Overview
Pokemon Pokopia does not use traditional currency for buying items from Pokemon. Instead, the game uses a bartering system where you exchange items of equivalent value. Every item has a hidden point value, and to complete a trade, the combined value of the items you offer must match the asking price exactly. There is no change given for overpayment, so you need to select item combinations that hit the target precisely.
This guide covers everything you need to know about trading, from setting up your first shop to maximizing the value of your inventory. For information about Life Coins and the PC Shop, see the Trading and Economy article.
How Bartering Works
When you approach a shop run by a Trade specialty Pokemon, items are displayed on tables with their point values. To purchase an item:
Interact with the item you want to buy on the counter or table.
A trade window opens showing the asking price and your inventory.
Select items from your inventory whose combined values add up to exactly the asking price.
A gauge in the center of the screen shows a sad face if you are coming up short and a happy face once you meet the exact price.
Press the + button to confirm, then choose Trade to complete the deal.
You cannot overpay. If your offered items exceed the price, the trade will not go through. You must match the exact number. This means that keeping a variety of low-value items (like terrain blocks worth 10 points each) is essential for topping off small gaps in value.
Setting up a Trade Shop
There are two main ways to access Pokemon-run shops where you can barter for items.
Method 1: Rebuild a Pokemon Center
Each area has a Pokemon Center with a built-in Cash Register. Once the center is rebuilt (requires Environment Level 3 and 1,000 Life Coins for the Rebuilding Kit), bring a Trade specialty Pokemon inside and it will take up the cashier position. The shop stocks items after one in-game day. The Pokemon Center counter offers a decent selection of goods, though the display space is limited.
Method 2: Build a Poke Mart
For a wider item selection, build a standalone Poke Mart anywhere on your island. You need:
5 Tables placed together (you can use Long Tables or regular Tables; 5 tables gives the maximum display of 5 items)
1 Cash Register placed on top of the tables
A power source nearby: connect Utility Poles to a generator, windmill, or have an electric-type Pokemon with the Generate specialty power it directly
A Trade specialty Pokemon to staff the shop
Poke Marts offer a wider selection of trade items than the Pokemon Center shops. A fully set up Poke Mart with five connected tables can display up to five different items simultaneously, each table serving as a display stand for one product. Both Poke Marts and Pokemon Center shops use the same bartering system.
Important: Tables must be placed before adding the Cash Register. If you place the register first, the tables may not link correctly to the register and will fail to function as item displays. The correct setup order is: (1) place all tables, (2) place the Cash Register on top of the tables, (3) connect power via Utility Poles to a generator, windmill, or Electric-type Pokemon with the Generate specialty. The Cash Register requires power to operate, so make sure electricity is connected before expecting a Pokemon to begin selling.
Item Point Values
Every item in Pokemon Pokopia has a hidden point value used during bartering. The following table lists common item categories and their approximate values.
Item Category | Approximate Value | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Basic terrain blocks | 10 points each | Stone, Dirt, Sand, Beach Sand, Ash |
Honey, vegetables, berries | 50 points each | |
Wooden Posts | 100 points each | Wooden Post |
Processed materials | Varies (higher) | Lumber, Iron Ingots, Gold Ingots, Copper Ingots |
Cooked food | 500+ points | Croutons Salad (500 points), cooked dishes |
Fossils | 1,000 points each | Any fossil item found via Lost Relics |
Castform Weather Charms | 1,500 points each | Weather Charms from Lost Relics |
2,000 points | Pokemetal bars found in mines or smelted | |
Crafted furniture | Variable | Depends on complexity and materials used |
Items you have crafted or cooked tend to be worth significantly more than raw materials. This makes cooking and crafting excellent ways to increase the trade value of your inventory.
Best Items to Sell
Some items are particularly efficient for bartering because they are easy to acquire and carry high point values.
Item | Value | Why It Is Good |
|---|---|---|
Fossils | 1,000 points | Found regularly when appraising Lost Relics. A single fossil covers half the cost of Pokemetal. |
2,000 points | High value but also expensive to obtain. Best saved for large purchases. | |
Terrain blocks (stack of 99) | 990 points total | Accumulate naturally while terraforming. At 10 points each, a full stack is nearly 1,000 points. |
Cooked dishes (Croutons Salad) | 500 points | Easy to cook and provides excellent value per item. |
Castform Weather Charms | 1,500 points | Rare drop but extremely valuable when you have extras. |
50 points | Easy to collect from habitats. Useful for filling small gaps in trade value. | |
Wheat, Beans, Tomatoes | 50 points each | Renewable through farming. Plant and harvest regularly for a steady supply. |
Trade Specialty Pokemon
Only Pokemon with the Trade specialty can operate shops. There are 41 Pokemon with the Trade specialty in Pokemon Pokopia. Some have Trade as their secondary specialty alongside another primary one (for example, Ceruledge has Burn + Trade).
Early-game Trade Pokemon that are easy to access include:
Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, and Hitmontop (Fighting type)
Slowbro (Water/Psychic type)
Gastrodon (Water/Ground type)
For the full list of all 41 Trade specialty Pokemon, see the Trade Specialty article.
Trading with Gimmighoul
Gimmighoul is a special trader found in a house at the lower level of the mine in Rocky Ridges, near the lava and magma rocks. Unlike regular Trade specialty Pokemon, Gimmighoul accepts Rainbow Feathers and Silver Feathers in exchange for random rare furniture items.
The feather trades are randomized. You offer up a feather, and Gimmighoul decides what random piece of furniture you receive. Before trading, you must first appraise any directly dug-up relics through Professor Tangrowth, as Gimmighoul will not accept unappraised relics.
Warning: Do not trade away all your feathers. You need five Rainbow Feathers to craft the Clear Bell for befriending Ho-Oh, and five Silver Feathers to craft the Tidal Bell for befriending Lugia. Save at least five of each before spending extras at Gimmighoul's shop.
3D Printer as an Alternative
Rebuilt Pokemon Centers contain a 3D Printer on the left side of the interior. This device lets you duplicate any furniture or decoration item you have photographed in Reference Photo mode, even without knowing the crafting recipe. Each print costs 4 Pokemetal. The 3D Printer also works on items photographed in other players' worlds during multiplayer sessions and on items found on Dream Islands. It is a powerful alternative to bartering when you know exactly what furniture you want.
Shop Stock Rotation
Trade shop inventories are not static. The items available for purchase rotate daily, refreshing at 5:00 AM in-game time. This applies to both Pokemon Center shops and player-built Poke Marts. Check your shops daily, because rare items like uncommon berries (Chesto Berries in particular) and special habitat components appear unpredictably and may not be available the next day.
The trade shop closes if all your Trade specialty Pokemon are sleeping. If you find a shop unmanned, check the Day and Night Cycle and wait for daytime.
Obtaining the Cash Register Blueprint
The Cash Register can be crafted at a Workbench using Iron Ore. However, you first need the blueprint. To obtain it, visit the basement of the S.S. Anne ship. Down in the basement area, there is a physical cash register sitting in the environment. Open your camera tool by pressing the minus button, switch to Reference Photo mode by pressing Y, and scan the register. Once the camera recognizes the object and displays its name, take the reference photo. The blueprint then becomes available for crafting, letting you build as many registers as you need.
This scanning method is the same one used by the 3D Printer. If you have not visited the S.S. Anne yet, you can also use the built-in Cash Register found inside rebuilt Pokemon Centers instead of building your own.
Unlocking Recipes Through Shop Sales
Running a trade shop provides a useful bonus beyond earning items through bartering. When an item sells through your shop, you can scan the sold item using your camera tool in Reference Photo mode. Scanning the item adds it to your crafting database, meaning you can then reproduce it using the 3D Printer at any rebuilt Pokemon Center. This is one of the best ways to unlock recipes for furniture and decorations that you may not have discovered through normal gameplay.
Keep an eye on what your Trade specialty Pokemon stocks on the tables. If a rare or unfamiliar item appears in your shop, scan it before it sells to ensure you capture the blueprint. The Reference Photo album holds only 20 slots, so delete old photos after printing to keep space free.
Security Cameras for Remote Monitoring
Security Cameras allow you to monitor your trade shops remotely without physically traveling to them. Each camera costs 100 Life Coins from the PC Shop. Place a camera near your Poke Mart or Pokemon Center shop, then interact with it to adjust the angle and zoom.
From anywhere on the island, you can open the security camera menu to check whether items have sold, confirm that your Trade specialty Pokemon is actively staffing the counter, and verify that power is still connected. This is especially helpful when running multiple shops across different regions of the map, since it saves travel time and lets you manage your trading economy passively.
Tips for Efficient Trading
Keep spare terrain blocks. At 10 points each, a stack of 99 blocks is worth 990 points. You accumulate these naturally while clearing and terraforming areas.
Save fossils for high-value trades. At 1,000 points each, fossils are the most efficient bartering currency for expensive items.
Cook food for profit. Raw crops are worth 50 points, but a cooked Croutons Salad is worth 500 points. Turning ingredients into cooked dishes multiplies their trade value.
Farm renewable crops. Dirt, ash blocks, and easy-to-grow crops (Wheat, Beans) are renewable bartering materials. Plant and harvest regularly.
Build multiple Poke Marts. More shops mean more item selection. Staff each one with a different Trade specialty Pokemon for variety.
Check shops every day. Stock rotates at 5:00 AM. Rare items appear unpredictably, so daily visits are important.
Do not confuse bartering with Life Coins. Life Coins cannot be used in trade shops, and bartering items cannot buy PC Shop goods. These are two entirely separate systems.