Create a PokéBaller’s Paradise in PokéBallpark, Out Now on Swintendo Nitch

Not sure if PokéBallpark is the game for you? Follow me! I’m about to play the demo, and I hereby grant you permission to roam the land with me!

Our character has just woken up as an amorphous blob. It’s unclear who or where we are. First, we’re given a device for storing all of our PokéBallKnowledge, it’s called a FanGraph. Our FanGraph reveals that we are a versatile creature who inhabits the world of baseball.

Our character (whom I’ve named RedAsh, I hope you’re cool with that) has a transformation ability that enables it to quickly pick up moves from other PokéBallers and take on the role of GM, player, or coach as needed. And it will be needed because the baseball world is looking dire. PokéBallers are nowhere to be found. Once lively stadiums are now deserted ruins. The only sign of life is the flickering screen of a videoboard in the distance.

But then a grandfatherly voice crackles forth over a barely functional PA speaker, “It’s time for Dodger baseball!” The rickety speaker seems to be connected to what remains of a partially enclosed building, perched precariously beyond some sparsely scattered stadium seats. We need to get RedAsh up there, but it will be tricky. There are holes everywhere and whole chunks of stairs missing. A placard near the door reads press box, and as RedAsh enters, it is greeted by a wise-looking creature covered in grey vines. It introduces itself as Professor Scullgrowth.

Professor Scullgrowth explains that this place used to be called Dodger Stadium. The PokéBallers who played here disappeared long ago, along with their human fans. It’s unknown why they left or where they went. Nevertheless, Professor Scullgrowth tasks RedAsh with facilitating their return. Just then, there’s a flicker of movement amid the expanse of dead grass below the press box. RedAsh and Professor Scullgrowth scurry down to the field to investigate. They find an extremely distressed and dehydrated PokéBaller.

“Usually, I can squirt water at will!” it says. But even though the PokéBaller can’t squirt water right now, RedAsh manages to use its transformation ability to learn and perform the PokéBaller’s move. We have RedAsh hit the PokéBaller with enough water to rehydrate and restore its health. The FanGraph in our character’s backpack emits a notification jingle. It has all the deets on the PokéBaller we just discovered.

Squirdish points out that the water also rehydrated the grass around its feet. The professor speculates that splashing some more water around might restore the entire stadium!

Well reader, I guess we’re gonna have to get to work spitting water everywhere. We start by traversing the expanse of grass beyond the infield dirt. Several patches of grass are missing, but it doesn’t seem like we can do anything about that. As we finish moisturizing the warning track, the FanGraph beeps again. “You’ve restored the Outfield Habitat!”

We should probably do the infield next, right? But wait, there’s a bulbous figure walking slowly through right field, pausing every so often to wiggle its toes in the grass. Let’s go see if we can make a new friend!

RedAsh’s FanGraph goes off again.

A speech bubble appears over Jocasaur’s head, “Lemme teach you!” Teach us what, though?

“Since you helped me out by watering the grass, I’ll teach you my move! Watch this!” When Jocasaur does the move, leaves and blades of grass go flying at its opponent, but when we use Transform to make RedAsh do the move, it generates a fresh patch of green grass where there was only soil before. Now we can replace those missing chunks of the outfield! We retrace our steps, then make our way to the infield. But RedAsh is looking dizzy. Our Power Points (PP) are running low! We need more energy!

“Y’know, if you’re feeling hungry, there used to be fruit on those trees out beyond the outfield wall and some berry bushes too, if I recall,” says Professor Scullgrowth. “Here, I’ll show you.” The professor strolls off toward a gap in the center field wall. We follow, and as we walk, the professor regales us with stories of the PokéBallers who used to compete against one another in this very stadium. “And the human fans used to pack themselves into the stands every single night,” it says. “I do miss hearing the roar of the crowds. I hope they return someday.”

Professor Scullgrowth theorizes that if we spruce up the stadium, the PokéBallers will return to play games here, and with enough PokéBallers, the humans will be drawn back to watch them play. The professor then quotes a movie and mutters something about a cornfield, but RedAsh doesn’t seem to understand the reference.

It turns out, the way to get food is to headbutt the trees and grab the bananas that fall to the ground, or just pluck some berries from the nearby bushes. Now that RedAsh has snarfed down some food, we can head back to the field, but there’s a light of some kind just off the path that I want to check out. The light is a lamp that’s attached to a workbench inside a small shed that’s missing a wall. The professor explains that with the right materials and instructions, we can use the workbench to rebuild the parts of the stadium that have been destroyed. I suppose that means we need to start collecting all the loose bits of wood and stone from the wreckage of the structures around the ballpark. And fortunately, RedAsh is equipped with a backpack that would make Mary Poppins jealous.

I could obsessively tidy up the ballpark all day, but Professor Scullgrowth clearly has other plans for us. The talking tangle of vines is standing near the press box with a speech bubble overhead. “I wonder if this can be of any use…”

Scullgrowth is looking at a control panel that used to operate the videoboards in the outfield, “I haven’t the foggiest idea how it works, but maybe you can figure it out.”

We get RedAsh to twiddle a few knobs and the screens light up. They display a guide for restoring the stadium and a way to obtain building materials and other items to revitalize the ballpark. Shall we buy some bases for the infield? What about a blueprint for making blocks to rebuild the outfield walls? Cool, I’m glad we’re on the same page.

Several minutes pass as we install the bases and use the workbench with the lumber we’ve gathered to make enough blocks to fix the fences around the playing surface. The field looks much better, but once again, Professor Scullgrowth is standing nearby itching to chat. This time, it leads RedAsh through the dugout and down some stairs to a dark hallway.

“Just back there is where the PokéBallers’ clubhouse used to be,” says Professor Scullgrowth. “It was where they would hang out together and prepare for a game, and it was very important that they have that space. I bet if you’d rebuild it, more of them would return!”

Back to the videoboard! There’s a kit for building a clubhouse, and it tells us we need to round up a few more materials and enlist our new PokéBaller friends to help with the construction.

While Squirdish and Jocasaur work on the clubhouse, we need to head back out to the field because the mound is still in rough shape. After RedAsh moves some dirt around and installs the rubber, the FanGraph dings, “You restored pitcher’s mound habitat!” Time to reward ourselves with a banana and get those PP back up.

We should get back to work, but now the mound is… shuddering? Better go over and press A to inspect what’s going on. We do and out springs a new PokéBaller!

“Wow! What a nice place! I think I’d like to live here!” Rokby declares.

While Rokby settles in, we should probably go check on the clubhouse construction. We’re gonna need somewhere to stash all these PokéBallers.

“There you are! The clubhouse is all done!” proclaims Squirdish as we approach. “Prepare to be amazed!” Squirdish and Jocasaur drop the construction dividers to reveal a pristine clubhouse with lockers, chairs, a pool table, bathrooms, and a shower area.

There’s a small, transparent rainbow, flanked with small gold stars near one of the lockers. A closer look prompts a pleasant ding from our FanGraph, “You found a trace of a PokéBaller!” This PokéBaller lives in a Locker Habitat like the one we’ve just created. After we explore the rest of the clubhouse, an unfamiliar PokéBaller is spinning around on one of the chairs in front of a locker. The speech bubble over its head says, “I’d love to live here!”

Conversation reveals this PokéBaller is named Azuriké.

“I’m just so happy to be here, I can’t even put it into words!” Instead, Azuriké initiates a physical interaction. An information bubble appears that reads, “You learned the Crotch Bump Emote!” Next, a small tutorial screen appears, guiding us through the process of selecting from a wheel of available emotes that allow our character to react to various events within the game.

Azuriké is done interacting, but now Rokby has entered the clubhouse and needs something from RedAsh. “I love my new home, but there is one tiny thing missing,” Rokby says. “If you could get me one of these, then my home would be absolutely perfect!” An image appears next to Rokby’s head.

RedAsh accepts Rokby’s request, and now we need to scoot on over to the videoboard to purchase a bidet. After installing the bidet in the clubhouse, Rokby hands us some red twine to say thank you. We haven’t spoken to Professor Scullgrowth in a while, so we’re probably due to check in at the press box.

“You’ve done a great job getting this place back into tip-top shape!” Scullgrowth says. “And seeing all these PokéBallers back here reminded me of how teams of PokéBallers would travel to other stadiums to play against one another. I think we should go check out some other ballparks to see if we can find even more PokéBallers!”

Professor Scullgrowth guides RedAsh to a gate just beyond the stadium’s concourse. A tunnel leads to a whole new ballpark. This one is just as dilapidated as Dodger Stadium was when we first arrived. I guess we’ll have to start the restoration process all over again… And the walls here are a different color, so we’ll need a different set of instructions to make the blocks needed to repair it. There’s a problem, though. The videoboard isn’t working.

Oh wait, it’s just unplugged.

At this stadium, the workbench is inside one of the walls. We’ll need to make several dozen green blocks because one of the outfield walls is quite tall. We’re really gonna have to lock in to accomplish this feat.

“Ding!” finally the FanGraph acknowledges our hard work. “You restored the Green Monster Habitat!”

“Ah! I know where we are now!” says Professor Scullgrowth, standing at the base of the wall with a glimmer of recognition in its eyes. “This must be Fenway Park!”

A knocking is coming from inside the wall. After a few moments, a PokéBaller bursts forth from a concealed door. “How did I wind up back here!?!”

“The last thing I remember is taking a nap in the clubhouse at Dodger Stadium,” Mewkie says. Its eyes widen as it looks around. “Now I wake up here? I used to play here a long time ago… How long was I asleep, and what happened to send me back here??? It must have been something HUGE!”

Mewkie jogs over to right field, where a speech bubble immediately appears over its head, “I wish I had a ball…” An info bubble appears on the screen that reads, “You came up with instructions to make a baseball!”

At the workbench, RedAsh can now use the red twine from Rokby and the leather scraps we found while watering the grass to make a baseball. When it’s done, RedAsh runs back to Mewkie and says, “Look at this!”

“Whoa is that for me?!” Mewkie asks. “Well, since we have a ball now, I can teach you my defensive moves as a way to say thanks!”

Mewkie goes through the steps of catching and throwing, and an info bubble pops up, “You learned Fielding!”

“Maybe now that you can play some ball too, it will attract even more PokéBallers!” Mewkie says. “Yo, who’s that over there?!”

The camera pans toward the batter’s box, where a new PokéBaller seems to be looking for something. “Where’s my bat???”

Following introductions, Vladuhita explains it really needs a set of bats to feel at home. RedAsh remarks that a whole set of bats feels like a lot, but Vladuhita says it will all make sense once the bats are ready. We have plenty of lumber, so let’s get the instructions to make a set of bats from the videoboard and get to work.

Upon seeing the new bats, Vladuhita picks one up and immediately snaps it over one knee. RedAsh can’t believe it, but Vladuhita just throws its head back and laughs.

“That’s why I needed a whole set!” Vladuhita says. “I want to teach you to break bats, so then you’ll be able to smash all sorts of things whenever you want!”

RedAsh learns Vladuhita’s move and tests it out on a broken chunk of the dugout railing, which converts the broken wood to usable lumber. It seems like the interaction is over, but Vladuhita is still right behind us.

“Hey! How about I use my new bats to teach you how to hit? Then we’ll be having so much fun that even more PokéBallers will wanna come play with us! We just need more baseballs!”

Back to the workbench!

After the hitting lesson, Vladuhita says, “Great job! Here’s a reward for being so awesome!” The info bubble returns to the screen and reads, “You got a bag of sunflower seeds!”

Now, the FanGraph is making a doodley-beeping noise that I don’t think we’ve heard before. It’s a video message from Professor Scullgrowth, “You’re making great progress out at Fenway, but can you please check back in at Dodger Stadium? The PokéBallers there love having you around!”

While we sit through the loading screen on our journey back to Dodger Stadium, feel free to go grab a snack. We’ll wait.

***

Oh hey, you’re back. RedAsh found a bucket, put it in front of the visitor’s dugout, and filled it with baseballs. Apparently, that’s all it took to restore the Visiting Player’s Practice Habitat. Now the balls in the bucket are jostling like crazy, which can only mean one thing. Another PokéBaller is about to emerge.

“Yoooo, look at all these balls! Did you put them here?!” After getting confirmation, Blaziskenes continues, “I oughta teach you how to pitch to say thank you!”

We learn how to throw five different pitches, which isn’t even all the pitches Blaziskenes knows. When we’re done, Blaziskenes says, “You’re a fast learner! Take this for being so fun to hang out with!”

The latest info bubble reads, “You got a chicken tender!” We’re low on PP, so we have RedAsh chomp it down immediately.

Now RedAsh is ready to get back to work, but darkness has fallen across the diamond. The stadium lights don’t seem functional and we haven’t come across instructions to make new ones. Maybe the professor knows what to do.

“A very long time ago,” Scullgrowth says, “All games were played during the day because most ballparks didn’t have lights. But if we want the human fans to come back, we should probably get them working. There used to be a furnace in the basement below the seating bowl. Perhaps you should start there.”

RedAsh is getting its steps in today, cutting through the clubhouse and into the underground hallway that circles the stadium. The furnace will burn just about anything we feel like throwing in there. We’ve got some sticks and leaves, but we might as well toss in some sunflower seeds and dirty uniforms we found too. We need Blaziskenes to use his burn ability to get the fire going, but as soon as the flames are visible, the entire stadium lights up. A moment later, a bolt of lightning strikes the right field foul pole. Professor Scullgrowth’s voice comes over the PA immediately to report the sighting of a Legendary PokéBaller.

The scene cuts to the right field bleachers where a PokéBaller unlike any we’ve seen so far stands tall, surveying the diamond.

“When I saw the stadium all lit up, I figured the humans had finally come back…” Raikohtani explains, “But you PokéBallers got the ballpark glowin’ again all by yourselves?”

“We sure did!” proclaims RedAsh.

“Talk about a SHOCKIN’ development!” says Raikohtani, “I even let loose an extra large lightning bolt — that’s how shocked I was!” Raikohtani figures natural disasters forced the humans to flee, but has no idea where they went. “Anyway, I think I’m gonna head out! Tell your friends I said, ‘What’s up!’ I’m best buds with ALL of you now!”

Speaking of our new friends, it’s probably time to check on Fenway. But before we can make it to the tunnel, Professor Scullgrowth encourages RedAsh to tidy up the bullpen, since it’s so easily observed by the fans we want to attract. Naturally, a trace of a PokéBaller in the ‘pen is the first thing we see when we arrive. By the time things are back in order, a new PokéBaller friend is crouched behind the plate opposite one of the bullpen mounds.

“I can’t WAIT to hang out here with my pitching pals and help them warm up before the game!”

“And speaking of pals,” Ralugia says, “you haven’t seen this habitat, have you?”

The FanGraph beeps and displays an image of the First to Second Base Habitat. We haven’t seen that habitat yet.

“Well, if you do, the PokéBaller who lives there can teach you how to run the bases like a pro!” Ralugia reveals.

That’s our hint to head for the infield and make sure the dirt between first and second is still hydrated and that the bases themselves are secure. As we get closer, the second base bag begins to shimmy in its socket, and a giant pink PokéBaller explodes out of the base.

“What is this place?” asks Slownaylz, but before we can answer, Ralugia comes swooping in from the bullpen. The pair stand side by side and gently tap their skulls together.

An info bubble materializes to announce, “You just learned the Head Boop Emote!”

“Thanks for reuniting me with my buddy!” says Slownaylz. “I’d love to give you something in return. Wanna learn my baserunning tricks??”

An offer like that is impossible to refuse. Slownaylz demonstrates how to read the pitcher, executing a move that confuses the defense so it doesn’t know how to react.

“Hey pals, are we talking baserunning?”

RedAsh jumps back in surprise. The speaker is a PokéBaller we don’t know.

“Oh, hi! We haven’t met yet, but I heard about how hard you worked to make this place so nice! I’m really excited to live here,” Hitramtop says. “I didn’t mean to skip over introductions, but I heard you talking about running the bases, and I have this baserunning problem that I’m really hoping you can fix, since you did such a good job fixing everything else!”

“What’s the problem?” asks RedAsh.

“Every time I run the bases my helmet flies off!” Hitramtop says. “It’s probably because I have to balance the helmet on my horn! It sure would be nice to have a helmet that fits properly and stays on my head though…”

The game automatically accepts the PokéBaller’s request, the way it accepts every request from a PokéBaller, but this one is particularly baffling. Design and make a batting helmet that will stay on Hitramtop’s head while running? Surely that’s an impossible task! We better go ask Professor Scullgrowth for help…

***

This post is dedicated to my dear friend Jess, the most enthusiastic Pokopia player I know (355 hours and counting).