Pokémon Pokopia Bubbly Basin: August 5 free Dive, paid town
August 5 splits Pokopia in two: free Dive for everyone, Bubbly Basin for Expansion Pass owners. Here is the unlock checklist and what each layer actually adds.
If you play Pokémon Pokopia on Nintendo Switch 2 and care what actually unlocks next week, this is the split that matters. On August 5, 2026, The Pokémon Company group ships Ver. 2.0.0 for free and opens Expansion Pass Part 1: Bubbly Basin on the same day. Dive is the free floor. The underwater town is the paid ceiling.
Free update vs Bubbly Basin paid DLC
Layer
Date
What you get
Ver. 2.0.0 free update
August 5, 2026
Learn Dive from Manaphy, then swim with Water-types and build underwater
Expansion Pass Part 1: Bubbly Basin
August 5, 2026
New underwater town, more Pokémon, outfits, Surf power-up, smoothies, buoyant blocks, Sharpedo submarine room
Expansion Pass Part 2
Late 2026
Accessories you wear with Pokémon, more furniture, more Pokémon; **no new town**
Expansion Pass Part 3
2027
Another new town to rebuild
The Expansion Pass is one Nintendo eShop purchase at $34.99. Nintendo's store copy is blunt: the three parts cannot be bought separately. Base game sold separately.
Watch on YouTubeOfficial Bubbly Basin underwater town look from the Expansion Pass microsite
Unlock checklist before you can dive in
Do not treat August 5 like an automatic teleport into Bubbly Basin. The official footnotes are specific:
Own the full game (Expansion Pass DLC requires it).
Install Ver. 2.0.0.
Finish the request "Raise the environment level!" in Bleak Beach.
Know Surf and how to jump, then learn Dive from Manaphy in the free update.
Only then start Part 1: Bubbly Basin if you own the Expansion Pass.
One detail that trips people: learning Dive is free; befriending Manaphy is paid DLC. Same mascot energy, different gates.
Available to everyone who owns Pokémon Pokopia from August 5, players will be able to learn the move Dive from Manaphy as part of the Ver 2.0.0 free software update.
That line is from The Pokémon Company's July 29, 2026 press release for Part 1.
Buoyant-block building underwater, Expansion Pass promotional screenshot
What Bubbly Basin adds that the free Dive alone does not
Once you are in the paid town, the press kit is denser than "more water." Watermelons grow with Water-specialty Pokémon. Generate-specialty Pokémon power bubble machines and streetlights. Buoyant blocks let buildings float at different depths. A Sharpedo submarine room is framed like a Secret Base. There is a deep-sea stretch reached through a hole in the sea floor, with glowing coral as the path marker.
The official extended trailer (above) is a long Water-type roll call rather than a numbered roster. Expect familiar ocean friends such as the Popplio line, Mudkip, Totodile, Corsola, Sharpedo, and other returning swimmers shown on screen. Treat that as trailer confirmation, not a sealed Pokédex until the patch notes land.
Deep-sea exploration still from Pokémon Pokopia Expansion Pass materials
Confirmed vs not confirmed
Confirmed
Not confirmed
Part 1 + Ver. 2.0.0 on August 5 for Switch 2
Exact full species list and encounter rates
Dive via Manaphy in the free update
Whether every trailer Pokémon is day-one available
Bleak Beach environment-level request before Dive / Part 1
Separate purchase of Bubbly Basin alone (store says no)
Part 2 late 2026 with accessories, furniture, Pokémon, no new town
Exact Part 2 / Part 3 day-month dates
Part 3 in 2027 with a new town
Whether more free Pokémon land beyond Dive support
Purchase bonuses on the official Expansion page: a dynamic Ditto print blocks and wallpaper recipe after buy, plus a code for 30 rare Pokémetal ingots if you buy by August 31, 2027 (redeem via Mystery Gifts; code valid through September 30, 2027).
What to do next
Update Pokopia on August 5, clear the Bleak Beach environment request if you have not, and grab Dive before you decide on the pass. If you already want the full three-wave plan, the Expansion Pass is live on the Nintendo eShop for $34.99. Primary details live on the Pokémon Pokopia Expansion page and the July 29 press notes.
