Overview
Palette Town is the sandbox area in Pokemon Pokopia, accessible beyond the western roadway of the Withered Wasteland. Unlike the four story regions, Palette Town is a massive blank canvas designed for freeform building, creative projects, and multiplayer collaboration. The area has minimal pre-existing terrain, giving you complete freedom to shape the landscape however you want.
The name is a wordplay on Pallet Town from Kanto, with "Palette" referencing an artist's palette to reflect the area's creative focus. Palette Town is also home to a significant roster of exclusive Pokemon that cannot be found anywhere else, including all eight Eeveelutions, Eevee itself, and the three Legendary Birds.
How to Unlock Palette Town
Palette Town becomes accessible early in the game once you meet a few requirements. It is the first area players can visit beyond the starting zone and does not require any specific Trainer Rank.
Learn Rock Smash. Build an Exercise Resting Spot in the Withered Wasteland, befriend Hitmonchan, and complete its request to learn Rock Smash.
Break through soil bricks. Head to the western side of the Withered Wasteland. Use Rock Smash to break through the soil bricks blocking the path to the left of the Pokemon Center.
Build a bridge. On the far left (west) side, you will find a broken cycling path over a gap. Use any blocks you have to rebuild the bridge and cross to the other side.
Once you cross the bridge, you arrive in Palette Town. Approach the Pokemon Center PC to interact with the computer. This triggers the appearance of Eevee, who asks for help finding its friends, and unlocks the Special Challenges menu.
Renaming Palette Town
When you first access the Pokemon Center PC in Palette Town, you are given the option to name the area. You can change this name at any time by returning to the PC and selecting the rename option. This is purely cosmetic and does not affect gameplay.
Eevee and the Eeveelutions
All nine members of the Eevee family are exclusive to Palette Town and cannot be encountered in any of the four story regions. Eevee appears automatically when you first interact with the PC at the Palette Town Pokemon Center. It explains that its friends (the eight Eeveelutions) are scattered and asks for your help finding them.
Eevee's own habitat is the Pretty Flower Bed, built with Wildflowers x4. Every Eeveelution habitat follows the same base recipe: 1 Seat (any type) + 1 Table (any type) + 1 unique food item. The food items are earned by completing Eeveelution Challenges, a set of eight Special Challenges accessible from the Palette Town PC.
Eeveelution Challenges and Habitats
Each Eeveelution requires completing a specific challenge to unlock the food item for its habitat. The challenges can be completed in any order.
Pokemon | Type | Challenge | Food Reward | Habitat Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Water | Obtain and grow 12 different types of flower seeds | Soda Float | Boundless Blue Beverage | |
Electric | Power 50 machines with electricity | Fried Potatoes | Electrifying Potatoes | |
Fire | Use Pokemon to build 15 times | Pizza | Burning-Hot Spice | |
Psychic | Get a Pokemon housemate in Palette Town | Afternoon Tea Set | Elegant Daytime Treats | |
Dark | Build a road using 300 blocks | Chocolate Cookies | Dark-Chocolate Cookies | |
Grass | Grow 50 vegetables at once | Sandwiches | Leafy Green Sandwich | |
Ice | Set up 5 lifts | Shaved Ice | Chilly Shaved Ice | |
Fairy | Encounter 10 different Pokemon | Ribbon Cake | Lovely Ribbon Cake |
Time-of-day restrictions: Espeon only appears during the morning, daytime, or evening. Umbreon only appears at night. All other Eeveelutions spawn regardless of the time of day once their habitat is built. See the Day and Night Cycle article for details.
Legendary Birds
The three Kanto Legendary Birds can only be obtained by finding and constructing special Building Kits located on the islands of Palette Town. Each kit requires a large amount of materials, 15 Pokemon helpers, and approximately one full in-game day to build.
Pokemon | Type | Building Kit | Key Materials | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ice/Flying | Freezing Chambers Kit | Stone x50, Ice x50, Crystal Fragment x10, Pokemetal x10 | Blueprint found on the eastern island of Palette Town, atop the waterfalls | |
Electric/Flying | Abandoned Power Plant Kit | Requires electrical infrastructure materials | Needs significant open space; Palette Town recommended | |
Fire/Flying | Altar of Flame Kit | Requires fire-related materials | Build the altar structure to attract Moltres |
Building Kits are found at specific locations on Palette Town's islands. Each kit requires a large amount of materials and Life Coins. Only one kit can be built per day due to their size. All three birds share the Fly specialty, which lets you fast-travel to any befriended Pokemon's location by speaking to the bird while viewing that Pokemon in the Pokedex.
Lugia connection: Befriending all three Legendary Birds unlocks the Tidal Bell recipe, which is needed to summon and register Lugia in your Pokedex. This makes the Legendary Birds an essential step toward completing the Legendary Pokemon collection.
Other Exclusive Pokemon
Beyond the Eevee family and Legendary Birds, several other Pokemon are exclusive to Palette Town. These Pokemon will only appear if their habitat is placed in Palette Town, even if the same habitat type exists in other areas. See the Palette Town Pokemon article for the full list of exclusive species and their habitat requirements.
Multiplayer and Co-op
Palette Town is the primary area for multiplayer collaboration. When you play co-op, it is your Palette Town that other players visit. There are two main multiplayer modes available in Palette Town:
Link Play (Full Multiplayer)
Up to four players can build together in Palette Town via Link Play. Each player needs their own Nintendo Switch and a copy of the game, plus a Nintendo Switch Online subscription for online play. The host selects a player count (2-4) and generates a Link Code for others to join.
What visiting players can do in Link Play:
Build and place blocks alongside the host
Gather materials and craft items
Tend to the island and help with habitats
Complete group challenges that appear when visitors join
Help build pre-made structures and kits
Visiting players cannot take items home with them. All progress stays on the host's Palette Town.
GameShare (Free Guest Mode)
GameShare is a special mode that allows a second player to join without owning a copy of the game. Only the host needs the full game; the guest on a second Switch can join for free. GameShare is limited to two players.
GameShare limitations:
Limited to 2 players (host + 1 guest)
Guests cannot contribute to building pre-made structures
Guests cannot access full crafting or kits
Guests can still place and destroy blocks, build block-by-block structures, and meet new Pokemon
GameShare unlocks after you interact with the Palette Town PC and befriend Eevee.
Building and Terraforming Tips
Palette Town's blank canvas makes it ideal for large-scale creative projects. Here are practical tips for getting the most out of the area:
Unlock Rollout early. Rollout is the fastest way to clear and flatten terrain, making it essential for large terraforming projects.
Blocks do not always need support. You can place blocks, build on top of them, and then remove the lower blocks to create floating structures. This opens up architectural possibilities that are not possible in traditional building games.
Build Legendary Bird kits here. The Abandoned Power Plant Kit (Zapdos) and other large structures benefit from Palette Town's open space. Plan their placement before committing.
Water the ground before using Leafage. Use Water Gun on dry ground before using Leafage to create lush green grass instead of dry, withered patches. This matters for habitat quality and Environment Level.
Set up varied biomes. Attract as many different Pokemon species as possible by building multiple habitat types. Each new species boosts your Environment Level, which unlocks new PC Challenges and shop items.
Place a Storage Box near your build site. Having quick access to materials saves constant inventory trips.
Environment Level
Like all areas, Palette Town has an Environment Level that increases as you build habitats, attract Pokemon, clean up terrain, and water the ground. Raising the Environment Level unlocks new PC Challenges, expands the PC Shop inventory, and can unlock additional features. Watering dead grass, flowers, and trees, or smashing out-of-place terrain blocks, all contribute to raising it.
Palette Town Checklist
Use this checklist to track major milestones in Palette Town:
Milestone | How to Complete |
|---|---|
Unlock Palette Town | Learn Rock Smash, break soil bricks, build bridge across the gap |
Meet Eevee | Interact with the PC at the Palette Town Pokemon Center |
Build Eevee's habitat | Build a Pretty Flower Bed (Wildflowers x4) |
Complete all 8 Eeveelution Challenges | Finish each Special Challenge from the PC menu to unlock all food items |
Build all 8 Eeveelution habitats | Place a Seat + Table + food item for each Eeveelution |
Build Freezing Chambers (Articuno) | Find kit on the eastern island and construct with required materials |
Build Abandoned Power Plant (Zapdos) | Find kit on the southern island and construct in an open area |
Build Altar of Flame (Moltres) | Find kit on the northwestern island and construct with fire materials |
Unlock Tidal Bell recipe | Befriend all three Legendary Birds |
Try multiplayer | Use Link Play or GameShare from the PC after befriending Eevee |
Reach Environment Level 5 | Build habitats, attract Pokemon, water and clean terrain |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to rebuild the Pokemon Center in Palette Town to see the credits? No. Rebuilding the Palette Town Pokemon Center is not required to see the game's credits. The credits are tied to main story completion.
Can I place story-region habitats in Palette Town? Yes, you can build most habitat types in Palette Town. However, some Pokemon are region-locked and will only appear in their home region regardless of where the habitat is placed. Meanwhile, Palette Town exclusives only appear here.
Is Palette Town required for story progress? No. Palette Town is entirely optional for the main story. It is a sandbox area for creative building, exclusive Pokemon, and multiplayer.
Can visiting players affect my Palette Town permanently? Visiting players can build and destroy blocks during their visit, but any items they gather or craft remain on your island. They cannot take items home with them.