Shigeru Ohmori first conceived the idea of player-built Pokémon habitats for Pokémon Pokopia.
Ohmori was a director of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet when he began considering new approaches for the Pokémon series. His earlier experience as a map designer on Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire led him to think about how appealing it would be for players to create their own Pokémon habitats.
That concept became the foundation for Pokopia’s sandbox structure. The finished game lets players restore environments, construct buildings, arrange objects, and attract Pokémon by meeting habitat needs. Ohmori served as the game’s concept and senior director.
Takuto Edagawa held the chief-director role, so the two names are easy to mix up. Edagawa helped lead development, but Ohmori is the person credited with originating the central habitat-building idea.