Trading and Economy

Overview

Pokemon Pokopia uses a bartering system rather than traditional currency for trading with Pokemon. There are no coins used in trades; instead, players exchange items of equivalent value to obtain what they need. Every item in the game has a hidden point value, and to complete a trade, the combined value of the items you offer must exactly match the price of the item you want. There is no change given for overpayment, so players need to carefully select combinations of items that hit the target number precisely.

Separately, the Life Coin system serves as a currency for the PC Shop inside rebuilt Pokemon Centers. Life Coins are earned from completing Challenges and are spent on building kits, recipes, inventory upgrades, and other progression items. The bartering system and the Life Coin system operate independently of each other.

Bartering System

When you approach a shop run by a Trade specialty Pokemon, items are displayed on the counter with their point values. To purchase an item, you select items from your own inventory whose combined values add up to exactly the asking price. Each item category has a base value tier:

Because you must match the exact value, fossils are one of the most efficient trade items. A single fossil worth 1,000 points can cover half the cost of a 2,000-point item like Pokemetal. Spare blocks from terraforming are useful for topping up small gaps in value since they are worth 10 each. At 99 blocks per stack, that is 990 points from blocks you accumulate naturally while clearing areas.

Preference Bonus

Each Trade specialty Pokemon has favorite item characteristics. When you offer an item whose tags match the shopkeeper's preferences, that item receives a 50% point bonus. Items eligible for the bonus are highlighted in orange on the trade screen, making them easy to identify.

For example, Chansey prefers fluffy and round items. An Eevee Doll that normally trades for 1,000 points is worth 1,500 points when offered to Chansey, and a CD that normally trades for 500 points becomes 750 points. Matching preferences can make a significant difference when building up to an expensive purchase, so it is worth checking which Pokemon is running a particular shop before deciding what to offer.

High-Value Crafted Items

Crafted and processed items carry much higher trade values than raw materials. Since the bartering system requires matching exact point totals, having a stockpile of items at various price points makes it easier to hit targets precisely.

The most efficient strategy is to craft Wooden Posts in bulk using Lumber (a renewable resource from trees) and collect Castform Weather Charms daily from Dream Islands. A single Weather Charm plus five Wooden Posts totals 2,000 points, enough to buy Pokemetal outright. Cooked food items like Croutons Salad also provide excellent value relative to their ingredient cost.

Setting Up a Trade Shop

There are two ways to access trading:

Method 1: Rebuild a Pokemon Center

Each area's Pokemon Center has 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 they will take up the cashier position. Items stock after one in-game day.

Method 2: Build a Poke Mart

For a wider item selection, build a standalone Poke Mart anywhere. You need:

• 2 Long Tables placed together side by side

• 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

Once the setup is complete, a Trade specialty Pokemon will walk behind the counter and stock random items on the tables. Poke Marts offer a wider selection of trade items than the Pokemon Center shops. Both use the same bartering system.

Shop Layout and Optimization

A single Cash Register can connect to up to five tables, each acting as a display surface where the Trade Pokemon places items for sale. Place the tables before placing the Cash Register on top to ensure proper linking. The shop must be connected to a power source through Utility Poles or Wireless Power Transmitters; without power, the register stays inactive and no Pokemon will staff it.

If you do not have the Cash Register recipe, one can be found and scanned in the Saint Anne ship basement.

You can install security cameras near your shops to monitor sales remotely without visiting in person. This is especially useful when managing multiple shops across different regions. When an item sells through your shop, you can scan it to permanently unlock its crafting recipe for your 3D Printer, making player-run shops a discovery tool as well as an income source.

Items available rotate daily (stock refreshes at 5:00 AM). The trade shop closes if all your Trade specialty Pokemon are sleeping, so check the Day and Night Cycle if you find a shop unmanned.

Trade Specialty Pokemon

Only Pokemon with the Trade specialty can operate shops. There are 41 Pokemon with the Trade specialty in Pokemon Pokopia. Some Pokemon have Trade as their secondary specialty alongside another primary specialty (for example, Ceruledge has Burn + Trade).

Early-game Trade Pokemon that are easy to access include Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Hitmontop, Slowbro, Hoothoot, Meowth, Happiny, Zorua, and Gastrodon.

3D Printer

Rebuilt Pokemon Centers contain a 3D Printer on the left side of the interior. This device allows players to duplicate any furniture or decoration item they have photographed, even without knowing the crafting recipe.

To use the 3D Printer:

1. Open your camera by pressing Minus (-).

2. Switch to Object Mode by pressing Y.

3. Photograph the item you want to copy. A label appears when the camera recognizes the object.

4. Visit the 3D Printer at any rebuilt Pokemon Center.

5. Select the item from your photo library and print copies.

Each print costs 4 Pokemetal. This feature also works on items photographed in other players' worlds during multiplayer sessions and on items found on Dream Islands. It is a powerful way to obtain rare furniture without finding the recipe, though the Pokemetal cost adds up quickly.

Life Coins

Life Coins are a separate currency from the bartering system. They are earned exclusively by completing Challenges at rebuilt Pokemon Center PCs and are spent at the PC Shop on progression items.

Earning Life Coins

Challenges are tasks available at the Pokemon Center PC. They include building habitats, gathering resources, finding new Pokemon, and interacting with residents. Daily Challenges refresh every day at 5:00 AM and provide a steady income of Life Coins. More Challenges unlock as the area's Environment Level increases, so higher-level areas offer more earning opportunities.

After completing a Challenge's requirements, you must return to the PC to claim the reward. Completing the tasks alone does not automatically deposit Life Coins.

PC Shop Items

Life Coins can be spent on the following categories of items:

The PC Shop inventory expands as your Environment Level increases. Daily shop items rotate, so check the store regularly for items you need. Prioritize Packing Tips and PP Up upgrades early, as they directly improve exploration and building efficiency.

Lost Relics and the Museum

Lost Relics are glowing collectibles found throughout every area in Pokopia. There are two sizes: Small Lost Relics (46 total, themed after classic Pokemon items like Miracle Seed and Choice Band) and Large Lost Relics (37 total, furniture items with Pokemon themes). Lost Relics must be brought to Professor Tangrowth, who has the Appraise specialty, to identify them.

In Rocky Ridges, the Pewter City Museum houses a Pokemon with the Collect specialty that can trade your duplicate relics for other goods, creating an additional economic exchange outside the normal bartering system. Castform Weather Charms can also appear as Lost Relic drops.

Dream Islands Economy

Dream Islands are procedurally generated islands accessed via Drifloon using Pokemon Dolls. Each island type yields different materials, making them an important source of resources that feed back into the trading economy:

Players can visit one Dream Island per day per Doll type. Materials gathered on Dream Islands do not respawn on the same day. Sky islands are particularly valuable because they are the primary source of Pokemetal Fragments and Crystal Fragments, both high-value crafting materials.

Multiplayer Economy

When playing in multiplayer co-op mode (up to 4 players):

• Visiting players can order items from the host's PC Shop and receive them after returning to their own world.

• Visitors can help build in Palette Town but cannot take placed items home.

• Players can photograph items in each other's worlds and duplicate them at their own 3D Printer for 4 Pokemetal each.

• This makes multiplayer a powerful way to share rare furniture and decorations without needing to find every recipe yourself.

Tips

• Keep spare blocks from terraforming. At 10 points each, a stack of 99 blocks is worth 990 points, nearly half the cost of Pokemetal.

• Fossils (1,000 points each) and Pokemetal (2,000 points) are the most efficient bartering items. Save fossils specifically for high-value trades.

• Dirt, ash blocks, and easy-to-grow crops (wheat, beans) are renewable bartering materials. Farm them specifically for trade value.

• Check shops daily. Stock rotates at 5:00 AM, and rare berries or habitat components appear unpredictably.

• Grab Chesto Berries and other uncommon berries whenever they appear in stock. Multiple habitats require them but they are rarely found during normal gameplay.

• Buy Packing Tips and PP Up before decorations or recipes. Inventory space and energy capacity have a bigger impact on gameplay progression.

• Complete Daily Challenges every day. They reset at 5:00 AM and are the primary source of Life Coins.

• Use the 3D Printer to duplicate rare furniture from Dream Islands or friends' worlds for 4 Pokemetal each. Often easier than finding the recipe.

• Place storage boxes next to crafting benches. The bench automatically pulls materials from adjacent boxes, saving inventory space.

• Visit Dream Islands regularly. Sky islands provide Pokemetal Fragments and Crystal Fragments, both of which have high trade and crafting value.

• Build Poke Marts in addition to Pokemon Centers for a wider trade item selection.

• Remember that Life Coins and bartering are separate systems. Life Coins cannot be used in trade shops, and bartering items cannot buy PC Shop goods.

• Take advantage of the preference bonus. Check which Pokemon is running the shop and offer items matching its favorite tags for a 50% point increase. Items eligible for the bonus appear highlighted in orange.

• Craft Wooden Posts in bulk (2 Lumber each, 100 points each) as a reliable mid-value trade item. Ten posts cost 20 Lumber but provide 1,000 trade points.

• Collect Castform Weather Charms from Dream Islands daily. Each charm is worth 1,500 trade points and costs nothing to obtain.