Six treasure maps. Six decorative Poké Balls. One Starmie who won’t move into your town until you’ve found all of them.
That’s the actual deal with Bubbly Basin’s treasure hunt, and it’s worth knowing up front because the maps themselves are almost beside the point.
Treasure maps in Pokémon Pokopia are collectibles you pull out of the shining spots that spawn daily on the Bubbly Basin map. They point you toward treasures humans left behind before they disappeared.
But here’s the part the game doesn’t advertise: you don’t need the maps at all. The treasure sits in the same place whether or not you’re holding the paper that describes it. You can walk straight to every one of these spots right now.
Six maps are scattered across the region, and they’re DLC-only. You’ll find them at random while digging the glowing ground spots, the same ones that usually cough up relics, fossils and mysterious slates.
Map one hides behind a wall of blue rocks
Reward: Decorative Great Ball.
Head to the bathing house next to the Pokémon Center in Bubbly Basin. Take the stairs on its left side down, then walk past the bench and look for a wall of blue rocks.
Smash it. There’s a secret room back there with the decorative Great Ball inside.
The second one is buried under the coral
Reward: Decorative Heal Ball.
This treasure sits in an underground room northeast of the ocean temple. Swim past the tall red-roofed building to reach the area where you meet Barboach during the “Build the Beautiful Building!” important request.
Start breaking the ground blocks near the large coral and keep going down. Eventually you’ll open into the room holding the decorative Heal Ball.
Map three doubles as your shortcut later
Reward: Decorative Dive Ball.
The third treasure is near the abandoned gym in Bubbly Basin. Go east of the main square and you’ll hit a wall of dirt blocks. Break through it and follow the path to the gym.
Stand in front of the building, turn south, and destroy the wall of star-spotted rocks. The room behind it has the decorative Dive Ball.
Remember this location. You’ll want it again at the end.
Nets, tracks and blue crystals
Reward: Decorative Net Ball.
Make for the cave northwest of the main square. It’s the same place you met Frillish during the “Build the Beautiful Building!” important request.
Past the entrance, jump back into the water. You’ll reach a room where nets block the path. Break them and keep heading down.
When you land in a room with tracks and blue crystals, check the southeastern side for a wall of blue rock. Dig a path through the blocks and the decorative Net Ball is waiting.
Look for the yellow mailbox
Reward: Decorative Lure Ball.
The fifth treasure sits near a house with a yellow mailbox out front. Only one place on the map fits that description: the northeast side, where you find the portal pods.
Once you’re at the house, dig on the west side of the building near some coral. That’s the room with the decorative Lure Ball.
The last one is a ruin in the south
Reward: Decorative Quick Ball.
Head to the southern part of the map, near the Bubbly Basin gate. From the gate, travel north, go down the stairs, then turn west.
You’ll spot the remains of a house with a wall of star-spotted rocks behind it. Break the rocks and the decorative Quick Ball is in the room beyond.
What all six Poké Balls are actually for
Poking around Bubbly Basin for its secrets is fun on its own. But the six decorative Poké Balls are the real payoff, because together they let you build the “mermaid’s gym” habitat.
That habitat is Starmie’s home. No balls, no Starmie.
Here’s what you need to put it together.
The fast way to assemble it: return to the abandoned gym from Treasure Map #3, east of the main square. Inside are the six exhibition stands you need.
Place your six decorative Poké Balls on top of the stands in any order. Order doesn’t matter.
After that, the only thing left on your list is a marine sofa, and you probably already have that recipe sitting in your book.
Then go stand in your new gym and wait for a Starmie to decide your town is worth living in.
