I hadn't played a Pokemon game in over a decade. Pokopia wasn't what I expected.

As far as I can remember, Pokemon games have followed a similar formula.

As an aspiring Pokemon trainer, you pick one of three starter Pokemon at a professor's lab before you embark on a journey to become the very best.

While the starting towns, professors and Pokemon you receive have varied over the years, one thing has always held true - you're human.

The latest instalment of the series, Pokemon Pokopia, flips that long-standing formula on its head.

The game recently released its latest downloadable content (DLC), Bubbly Basin, and I had the opportunity to trial the game at an exclusive media event held by The Pokemon Company (TPC).

Interestingly, Pokemon Pokopia has fans playing not as human beings, but as a humanoid instead.

The game follows the story of a Ditto, a shapeshifting Pokemon, as it takes on the form of a trainer, interacting with the world around it.

As a 'trainer', Ditto encounters multiple Pokemon across various biomes, including familiar starters such as Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander.

As someone whose last mainline Pokemon adventure was more than a decade ago, through games such as Yellow, LeafGreen and Ruby, these Pokemon are a welcome sight in an otherwise strange and unfamiliar world devoid of humans.

A different goal

Back when I played the earlier Pokemon games, the objective was always clear: Catch Pokemon, beat my rival, beat the Elite Four, become a champion and go right back to catching more Pokemon.

In Pokopia, although you are equipped with a Pokedex, Pokemon aren't there to be caught. Instead, they are your friends.

Rather than beating opponents in Pokemon battles, you're fighting climate degradation and urban decay to improve the world for these friends.

Bubbly Basin serves as an extension of that premise, delving deep into the oceans to an underwater town that has fallen into disrepair.

While the game lacks the adrenaline rush from Pokemon battles that I craved in my youth, it offers something satisfying in a different way: a slower, more reflective experience centred on everyday life among Pokemon.

Amid the fast-paced work culture of Singapore, perhaps this has greater allure for adults here today.

It gives reprieve from the day-to-day slog with a cathartic experience of taking your time to construct a better world for your Pokemon friends - this might have been why it was surprisingly difficult to put the game down during my trial.

A world with no clear answers

The game's story also leaves itself open to interpretation, allowing me to pick up on themes I would have otherwise glossed over as a child.

In the older Pokemon games, Team Rocket's leader, Giovanni, made his ambitions clear - world domination and control over Pokemon.

In Pokopia, that distinction isn't as clear. In fact, there's no clear villain in the game, as far as I could tell.

Instead, there's an underlying implication of something having gone wrong, with arid land where grass should grow and dilapidation where small towns once were.

Bubbly Basin, featuring an underwater town, suggests that a flood happened in the past, leaving the landscape submerged.

Even as you work to furnish your surroundings, you're given snippets of what the town was once like through environmental storytelling.

The game's name itself, Pokopia, could also be a portmanteau of "Pokemon" and "utopia", perhaps signifying that the game's world has achieved perfection only after humanity has been removed from the equation.

These are elements of the game that I'd likely not have understood as a child - playing through it as an adult certainly adds more to the game than expected.

30 years with Pokemon

While my revisit to the Pokemon series as a 30-year-old may have only come after more than a decade away from their games, there are many others who have stuck with the series through the years.

Speaking at the Pokemon 30th Anniversary press conference at Jewel Changi Airport, TPC's corporate officer, Susumu Fukunaga, commented on the growth of Pokemon over the years.

"It's expanded into various forms, including trading card games, anime, merchandise, events, and mobile applications such as Pokemon Go," he stated. "Today, we are proud to have dedicated Pokemon fans all over the world."

Just like their fans, TPC has expanded from a small office in Tokyo with less than 30 employees to having over 515 million game units sold in over 90 countries and regions globally, Fukunaga shared.

TPC's Asia business director Ray Kagami also shed light on the company's perspective of the 30th anniversary and their plans going forward.

"30 years is not a very short time, but the 30th anniversary is not a final destination for the Pokemon brand," he told AsiaOne, explaining that Pokemon is still growing.

He added: "We really hope that through this 30th anniversary, more people in Singapore can be engaged and know more about Pokemon, so that we can celebrate our 40th and 50th anniversary in the future, on an even larger scale."

Fraser Tiong, an account manager with TPC, also reminisced growing up with Pokemon.

"When Pokemon first started out, the fans were you and I - people of our generation - and our parents weren't very aware of it," said Tiong, who is in his 30s.

"Now, we've grown up. We are in our 30s, and we're sharing this (Pokemon) with the next generation."

As a Singaporean, he added: "It really warms my heart to see that, and it's also one of the things that drive us, to do new things for the (Singapore) market."

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Celebrating 30 years of Pokemon in Singapore

The press conference also saw details on the Pokemon Run 30: Singapore Edition from Nov 7 to 8 at The Kallang, which includes a festival zone open to public, showcasing Pokemon's 30-year history.

From Nov 3, a 30th anniversary campaign will have shoppers at Changi Airport and Jewel eligible to purchase or redeem exclusive Pokemon merchandise with a qualifying receipt from participating outlets.

The campaign will end on Jan 31, 2027 for Jewel and Feb 28, 2027 for Changi Airport.

Separately, PokeXciting!, a celebration across five cities in Asia, will also see Changi Airport and Jewel transformed into a Pokemon-themed event space from Nov 7 to 8 this year.

Stage shows, meet-and-greet sessions and other activities will also be present in the airport.

The exclusive PokeXciting! Pikachu will also be available for catching for those playing Pokemon Go.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com