The Decorative Net Ball is a rare collectible tucked inside a hidden underwater structure in Bubbly Basin, the area added to Pokemon Pokopia with the first wave of the Expansion Pass. It sits on a wooden table in a sealed room, and reaching it means dropping down a set of colorful ledges, digging into a buried building, and breaking through blocked doorways.
Quick answer: From the ledge overlooking the lower levels of Bubbly Basin near the Mermaid’s Gym entrance, drop down the pink and blue block steps, dig through the pink blocks to enter the sunken building, follow the minecart tracks past the glowing blue crystals, turn right, break the blue blocks in the doorway, and grab the Net Ball off the table.
What you need before heading in
The Net Ball is inside a flooded room, so you must be able to move underwater. That means learning Dive, which is added in the free version 2.0.0 update and does not require buying the Expansion Pass on its own. You will also need access to Bubbly Basin itself, which is part of the paid DLC.
To learn Dive, you first need Jump and Surf, and you must complete the “Raise the environment level!” request at Bleak Beach by reaching Environment Level 5. After that, speak with Professor Tangrowth outside the Bleak Beach Pokémon Center, surf to the new island to the north, and hand Manaphy five bunches of Seaweed to unlock the move.
Once you have Dive, swimming works automatically when you enter water. Hold B to swim, press L to sink, and press R to rise, which you will need for navigating the vertical drops in Bubbly Basin.
Route to the Decorative Net Ball in Bubbly Basin
Begin near the Mermaid’s Gym entrance, on the ledge that looks down over the lower levels of Bubbly Basin. The path drops steeply from here down into the hidden ruins.
How to confirm you collected it
When you pick up the item from the table, the game shows the message “You found someone’s hidden treasure!” followed by “It’s a decorative Net Ball!” The item is described in your collection as “A small Poké Ball replica. Collect and display them all!” and one Decorative Net Ball is added to your inventory.
If you swim into a room and do not see the table, you likely turned before the correct branch or missed breaking the blue blocks. Backtrack to the minecart tracks, continue past the blue crystals, and make sure you take the right-hand doorway.
What the Net Ball is used for
The Decorative Net Ball is one of several Poké Ball replicas tied to the Mermaid’s Gym Habitat, which is entry No. 036 in the Bubbly Basin Habitat Dex. Building this habitat is what spawns Starmie, so the decorative balls are collectibles with a direct progression purpose rather than pure decoration.
| Mermaid’s Gym (No. 036) | Details |
|---|---|
| Pokémon spawned | Starmie |
| Furniture required | 1x Marine Sofa, 6x Pedestal |
| Decorative balls required | Decorative Great Ball, Decorative Heal Ball, Decorative Dive Ball, Decorative Net Ball |
Note: If you are still short one of the decorative balls, you can recreate a missing item using the Pokémon Center’s 3D printer. That requires photographing the item first, either in a friend’s game or on a cloud island, before printing your own copy.
With the Net Ball secured on the table in the ruins, you are one piece closer to finishing the Mermaid’s Gym and adding Starmie to your Bubbly Basin roster.
