Overview
Item customization in Pokemon Pokopia revolves around the Paint system, unlocked by recruiting Smearguru, one of the seven Special Pokemon. Painting lets you change the color of placed furniture, building exteriors, and blocks without affecting their functional properties. The process has three steps: produce dyes using the Crush specialty, craft Paint Balloons (or use Smearguru directly as a follower), and apply the color to any item marked with a paintbrush icon.
Unlocking the Paint System
The painting system is unlocked during the Bleak Beach storyline. Follow these steps to unlock it:
Reach Great Trainer Rank by completing the "Yawn Up a Storm!" quest in the Withered Wasteland. This opens the gate to Bleak Beach.
Find Smearguru in its private hut on the far northern beach of Bleak Beach, underneath a gazebo. Smearguru will be painting on a canvas.
Bring Smearguru a Leppa Berry. Leppa Berries are obtained by headbutting trees (they look like small apples). You can also use Water Gun on withered trees to revive them, then headbutt for berries.
Have a Pokemon with the Crush specialty (such as Onix or Pawmo) turn the Leppa Berry into Red Dye.
Return the Red Dye to Smearguru.
Build the Tantalizing Restaurant habitat (Habitat #067) to recruit Smearguru. It requires 1 Seat, 1 Menu Board, 1 Table, and 1 Plated Food.
Once recruited, Smearguru gives you the Paint Balloon crafting recipe and the Paint specialty becomes available.
Producing Dyes
Dyes are not found in the world; they must be produced using the Crush specialty. Give berries or food items to any Pokemon with the Crush specialty, and they will grind them into colored dye. Different berries and food items produce different colors.
Berry/Food | Dye Color |
|---|---|
Leppa Berry | Red |
Leppa Berry producing Red Dye is the only fully confirmed berry-to-color mapping. Other berries produce different colors, but the complete list is still being documented by the community. Gathering a wide variety of berries is recommended to unlock more color options. Mixed colors (like rose) can be created by combining base dyes together.
The Crush specialty also has a second function: grinding raw Limestone into Concrete when used with a Concrete Mixer. Make sure to give berries specifically when you want dye, not construction materials.
Pokemon with the Crush Specialty
There are 20 Pokemon with the Crush specialty. Onix and Pawmo are among the earliest you can recruit.
Pokemon | Second Specialty |
|---|---|
Onix | Bulldoze |
Steelix | Bulldoze |
Geodude | Bulldoze |
Graveler | Bulldoze |
Pawmo | Generate |
Conkeldurr | Build |
Electivire | Generate |
Magmortar | Burn |
Dugtrio | Bulldoze |
Larvitar | Bulldoze |
Pupitar | Bulldoze |
Tyranitar | Bulldoze |
Cranidos | Bulldoze |
Rampardos | Bulldoze |
Shieldon | Bulldoze |
Bastiodon | Bulldoze |
Tyrunt | Bulldoze |
Tyrantrum | Bulldoze |
Amaura | Bulldoze |
Aurorus | Bulldoze |
Two Painting Methods
There are two ways to apply paint to items:
Method 1: Smearguru as Follower
Set Smearguru as your follower Pokemon, then walk up to a placed furniture item or building. If the item is paintable (indicated by a paintbrush icon), interact with it and Smearguru will paint it directly. You choose the color from your available dyes. Smearguru can also apply patterns and color individual segments of multi-part furniture pieces, not just the entire item at once.
Method 2: Paint Balloons
Craft Paint Balloons at a Workbench using dyes (at least 2 units of dye per balloon). Stand in front of or select the item you want to paint, then use the balloon on it. Paint Balloons are throwable items that apply color on impact. The balloon's color matches the dye used to craft it. This method works without Smearguru present, making it useful for painting items in regions where Smearguru is not stationed. Paint Balloons are especially handy for:
Painting elevated decorations or items placed on high shelves
Recoloring items in tight spaces where Smearguru cannot easily reach
Quick batch painting of multiple items without walking to each one
Painting building exteriors by throwing balloons at the outside walls
What Can Be Painted
Not every item in the game supports painting. Look for the paintbrush icon on an item to determine if it is paintable.
Category | Paintable? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Furniture | Yes (most) | Chairs, tables, shelves, decorations, and other placed furniture with the paintbrush icon. |
Building exteriors | Yes | Throw Paint Balloons at the outside walls of houses and buildings to change their color. |
Blocks | Yes | Placed building blocks can be recolored. |
Building kits | No | Pre-designed building kit structures cannot be repainted. |
Raw materials | No | Items in your inventory or unplaced materials cannot be painted. |
Special items | No | Some unique items and quest-related objects are not paintable. |
Color Mixing
Beyond base colors produced directly from berries, you can mix dyes together to create additional colors. For example, combining base dyes can produce shades like rose, teal, or lavender. The mixing system encourages experimentation with different berry and food combinations through the Crush specialty. The exact number of available colors has not been fully documented, but guides describe the options as "numerous."
Patterns
Smearguru can apply decorative patterns to paintable items in addition to solid colors. When using Smearguru in follower mode, you get the option to choose between a solid color recoat or a patterned design. Patterns add visual variety beyond simple color changes, allowing for striped, spotted, or other decorative effects on furniture and blocks.
Tips
Recruit Smearguru as early as possible. The painting system is purely cosmetic but adds enormous visual variety to your settlements.
Keep a Crush-specialty Pokemon like Onix or Pawmo in every region so you can produce dyes wherever you are.
Stockpile different berry types. Each berry (and possibly food items) produces a different dye color when crushed.
Paint Balloons work without Smearguru present. Craft a supply and carry them with you for on-the-go painting across all regions.
Check for the paintbrush icon before attempting to paint. Not all items support it.
Experiment with color mixing to discover additional shades beyond the base berry colors.
Use Smearguru's follower mode when you want to apply patterns or color individual segments of multi-part furniture. Paint Balloons only apply solid colors.
Photograph painted items at a friend's island and duplicate them with the 3D Printer. The printed copy retains the original color.
The Paint specialty has a cooldown between uses. Plan painting sessions to batch multiple items at once.