The Withered Wasteland is where your Pokemon Pokopia journey truly begins. From befriending the Kanto starters to orchestrating a full-blown rainstorm with Slowpoke's legendary yawn, this opening area packs in a surprising amount of depth. Whether you're stuck on the Yawn Up a Storm! request or unsure how to gather materials for the Pokemon Center rebuild, this guide walks you through every step in order.
Pokedex request tracker
How Do You Befriend the Kanto Starters?
The very first thing you'll do in the Withered Wasteland is customize your human Ditto, then speak with Professor Tangrowth. Head to the wheelbarrow and interact with the gold shiny spot to pick up your Pokedex, which becomes your main hub for tracking requests throughout the game.
Getting Water Gun and Finding Bulbasaur
Climb the ledges and follow Professor Tangrowth to the cliff overlook, then head down the steps to meet Squirtle. Interact with Squirtle to learn Water Gun, then press ZR to fire it at the surrounding area. This unlocks both the Tall Grass habitat and the Pretty Flower Bed habitat.
Once you've watered the area, inspect the rustling tall grass to unlock Bulbasaur. Talk to them to trigger your first Pokedex request: water 10 patches of Dry Tall Grass using Water Gun. After completing that, you'll unlock the Leafage move and receive a follow-up request from Squirtle.
Lighting the Campfire with Charmander
Use Leafage to create a Tall Grass habitat, inspect the rustling grass to find Charmander, then press the Up button on the D-Pad to have them follow you. Lead Charmander to the Campfire you placed (crafted at the Workbench using DIY recipes from Professor Tangrowth) and Charmander will light it automatically upon arrival.
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You can pick up a Leppa Berry by reviving a dead tree with Water Gun, then headbutting it with A. Give the berry to either Squirtle or Bulbasaur by selecting "Look at this!" in the dialogue menu.How Do You Build Your First Home?
After the campfire cutscene, follow Professor Tangrowth to the ruined Pokemon Center and inspect the building to unlock the Challenges system via the PC. One early challenge asks you to find new Pokemon. Create a Boulder-Shaded Tall Grass using Leafage and inspect it to unlock Timburr, then return to the PC to collect Life Coins.
Crafting the Straw Bed and Leaf Den
Speak with Bulbasaur and choose "Do you need anything?" to receive the recipe for the Straw Bed. Craft it at the Workbench using 2 Leaves, then place it inside Bulbasaur's habitat boundary and talk to them to complete the request.
Next, purchase a Leaf Den Kit from the Shop at the PC. Gather 3 Sturdy Sticks and 3 Leaves, then bring Timburr and one other Pokemon to the construction area. Select the Pokemon and materials to begin building.
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Construction takes real-world hours to complete. You can skip the wait by adjusting the system time on your Switch 2.Once the den is built, place 3 pieces of furniture inside and talk to Timburr to finish the request. After a celebration cutscene with Charmander and Professor Tangrowth, you'll receive a Ditto Flag. Place it on the Leaf Den to officially claim it as your home.
Leaf Den build screen
How Do You Rebuild the Pokemon Center?
Raising your environment level to 3 is the key requirement before the Pokemon Center Rebuilding Kit becomes available in the Shop. Once you hit that threshold, purchase the kit for 1,000 Life Coins.
What Materials Does the Pokemon Center Rebuild Require?
Gathering the right materials is the main challenge here. You'll need the following:
To get Lumber, you need a Pokemon with the Chop Specialty. Create a Tree-Shaded Tall Grass habitat to attract Scyther, give him Sturdy Sticks to complete his request, and unlock the Cut move. Then talk to Scyther, select "Look at this!", choose Small Logs from your inventory, and select "Make me some lumber." Just 2 Small Logs yield 10 Lumber.
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You cannot purchase the Pokemon Center Rebuilding Kit until your environment level reaches 3. Focus on expanding habitats and completing challenges to raise it faster.
How Do You Unlock Rock Smash and Find Slowpoke?
Restoring the Exercise Resting Spot habitat by placing a punching bag next to a bench will attract Hitmonchan. Befriend him, then give him 2 Stones to complete his request and unlock Rock Smash.
With Rock Smash in hand, head west from the ruined Pokemon Center and destroy the boulder blocking the path. Continue west along the shoreline and you'll encounter Drifloon. Talking to Drifloon isn't required to progress, but completing the request unlocks the Dream Island feature, so it's worth doing.
Keep heading north and use Rock Smash to clear the rocks leading to Onix's cave. Collect the smooth rocks inside since they're needed for Onix's habitat later. Return to Professor Tangrowth and he'll ask you to smash the cliff wall to open a new section of the area.
Finding and Escorting Slowpoke
Slowpoke is found on the beach near the abandoned building. Create a Seaside Tall Grass habitat by placing four patches of grass on the beachside. Once Slowpoke appears, accept his request.
To escort Slowpoke to the Pokemon Center, use Water Gun on dry path sections and place Wooden Steps on uneven terrain. The good news is that Slowpoke can climb single-block height differences on his own, so you only need steps for larger gaps. If Slowpoke stops moving, walk back to him and talk to him to get him moving again.
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Start Slowpoke moving first, then run ahead to clear the path. Since he moves so slowly, you'll have plenty of time to prep the route before he arrives.
Seaside habitat placement spot
How Do You Complete the Yawn Up a Storm! Request?
Once Slowpoke reaches the Pokemon Center, the Yawn Up a Storm! important request unlocks. The goal is to raise the area's humidity level high enough that Slowpoke's yawn triggers rainfall, which then frees Onix.
How to Raise Humidity in the Withered Wasteland
There are multiple methods to increase humidity, and you'll likely need to combine several of them:
- Use Water Gun on dry dirt patches throughout the area
- Purchase the Horsea Fountain from the PC Shop and place it in the water source northwest of the Pokemon Center (revealed by smashing a shiny rock with Rock Smash)
- Expand the water area by destroying surrounding rocks to activate a second nearby fountain
- Create Field of Flowers habitats (speak with Bulbasaur for the hint on how to set these up)
- Build a Hydrated Tall Grass habitat by placing four grass patches near a body of water, then invite Squirtle to move in
Setting Up the Rain Dance Site
Speak with Squirtle to learn about the Rain Dance Site habitat. You'll need:
- 2 Castform Weather Charms (found in the wheelbarrow at the cave where you first met Professor Tangrowth)
- 1 Wooden Plate
- 1 Leppa Berry
Place both Castform Weather Charms against a wall, then add the Wooden Plate and Leppa Berry to create the habitat. Lead Squirtle to the Rain Dance Site and the party begins.
After the Rain Dance party ends, talk to Slowpoke and ask him to yawn. If the humidity check returns 100 points, you're ready to proceed. If not, keep adding water features and Field of Flowers habitats until you hit the threshold.
Rain Dance Site habitat setup
Freeing Onix and Finishing the Request
Once the humidity is high enough, head south toward the beach. A cutscene triggers as you approach. Connect the missing bridge and speak with Kyogre to make it rain. Then head to Onix's location and use Rock Smash several times to destroy the rocks trapping him.
Return to Professor Tangrowth to officially complete the Yawn Up a Storm! request. After that, create a Smooth Tall Grass habitat for Onix using Smooth Rock and Dry Tall Grass materials.
Finishing the Pokemon Center Rebuild
With Onix free and his habitat built, you can finally complete the Pokemon Center reconstruction. Gather Onix plus 7 other Pokemon to form your rebuild crew, and make sure you have all 20 Lumber, 20 Stones, 10 Leaves, and 10 Vine Ropes ready.
Like the Leaf Den, the rebuild takes real-world time to complete. Use the Switch 2 system clock trick if you'd rather not wait. Once the Pokemon Center is standing, talk to the Pokemon beside it and watch the final cutscene to close out this chapter of the story.
For more Pokémon Pokopia, check GAMESGG guides below:
How to Get Eevee & All Eeveelotions
How to Rebuild the Pokemon Center