The Internet’s Going Crazy Over Pokémon Home’s New Mascot

A seemingly unremarkable feature of Game Freak’s new Pokémon Home service has sent fans on social media into full-blown investigative mode.

The app, which was released earlier this week for Switch and smartphones, allows users to migrate their existing Pokémon collections from different games in the series and consolidate them all in one place. Any Pocket Monsters transferred to Home‘s cloud-based storage boxes can then be moved over to the series’ current incumbent, Sword and Shield. Pokémon currently not present in Galar’s Pokédex cannot be retrieved, of course, and those moved to Home from the likes of Pokémon Go or 2018’s Let’s Go! spinoffs cannot be returned to where they originally came from.

Truthfully, there’s a lot of red tape you’ll need to be aware of before using the software to its fullest, but fear not – Game Freak has introduced a brand new character, Poké Boy, to act as your digital guide. Fans have been quick to point out that the assistant bears more than a passing resemblance to Sword and Shield‘s popular Ball Guy, paving the way for a wave of weird and wacky theories attempting to solve the pair’s connection.

Check them out below:

First there was Ball Guy… now there is Poké Boy. The cinematic universe expands. pic.twitter.com/AvOwQ4Inki

— PLDH (@PLDHnet) February 12, 2020

https://twitter.com/BrandonFulmore/status/1227428933991358464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1227428933991358464&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fgaming%2F2020%2F02%2F14%2Fpokemon-home-poke-boy-reactions%2F

Tired: Grand Oak is a meme character
Wired: Poke Boy is the larval stage of Ball Guy pic.twitter.com/mO7ymKovR4

— Bondforged Hitoshura0 (@hitoshura0) February 12, 2020

https://twitter.com/Rhinn18/status/1227815984217628672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1227815984217628672&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fgaming%2F2020%2F02%2F14%2Fpokemon-home-poke-boy-reactions%2F

Poke Boy is what you should get when Voltorb evolves while holding a soothe bell pic.twitter.com/ClWexk4x3D

— 🐍 Vuro (@Vurororo) February 12, 2020

https://twitter.com/gojosoap/status/1227423723713712129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1227423723713712129&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fgaming%2F2020%2F02%2F14%2Fpokemon-home-poke-boy-reactions%2F

Eager to have your own one-way chat with Poké Boy? Simply download the Pokémon Home app and bring up the help menu to pick the living Poké Ball’s brain over whichever topic you see fit. It’s worth noting, however, that the perfectly spherical helper isn’t present in smartphone versions, so you’ll need to have a Switch on-hand to engage in the meet and greet.

Pokémon Home is available as both a free and paid service and a one-year subscription will set you back $15,99. For a breakdown of all the benefits provided for premium subscribers, see here.