If you are grinding through Pokemon Pokopia on your Nintendo Switch 2, you have inevitably hit the Withered Wasteland wall. Game Freak and Omega Force have masterfully blended the creature-collection formula with the deep town-building mechanics of Dragon Quest Builders, but progression comes to a screeching halt when you are tasked with rebuilding the regional Pokemon Center. You cannot build, relocate, or demolish large structures without a Pokemon possessing the Bulldoze specialty.
Your primary target? Onix.
Getting Onix isn’t a simple matter of chucking a Poke Ball. Pokopia demands that you manipulate the environment, manage habitats, and complete a multi-step puzzle involving Hitmonchan, Slowpoke, and the weather system itself. Here is the definitive guide to breaking Onix out of its cave and securing the Bulldoze specialty for your camp.
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Quick Reference: The Bulldoze Unlock Overview
| Objective | Action Required | Essential Habitats / Items |
| Learn Rock Smash | Build a workout space, feed 2 Stones, Transform. | Exercise Resting Spot (Punching Bag + Bench) |
| Locate Onix | Clear the western rock wall for Squirtle. | Inside the large coastal cave (second room) |
| Find Slowpoke | Spawn via habitat, wait in the tall grass. | Seaside Tall Grass (4 Tall Grass + 2 Ocean water) |
| Escort Slowpoke | Craft Wooden Steps, water the path for access. | Southern Shoreline to the Pokemon Center Plaza |
| Free Onix | Trigger a 100-point Yawn from Slowpoke to summon rain. | Pokemon Center Plaza (with Prof. Tangrowth) |
Why Bulldoze is the Ultimate Utility Tool
From a meta-perspective, the Bulldoze specialty is Pokopia’s evolution of the classic Hidden Machine (HM) system. Instead of simply letting you cut down a tree to access a new route, Bulldoze acts as your heavy machinery for macro-level town management. Without it, your settlement is paralyzed. You can’t use the PC Shop’s Demolition or Relocation kits, meaning poorly placed habitats or ruined buildings remain permanent eyesores.
The developers deliberately bottlenecked the Pokemon Center reconstruction behind Onix to force players to engage with the game’s intricate, interconnected habitat mechanics. You aren’t just fetching an item; you are learning how a fighting type’s workout routine directly ties into altering the physical geography, which then allows a water type to manipulate the weather. It is a brilliant, albeit slightly tedious, showcase of Pokopia’s core ecological gameplay loop.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough: The Rescue Operation
1. Copying Hitmonchan to Learn Rock Smash
At Environment Level 3, Squirtle will point out a blocked path west of the ruins. You need raw power. Head to the ruined buildings west of the Pokemon Center and scavenge the Punching Bag and Wooden Bench. Place them side-by-side to create the Exercise Resting Spot habitat. Wait for Hitmonchan to spawn, feed it two Stones (found scattered around the wasteland), and use your Ditto’s Transform ability to copy its Rock Smash move.
2. Discovering the Cave and Professor Tangrowth’s Roadblock
Use your newly acquired Rock Smash to obliterate the brown rock wall blocking Squirtle’s path. This opens up the massive coastal cave. Head inside, investigate the second room on the right, and smash the first layer of rocks to find Onix. Unfortunately, the rocks directly trapping Onix are too hard for your punches.
Retreat to the plaza and speak to Professor Tangrowth, who has wandered south. Smash the rock wall he is staring at to reveal the southern seashore, the mysterious lighthouse, and the key to your weather manipulation: Slowpoke.
3. Spawning and Escorting Slowpoke
Near the broken dock on the southern shore, use your Leafage move to plant four touching tiles of Tall Grass next to the ocean water. This creates a Seaside Tall Grass habitat. Hang around until the grass shakes, revealing Slowpoke.
Professor Tangrowth notes that an old legend claims a Slowpoke’s yawn brings rain—which is exactly what you need to soften the rocks trapping Onix. But Slowpoke refuses to navigate the harsh terrain back to the plaza. You must craft Wooden Steps at the nearby Workbench (2 Lumber per set) to bridge the elevation gaps. Crucially, you must also use the Water Gun move to moisten the dirt and grass tiles along the route. If the path isn’t perfectly accessible and watered, Slowpoke’s pathfinding will break, and it will stop moving.
4. The 100-Point Yawn and Securing the Specialty
Once escorted to the plaza, Slowpoke will attempt a yawn. A perfect 100-point yawn will trigger a massive rainstorm, softening the cave’s interior. Head back to Onix, easily smash the now-brittle rocks, and free your heavy-duty excavator.
To ensure Onix stays in your town to utilize its Bulldoze specialty, immediately build the Smooth Tall Grass Habitat (4 Dry Tall Grass + 1 Smooth Rock).
While Onix is your first Bulldozer, it isn’t the only one in the game. The Larvitar and Trapinch evolutionary lines (including Tyranitar and Flygon) also possess the Bulldoze specialty. Pro-Tip: Do not rely on a single Onix for your entire playthrough. As your Ditto restores new wastelands, having to constantly relocate your singular Bulldoze Pokemon is a massive time sink. Establish at least one Bulldoze-capable Pokemon in every major biome’s camp to optimize your building workflow.
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FAQs
Q: I built the Seaside Tall Grass, but Slowpoke isn’t spawning. What am I doing wrong?
A: Make sure you actually have four continuous tiles of grass that are directly adjacent to at least two tiles of ocean water. If it is separated by a block of sand, it won’t register as the correct habitat. Also, give it time; spawns aren’t always instantaneous. Go smash some rocks or gather lumber for a few minutes and come back.
Q: Slowpoke just stops walking halfway up the ramp to the Pokemon Center. Is my game bugged?
A: It’s not bugged; the pathfinding is just incredibly strict. Slowpoke will completely halt if it encounters dry ground or a ledge without a step. Run ahead of it and spam your Water Gun on every single tile of dirt and grass until it looks dark brown/wet, and ensure your Wooden Steps are snapped properly to the ledges.
Q: Can I just demolish buildings myself if I learn the right move later?
A: No. Ditto’s copied moves are for micro-interactions (smashing single rock blocks, cutting small trees). Macro-interactions, like utilizing the PC Shop’s Demolition Kit or Relocation Kit to move entire structures, strictly require a recruited Pokemon with the Bulldoze specialty to perform the labor.
