I’ve spent 50 hours building a life for myself in Pokémon Pokopia already. During that time, I’ve met over 200 monsters who all have their own distinct personalities. It’s always a joy to log on and be greeted by my bubbly Squirtle pal or my mischievous Greedent neighbor. I cherish them… except for one resident. I’m sorry to say that developer Omega Force has done Kanto’s freakiest dude dirty: Mr. Mime is an absolutely terrible mime in Pokopia.
For decades, Mr. Mime has been one of the easiest Pokémon to adapt across mediums. The guy’s entire deal is built into his name. He’s a mime. He mimes. The series has always been a little liberal with his skillset — he still says his name in the anime like any monster — but he’s always a man of few words. 2019’s Detective Pikachu movie especially nailed the guy down by portraying him as, you know, a mime. It felt like we kind of had figured out how to portray the little weirdo.
Bafflingly, that has changed in Pokémon Pokopia in what’s sure to be a scandal to the hard-working mime community. Even though he still pretends to be trapped in a glass box while idling around, he now speaks in full sentences like every other monster you encounter. He’s kind of just a dude who says “yo” the same way that Rotom does. When I first met him, I expected the game to make some kind of joke about it to acknowledge that he was breaking rule #1 of mime law. There is no such self-awareness. The guy just yaks it up with you like nothing’s amiss.
The same is true for his pre-evolution, Mime Jr., but I can give that little guy some credit. He’s still learning his craft. I expect a kid to break character and run over to show me the cool berries he picked for me. Mr. Mime, on the other hand, should know better. The man is a full-grown adult who has spent his life honing his craft. Omega Force has demeaned the man’s profession and I won’t stand for it.
I will give the studio credit for the rest of the cast, though. One of Pokopia’s best qualities is that it goes to great lengths to characterize each critter and imagine what it would sound like if they could all speak the same language. I love seeing my broody Hitmonlee training in silence in the corner of town, or seeing Trubbish hopping around the beach like a smelly ball of sunshine. Pokopia builds on an appeal that’s started to come alive in Scarlet and Violet’s open-world design, creating a better sense that you’re dealing with real animals cohabitating in real environments.
I just hope Mr. Mime’s profession gets the respect it deserves next time. I don’t want to hear the man talk. I don’t want him to thank me for putting a lamp in his home. I don’t want him to ask me quiz questions about who is heavier, him or Onix. (Why would I answer that!?) I just want to see the guy struggling to escape from a glass prison and nothing more.
Pokémon Pokopia is out now on Nintendo Switch 2.
