Pokémon Pokopia: Should You Go To Bleak Beach Or Rocky Ridges First?

Once you've completed the first main area of Pokémon Pokopia, you'll have a choice to make — which new town do I go to first? Does the beach sound nicer than a volcano? Or are you a fan of digging over swimming?

We'll aim to answer the question of whether you should go to Bleak Beach or Rocky Ridges first in Pokémon Pokopia. Each town has its own unique unlocks and skills which will all come in handy at some point, so see which ones you prefer to get first!

Should I go to Bleak Beach or Rocky Ridges first?

So, here's the short answer: it doesn't matter which town you visit first, but you will have to clear both of them to reach the final area of the game.

Now for the longer version: Once you've cleared Withered Wasteland's 'Yawn up a Storm' quest, your Trainer Rank will increase to Great, which will allow you to leave the town and head to your next destination. However, there are two gates you can go through — to the east, past where you met Drilbur, you'll be heading to Bleak Beach. If you go west via Onix's cave, you'll end up in Rocky Ridges.

Again, it really doesn't matter where you go first, and you can even leave and go to the other place at any time. No need to commit if you're not feeling one place! We cleared Bleak Beach first, just because that's the way we went — no other thoughts needed!

If you still can't choose, then we'll break down what you can learn and do in both locations.

Bleak Beach - What does it unlock?

When you first visit Bleak Beach, is shrouded in darkness and completely out of power. Your goal here is to restore power to the town, so expect a lot of Electric-type Pokémon.

You'll learn a bunch of new skills and tips in Bleak Beach, so here's a rundown of the most useful ones:

• The Utility Pole recipe and how to use Generators to power houses and generate electricity
• How to paint and customise furniture with Smearguru
• How to make Iron Ore, Paper, and Bricks
• Camouflage Transformation from Zorua, which lets you transform into objects
• Surf Transformation from Lapras, which allows you to swim
• How to suck up water and make waterfalls
• Tomato crops

Rocky Ridges - What does it unlock?

This ash-covered landscape is home to a lot of Fire and Rock-type Pokémon who enjoy the heat and humidity. It's a huge map, with lots buried underneath the ash and within the volcano.

You'll also get a whole new practical skill set here which will set you up for a lot of materials, so here are some of the key ones:

• Cooking, as well as recipes for a Frying Pan, Pot, Chopping Board, and Bread Oven, all to boost your Transformations
• Furnaces and how to make Ingots with ore
• Access to the museum, where you can donate Relics and Mysterious Feathers
• Strength Skill from Machop, which lets you push and pull boulders
• Rollout Transformation from Graveler, letting you destroy blocks much faster than Rock Smash
• How to make Railway Tracks and handcarts
• What to do with CDs
• Wheat crops

You'll have plenty of choices to make throughout Pokopia, including how you want your towns to look, so if you still have questions about what to do, where to get materials, or how to play with friends, check out our Pokémon Pokopia walkthrough hub for more tips and guides.