TL;DR: Pokémetal in Pokémon Pokopia is found by mining Fragment deposits in Rocky Ridges caves, Withered Wasteland mines, and Sparkling Skylands, as well as by visiting the Sky Dream Island with a Dragonite Doll. You’ll need a Hamburger Steak to power up your Rock Smash before you can break any deposits, and a Smelting Furnace with a Burn Specialty Pokémon to convert Fragments into usable Ingots.
What Is Pokémetal and Why Do You Need It?
Pokémetal is one of the rarest crafting materials in Pokémon Pokopia — a rainbow-coloured metal used across a wide range of late-game and post-game recipes, Important Requests, and 3D printing. You’ll burn through it faster than you’d expect.
Some of its key uses include:
- Crafting furniture like washing machines, refrigerators, and Game Boy systems required for the Team Initiation Challenge
- Building the Pokémon Center in Sparkling Skylands, which alone requires 25 Pokémetal
- Powering the 3D Printer in your Pokémon Centers to duplicate items you’ve photographed while visiting other islands
- Crafting the Tidal Bell and Transparent Bell, which each require 5 Rare Pokémetal Ingots
In short, the sooner you start stockpiling it, the better.
Before You Start: Eat a Hamburger Steak
Before heading out to farm any Pokémetal Fragments, make sure you eat a Hamburger Steak first. Standard Rock Smash simply isn’t strong enough to break Pokémetal Fragment blocks — you’ll just bounce right off them. The Hamburger Steak powers up your Rock Smash to the level needed to break through. You can unlock the Hamburger Steak recipe by progressing through the main story in Rocky Ridges and meeting Magmar, who also gives you the Smelting Furnace recipe.
Method 1: Mine the Withered Wasteland Caves
This is actually an earlier opportunity than it might seem. The mine entrance is located to the north of the Withered Wasteland island and is blocked by a gate fence that can be cleared with an upgraded Cut ability. Once inside, head down the steps, turn left at the fork, and follow the railway track to find the Pokémetal blocks.
While you’re in the area, it’s also worth using the Cut Transformation on the vines near where you first met Professor Tangrowth. Behind them is a small hidden spot containing several Pokémetal Ingots — a nice early boost before you can start mining properly.
Method 2: Mine Rocky Ridges Caves
During the early-to-mid game, Rocky Ridges is the first place you’re likely to mine Pokémetal Fragments organically. Head to the caves in the northern section of the area — specifically the ones that Machoke points you toward as part of the region’s Requests. The deposits are sparse, but they’re enough to get you started and give you a feel for how the mining process works before bigger deposits open up later.
Method 3: Farm Sparkling Skylands Underground
This is where Pokémetal farming really opens up. Once you reach the late-game and unlock Sparkling Skylands, you’ll find much larger deposits of Pokémetal Fragments in the buildings beneath the sky islands.
There are a few key spots here worth knowing:
- On the island with the Pokémon Center, there’s a deposit next to the waterfall and another underneath the asphalt stairway
- On the island where you meet Tinkmaster, jump over the water and you’ll find a cave packed with Pokémetal Fragment blocks
- After meeting Gardevoir on the east-most island, follow her into the underground base that resembles Team Rocket’s old HQ — it’s full of Fragments to break apart
One dedicated farming session here with a few Hamburger Steaks in your pocket can net you 80+ ores in under five minutes, making this the most efficient method for bulk farming without relying on Dream Islands.
Method 4: Visit the Sky Dream Island With a Dragonite Doll
Once the main story deposits start running dry, the Sky Dream Island becomes your most reliable long-term farming source. Use the Dragonite Doll to have Drifloon fly you out — you can visit as many times as you want within the same day, though the daily doll limit means you can only access one island type per day.
Pokémetal Fragment blocks are scattered through the caves on the island, but they tend to be deeper in. As a general rule, dig further than you think you need to — the deposits are usually found in the lowest cave crevices. If you have a bad run and come up short, you can either try again the next day or adjust the time on your Switch 2 to reset the daily limit.
It’s worth noting that Pokémetal deposits have also been found on Clefairy Dream Islands, so it’s not exclusively a Dragonite island drop — though the Sky Dream Island remains the most consistent source.
Method 5: Check the Pokémon Center PC Shop and Trade Pokémon
Two bonus methods are worth keeping in your back pocket. First, the Pokémon Center PC shop occasionally stocks Pokémetal Ingots as a Daily Item or as an Environment Level reward — they’re pricey, but Life Coins accumulate quickly and it’s worth grabbing one when you see it.
Second, once you have a Pokémon with the Trade Specialty and a powered-up Pokémon Center or Cash Register, that Pokémon can set up a small shop and occasionally offer Pokémetal in exchange for items worth around 1,000 in value. Crops are a solid trade currency here since each one is typically worth around 50, making them easy to stack up.
Step 5: Smelt Fragments Into Ingots at a Smelting Furnace
All those Pokémetal Fragments you’ve been collecting aren’t directly usable yet — they need to be processed first. Take them to your Smelting Furnace and assign a Pokémon with the Burn Specialty to do the work. The smelting takes some time, so keep your Burn Specialist busy by loading up the furnace regularly rather than processing Fragments in small batches. Good Burn Specialty Pokémon options include Magmar, Arcanine, Growlithe, Typhlosion, and Volcanion, among many others.
The resulting Pokémetal Ingots are what you’ll actually use in crafting recipes, construction projects, and the 3D Printer.
If you’re still working on getting your Furnace set up, check out our guide on how to get a Furnace in Pokémon Pokopia before you start stockpiling Fragments. And if you’re also chasing Legendaries, our guide on how to get Mewtwo in Pokémon Pokopia covers everything you need to know about the Sky Dream Island in more detail.
