You know that feeling when you're 20 hours into an RPG and realize you permanently locked yourself out of a Platinum trophy because you forgot to pick up a plastic toy in a sewer? Yeah. That’s the Stick of Truth Chinpokomon experience in a nutshell.
If you’re playing South Park: The Stick of Truth, you’re not just playing a parody of Skyrim or Final Fantasy. You’re playing a game designed by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, two guys who notoriously love to mess with their audience. The Chinpokomon—a blatant, hilarious rip-off of Pokémon—are the primary collectibles in the game. There are 30 of them. Most are easy to find. Some, however, are hidden behind "Points of No Return."
Basically, if you miss them during specific story missions, you are starting the whole game over. No pressure.
Why the Chinpokomon Hunt is Actually a Nightmare
The game frames this as a fun side quest. It isn’t. Well, it is, but it's a stressful one for completionists. Most of these little guys are just sitting around in the open world. You’ll find Pterdaken in a locker at the school or Pengin in Randy’s garage. Simple enough.
But then there are the missables.
The Stick of Truth world changes as the plot progresses. Characters move. Buildings get destroyed. Aliens abduct you. If you don't grab the Chinpokomon during these scripted sequences, they vanish from existence. This isn't like modern open-world games where you can just fast-travel back to an area. Once the mission "Alien Abduction" is over, you can never go back onto that ship. If you missed Beetlebot? Tough.
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The Missable Stick of Truth Chinpokomon You Need to Watch For
Let’s talk specifics because this is where people usually mess up. Most players finish the game with 28 or 29 out of 30. It’s always the same few that get left behind.
Rattery is a classic example. You find it in the sewer, but specifically during the part where you're dealing with the goth kids or the underpants gnomes. Actually, the sewers are a maze in general, but Rattery sits in a specific area that feels like a dead end.
Then there’s Shoes. You find this one during the "Attack on the School" mission. It’s sitting right there near the cafeteria, but if you’re distracted by the chaos of ginger kids and elves fighting, you’ll walk right past it. You can't go back into that version of the school later.
The biggest offender is Carcuss. He’s inside the Unplanned Parenthood clinic. You only go there once. If you leave without grabbing him from the corner of the room during the gnome sequence, your save file is officially "ruined" for the Chinpokomon Champ achievement. Honestly, it’s a bit cruel, but it fits the South Park brand perfectly.
Finding the Rest: A Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt
Outside of the high-stress story missions, the Stick of Truth Chinpokomon are actually pretty fun to track down. It forces you to use the game’s various "buddy" abilities and powers.
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- Roostre: You’ll find this one at the U-Stor-It. You have to use the Shrink power to get inside a small vent.
- Ferasnarf: This little guy is at the Community Center. Again, you need to be small.
- Flowerpotamus: He’s just chilling on a shelf in Skeeter’s Bar. Most people miss him because he blends into the background.
- Accountafish: Located in the Post Office behind a wooden crate. It’s almost too easy to miss if you aren't smashing everything in sight.
The game encourages environmental destruction. If you see a box, smash it. If you see a vent, go through it. The developers hid these things in spots that reward players who actually explore the corners of the map instead of just sprinting to the next objective marker.
The Reward (Or Lack Thereof)
So, what do you actually get for collecting all 30?
In a move that is peak South Park, the reward is... underwhelming. You get a Friend Request from the Chinpokomon Toy Company. That’s it. You get the achievement, you get the "Chinpokomon Champ" title, and you get the satisfaction of knowing you didn't miss a single missable item.
There’s a deep irony here. The show has always mocked the consumerist nature of collectibles—remember the "Chinpokomon" episode from Season 3? The game leans into that. It makes you work incredibly hard for something that is fundamentally useless within the game's mechanics. It doesn't give you a stat boost. It doesn't give you a legendary weapon. It just gives you the completion percentage.
How to Not Fail Your Collection Run
If you are starting a new playthrough specifically to get these, you need a plan. Don't wing it.
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First, keep a checklist of the mission-specific ones. Beetlebots (Alien Ship), Gunner (Al Gore's base/Mall construction site), and Shoes (School) are the big ones. If you see the credits roll and you're missing one of those, you're out of luck.
Second, get the "Shrink" and "Teleport" powers as soon as possible. A lot of the world-based Chinpokomon are locked behind these traversal mechanics. You’ll see them early on—like the one on top of the movie theater—but you won't be able to reach them until later in the story. Don't worry about those. They'll still be there in the endgame.
Third, check the sewers frequently. The sewer system expands as the game goes on, and it’s a dumping ground for several collectibles like Gerbitz.
Final Insights for the Aspiring Champ
The Stick of Truth Chinpokomon quest is a test of patience and attention to detail. It’s a love letter to the fans who have been watching the show since the 90s, filled with deep-cut references to the original episode. While the "missable" nature of some toys is frustrating, it adds a layer of genuine stakes to the RPG experience.
To ensure success, follow these specific steps:
- Manual Save Often: Create a new save file before every major story mission (The School, The Alien Ship, The Clinic). This allows you to backtrack if you realize you missed a toy after the area closes off.
- Look Up: Many Chinpokomon, like Pterdaken, are located on top of lockers or high shelves. Use your ranged weapon (bow or balls) to knock them down.
- Check Every Room: Even if a room seems irrelevant to the quest, walk to every corner. The "Carcuss" toy in the clinic is tucked away in a spot that isn't naturally in your line of sight during the frantic gnome chase.
- Prioritize Gunner: When you are at the Mall construction site, look for the Gunner toy before leaving the area. It is one of the most frequently missed items because that area changes significantly later.
Once you have all 30, you can officially claim the title of Chinpokomon Master, even if the only person who cares is a fictional toy executive in a social media menu.