Pokémon Pokopia's Bubbly Basin DLC adds an underwater world and 50 new Pokémon
The first Expansion Pass DLC for Pokémon Pokopia launched August 5 on Switch 2, adding an underwater Bubbly Basin area, a Sharpedo submarine to build, a Surf upgrade, and 50 Pokémon not in the base game.
Pokémon Pokopia‘s first big DLC is here, and it takes the building game underwater.
The Bubbly Basin Expansion Pass content launched August 5 on Nintendo Switch 2. It adds a new underwater area, a Sharpedo submarine you build and pilot, an upgrade to the Surf ability, new outfits, and a smoothie recipe to cook.
The headline number for collectors: 50 Pokémon that aren’t in the base game, tracked in a separate Bubbly Basin Pokédex.
What’s in the Bubbly Basin DLC
Pokopia is the Switch 2 game where you play a Ditto transformed into a human, building a town and befriending Pokémon. Bubbly Basin extends that under the sea.
The new Basin Pokédex is its own thing, separate from the main Pokopia dex. It unlocks when you first talk to Popplio at the start of the DLC, and it grows as you open up new underwater habitats.
There’s new building material to chase, too. Items like Ocean Doors and Seashell Fencing are required to construct the Ocean Temple as part of a Build the Beautiful Building quest, and a Pokémon speciality called Scrub cleans grubby items like pearls you need for construction.
The Feebas event lands August 13
The DLC isn’t the only thing on the calendar. There’s a limited-time in-game event right behind it.
“Fetching Scales for Feebas” starts August 13 at 5 a.m. local time. Pokémon events like this are the game’s way of keeping players logging in between content drops, and this one lands about a week after the DLC to carry momentum forward.
So there’s a one-two punch: the underwater expansion now, the Feebas event a week out.
Why Pokopia is worth watching
Pokopia sits in an odd spot in the Pokémon lineup. It’s not a mainline RPG, it’s not GO, it’s a cozy building game, and it tends to get less coverage than its bigger siblings.
But it’s a Switch 2 title in Pokémon’s 30th-anniversary year, and it’s getting real post-launch support instead of being shipped and forgotten. An underwater expansion with its own 50-Pokémon dex is a meaningful chunk of content, not a token update.
For fans who bounced off the mainline formula and wanted something lower-stakes, this is the corner of the franchise quietly doing the most right now. The submarine’s built. The basin’s open. Go find fifty Pokémon.
Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Nintendo Life (August 2026), verified for the Bubbly Basin DLC arriving on Switch 2, the underwater setting, the Sharpedo submarine, the Surf power-up, the 50-Pokémon Basin Pokédex unlocking via Popplio, the Ocean Doors and Seashell Fencing items, the Ocean Temple quest, and the Scrub speciality
Serebii.net (August 2026), verified for the August 5 DLC release date, the Sharpedo submarine build, new outfits, and the smoothie food addition
Famitsu via Serebii (August 2026), verified for the Expansion Pass DLC preview and the “Fetching Scales for Feebas” event starting August 13 at 5 a.m. local time