Shiny Pearls are a crafting material tied to the Bubbly Basin content in Pokémon Pokopia, and you will burn through them fast once you start the ‘Building the beautiful building’ Important Request, craft Seashell furniture, or rebuild the Pokémon Center. You cannot pick Shiny Pearls up directly from the world. They only exist after a Pokémon cleans them for you.
Quick answer: Collect Grubby Pearls in Bubbly Basin, then hand them to a Pokémon with the Scrub Speciality (Shellder, Cloyster, Sharpedo, or Alomomola). Wait, then return to collect the finished Shiny Pearls.
Where to find Grubby Pearls in Bubbly Basin
Grubby Pearls are the raw ingredient. They spawn underwater and on the small strips of land throughout Bubbly Basin, and they also appear on the Starmie Doll Dream Island. Look for a brown ball sitting in a small pile of dirt, which is why they earn the “grubby” name.
They tend to cluster. If you spot one, scan the area right around it because more are usually nearby, which makes gathering a large batch quicker.
Scrub Speciality Pokémon that clean Grubby Pearls
Only Pokémon with the Scrub Speciality can turn Grubby Pearls into Shiny Pearls. Cloyster is usually the first one you will have access to, since its habitat requirements are revealed during Mareanie’s request for a Shiny Pearl. Cloyster spawns from the Swaying Flower Bed & Seaweed Habitat, which needs four Seabad Flowers, a Chimney Rock, and two pieces of Lush Seaweed.
| Scrub Speciality Pokémon | Notes |
|---|---|
| Shellder | Common early option for scrubbing |
| Cloyster | Often the first one unlocked via Mareanie’s request |
| Sharpedo | Useful for spreading batches across Pokémon |
| Alomomola | Another reliable scrubber |
To check which of these you have already met, open the Pokédex and use its Filter function to sort by the Scrub Speciality. If none appear, the Habitat Dex tells you which habitat will make the Pokémon show up.
How to scrub Grubby Pearls into Shiny Pearls
Collect your finished Shiny Pearls
Return to the Pokémon after some time has passed. If you cannot find it again, use Honey in its habitat to draw it back out. When the scrubbing is done, it hands over the Shiny Pearls, and that item entering your inventory is your confirmation the process worked.
Even if it has not finished the full batch, it still gives you the pearls it has cleaned so far. Just come back later to pick up the remaining Shiny Pearls.
Because so many Bubbly Basin recipes and requests call for Shiny Pearls, it is worth keeping a steady flow going. Note where your Scrub Speciality Pokémon live, keep feeding them Grubby Pearls between other tasks, and your Shiny Pearl stock will stay ahead of what you need.
