You can get tons of hours into Pokémon Pokopia, meet lots of new friends, create tons of habitats, and have no idea there's a chance to befriend some of the most-iconic Legendary Pokémon in the franchise.
The Legendary Bird Trio are indeed available and ready and willing to settle down in any habitat or environment. You'll need to put in the work to get them, but it's worth it.
This guide will cover how to get Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres in Pokémon Pokopia, including tips on how to build the Freezing Chambers, Abandoned Power Plant, and the Altar of Flame.
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How To Get The Legendary Birds Articuno, Zapdos & Moltres In Pokémon Pokopia
The only way you can get Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres is by grabbing three different kits from Palette Town — the Freezing Chambers, Abandoned Power Plant, and Altar of Flame, respectively.
If you haven't unlocked Palette Town yet, you can access it as soon as you learn Rock Smash in Withered Wasteland. Break the wall west of the Pokémon Center and then head to the shore.
Don't head inside the cave to the right, instead go left and reconstruct the bridge using any kind of blocks you have. Cross over and you're in Palette Town. Once you're here, you'll see there are three different islands. We've marked the location of each kit on the map below:
Then, all you need to do is build each structure. Sounds easy! It isn't. You'll need a massive amount of space to build each one, so we highly recommend waiting until you have all of your Transformations to do this, including Rollout and the final skill, which is available after you roll credits.
It certainly doesn't hurt to have some Hamburger Steaks on-hand if you're terraforming an area to make space for each building; Palette Town is the best place to build all three these structures because of the amount of empty space you have.
You also need lots of rare materials and 15 Pokémon per build, plus you can only build one of these a day because they're so big.
Articuno Location
To register Articuno in your Pokédex, you'll need to build the Freezing Chambers, which you can find on the eastern island, atop of a set of waterfalls.
Once you've built the Freezing Chambers, the Ice-type will be inside the brand new structure, and they'll become a resident on your island.
How to build the Freezing Chambers
The Freezing Chambers are possibly the most-difficult of the three kits to build, because it requires a material you might never have come across before: Ice
Here's all the materials and Pokémon you need:
| Materials | Pokémon |
|---|---|
| Stone x50 | 1x Pokémon with Build Specialty |
| Ice x50 | 1x Pokémon with Water Specialty |
| Crystal Fragment x10 | 1x Pokémon with Search Specialty |
| Pokémetal x10 | 1x Pokémon with Crush Specialty |
| 11x other Random Pokémon |
In terms of the materials, Stone is in abundance everywhere and you should have a ton of it. If not, go to Dream Islands or simply explore Palette Town. There's tons laying around.
Ice is the tricky one here, but there's actually a pretty good hint in Palette Town; remember where you got the Freezing Chambers kit from? If not, check out our guide on Where To Find Ice for a couple of places you can get this rare material from.
Crystal Fragments you can get at the same time as the Ice, but if you've been thorough, then you likely already have enough from either Rocky Ridges or a Dream Island.
Lastly, Pokémetal — if you're in the post-game, you probably have a decent amount of this at this point, unless you've been abusing the 3D printer or making lots of bathtubs. Have a look at our guide on How To Get Pokémetal if you need more.
Once you have everything you need, bring the Pokémon you want to construct the building with you (you'll need to make three trips as you can only have five 'mons following you at once), and set them to work.
The chambers will be ready the next day.
Zapdos Location
Zapdos will be hiding inside the rebuilt Abandoned Power Plant, which you grab on the southern island, at the very top of the large mountain in the centre of the beach.
Like Articuno, you can make friends with the Electric-type bird and they'll be a resident on your island. Now you just need to make them happy!
How to build the Abandoned Power Plant
Perhaps the easiest of the trio, the Abandoned Power Plant is also easy to fit anywhere... as long as that anywhere is a huge flat surface.
Here's who, and what, you need to reconstruct it:
| Materials | Pokémon |
|---|---|
| Copper Ingot x50 | 1x Pokémon with Build Specialty |
| Iron Ingot x50 | 1x Pokémon with Fly Specialty |
| Sea Glass Fragment x50 | 1x Pokémon with Crush Specialty |
| Brick x50 | 1x Pokémon with Generate Specialty |
| Pokémetal x10 | 11x other Random Pokémon |
As you'd expect, an Electric-type Pokémon is a necessity here. But in terms of the materials? All known quantities, and all easy to get.
Copper Ingots and Iron Ingots will be gathered the same way — by mining for Copper Ore and Iron Ore at either Rocky Ridges or via the Clefairy Doll (Copper) or Arcanine Doll (Iron). Then, stick the ores in a Smelting Furnace and get your Fire-types converting them into Ingots.
Sea Glass Fragments are common in Bleak Beach, but you can also get these from a Pikachu Doll Dream Island. Much easier, right?
Well, back to the work with Bricks. You need Squishy Clay and another Fire-type to hand. For more info on Bricks, have a look at our guide on How To Get Bricks.
Pokémetal is the last material again, and you should have a bunch of this to hand.
Again, bring the required Pokémon to the kit once you have the materials, and leave them to it. Come back the next day and make friendly with your Zapdos.
Moltres Location
The last of the three birds, Moltres, has taken up residence inside your Altar of Flame. Well, once it's built, anyway. The kit is on the northwestern island, on top of the altar.
This kit is a huge square, so again, give it some breathing space somewhere in Palette Town. Then, once it's finished, go and say hi! They won't burn.
How to build the Altar of Flame
Similar to the Abandoned Power Plant, you'll need some Ingots, but this otherwise isn't too bad. You might not have any Lava Rocks, but those are easy to find.
Here's everything you need to finish up the Altar of Flame, including Pokémon:
| Materials | Pokémon |
|---|---|
| Copper Ingot x50 | 1x Pokémon with Build Specialty |
| Gold Ingot x50 | 1x Pokémon with Fly Specialty |
| Lava Rock x50 | 1x Pokémon with Burn Specialty |
| Pokémetal x10 | 1x Pokémon with Crush Specialty |
| 11x other Random Pokémon |
Copper Ingots and Gold Ingots can be acquired the same way you got the Iron Ingots for the Abandoned Power Plant: mine for Iron Ore and Gold Ore at either Rocky Ridges or via Arcanine Doll Dream Island. Put them in a furnace, get a 'mon to smelt them, done.
Lava Rocks are also in Rocky Ridges, inside the Volcano. You'll likely see these flame-tinged black blocks as you're mining for Gold Ore, so break them with a Hamburger Steak Rock Smash and collect them until you have enough.
And it's good old Pokémetal to round things out. Don't forget you can buy these once from any Pokémon Center.
Bring your choose group of 'mons to the kit, along with the materials, and let them do their thing. Come back the next day to find Moltres inside.
Articuno, Zapdos & Moltres reward
Besides simply having three new Pokémon registered to your Pokédex and having them actually live wherever you want them too, getting all three of these birds actually unlocks a brand new recipe: the Tidal Bell.
The Tidal Bell is used to call down a specific Legendary Pokémeon. We won't spoil who that is here, but if you're a Poké Nerd like us, then you probably have a good idea of who it is.
There are even more Legendaries to befriend and meet in the game, so for more on those, or if you just need help finding some materials, some normal Pocket Monsters, or just general tips, check out our range of guides over in our Pokémon Pokopia walkthrough hub.