There are a lot of moving parts that keep a Pokémon Pokopia town functioning, and more often than not, it’s up to you, the player, to maintain them. Generators need a power source, crops need water, and the Pokémon who live in these areas usually have a request or two for making their homes nicer. Ditto is kept pretty busy spinning multiple plates to make everyone happy, which is why some players are trying to find ways to automate parts of the process, and have already made big strides in just a week of playing.
Laser sensors are at the center of these early designs. These motion-activated sensors are made with PokeMetal and can be rigged up in front of moving objects that can set off a chain of motion that, if you’re patient and creative enough, you can use to create automated mechanisms.
Reddit user nin10Donuts created an early proof-of-concept showing how laser sensors could be used to create a series of channels for water to flow through and that, once the initial flow in motion, could operate without the player having to manage it. With the right laser, door, and water placement, this kind of thing could save players a ton of time with some of the more mundane aspects of crop management. That’s just one way the motion censor system can be implemented, and given how dense Pokopia’s systems can get, I’m sure someone’s going to find more ways to use it.
Automation is one thing, but even without having to rig a complex motion-sensing system, players are already finding really clever ways to manipulate the game’s water physics to save them time and effort. Some have used the waterbed garden in the Rocky Ridges area to quickly water crops by simply opening a gate and letting the water flow over their vegetables instead of having to spray Water Gun on each patch of dirt.
低コスト水やり装置完成！#NintendoSwitch2 #ぽこポケ #ぽこあポケモン pic.twitter.com/glxo0kq1aS
— 因幡ちゃん (@inaba_chan_) March 9, 2026
For some, years of playing Minecraft and using similar systems have led them to this point. I’m over here just happy I managed to get my power lines across a town while these folks are playing 4D Chess. These kinds of logic gates have been used to create even crazier things in Minecraft, like making a playable version of Doom using Redstone and logic gates, but it’s unclear if Pokopia will be able to facilitate anything of that scale given its maps are significantly smaller. For now, the self-sustaining towns are exciting enough. We’ll see what the sickos create in the coming weeks and months.