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This Bubbly Basin walkthrough will take you through the entire story of the Pokémon Pokopia DLC.
The main focuses are increasing the Basin's Environment Level, Build The Beautiful Building, and Rebuild the Pokémon Center. Completing these is quicker and more streamlined than the requests elsewhere in Pokémon Pokopia, so expect this to take just a handful of hours to complete.
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Bubbly Basin Walkthrough At A Glance
The steps to complete the storyline of Bubbly Basin is as follows:
- Visit the Basin area by learning Dive and starting the Bubbly Basin DLC
- Follow Popplio in giving you a tour, then raise the Environment Level to three
- Complete the Build the Beautiful Building quest step by building the Ocean Temple
- Rebuild the Pokémon Center
In summary, once you have discovered enough Pokémon and Habitats to raise the Environment Level, the two core requests - building the Ocean Temple and rebuilding the Pokémon Center - will be available to you.
Getting Started
If you haven't ready, start the Bubbly Basin DLC by learning Dive from Manaphy, then follow Popplio from the Bleak Beach Pokémon Center to the Basin gate.
Soon after entering the Basin, you'll be given a task by Popplio: Raise the Environment Level to three.
You should also head through the red archway to the north-west and go up the stairs, where you'll find the Pokémon Center. It’s in poor shape, but the PC at least works. Use it to get a call from Professor Tangrowth, and a request to Rebuild the Pokemon Center. But without a rebuilding kit, the Pokémon Center has to wait.
Raising the Environment Level
From here, it's all about raising the environment level by discovering new Habitats and befriending new Pokémon.
To do this, explore the Basin area and look for traces of Pokémon. Otherwise, use our Basin Pokedex for tips on Habitats to build. If you need some inspiration, start with Basin Tall Grass (we got Mudkip), Swaying Flower Bed (we got Stunfisk) and Sandy Basin Tall Grass (we got Corphish). Remember, you can use Rototiller to move grasses and flowers around to make creating habitats quicker.
It's also worth doing a few other optional tasks, such as creating a home with a Ditto Flag so you can fast travel to the Basin if you need to leave, and finding a Portal Pod for shared storage.
As you make friends, there are some sub-requests along the way to teach your about DLC specific additions, including Corphish requesting a submarine (you'll find the kit in a nearby cave) and Corsola asking you to tend to a nearby plot, where you'll learn about Watermelons.
Once you have unlocked enough Basin-specific Pokémon and Habitats (we had 12 of each), then Popplio will be found in the central square with a new request.
Build The Beautiful Building
Popplio will start constructing a new building - the Ocean Temple - just up the stairs from the central square, which has some steep requirements.
This includes the following items:
- Star-spotted Rock x50
- Stone x50
- Seashell x25
- Shiny Pearl x10
- Seashell Fencing x10
- Ocean Door x2
Most of these will be objects you should now be familiar with. Otherwise, the Shiny Pearl requires that you scrub Grubby Pearls found throughout the Basin, while the Ocean Door and Seashell Fencing are made with recipes located closer than you think.
As well as the items, you must also bring over the 15 specified Pokémon, a few of which you won't have encountered yet; that's because they require bespoke requests, and must be completed before they agree to help. These include:
- Totodile: Found on the bridge just to the north. After playing a couple of playground games, they will take you to a bubble machine next to a bath in a nearby building. Bring a Pokémon with the Generate skill - the game suggests Chinchou, but Stunfisk, if you have one, will work - creating the Bubbly Bathtub habitat.
- Barboach
- Found in the building to the north-east before the giant crevice in the ground. Barboach will request a Seashell Seat, found in the depths below. Dive down almost directly where Barboach is located, and light the way with Lampions (either move those already there, and / or pick up the Poké Ball with 10 Lampions close by). The sofa will be near the 'Comfort Cafe Now Open!' record you can see on the ground. Return with it, then make the Ocean Rest Spot habitat as requested.
- Frillish: This requires finding a cave to the north-west, just beyond the crevice, then guiding Frillish through the caverns. The full walkthrough for this slightly fussy objective - including the exact starting location and where to find the Starmie Doll - is linked earlier in this sentence.
Once done, guide these and any other of the requested Pokémon over to the Ocean Temple. It'll require just an hour to build, and after that... (spoilers below!)
...you'll meet back up with Manaphy, allowing you to add them to your Pokédex. That's the main objective complete: now to turn ourselves to rebuilding the Pokémon Center...
Rebuild the Pokémon Center
Head to the PC. Now you have increased the Basin Environment Level to three as part of unlocking Build the Beautiful Building, the rebuilding kit will now be available to purchase in the PC's shop.
Grab it and set it up, then get the required resources and Pokémon it asks for. (For us this included Manaphy, so it's possible you might have to complete the Build the Beautiful Building request first.)
Once built, you're then given the objective of raising the Environment Level to five, which is given out whenever you're essentially done with the town's main tasks.
From here, you're left to your own devices: discover new Habitats, befriend new Pokémon, and continue exploring the Basin to see what secrets lie within. Good luck!