Mining

Overview

Mining in Pokemon Pokopia is the process of breaking ore-bearing blocks and terrain with Rock Smash to collect raw materials, then refining those materials into usable crafting components through Smelting Furnaces and specialty Pokemon. While not a standalone mini-game, mining forms a critical resource pipeline that feeds into building, crafting, and late-game progression. Iron Ingots, Gold Ingots, Copper Ingots, and Glass are essential for furniture, infrastructure, and major construction projects.

Rock Smash Basics

Rock Smash is the primary tool for mining. You learn it from Hitmonchan in the Withered Wasteland by building an Exercise Resting Spot habitat (a Punching Bag next to any Seat). Give Hitmonchan two Stones to complete his request, and he teaches you the move.

Controls

• Set Rock Smash as your active move (visible in the bottom-right of the screen).

• Press ZR to punch the highlighted block in front of you.

• Hold ZR for continuous punching on multi-hit blocks.

• Use the Right Stick to adjust the camera and aim at blocks above or below your current position.

• Rock Smash adds destroyed blocks to your inventory as Stone, Ore, or other materials depending on the block type.

Powered-Up Rock Smash

Standard Rock Smash cannot break reinforced blocks like metal grating, granite, or Gold Ore deposits. To break these tougher materials, you need to eat a Hamburger Steak (or Simple Hamburger) before mining. This cooking recipe powers up Rock Smash temporarily, allowing you to:

• Break through metal grating and steel blocks

• Mine Gold Ore deposits in the deeper levels of Rocky Ridges mines

• Smash granite and reinforced stone

• Access hidden caves and passages sealed behind tough walls

The power-up buff lasts until your PP depletes or until the next in-game day. Always carry extra Hamburger Steaks and Leppa Berries when heading into a mining session.

Hamburger Steak requires Beans, which are grown from Bean Seeds planted in tilled soil (use Rototiller). A Frying Pan (crafted from Copper Ingots) and a Stove are needed for cooking.

Ore Types and Locations

Five raw minerals can be mined from the environment. Each ore type appears in specific regions and requires different processing methods.

Stone

The most common material. Stone drops from almost any terrain block when hit with Rock Smash. Found everywhere in all five regions. Used in basic recipes (Workbench, Campfire, Block Crafting) and as a component in the Smelting Furnace and Concrete Mixer.

Iron Ore

Iron Ore drops from metallic-veined blocks found in caves, underground areas, and near abandoned structures. It is available in every region, though the densest deposits are in Rocky Ridges mines. Iron Ore is also produced by Pokemon with the Recycle specialty (Trubbish, Garbodor, Porygon) from Nonburnable Garbage, providing an alternative source when natural deposits run low.

Iron is the most frequently needed metal in Pokopia. It goes into the Smelting Furnace recipe itself (4 Iron Ore + 4 Stone), Utility Poles for the electricity grid, furniture, and late-game infrastructure. Stock up early and keep Recycle-specialty Pokemon active.

Copper Ore

Copper Ore blocks have visible orange-brown copper streaks and are found primarily in the Rocky Ridges mines near the hot springs north of the Pokemon Center. Mining them requires only basic Rock Smash. Copper Ore blocks tend to spawn in clusters, making a single mine trip productive.

An alternative way to get Copper Ore is completing Bulbasaur's jump rope minigame, which rewards one Copper Ore per session (once daily) for achieving 10 or more jumps.

Gold Ore

Gold Ore is found exclusively in the deeper levels of Rocky Ridges mines, behind reinforced walls. You must power up Rock Smash by eating a Hamburger Steak before attempting to mine Gold Ore blocks. Standard Rock Smash bounces off them harmlessly.

Gold Ore deposits sit below the initial mine layer. Look for downward paths or breakable floor sections leading to a second underground level. Gold blocks have a distinctive bright yellow-gold shimmer. Gold Ingots are required for endgame furniture, the Team Initiation Challenge, and Pokemetal-tier items.

Limestone

Pale gray chalky blocks found in Rocky Ridges and Sparkling Skylands. Limestone is processed into Cement using a Concrete Mixer operated by a Crush-specialty Pokemon (Onix, Graveler, Pawmo). Cement combined with Water and Stone produces Concrete, a key building material for Sparkling Skylands infrastructure like Lift platforms.

Special Mining Materials

Several materials collected through mining do not go through the standard ore-to-ingot pipeline but are equally important for crafting and progression.

Glowing Stone

Glowing Stone is a rare late-game material found deep within the Rocky Ridges volcano mines. Nodes spawn behind large rock pillars and in tucked-away corners of the mine network. Mining Glowing Stone requires powered-up Rock Smash. Transforming into Graveler via Rollout is recommended for faster clearing of deposits and obstacles in the mine.

Glowing Stone is required for the final stages of the Skyland building reconstruction in Sparkling Skylands (the quest that leads to encountering Mewtwo). Resources respawn after leaving and re-entering the region, so loop between the mine and surrounding areas for efficient farming.

Processing: Smelting Furnace

The Smelting Furnace is the main processing station for ores. It converts raw ore into metal ingots and sand-type materials into glass.

Crafting the Smelting Furnace

Pre-built Smelting Furnaces also exist throughout the game world (notably in Rocky Ridges near Magmar's habitat), so you can start smelting before crafting your own.

How Smelting Works

1. Place ore (Iron, Copper, or Gold) or sand-type material (Volcanic Ash, Sand, or Sandstone) into the Furnace.

2. Station a Pokemon with the Burn specialty nearby.

3. The Pokemon will automatically begin firing into the Furnace.

4. Wait for the smelting cycle to complete. The Pokemon works continuously as long as ore remains in the Furnace.

All smelting conversions use a 1:1 ratio. Placing 5 Copper Ore produces 5 Copper Ingots. Placing 10 Iron Ore produces 10 Iron Ingots.

Smelting Recipes

Burn-Specialty Pokemon for Smelting

Any Pokemon with the Burn specialty can operate a Smelting Furnace. Ask the Pokemon to follow you, walk to the Furnace, and it will automatically take over. Stationing multiple Burn Pokemon near a cluster of Furnaces dramatically increases throughput.

Processing: Concrete Mixer

The Concrete Mixer converts Limestone into Cement and Water + Stone into Concrete. A Pokemon with the Crush specialty (Onix, Graveler, Pawmo, Geodude line) is required to operate it.

Processing: Bricks

Bricks are not produced through the Smelting Furnace. Instead, Pokemon with the Burn specialty directly convert Squishy Clay into Bricks. Torchic is especially efficient, producing 2 Bricks per Squishy Clay (10 clay yields 20 bricks at a time).

Squishy Clay is found primarily on Bleak Beach by using Rock Smash on the brown terrain cubes scattered around the flooded built-up area, the abandoned Pokemon Center, and the shores. Paldean Wooper with the Litter specialty also drops Squishy Clay near its home periodically.

Bricks are used for the Bleak Beach Pokemon Center reconstruction (20 Bricks needed), the Pikachu Fountain (10 Bricks), various Building Kits, and decorative block crafting (Arched Tiling).

Alternative Iron: Recycle Specialty

When mine deposits run low, Pokemon with the Recycle specialty provide a renewable iron source. Give Nonburnable Garbage (found at Bleak Beach and other areas) to a Recycle Pokemon and select "Look at this!" to offer the material. The Pokemon will process it and deliver Iron Ore the next time you speak with them.

Recycle Pokemon also convert Wastepaper into Paper, making them dual-purpose resource converters. Set up a Trubbish or Garbodor near your crafting hub for passive iron and paper production.

Ore by Region

Each region offers different mining opportunities. Plan your mining trips based on what materials you need.

Key Items Requiring Mined Materials

Most major progression milestones require mined and smelted materials. Here are the most important uses:

Mining Tips

• Build a crafting hub per region. Place a Workbench, Smelting Furnace, and Storage Boxes together in every active area. Materials do not transfer between regions.

• Station multiple Burn Pokemon at Furnaces. Ingot production is the biggest late-game bottleneck. Having three or four Burn Pokemon operating separate Furnaces simultaneously saves hours of waiting.

• Always carry Hamburger Steaks. You never know when you will encounter Gold Ore or Glowing Stone deposits that require powered-up Rock Smash. Cook extras and keep them in your inventory.

• Use Rollout for efficient mine clearing. After learning Rollout from Graveler in Rocky Ridges, transform into Graveler to roll through mine tunnels. Rollout breaks blocks faster than standard Rock Smash and covers more ground.

• Set up Recycle Pokemon early. Trubbish is available early in Bleak Beach. Station it near your crafting area to convert Nonburnable Garbage into Iron Ore passively. This becomes essential once natural iron deposits thin out.

• Mine Rocky Ridges thoroughly. Rocky Ridges has the widest variety of ores (Iron, Copper, Gold, Limestone) plus Volcanic Ash for Glass and Glowing Stone for endgame content. It is the most important mining region in the game.

• Resources respawn. Ore blocks regenerate after you leave and return to a region. If you deplete a mine, visit another area and come back later to find fresh deposits.

• Check Dream Islands. Volcanic Dream Islands (Arcanine Doll) are a good source of Iron Ore, Gold Ore, and Glowing Stone. Sky Dream Islands (Dragonite Doll) provide Pokemetal Fragments and Crystal Fragments.

• Storage Box next to Furnace. Place a Storage Box directly adjacent to each Smelting Furnace. Burn Pokemon will automatically pull ore from nearby storage, letting you queue up large smelting batches without manual feeding.