Pokémon Pokopia: how to get shiny pearls in Fonds-Bulleux (Cleaning specialty)

Since August 5, 2026 and the opening of Coral Coves, the first part of Pokémon Pokopia's expansion pass, one resource has established itself as the lifeblood of the underwater town: the shiny pearl. The Sea Temple construction site demands them, the shell fences consume them, and some of the DLC's brand-new furniture and kits require them for crafting.

The catch: shiny pearls are never simply picked up as they are. On the sand, in caves and at the bottom of the depths, you'll only find dirty pearls, tarnished by the seabed. To make them shine, you have to entrust them to a Pokémon with Scrub, the brand-new specialty introduced by the expansion — and without a dedicated cleaner, the area's main storyline remains stuck.

This guide covers the entire pearl loop: where to efficiently gather dirty pearls, which Pokémon have Scrub and how to attract them, how many pearls to entrust to them at once, and what to prioritize spending your shiny pearls on.

Dirty pearl, shiny pearl: how the DLC's key resource works

Pearls are exclusive to Coral Coves: you need to own the expansion pass (sold for €34.99) and to have unlocked the underwater town to come across them. Unlike wood, stone or Poké Metal, the useful version of the resource — the shiny pearl — never appears directly in the environment. The game only generates dirty pearls, and only the Scrub specialty allows the conversion.

Scrub is one of the specialties added by the expansion, and it's locked behind a key story beat: on the central square, Clawitter asks you to clean the pearls gathered during exploration, a mandatory step in the big construction project entrusted by Otaquin. So it's the game itself that pushes you to recruit your first cleaner, Crabaki.

Where to find dirty pearls in Coral Coves

Good news: dirty pearls are naturally generated all over the region. Three collection spots stand out:

• The region's ground. Pearls appear directly on the ground as you explore, with a clear preference for sandy areas. Comb the sandy stretches around town during every session.
• Caves and depths. This is where dirty pearls are most plentiful, but the deepest underground areas are pitch black: bring lanterns to light your way, just like for Snorlax's cushion quest.
• The Dream Island from the Staross plushie. The island generated by the plushie also produces dirty pearls, a handy bonus if you're already visiting it for other resources.

Pearls respawn over time: work their collection into your usual loop rather than hoping to farm them all in one go.

Which Pokémon have the Scrub specialty?

The Coral Coves Pokédex includes 50 new Pokémon spread across 36 habitats, and community surveys are still ongoing — some spawns have yet to be confirmed. Several cleaners have already been identified, however:

Our recommendation: aim for Crustabri first. Its habitat is accessible within the first few hours in the area, and the main storyline leads you there anyway. Sharpedo is an excellent second cleaner, since it also chops your small wooden logs while spinning pearls.

Starting a cleaning: the mechanic in detail

1. Keep at least one dirty pearl in your inventory.
2. Talk to a Pokémon with Cleaning and choose the dialogue option dedicated to cleaning.
3. Hand over your stock: each Pokémon accepts up to 10 dirty pearls at once.
4. The processing isn't instant: go back out exploring, then return to collect your shiny pearls.

The optimization is straightforward: the more active cleaners you have, the more pearls you process in parallel. With Crustabri, Kokiyas and Sharpedo set up, that's 30 pearls that can be spinning at all times. Make it a habit to empty your inventory of dirty pearls before each major exploration session: by the time you get back, the conversion will be done.

What to spend your shiny pearls on (and in what order)

• The main storyline first. Otaquin's big construction project, unlocked once environment level 3 is reached, uses shiny pearls among its materials, alongside star blocks. It's impossible to build the Sea Temple without a decent stock.
• Shell fences. The blueprint can be bought directly at the Fonds-Bulleux PC: a single shiny pearl lets you craft ten of them, the best decorative return on the resource.
• Special doors. Their blueprint can't be bought: it's found by digging into the blocks above the village's central square. The temple's construction requires two of them.
• DLC furniture and kits. Several craftable items from the expansion include shiny pearls in their cost, particularly on the underwater decoration side.

Until the Sea Temple is built, treat every shiny pearl as reserved for the story. Decoration can wait: unlike star blocks, which are very abundant in the area, pearls remain the limiting factor for the final construction project.

Our farming loop to never run out of pearls

1. As soon as you arrive at Fonds-Bulleux, build the "Bed of Flowers and Swaying Algae" habitat to recruit Crustabri.
2. Rake the central square and the surrounding sandy areas, then immediately hand over your first ten dirty pearls.
3. While the cleaning is underway, head off to explore the caves with lanterns: pearl density is highest there.
4. Set up Sharpedo then Kokiyas to triple your processing capacity.
5. Swing by Staross Dream Island whenever you're farming other resources there: its pearls feed straight into the loop without a detour.
6. Collect your shiny pearls every time you pass through town and immediately start another cycle with the freshly gathered dirty pearls.

With this rotation, the pearl cost of the Sea Temple is covered without any dedicated farming, simply by playing through the expansion. Once the storyline is wrapped up, keep one or two cleaners active: between the shell fences, the special doors, and the underwater kits, Fonds-Bulleux will always find a use for your shiny pearls.