The Bubbly Basin expansion drops Pokopia’s building sandbox under the waves, and the Pokémon living down there won’t show up on their own. Each one is tied to a specific arrangement of furniture, plants, and junk that you have to place yourself, and the Basin runs its own separate Pokédex and Habitat Dex from the main game.
Quick answer: There are 36 Bubbly Basin habitats. Every one of them has to be built underwater in the Basin, and between them they spawn 48 of the 50 new Pokémon — Phione and Manaphy are the two exceptions.
How Bubbly Basin habitats work
A habitat forms as soon as the required objects are placed close together in the right numbers. Nothing else is needed — no confirmation prompt, no crafting menu. The habitat is registered when it appears in the Basin Habitat Dex, and Pokémon begin spawning around it after that.
Two rules apply across the whole area. First, these builds only work underwater, so recreating the same layout on the surface of another region does nothing. Second, anything marked as powered has to actually be lit or switched on, which usually means a Wireless Power-Transmitter Post nearby.
Most habitats have between one and four possible Pokémon, and the rarer ones appear less often. If a Pokémon shows up in two habitats, build the one with the shortest spawn list to improve your odds. Feraligatr is the clearest example — it’s very rare in Basin Tall Grass but the only resident of Biteable Punching Bag.
Seabed grass, flower, and coral habitats
These are the cheapest builds in the Basin and the ones you’ll make first. Seabed Tall Grass, Seabed Flowers, and the three coral types are all gathered directly from the seafloor, so a handful of these habitats can be running within minutes of arriving.
| Habitat | Items | Pokémon |
|---|---|---|
| Basin Tall Grass | 4x Seabed Tall Grass | Mudkip, Totodile, Buizel, Feraligatr |
| Basin Tall Grass and Coral | 4x Seabed Tall Grass 1x Small Coral 1x Tall Coral | Corsola, Shellder, Swampert |
| Swaying Flower Bed | 4x Seabed Flowers | Stunfisk, Popplio, Finneon, Staryu |
| Swaying Flower Bed and Coral | 4x Seabed Flowers 1x Colorful Corals | Mareanie, Luvdisc, Golisopod |
| Swaying Flower Bed and Seaweed | 4x Seabed Flowers 1x Chimney Rocks 2x Lush Seaweed | Cloyster, Lumineon |
| Seaweed and Netting | 4x Netting 2x Lush Seaweed | Carvanha, Stunfisk |
| Coral Congregation | 1x Colorful Corals 1x Small Coral 1x Tall Coral | Horsea, Seadra, Kingdra, Corsola |
Sand, sea moss, and chimney rock habitats
Sandpiles and Sea Moss act as base ingredients here, and adding one extra object on top completely changes which Pokémon arrive. Note that Creepy Chimney Rocks needs a working light, so run power to the lantern before you expect Pincurchin or Marshtomp to appear.
| Habitat | Items | Pokémon |
|---|---|---|
| Sandy Basin Tall Grass | 4x Seabed Tall Grass 1x Sandpile | Corphish |
| Sandy Digging Spot | 1x Sandpile 1x Sand Toys | Shellder, Corphish, Crawdaunt |
| Sandy Speech | 1x Sandpile 1x Table (any) 1x Tabletop Mic | Barboach, Wiglett |
| Biteable Punching Bag | 1x Sandpile 1x Table (any) 1x Punching Bag 1x Gold Teeth | Feraligatr |
| Marine Mossy Rest Spot | 4x Sea Moss | Finneon, Lumineon, Veluza |
| Molten Mossy Rest Spot | 4x Sea Moss 1x Molten Rock | Bruxish |
| Creepy Chimney Rocks | 4x Sea Moss 1x Chimney Rocks 1x Barrel 1x Lantern (powered) | Pincurchin, Marshtomp |
| Chimney Rocks Dig Site | 1x Chimney Rocks 1x Excavation Tools 1x Wheelbarrow 1x Traffic Cone | Sharpedo, Croconaw |
Water, mud, and bathtub habitats
Placed water and Muddy Water count as objects in their own right, and the amount matters. Muddy Playtime and Muddy Spa both want two tiles of Muddy Water, while Canoe Dock needs two of regular water alongside the boat and logs.
| Habitat | Items | Pokémon |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Shop | 2x Table (any) 1x Water 1x Cash Register (powered) | Floatzel |
| Canoe Dock | 2x Water 1x Canoe 2x Floating Logs | Totodile, Croconaw, Drednaw |
| Muddy Playtime | 2x Muddy Water 1x Floating Logs 1x Towel Rack 1x Windup Inkay | Marshtomp, Barboach, Inkay |
| Muddy Spa | 2x Muddy Water 1x Seat (wide) 1x Bathtime Set 1x Gyarados Fountain | Swampert |
| Bubbly Bathtub | 1x Bathtub 1x Bubble Machine (powered) | Totodile |
Shipwreck and treasure habitats
Four habitats are built around salvage. Two of them use the Big Treasure Chest with the Bottled Ship, while Ocean Treasures swaps in the Marine Chest instead — they look similar but register as different habitats, and both Frillish forms can appear at either.
| Habitat | Items | Pokémon |
|---|---|---|
| Discarded Treasure | 1x Big Treasure Chest 1x Garbage Bags 1x Waste Bin (any) | Wimpod, Golisopod |
| Playing Sailor | 1x Big Treasure Chest 1x Wooden Crate 1x Ship’s Wheel 1x Bottled Ship | Frillish (male), Frillish (female), Dhelmise |
| Treasure Chest and Sparkling Jewels | 1x Big Treasure Chest 1x Sparkling Jewelry 1x Lantern (powered) | Luvdisc, Toxapex |
| Ocean Treasures | 1x Marine Chest 1x Sparkling Jewelry 1x Bottled Ship | Frillish (male), Frillish (female), Alomomola |
Stage and lighting habitats
This group is the most power-hungry set in the Basin, and it holds three of the hardest Pokémon to get. Topsy-Turvy is the odd one out — the three Lampions have to hang upside down from a roof or ledge rather than sit on the seafloor, which is the whole point of the Malamar reference.
| Habitat | Items | Pokémon |
|---|---|---|
| Topsy-Turvy | 3x Lampion (hung from a roof) | Malamar |
| Bubbly Stage | 1x Small Stage (powered) 2x Bubble Machine (powered) | Popplio, Brionne |
| Glowing Stage For Three | 3x Standing Mic 3x Wireless Power-Transmitter Post (powered) | Wugtrio |
| Elegant Concert | 2x Shell Lamp (powered) 1x Harp 1x Marine Chair | Primarina |
Furnished habitats and Mermaid’s Gym
The remaining eight builds lean on crafted and collected furniture, and they take the longest to assemble. Mermaid’s Gym is the biggest single job in the Basin because it needs six pedestals plus six different decorative Poké Balls, and Starmie is the only Pokémon it produces.
| Habitat | Items | Pokémon |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean Rest Spot | 1x Small Coral 1x Lampion 1x Seashell Seat | Barboach |
| Smoothie-Making Spot | 1x Blender 1x Table (any) 1x Plated Food | Buizel, Chewtle |
| Fluffy Relaxation | 1x Cushion Bed 1x Doll (any) 1x Lighting (any) | Chinchou, Mudkip, Luvdisc |
| Maritime Teatime | 1x Chic Table 2x Chic Chair 1x Push Cart 1x Tea Set (any) 1x Bottled Ship | Jellicent (pink), Jellicent (blue) |
| Nostalgia Zone | 2x Sea Moss 1x Antique Chest 1x Photo Frame 1x Wooden Crate 1x Music Box 1x Lantern (powered) | Lanturn |
| Marine Makeup Stand | 1x Marine Closet 1x Marine Dresser 1x Marine Chair | Kingdra |
| Gorgeous Sleeping Area | 1x Ornate Partition 1x Ornate Bed 1x Ornate Stand | Whiscash |
| Mermaid’s Gym | 1x Marine Sofa 6x Pedestal / Exhibition Stand 1x each Decorative Great Ball, Heal Ball, Dive Ball, Net Ball, Lure Ball, Quick Ball | Starmie |
Tip: if you’re short a decorative ball or a piece of marine furniture, the Pokémon Center’s 3D printer can reproduce items you’ve photographed in a friend’s game or on a cloud island.
Time-restricted spawns
Nearly everything in the Basin appears at any hour and in any weather, but four Pokémon are locked to a window. If one of these is missing from your Basin Pokédex, the habitat is probably fine and you’re simply visiting at the wrong time.
| Pokémon | Habitat | When it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Staryu | Swaying Flower Bed | Nighttime only |
| Veluza | Marine Mossy Rest Spot | Morning, daytime, evening |
| Chewtle | Smoothie-Making Spot | Morning, daytime, evening |
| Drednaw | Canoe Dock | Morning, daytime, evening |
Phione and Manaphy have no habitat
The last two entries in the 50-Pokémon Basin Pokédex can’t be built for. Phione is obtained through the Starmie Doll rather than any furniture arrangement, and Manaphy is tied to story progress in the Basin. Placing objects will never make either of them show up, so don’t burn materials trying.
Why a habitat isn’t registering
You’ll know a build worked the moment the habitat is added to the Basin Habitat Dex — that’s the confirmation, not the Pokémon appearing. If the entry stays blank, the cause is almost always one of a few things.
- The build isn’t underwater. Basin habitats do not form on the surface of other regions.
- A powered item has no power. Lanterns, bubble machines, stages, shell lamps, and the cash register all need to be lit.
- The count is off. Four seabed flowers, two lush seaweed, six pedestals — the quantities are exact.
- The Lampions in Topsy-Turvy are standing upright instead of hanging from a ceiling or ledge.
- The objects are too far apart to be read as a single group.
One more wrinkle worth knowing: a few Pokémon are introduced during the Basin storyline itself, so they may already be logged in your Pokédex before you’ve built anything for them. That doesn’t fill in the Habitat Dex, which tracks the 36 builds separately, and completing that list is what unlocks the rest of the Basin roster.
