On 5 August 2026, Pokémon Pokopia gets two things on the same day, and plenty of players are going to mix them up. On one side, a free update, version 2.0.0, which gives everyone the Dive move and the right to build underwater. On the other, Bubbly Basin, the first paid wave of the expansion pass, which opens a whole underwater town. Here is what you get without paying anything, and what requires the 34.99 euros of the pass.
Official artwork for Bubbly Basin. ©2026 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK
Free or paid: what changes on 5 August
| What you get | Free 2.0.0 update | Expansion pass, 34.99 € |
|---|---|---|
| The Dive move, learned from Manaphy | yes | yes |
| Swimming alongside Water-type Pokémon | yes | yes |
| Building and planting underwater | yes, in the Grisemer area | yes |
| Access to the town of Bubbly Basin | no | yes |
| The DLC's furniture, outfits and new Pokémon | no | yes |
| Ditto-themed pattern and 30 Rare Poké Metal ingots | no | yes, on purchase |
Put another way, even if you pay nothing your save changes in nature on 5 August: you go from an avatar who can only hold its breath for a few seconds to a character able to explore, plant and build in the deep. The pass adds a destination on top of that.
The free update: Dive, Manaphy and the Grisemer area
Until now, your Ditto could not stay submerged for more than a few seconds. Version 2.0.0 fixes that by having you learn Dive from Manaphy. Once the move is acquired, you swim alongside Water-type Pokémon, grow vegetation below the surface and build submerged structures, notably in the area called Grisemer in the French version.
It is a standard software update: it installs on its own provided the console is online, and it asks for no purchase.
Pokémon Pokopia, released in March 2026. ©2026 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK
Bubbly Basin: an underwater town, but with conditions
The paid part adds an entire town below the surface, with its furniture, its outfits and its Pokémon. Two conditions have to be met before you can walk through the door that leads there, and that is the point the announcements skip over fastest.
You first need to have learned Dive, so to have gone through the free update. You then need to have completed the major request known in French as Un environnement plus agreable, in the Grisemer area. A player who buys the pass without having progressed that far will not see Bubbly Basin on release day.
The expansion pass, of which Bubbly Basin is the first wave. ©2026 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK
The Pokémon arriving with the DLC
Five marine Pokémon join the game: Corsola, Remoraid, Starmie, Finneon and Carvanha. The picks match the theme, mixing reef and open-sea Pokémon, and giving you something to populate whatever you build in the deep.
Outfits and accessories are part of the added content. ©2026 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK
A pass in three waves, running to 2027
The 34.99 euros do not only cover August. The expansion pass is split into three stages: Bubbly Basin now, a second part expected in late 2026, then a third in 2027. On purchase you immediately receive a Ditto-themed pattern and 30 Rare Poké Metal ingots, without waiting for the content itself.
For scale: the pass costs roughly a third of the base game, for three waves spread over a year and a half.
Pokémon Pokopia on Nintendo Switch 2. ©2026 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK
The Switch 2 bundle with the game. ©2026 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK
Buy the pass now, or wait?
If you play regularly and Grisemer is already behind you, buying makes sense: you walk into Bubbly Basin on day one and pick up the bonuses along the way. If you have left the game aside since spring, there is no rush. The free update already opens the water to you, and you can judge for yourself before paying, all the more so as the other two waves have no precise date.
The calendar plays a part too: 5 August falls in the middle of summer, and the addition is explicitly built for the season.
Carrying the mood beyond the screen
If Water-type Pokémon are what draws you to this update, the Squirtle crystal LED Poké Ball and the Blastoise Poké Ball cover the best-known line of the type, and Vaporeon on a wooden base rounds out the family. The 21 Pokémon in the collection are all 29.99 euros.
What to remember
On 5 August, everyone gains Dive and the right to build underwater, for free. Only pass holders, at 34.99 euros, enter the town of Bubbly Basin, and even then only after clearing the major request in the Grisemer area. The pass's next two waves land in late 2026 and in 2027.
