Pokopia has been a delight for Pokemon fans across the globe, giving players a sense and wonder and discovery not seen in Pokemon games for quite some time. Not only that, but it also seems to be a real treat for all the Gen 1 fanatics out there, providing loads of lore dumps about the original Pokemon Red and Blue that give us more information about Kanto and the people that inhabit the place.
However, one of those lore dumps is causing more of a stir than others, and it involves Vermillion City. If you’re of a certain age, you may remember that Pokemon Red and Blue featured an old man in Vermillion City that had been flattening out an area with his Machop, claiming that he’s going to build something on the land.
It’s mentioned in several different Pokemon games, including the various remakes of Red and Blue — such as FireRed and LeafGreen and the Let’s Go series of games — as well as the Gen 2 games, in which he says that while his faithful Machop is still preparing the land, he didn’t have enough money to actually get construction started.
Ever since, fans have theorized about what exactly he’s trying to build, and whether he actually managed to get it done. He’s been sitting there for 30 years, and we’ve had no idea exactly what he was doing there, but we do now thanks to Pokopia.
Pokopia Has Finally Revealed That That Old Man Was Building
Thanks to Pokopia being set in what looks like a future version of Kanto devoid of humans, the region has somewhat developed before the events of the game. Everything is in ruins now, but you can see certain advancements in the ruins of some cities, with Vermillion City being one prime example.
First spotted by a Twitter user called Cecililytweets, if you go to the location in which the old man was preparing his building in the older Pokemon games, you’ll find a very large building with some lore beneath it. Check out this lore, and you’ll see that it’s an interview with the old man, who is claimed to be the owner of the biggest building in the area.
You’ll Be Able To Play Pokémon Pokopia’s Multiplayer Even When The Game’s Host Is Offline
Our island will flourish.
In the interview, the old man named Kenzo says that his family had dreamed for generations about building something in the area, and the interview says that his Machamp helped with construction. Not a Machop, but a Machamp, suggesting that the man had his faithful Machop evolve during the time between Gen 2 and Pokopia. That’s incredibly wholesome stuff Pokopia. Thanks, I’m crying now.
In any case, this does pretty much confirm that not only that the old man actually did finish his building in the end, but he had aspirations to construct the biggest building in Vermillion City, which he achieved. It’s a happy ending to a mystery that has been unanswered for over 30 years, and it’s all thanks to one weird Pokemon spinoff.
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone / Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
