Pokopia Bubbly Basin Release Date, Unlock & Features

Quick answer

Bubbly Basin is the first paid town in the Pokémon Pokopia Expansion Pass and has been live since August 5, 2026. The town itself is paid DLC, while the Dive move required to reach it comes from the free Version 2.0 update for every player. The live Basin Pokédex contains 50 entries.

The free Version 2.0 update and paid Part 1 both launched on August 5, 2026 globally; Nintendo of America lists Version 2.0.0 as August 4 because of the regional release timestamp. The official schedule gives winter 2026 for Part 2 and 2027 for Part 3; their specific calendar days are not announced.

What Bubbly Basin is

Bubbly Basin is an underwater town that lets you keep developing your Pokémon utopia below the waves. The official Expansion page establishes three player-facing boundaries:

1. It is Part 1 of the paid Expansion Pass.
2. It adds a new underwater town with new Pokémon, furniture, and a Ditto costume.
3. You need Dive from the free update before you can enter it.

What Part 1 adds

Part 1 gives paid Expansion Pass owners a new town to develop under the sea. Its seven feature groups connect town-building, exploration, farming, power, decoration, and multiplayer.

1. A town that grows through Pokémon requests

Ditto arrives with Popplio. Completing requests from Popplio and Pokémon encountered under the sea gradually develops the town.

2. Watermelon farming under water

Watermelon is a new crop. Pokémon with the Moisten specialty, including Mudkip, make bubbles that supply air to seedlings planted in underwater fields; Pokémon with Cultivate can still speed their growth.

3. Floating buildings with Float Blocks

New Float Blocks let you build structures that sit on the water. Pokémon that can Build in water help create the vertical town layout.

4. Underwater power and Bubble Machines

Pokémon with the Generate specialty, such as Chinchou, can power machines under water. That includes lights and Bubble Machines that make the sea-floor town livelier.

5. Underwater rooms and the Sharpedo Submarine

New underwater furniture supports room decoration below the waves. Building a Sharpedo Submarine also gives you a room with a secret-base feel.

6. Deep-sea caves and Dream Island multiplayer

Glowing coral guides exploration in dark deep-sea caves. Getting the Starmie Doll opens the previously unreachable Dream Island, where multiplayer lets you swim together in its sea.

7. More ways to live under water

Part 1 also adds smoothies, a new outfit, a stronger Surf, and encounters with new Pokémon.

If your real question is whether you should buy the pass at all, use the broader Pokopia DLC guide. This page is narrower: it focuses on Bubbly Basin itself.

Release date and free update

Bubbly Basin and the free Version 2.0 Dive update launched globally on August 5, 2026.

Parts 2 and 3 do not yet have specific calendar days; do not treat seasonal windows as exact dates.

Is Bubbly Basin free?

No. Bubbly Basin itself is paid DLC. What is free is the Version 2.0 update that teaches Dive and opens underwater exploration to every player.

That boundary matters because many searches mix these two questions together:

What you need before entering

The official pages already confirm the core requirements:

1. Complete the “Raise the environment level!” request in Bleak Beach.
2. Learn Surf.
3. Have the ability to jump.
4. Install the free Version 2.0 update and learn Dive.

Use that order as the current access check: install Version 2.0, finish the Bleak Beach request, make sure Surf and jumping are available, then learn Dive. Buying the pass by itself does not skip the free-update or story gates.

Use the dedicated How to unlock Bubbly Basin guide if you want the unlock steps in checklist form.

All 50 Bubbly Basin Pokémon

The Basin Pokédex has 50 numbered entries. Frillish and Jellicent each have male and female forms; separating those forms produces 52 display rows, while the numbered total remains 50. Feebas and Milotic belong to the separate August event and are not part of this list. In the Pokédex, switch to Bubbly Basin Pokédex to search by name, type, or specialty and keep a checklist.

Use the Pokedex to compare these names with the current base-game catalog.

What to do now

• If you are deciding whether to spend money, open the Pokopia DLC guide.
• If you are already buying and only want the entry path, open How to unlock Bubbly Basin.
• If you only care about the free update and underwater movement, open Pokopia Dive update.