass with some shade.

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