How to go online and play with friends on Pokopia

When Pokemon Pokopia may seem like a single player experience, but it actually has a variety of different multiplayer options. From online co-op play through the main storyline, to the creative and continuous Cloud Island experience, as well as the more limited GameShare multiplayer experience, poppy gives you a variety of ways to enjoy this life-slicing Pokemon game with other players, so let’s take a look at your options.

How to Find Pokemon in Pokopia

Pokopia players can use the Search function to find the location of their lost Pokemon, which is useful if they need to use their skills.

How to Play Local and Online Co-Op Multiplayer on Pokopia

To play multiplayer, you need to interact with your PC outside of the Pokemon Center and select the Link Play option that appears.

You will then be presented with three different options:

Invite Others to Visit: This allows players to join your world.
Visit Friends: Allows you to join other players’ worlds.
Play on Cloud Island: Cloud Islands are persistent online worlds that you and your friends can build, regardless of whether the host is online. More on this option later.

Select the option you want, depending on your agreement with your friend, then select the Online or Local Connection option. If you’re in the same room, you can select Local; otherwise, you should choose the Online option.

Then you’ll need to decide whether the Link Code is displayed when playing with others, the number of players you want to play with, and whether you want Spectator Mode on. The first two are self-explanatory, but Spectator Mode disables the use of certain moves and items so visiting players can’t mess around with other players’ worlds too much.

Hiding the Link Code can be useful for streamers who don’t want viewers joining in on their games and creating chaos.

Once this is done, you can press + to confirm your decision, and an online connection will be established. Your Link Code will be displayed on the screen, allowing you to share it with friends.

If you select the ‘Visit a Friend’ option from the Play Link menu, after selecting Online, you will need to enter the other player’s world Link Code. After entering this, you can then join your friend’s game.

If you visit a friend via a local connection, the game will automatically search for open and available worlds nearby.

How to GameShare on Pokopia

poppy features a GameShare option that allows other players who don’t own a copy of the game to experience it just from your copy of the game. However, there are limitations that come with it, which we will discuss below.

GameShare is only available once you reach Palette Town west of the Withered Wasteland. These unlock naturally as you progress through the first few hours of the game.

After doing this, you can then select the GameShare option from the ‘Invite Others to Visit’ option when interacting with the PC outside of Pokemon Center and select the Play Link option.

You can then choose to play with nearby players, or via GameChat. Complete the session setup instructions and you will be able to invite players to the game.

For other players, the process you need to follow depends on whether you are playing online or locally.

If you’re GameSharing locally:

Open the GameShare app from the home menu.
Select “join” when hosting Nintendo Switch 2 poppy found. The connection will be established and you can enter the game.

If you GameSharing via GameChat:

When you receive a notification to join a GameChat invitation, accept it.
You should then receive another notification to join the GameShare invitation.

Pokopia Game Sharing Limitations

When you join a session via GameShare, you won’t be able to create or open a crafting table, interact with Pokemon, or change the appearance of your Ditto. You also can’t progress the main storyline or explore the main islands. Consider this more of a general gameplay taster, rather than a proper co-op multiplayer experience.

However, you can use various abilities that the host player has unlocked from other Pokemon, interact with the world, collect items placed in the world, drop and pick up dirt blocks to help reach new areas (or tidy up the world), and eat food to restore your PP.

How to Create and Play Cloud Island Multiplayer on Pokopia

Lastly, there is the Cloud Island multiplayer mode. This allows players to create persistent online islands that you can share with friends and create together. It is separate from the main storyline and gives players an area to hang out away from the main game area.

To set up Cloud Island, simply select it from the Link Cable menu on your PC. You can then create a new Cloud Island, set up a new one, or open an existing one (as long as you have the Link Code or have already visited it).

After setting up Cloud Island with your desired settings, you will be given a code that you can share with friends, so they can join the island. If you visit a Cloud Island set up by another player, you must select the option to join an island and then enter this code.

Because Cloud Islands are persistent, they do not require an online host for other players to join.