Pokemon Pokopia‘s Bubbly Basin DLC has officially arrived, bringing Expansion Pass owners a new underwater town, quests, Pokemon, furniture, buoyant blocks, crops, and other additions. Needless to say, it’s a sizable bit of content, and one that many fans of the base game have likely decided to invest in. However, the arrival of Pokemon Pokopia‘s Bubbly Basin DLC doesn’t only benefit Expansion Pass owners, as the base game is receiving a considerable update alongside the DLC that is completely free and will fundamentally change the way players are able to experience the game. In a way, this makes the free update even more important than Bubbly Basin itself, and not just because everyone gets something, regardless of what they’ve paid.
This isn’t to say Pokemon Pokopia‘s Bubbly Basin DLC isn’t worth an Expansion Pass purchase, though, especially considering it’s only the first of three paid DLC packs for the game. There are still plenty of new additions coming with Bubbly Basin that players can’t get without owning it—like Bubbly Basin itself, new Pokemon like Popplio and Mudkip, a new growable food with Watermelons, new outfits for Ditto, and more. But Pokemon Pokopia‘s Ver. 2.0.0 free software update affects the game on a more fundamental level, giving every owner of the base game Dive, allowing Ditto to remain underwater indefinitely, explore beneath the surface, construct buildings and crop fields, and even extend railway tracks from land into the water.
Pokemon Pokopia’s Free Update Turns Water Into Buildable Space
Before the Ver. 2.0.0 update, players could interact with water in Pokemon Pokopia without any issues, but it wasn’t something they could fully build around in the same way they could the rest of the world. Dive completely changes that, though, as it essentially turns every sufficiently large body of water into additional space that players can utilize. Rather than simply swimming across the surface or treating water as a natural boundary, with Pokemon Pokopia Ver. 2.0.0, players can now remain underwater indefinitely and begin using that space for buildings, crop fields, and even railway tracks.
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That means players who may have already finished developing certain areas of the world in Pokemon Pokopia now have a considerable reason to go back and approach them differently. A lake that once functioned as little more than beautiful scenery can now become the foundation for a new underwater settlement, while a stretch of water separating two areas can now be incorporated into a much larger build. In that sense, rather than merely adding a new mechanic to Pokemon Pokopia, the update expands the amount of usable space players have access to throughout the entire experience.
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Image: The Pokemon Company, Game Freak, Omega Force
This is especially important because Dive isn’t exclusive to Bubbly Basin. The paid DLC may be built around underwater development, but the ability itself can be used outside of that new town, which gives it far more reach than any single DLC location ever could. Bubbly Basin may be the place where players are introduced to many of these new possibilities, but the free update is what allows those possibilities to carry over into the rest of Pokemon Pokopia.
Bubbly Basin Adds More Content, but Dive Changes the Entire Game
There’s absolutely no denying that the Bubbly Basin DLC adds more content than Pokemon Pokopia‘s free update does if you’re looking at things strictly from a list standpoint. Pokemon Pokopia Expansion Pass owners are getting an entirely new town, new requests, new Pokemon, new crops, new furniture, and several other additions that make the DLC feel like a substantial reason to return to the game. Compared to Dive alone, Bubbly Basin is obviously the much larger package, and for many players, it will understandably feel like the main event. It’s also a great sign of what is still to come for the game in its next two major DLC additions.
Everything Bubbly Basin Brings to Pokemon Pokopia
- BUBBLY BASIN – An entirely new underwater town that players can develop.
- NEW REQUESTS AND ADVENTURES – Involving the Pokemon living beneath the sea, beginning with Popplio. Completing their requests gradually develops Bubbly Basin.
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NEW POKEMON TO MEET AND BEFRIEND – Pokemon specifically confirmed in connection with the DLC include:
- Popplio
- Mudkip
- Chinchou
- Manaphy
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NEW POKEMON ABILITIES, including:
- Water-specialty Pokemon such as Mudkip creating air bubbles around underwater crops.
- Generate-specialty Pokemon such as Chinchou powering underwater equipment.
- Pokemon capable of helping construct buildings underwater.
- WATERMELONS – New growable food.
- UNDERWATER CROP-GROWING MECHANICS – Crops planted underwater need bubbles supplied by Water-specialty Pokemon, while Grow-specialty Pokemon can still accelerate their growth.
- SMOOTHIES – Newly added type of prepared food.
- BUOYANT BLOCKS that allow buildings and structures to float at different depths.
- THREE-DIMENSIONAL UNDERWATER TOWN CONSTRUCTION allowing players to build vertically rather than being limited to a conventional ground level.
- NEW OCEAN-THEMED FURNITURE for decorating Bubbly Basin and underwater homes.
- ADDITIONAL FURNITURE ITEMS beyond the specifically ocean-themed pieces.
- BUBBLE MACHINES that produce bubbles after being powered on.
- UNDERWATER ELECTRICAL DEVICES, including streetlights, that can be powered with help from Generate-specialty Pokemon.
- NEW OUTFITS FOR DITTO
- AN UPGRADE OR “POWER-UP” FOR SURF
- ONE ADDITIONAL DREAM ISLAND
However, adding more content and fundamentally changing how Pokemon Pokopia can be played are two very different things. Bubbly Basin gives players another location to develop, but Dive changes how players can approach every location with enough water to support it. The DLC’s requests can eventually be completed, its Pokemon can be befriended, and its new items can be collected, but Dive will remain useful long after all of that is over.
That’s ultimately what makes Pokemon Pokopia‘s free August update more important than Bubbly Basin, even if it isn’t technically bigger. Bubbly Basin adds more things for players to do, but Dive changes what the game allows them to do in the first place. One expands Pokemon Pokopia with new Pokemon and a new destination, while the other expands the limits of the game’s sandbox as a whole. Bubbly Basin may be the more substantial addition, but the free update is the one that could have the greater impact on how players experience Pokemon Pokopia going forward.
- Released
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March 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone / Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
