Joe Merrick of Serebii claims the Pokopedia companion app for Pokémon Pokopia has copied his site's data, including errors and images, after he invested over 200 hours documenting the game. The app, developed by Hugo Duarte, includes a $8.99 ad-removal purchase. Duarte states he used public sources like Serebii and plans to add attributions amid harassment claims.
Pokémon Pokopia, a life sim from Game Freak and Omega Force, launched a little under two weeks before March 17, 2026. Serebii webmaster Joe Merrick documented Pokémon, habitats, recipes, and secrets on his site, investing over 200 hours. On March 16, 2026, Merrick posted on X about the Pokopedia mobile app, accusing it of scraping Serebii's information for profit. He noted matching omissions, such as Snivy and Larvesta lacking the Litter speciality, which he had accidentally omitted. Merrick shared: “I accidentally left Litter off Snivy and Larvesta a few days ago. This app has that same issue. All images are ripped from my site or using the HOME images (which I used until last week).” He added: “With 200 hours work behind me on it, seeing my work just lifted and, in the case of the app, being used to make money…it hurts.” Pokopedia positions itself as a lookup tool for habitats and specialities and has been promoted by Pokémon creators. Merrick noted prior similar incidents, amplified by Pokopia's virality. Duarte, who developed a similar Stardew Valley app, removed Pokopedia mentions from his X. In a March 17 statement to Kotaku, Duarte said: “I started working on it well before the game’s release, using information gathered from trailers and official news. I got the game on day one and began adding data I collected myself. At some point there was just too much data for one person to cover, so I started using other publicly available community sources, Serebii among them.” He affirmed respect for Merrick's work, openness to dialogue, and plans for source attribution, while citing “coordinated harassment.”