If you’ve hit the point in Pokémon Pokopia where requests suddenly start demanding paper, you’re not alone—and you’re not missing something obvious. Paper is one of the game’s first real “you can’t brute-force this early” materials, and it’s tied directly to story progression and specific Pokémon specialties. Here’s the clean, no-nonsense path to getting it, plus the fastest ways to stockpile what you need once the system opens up.
Paper is Needed for Key Requests (and It’s Not Optional)
Paper isn’t just another cozy crafting ingredient you can ignore until you feel like decorating. It’s required for at least two notable requests:
- “Rebuild the Huge Building!” (an important request in the Sparkling Skylands)
- “Do the… Team Initiation Challenge?” (on the Withered Wasteland beach)
The important catch: paper is largely progression locked. You won’t be making it in the early stretch of the game because the core ingredient and the best farming spots don’t properly open up until you can reach the fourth area, Sparkling Skylands.
How to Make Paper in Pokémon Pokopia
Paper is produced the same way the game handles other processed materials like lumber and bricks: you hand a Pokémon the right input item, and they convert it over time.
To make paper, you need:
- Wastepaper (input material)
- Any Pokémon with the Recycle specialty (the processor)
Conversion rules:
- 2 paper per 1 wastepaper
- You can hand over up to 10 wastepaper at a time
- Processing takes time (it’s not instant)
Pokémon That Can Make Paper (Recycle Specialty)
Several Pokémon can do it, but these are highlighted as practical options you can access around the time paper becomes relevant, listed from easiest to hardest to find:
- Trubbish — met earlier at Bleak Beach
- Koffing — spawns from a trash collection site habitat, but only in Palette Town
- Metang — recommended by Tinkmaster during “Rebuild the Huge Building!”
- Habitat: “professor’s apprentice program”
- Required habitat items: one whiteboard, one table (any), one jumbled cords, and one laptop
- Porygon — met by making its “researcher’s desk” habitat
- Required habitat items: two tables (any), one powered computer, and one science experiment
If you’re struggling to assemble the furniture requirements for Metang and Porygon:
- Laptops can be found in abandoned buildings on the eastern islands
- Items for Porygon’s habitat can be buried in sand directly north of the huge building
Where to Find Wastepaper (So You Can Actually Produce Paper)
Wastepaper is the bottleneck. Once you’re in the right zone, you’ve got a few reliable ways to gather it.
1) Pick It Up Off the Ground in Sparkling Skylands
Your first and simplest method: wastepaper spawns on the ground in Sparkling Skylands, scattered around similarly to how you find rocks and logs.
2) Break Colorful Scrap Cubes (Chance to Drop Wastepaper)
If you’ve already vacuumed up the loose wastepaper, you can start smashing the area’s colorful scrap cubes. These have a chance to drop items, including wastepaper.
It’s not guaranteed, but it’s a renewable-ish option if you’re committed to clearing the zone.
3) Visit Sky Dream Island Using a Dragonite Doll
If you’d rather not spend your time turning Sparkling Skylands into a demolition site, there’s a more targeted route:
- Use a Dragonite doll to visit Sky Dream Island
- Wastepaper is one of the resources available there
This is the closest thing to a “go here when you need a refill” solution, assuming you’ve got access to the doll and the island travel.
Efficiency Tips: The Fastest Paper Loop Once You’ve Unlocked It
Once you can reach Sparkling Skylands, the optimal routine is straightforward:
- Gather wastepaper (ground spawns first, then scrap cubes if needed)
- Feed wastepaper in batches of 10 to your best available Recycle Pokémon
- Keep the processor running while you do other tasks, since it takes time
- If you’re short, pivot to Sky Dream Island via Dragonite doll for more wastepaper
In practice, Trubbish is the early MVP here because it’s already in your orbit from Bleak Beach—meaning you can focus on sourcing wastepaper rather than chasing down a new specialist.
Why This Matters Right Now: Pokopia’s “Viral Hit” Moment
It’s funny: while players are busy figuring out mundane survival-craft questions like “how do I get paper,” Pokémon Pokopia is simultaneously having a very loud moment outside the game.
The game launched on Nintendo Switch 2 on March 5, 2026, and its early reception has been strong enough that Nintendo’s share price has jumped sharply in the days following release, with reporting pegging the move around 10% (and in some coverage, roughly 15% over a couple of days). Analysts have even described Pokopia as a “viral hit,” and one called it a “dark horse” success that caught people off guard.
That context matters because it explains the current reality on the ground: physical copies have been hard to find, and at least one major retailer has reportedly raised the price amid demand. In other words, yes—this is the kind of breakout where millions of players are hitting the same progression gates at once, and “how to get paper” becomes a genuinely high-traffic question overnight.
What Remains Unknown
A few details around paper production and the broader economy of Pokémon Pokopia still aren’t fully nailed down publicly:
- Whether there are additional Recycle-specialty Pokémon that are easier/faster than the commonly cited options (beyond “there are more”)
- Whether processing speed varies meaningfully between Recycle Pokémon (no specific speed stats have been confirmed here)
- Any official, detailed breakdown of drop rates for wastepaper from scrap cubes
- Official sales figures for Pokopia (no official sales data has been shared yet)
If you want, tell me where you are in the story (and which Recycle Pokémon you currently have), and I can suggest the most direct route to paper with the least habitat/furniture hassle.
