Pokémon Pokopia: First Nintendo Switch 2 DLC Launches on August 5 With New Adventures for Players
Pokémon Pokopia Bubbly Basin DLC will be officially released on August 5, 2026 and will serve as the first part of the game’s paid Expansion Pass for Nintendo Switch 2. The launch coincides with the free Version 2.0.0 update, ensuring all Pokémon Pokopia players receive new gameplay features even if they do not purchase the DLC. The paid expansion introduces Bubbly Basin, a fully explorable underwater town where players can rebuild the area, discover additional Pokémon, unlock new outfits, prepare smoothies, and enjoy several underwater-themed building mechanics. Nintendo also confirmed this is the first of a planned three-part Expansion Pass that will continue through 2027.
Free Update Adds Dive While Expansion Pass Grows the World
The free Version 2.0.0 update introduces the long-awaited Dive move, which players learn from Manaphy. Once unlocked, Ditto can swim alongside Water-type Pokémon, explore the ocean floor, collect previously unreachable underwater resources, and build beneath the sea for the first time. Expansion Pass owners gain access to Bubbly Basin, where Water-specialty Pokémon help grow watermelons and Generate-specialty Pokémon power underwater bubble machines and streetlights. Players can also upgrade the Surf move, recruit more Pokémon, find new furniture and outfits, and make smoothies as a new food item.
It also has floating building blocks that can make buildings float at different depths in the water, creating new design opportunities. Players can follow the glow of coral to explore a dark deep-sea area and even build a Sharpedo submarine, creating a room based on the classic Pokémon Secret Base feature. These additions are a major step forward for the game’s building and exploration systems, while also giving players more options to customize their underwater settlements.
League of Legends Classic Council Voting Introduces New Champions Skins and Gameplay ChangesThe Expansion Pass includes three planned releases. Part 1 arrives on August 5, 2026, Part 2 is scheduled for late 2026 with wearable accessories for players and Pokémon, additional furniture, and more Pokémon to recruit, while Part 3 will launch in 2027 with an entirely new town to rebuild. Developed by Game Freak and Koei Tecmo and published by The Pokémon Company, Pokémon Pokopia follows a Ditto rebuilding abandoned lands alongside Pokémon companions. The latest update and DLC continue expanding the life simulation RPG with new exploration, customization, and cooperative building opportunities for Nintendo Switch 2 players.
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Massively Overpowered – In addition to the new underwater town of Bubbly Basin, the expansion introduces a dark deep-sea region that players can access through a hole in the ocean floor.
Eurogamer.net – The DLC extends the game’s building system, permitting players to construct a Sharpedo submarine and establish a completely customizable underwater room akin to the beloved Pokémon Secret Base.
GAMINGbible – The new free Version 2.0.0 update adds the Dive move, which players learn from Manaphy. Unlocking Ditto allows you to swim with Water-type Pokémon, reach previously inaccessible locations, visit underwater areas in the game and build structures under the ocean without purchasing the Expansion Pass.
Gematsu – Nintendo has also unveiled the first official details for Expansion Pass Part 2, arriving in late 2026. The update will focus on customization, allowing players to wear accessories with their favorite Pokémon.
Worth playing – Other than the DLC, Pokémon Pokopia’s story is about a Ditto who wakes up from a long sleep and turns into a human, joining Professor Tangrowth to restore the abandoned lands where humans and Pokémon used to live together.
