Pokémon Pokopia: All Pokémon Specialties & Abilities

Ditto isn't the only one who can do anything in Pokémon Pokopia. In fact, they'll need to rely on all the Pokémon friends they make along the way, using their Specialties to assist with all manner of tasks.

This guide covers every single Specialty in Pokémon Pokopia, what each one does, and which Pokémon have these abilities.

All Pokémon Specialties & What They Do in Pokémon Pokopia

We've listed these in alphabetical order, but you can use the dropdown up-top to find the specialty you're looking for.

Appraise

Example Pokémon

Professor Tangrowth

Exclusive to Professor Tangrowth, this big Grass-type can appraise all of the Lost Relics you'll find during your journey.

We've got a full guide on the Lost Relics if you want to know anything else about them. But essentially, they're just rare pieces of furniture.

Build

Example Pokémon

Cubone, Marowak, Timburr, Gurdurr, Pinsir, Heracross

Pokémon with the Build specialty are crucial for building structures and larger pieces — basically, anything with a blueprint. One Build Pokémon must always be a part of a building project.

Bulldoze

Example Pokémon

Onix, Makuhita, Hariyama

When you get around to rebuilding each of the Pokémon Centers, you'll need a Pokémon with the Bulldoze ability.

These creatures can also help relocate buildings and structures, if you change your mind later down the line. You'll just need to buy a Relelocation or Demolition Kit from the Pokémon Center terminal.

Burn

Example Pokémon

Charmander, Charmeleon, Charizard, Torchic, Combusken

Burn does exactly what it says on the tin — lights a fire! Fire-type 'mon can light up campfires and torches, but they can also power Smelting Furnaces, too, so you can stock up on glass and ore.

Most-usefully, this is the main way to get Bricks, too. Just give a Burn Pokémon some Clay and they'll get working.

Pokémon with Burn can also use the Sunny Day Site and make the rain stop.

Chop

Example Pokémon

Scyther, Scizor, Pinsir, Heracross

Another simple but effective Specialty, Pokémon with Chop can break down logs into Lumber for you. And you'll need a lot of lumber if you like building.

Collect

Example Pokémon

Gimmighoul

Only one 'mon has this Specialty, and it's a useful one. Collect simply means you can trade in (appraised) Lost Relics for pieces of furniture.

You can also give this Pokémon the Mysterious Feathers you collect from some special Legendaries who take to the skies.

Crush

Example Pokémon

Onix, Pawmo

Pokémon with the Crush Specialty are often needed to help build, but crucially, give them some food and they'll make some coloured paint for you. Comes in very handy if you're bored of all the whites and red bricks.

Later on, they can also make Cement for you with a Mixer.

DJ

Example Pokémon

DJ Rotom

If you've been wondering what to do with your collection of in-game CDs and don't have a CD player yet, then give them to DJ Rotom. They can shuffle through a playlist of your choosing, and they partner well with Hype Pokémon.

Dream Island

Example Pokémon

Drifloon

Want to visit some Dream Islands? Then you'll need to befriend Drifloon for that. This Specialty gives you access to these special islands, which we cover in more detail in our Dream Island guide.

Eat

Example Pokémon

Mosslax

Another exclusive Specialty, Mosslax is a hungry chap. Give them some food and, depending on what you give them, they'll offer you some benefits for the day. That could be making items more common, or it could affect the spawn rate of new Pokémon.

For more on those daily boosts, check out our Mosslax Food Buff guide.

Engineer

Example Pokémon

Tinkmaster

Tinkaton's special, all-purpose hammer makes them an Engineer, and their unique skill means they can take the lead on the biggest build projects. They can also make other building projects go by much-faster.

Lastly, give them some Iron Ingots and they'll make you some Tinkagears, which you'll need to build some late-game structures like lifts and elevators, builds that are necessary for a certain Eeveelution.

Explode

Example Pokémon

Voltorb, Electrode

Cannons aren't just for fireworks, you know. You can also stuff Voltorb inside the barrel of a cannon and aim it at some rocks. Do that and they'll destroy a large portion of blocks.

Fly

Example Pokémon

Pidgey, Pidgeotto, Pidgeot, Hoothoot, Noctowl

Fly is a very useful Specialty, especially if you keep losing Pokémon. Talk to a Pokémon with Fly and , if you're using your Search function on the Pokédex, they can fly you right to them.

Gather

Example Pokémon

Machop

If you have a Community Box to hand, place it near a Gather Pokémon's habitat and they'll head out and gather nearby materials from those pesky litterers.

Gather Honey

Example Pokémon

Vespiquen

Vespiquen has a rather unusual Specialty; she doesn't gather honey for you, rather, she will take honey from you in exchange for some furniture. Very nice!

Generate

Example Pokémon

Elekid, Electabuzz, Electivire, Pichu, Pawmi, Pawmo, Pawmot

Pokémon with the Generate Speciality will be able to temporarily power up lights and machines with a jolt of electricity. They'll do this of their own accord or if they're following you.

Grow

Example Pokémon

Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Oddish, Gloom, Vileplume, Bellsprout, Weepinbell, Victreebel

The perfect farming companions, Pokémon with the Grow Specialty will help your nearby plants grow faster.

Hype

Example Pokémon

Volbeat, Illumise, Azurill, Marill

Who doesn't enjoy a little bit of cheer? Hype 'mon pair best with music, and they'll start dancing if they hear the rhythms, improving the mood of the area.

You'll need this during the Rocky Ridges storyline, as well as to unlock a Mythical Pokémon.

Illuminate

Example Pokémon

Peakychu

Only Peakychu can use this skill, and it only has one function — to light up the whole town. You'll see it in action during the Bleak Beach storyline.

Litter

Example Pokémon

Bellsprout, Weepinbell, Combee, Cacturne, Mareep, Flaaffy

These messy creatures will drop all sorts of things on the ground. But don't worry, they're all useful! Vine ropes, fluff, honey — this Specialty is great, especially if they live close to a Gather 'mon.

Paint

Example Pokémon

Smearguru

Smearguru will teach Ditto how to paint too, but there are some things this dog is too good at.

Bring Smearguru some paint and furniture and they'll change the colour to your liking. They can also add patterns to some furniture, too.

Party

Example Pokémon

Chef Dente

This Greedent is a master chef, but that also means they're a master at leading the party, too. They can cook up a feast using a big cooking pot and get others to help cook.

Not only that, whenever you're in the kitchen yourself, bring Chef Dente with you and you might make extra. Like Hype, you'll want to use this again for a Mythical Pokémon.

Rarify

Image coming soon!

Example Pokémon

Porygon2

One of the rarest specialties has the most-appropriate name. Rarify is extremely useful but extremely expensive: at the cost of one Star Piece (which requires 99 Stardust, remember?), you can get yourself a Rare Pokémetal.

Rare Pokémetal can be used in the 3D Printer to create copies of items. It's also needed to create a couple of recipes that are required to befriend two Legendary Pokémon.

Recycle

Example Pokémon

Trubbish, Garbodor

A trash bag that can recycle seems... counter-intuitive? But it's a good skill to have, as you can convert your Nonburnable glass into Iron Ore and Wastepaper into Paper using the Recycle Specialty.

Search

Example Pokémon

Pidgey, Pidgeotto, Paras, Venonat, Venomoth

Pair up with a Search Pokémon when you have your Dowsing Machine to hand. They'll help you look for glowing spots in the ground, many of which are hidden under layers of blocks.

And these often have Lost Relics, CDs, Fossils, and Mysterious Slates hidden inside them.

Storage

Example Pokémon

Gulpin, Swalot

Just in case a mountain of storage chests isn't enough, if you have a friendly Gulpin around, they can also hold materials for you! And, if you bring them to a crafting bench, you can use those materials even though they aren't in your pockets.

Teleport

Example Pokémon

Exeggcute, Exeggutor

Teleport is basically identical to Fly, except... Psychic! Again, use the Search function to look for a Pokémon and talk to a 'mon with Teleport.

Trade

Example Pokémon

Slowbro, Hoothoot, Noctowl, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Hitmontop

Did you know Pokémon have the ability to run their own store? Yep! Power up a Cash Register and take a Trade Specialty 'mon there and they'll set up shop. You can deal with them once they have their wares out.

Transform

Example Pokémon

Ditto

That's you! Yes! Ditto can transform into all sorts of Pokémon, using their skills to help them revitalise the world. For a list of every single transformation, check out our guide on all of Ditto's Transformations & Skills.

Water

Example Pokémon

Squirtle, Wartortle, Shellos, Gastrodon, Slowpoke, Slowbro

The Water Specialty is surprisingly robust, giving some 'mon the ability to water nearby plants (as long as there's water close), clean off mud, and perform a Rain Dance.

Yawn

Example Pokémon

Slowpoke

Yawn doesn't put you to sleep, but it almost does Slowpoke. Using Yawn, they can tell you how humid a biome is. Useful for those Pokémon whose comfort levels rely on humidity.

What are Pokémon Specialties?

Specialties are basically like skills — most Pokémon in Pokopia has one or two skills that you can use to help get more materials, create habitats, build houses, and more.

Some of these are required for the story and therefore are story-exclusive, while others are useful for lighting fires, powering generators, and gathering materials.

Some Pokémon can use their Specialty while following you around town, while others will use them whenever they're wandering around on their own.

What materials can you get from Specialties?

Some Specialties work to get you exclusive materials that are otherwise trickier to get.

Whether this is from a Litter Pokémon dropping something, or by handing a Burn Pokémon some Clay, there are a handful of different ways to get some extra materials. If that's all you want to know, then here's a list of the specialties that will give you materials, and what materials you can get:

Burn

Bricks (show them Squishy Clay), Ingots (from Furnace)

Chop

Lumber (show them Small Logs)

Recycle

Iron Ore (show them Nonburnable Glass), Paper (show them Wastepaper)

Crush

Paint (show them any Berry or Food)

Litter

Honey (from Combee), Fluff (from Mareep), Vine Rope (from Bellsprout), Squishy Clay (from Paldean Wooper), Iron Ore (Glimmet, Glimmora), Stone (Fossils), etc.

What's your specialty? Ours is writing guides! For more help in Pokémon paradise, check out our Pokémon Pokopia walkthrough hub for all the tips and hints you'll need.