Cave Mushrooms

Overview

Cave Mushrooms are a raw food ingredient in Pokemon Pokopia that can be gathered from cave environments and certain Dream Islands. Their in-game description reads: "Mushrooms that grow in damp places, such as caves or under shady trees. Restores some PP when eaten." Cave Mushrooms serve as a key ingredient in two cooking recipes and can also be consumed raw for a quick PP boost. They produce a Dry flavor profile when cooked.

Cave Mushrooms are distinct from Glowing Mushrooms, which are a separate material used in crafting furniture like Mushroom Lamps. While both items are found in similar cave environments, they fill different roles: Cave Mushrooms are a cooking ingredient and consumable, while Glowing Mushrooms are a crafting resource.

Basic Properties

Like most raw ingredients, Cave Mushrooms can be eaten directly from your bag for a quick PP boost without needing to cook them first. This makes them handy during long exploration sessions when you run low on move energy. However, cooking them into a proper meal provides a full PP restore along with a move power-up, so saving them for recipes is generally the better long-term strategy.

Where to Find Cave Mushrooms

Cave Mushrooms spawn as naturally occurring items in specific locations. You can pick them up by walking over to them and pressing the interact button, the same way you collect any other overworld material.

Rocky Ridges

Rocky Ridges is the primary source of Cave Mushrooms in the overworld. This mountainous, volcanic region (the ruins of Pewter City) contains an extensive cave system where Cave Mushrooms grow on the cave floors. The deeper you go into the mine areas, the more mushrooms you tend to find. Rocky Ridges is accessible after completing the initial Withered Wasteland storyline, and you can reach it through the northwest gate.

The caves in Rocky Ridges also contain Copper Ore, Iron Ore, Gold Ore, Glowing Mushrooms, Mossy Stone, and other valuable resources, so it is worth exploring thoroughly whenever you visit.

Clefairy Doll Dream Island

The Clefairy Doll Dream Island (also called Rock Peak Dream Island) is another reliable source. This island features Cave Mushrooms as one of its three focus materials, alongside Limestone and Copper Ore. To visit this island, you need to find a Clefairy Doll (obtainable from Glowing Blocks or treasure spots) and present it to Drifloon. You can visit one Dream Island per day, so plan your trips accordingly.

The Clefairy Doll Dream Island is a good option when you need Cave Mushrooms in bulk, since the focus material spawn rate is higher than what you find scattered around Rocky Ridges caves.

Location Summary

Cooking Recipes

Cave Mushrooms are used as an ingredient in two cooking recipes. Both produce Dry-flavored dishes. Cooking these recipes requires the appropriate cooking equipment and a Stove or campfire. All cooked meals fully restore your PP in addition to powering up a specific Ditto transformation move.

Mushroom Soup

Mushroom Soup is a soup-type dish cooked in a Cooking Pot placed on a Stove. It requires one Fresh Water, one Cave Mushrooms, and one additional ingredient of your choice. Eating it fully restores your PP and powers up Water Gun, letting you water more tiles at once when holding down the button. This is particularly useful for maintaining crops and growing grass across larger areas.

Mushroom Hamburger Steak

Mushroom Hamburger Steak is a hamburger steak dish cooked in a Frying Pan on a Stove. It requires one Bean, one Cave Mushrooms, and two additional ingredients (but not Tomato or Potato, which would change the recipe). Eating it powers up Rock Smash (and Rollout), allowing you to break through tougher materials and obtain Iron Ore, Gold Ore, and Pokemetal Fragments from boulders.

Trading

Cave Mushrooms can be traded with visiting merchants or through the trading system. They have a base trade value of 10 coins. If you offer Cave Mushrooms to a trader who lists them as a favorite item, the value increases to 15 coins. While this is not a high-value trade item compared to processed goods or rare materials, it can be a convenient way to earn a few extra coins from surplus mushrooms.

Gifting and Flavor Preferences

Because Cave Mushrooms are classified as a Dry-flavor food, they can be gifted directly to Pokemon that prefer Dry food. Feeding a Pokemon food that matches its favorite flavor grants a larger Comfort boost than feeding a neutral or disliked flavor. This applies to both raw Cave Mushrooms and cooked dishes made from them.

Offering Mushroom Hamburger Steak to Mosslax as a daily offering provides a special buff that increases the likelihood of encountering Pokemon with rare feathers throughout all your areas. This buff lasts until 5:00 AM the following day. See the Mosslax Daily Buffs page for the full list of offering effects.

Tips

• Stock up at Rocky Ridges: Cave Mushrooms respawn over time in the cave system. Make a habit of picking them up whenever you pass through on your way to mine ores.

• Use the Clefairy Doll Dream Island for bulk farming: If you need a large quantity for cooking, the Dream Island has a higher concentration of Cave Mushrooms than any overworld location.

• Save them for cooking rather than eating raw: A raw Cave Mushroom only restores some PP, but a cooked meal fully restores PP and powers up a move. The investment in cooking pays off significantly.

• Pair with Mushroom Hamburger Steak for mining runs: The Rock Smash upgrade from this recipe lets you break harder ores. Cook one before heading into Rocky Ridges for maximum efficiency.

• Check your flavor preferences: If you have Pokemon that favor Dry food, Cave Mushrooms (raw or cooked) make a cost-effective gift for boosting Comfort.