Unlocking Outfits and Hairstyles in Pokemon Pokopia

Pokemon Pokopia turns Ditto into the star of a cozy, post‑Kanto adventure, and one of its quiet joys is dressing that amorphous blob in iconic looks. While the game doesn’t shower you with cosmetic options, there are ways to steadily expand your wardrobe and hairstyle list if you understand how mirrors and relics work. This guide walks you through everything you need to know to customize Ditto, from basic appearance changes to hunting down rare outfits and hairstyles.

Overview: How Customization Works in Pokopia

Cosmetics in Pokemon Pokopia revolve around your Ditto avatar. You begin with a modest selection of colors, hairstyles, and a couple of outfit styles, but more options can be discovered as you explore the world and its mysterious human ruins. Unlike some recent mainline Pokemon titles where shops sell clothes directly, Pokopia hides most of its cosmetics in the environment.

In practical terms, you should focus on three pillars of customization:

• Mirrors – Tools for changing appearance at any time.
• Human relics – Sparkling artifacts that unlock new cosmetics.
• Exploration and excursions – The main way to find relics and expand your collection.

Once you understand how these systems fit together, it becomes much easier to plan routes, manage your time, and steadily grow Ditto’s style options without wasting resources.

Getting Started: First Appearance Choices

At the beginning of your journey, you’ll be prompted to set up Ditto’s look. These early decisions aren’t permanent, but they provide the foundation of your character’s visual identity.

Initial options available

When you start the game you can typically choose from:

• Two base Ditto body styles (subtle shape variations).
• A range of skin (slime) colors.
• A handful of goofy, gel-like hairstyles.
• One or two basic outfits or clothing themes.

Don’t stress over min-maxing cosmetic choices here. The important takeaway is that these options can be revisited later once you acquire or locate a mirror.

How Mirrors Let You Change Appearance Anytime

Mirrors are the backbone of appearance customization in Pokemon Pokopia. Without one, you’re stuck with whatever look you chose at the beginning.

Finding your first mirror

Early on, you’ll move through a zone of ruined structures filled with debris and remnants of human life. In this area, a story sequence introduces you to a PC and coin quests, which indirectly leads you to your first personal mirror.

There are two main ways to secure an early mirror:

1. Buying a mirror with coins
   As you complete initial objectives and challenges using the PC in the Withered Wasteland (or equivalent starting area), you’ll earn coins. One of the earliest practical purchases is a mirror, usually priced at around 50 coins. Once you buy it, you can place it in your base and access it whenever you like.
2. Finding a free mirror in the ruins
   If you’d rather save your coins for other gear, keep an eye out for interactable debris and cracked walls. By using Rock Smash on a specific breakable wall near the PC, you can reveal a hidden nook that contains a bed, side table, and mirror. You can carry this mirror back with you and avoid spending any coins.

Official coverage for the game notes that you can change Ditto’s look at any large mirror found in the world, echoing systems used in other Pokemon titles where mirrors act as appearance hubs.¹

What you can change at mirrors

Interacting with any mirror opens a customization menu. From there you can:

• Alter your Ditto’s skin tone / slime color.
• Switch between unlocked hairstyles.
• Adjust hair color.
• Select from all unlocked outfits and shoes.

Any human relic you’ve collected that includes clothing or hairstyle data will automatically appear as a new cosmetic choice in this menu. You don’t equip relics directly; you simply unlock their contents.

Understanding Human Relics and Cosmetic Unlocks

Because the game’s setting is a Kanto region long after a major catastrophe, human civilization has crumbled. Instead of bustling malls and boutique clothing stores, you’ll find scattered remains: magazines, books, stone tablets, and other artifacts.² These relics are your primary source of new outfits and hairstyles.

What relics look like

Relics appear as small, glowing objects in the overworld. They usually resemble:

• Thin, rectangular books or magazines.
• Flat tablets or data slates.
• Occasionally, other trinkets tied to famous trainers.

They emit a subtle sparkle, similar to how Poké Balls on the ground stand out in many Pokemon games, making them easier to notice when you’re paying attention.

How relics unlock outfits and hairstyles

When you interact with a relic, Ditto effectively “studies” it. Many of these collectibles contain depictions or descriptions of legendary trainers and fashion from various Pokemon regions. By mimicking what it sees, Ditto learns new looks. Official community resources describe this as Ditto “learning outfits from looking at magazines talking about various trainers from around the world.”²

Most relics fall into one of three categories:

• Outfit relics – Unlock full or partial trainer-inspired outfits.
• Hairstyle relics – Provide additional hair options beyond the starting set.
• Lore-only relics – Expand the setting’s backstory but don’t affect cosmetics.

Not every relic guarantees clothing or hair, which is why cosmetic collecting can feel slow. However, the best way to think about relics is as a long‑term investment: every new area explored brings more chances to find them.

How to Unlock New Outfits

While the game’s initial wardrobe is fairly modest, you can significantly expand it over time by prioritizing the right activities and routes. The process is straightforward but requires patience.

Step-by-step strategy for outfit hunting

1. Thoroughly comb early zones
   Before rushing too far into late‑game content, sweep early ruins, abandoned houses, and partially collapsed buildings. Look behind furniture, near bookshelves, and along broken walls for faint sparkles.
2. Check every human settlement remnant
   Areas that clearly used to be towns or outposts—places with beds, PCs, or clusters of furniture—are especially likely to contain magazines or books about trainers. These often translate into themed outfits.
3. Use excursions to Dream Islands and distant zones
   Some cosmetics can only be found on expedition-style outings, where Ditto travels to more remote or dreamlike locations. Official fan databases mention that many magazines appear during excursions rather than in the core Kanto ruins.²
4. Return to mirrors regularly
   After any long exploration session, visit a mirror to check for newly unlocked outfits. The game doesn’t always emphasize that you’ve gained a cosmetic, so it’s easy to forget what you picked up.

Types of outfits you may unlock

Without spoiling every specific set, you can expect to find outfits that evoke well‑known trainer archetypes and characters from Pokemon history. These can include:

• Classic trainer uniforms inspired by Kanto heroes.
• Villain team-inspired get‑ups paying homage to past antagonists.
• Regional styles hinting at fashion from outside Kanto.

Because each outfit only appears after you obtain its matching relic, it’s entirely possible to complete the main story with only a fraction of the available wardrobe if you don’t explore aggressively.

Why outfits feel rare

Many players report finding only a small handful of outfits even after dozens of hours of play. This is partly by design: Pokemon spin‑offs often use collectibles and rare cosmetics to encourage deeper exploration and replay value.³ Instead of acting as a quick checklist, outfits in Pokopia are a slow‑burn reward for curiosity and persistence.

How to Unlock New Hairstyles

Hairstyles work similarly to outfits, but they tend to be even rarer. While some players go many hours without finding a single new hairstyle relic, they do exist and can significantly change Ditto’s vibe.

Where hairstyle relics tend to appear

Based on how the game structures its relic placements and on patterns seen in similar Pokemon titles, hairstyle unlocks are most likely to show up:

• In later‑game or optional areas reachable only after key story milestones.
• On more distant Dream Islands or expedition maps with higher difficulty.
• Inside heavily collapsed buildings that require traversal abilities or puzzle‑solving.
• As rewards for completing longer side paths rather than the main route through a zone.

Because the core game does not openly list a hairstyle checklist, you may need to rely on careful exploration or external references if you’re aiming for 100% completion. Community videos and databases have already started mapping some of these locations.&sup4;&sup5;

Managing expectations about hairstyles

It’s worth noting that, at launch, some reviewers and players reported not finding any hairstyle unlocks even after dozens of hours, leading to speculation that the hairstyle pool may be limited or that most hair cosmetics are hidden in late‑game or post‑game content. It’s possible future patches or events could expand this selection, as modern Pokemon games frequently receive updates after release.⁶

Table: Mirrors, Relics, and What They Unlock

Tips to Maximize Your Cosmetic Collection

If you want Ditto to show off as many looks as possible, a bit of strategy goes a long way. Use the tips below to make your hunt for outfits and hairstyles more efficient.

1. Always scan for sparkles

Train yourself to pause and scan each new area for glints of light. Because relics can be small and blend into debris, move the camera slowly and check behind objects. It’s often worth backtracking through a zone once you’ve cleared its story content just to ensure you didn’t miss anything.

2. Route through human structures

When you have multiple path options, choose the route that winds through the most human structures:

• Collapsed houses and apartments.
• Research labs and offices.
• Outposts with beds, PCs, and bookshelves.

Official coverage for Pokemon games often emphasizes that cosmetic and lore items are concentrated in such spaces rather than in empty fields or caves, and Pokopia follows a similar logic.^1,3

3. Balance coins between utility and style

While it’s tempting to hoard coins for purely functional items, a mirror is both affordable and transformative. After you acquire your first free or purchased mirror, consider saving additional coins for tools that help you reach new relic locations—such as traversal upgrades—since those indirectly lead to more outfits and hairstyles.

4. Revisit older zones after upgrades

As you unlock more abilities (like Rock Smash or advanced traversal options), earlier regions may hide new paths that were previously blocked. These are prime spots for tucked‑away relics, particularly late‑game hairstyles. A quick lap through your starting zones after each major upgrade can yield surprising cosmetic rewards.

5. Use a checklist or map once you’re deep in the game

If your goal is full completion, consider keeping a simple checklist of areas you’ve thoroughly explored. Community resources and video guides often provide maps of cosmetic locations once a game has been out for a while, which can be invaluable for tracking down the last few missing outfits or hairstyles.&sup4;&sup5;

Role of Cosmetics in a Cozy Pokemon Experience

Pokemon Pokopia leans heavily into a cozy, slow-paced design philosophy. Customization is part of that experience: rather than acting as a major progression system, outfits and hairstyles give you a way to express how you’re feeling about your Ditto and the game’s world at any given time.

From a broader Pokemon design perspective, cosmetics have gradually become more important in the series—recent titles like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet offer extensive uniform variants, accessories, and hair options, pushing customization as a core feature alongside battling and exploration.⁶ Pokopia channels that trend but embeds it in a more subdued, exploration-driven structure where each new outfit feels earned rather than purchased on impulse.

Frequently Asked Questions