[REVIEW] Pokémon Pokopia Expansion Pass Part 1: Bubbly Basin (DLC You Can Dive Into)

Welcome to EXPlay (Explain & Play) — the review series where we don’t care for scores. Instead, we tell it how it is with every game we get our hands on, while including lengthy gameplay so you, the reader, can form your own impressions and views while reading and watching.

In this explanatory review, we’re covering Part 1 of Pokémon Pokopia’s Expansion Pass by joint developers GAME FREAK and Omega Force:

Pokémon Pokopia Expansion Pass Part 1: Bubbly Basin (Nintendo Switch 2)

When it comes Pokémon, leaks and rumours are inevitable. They happen all the time and Pokémon Pokopia is no exception. Long before DLC was officially revealed, it was heavily declared Pokopia would go on to become a bigger game and on August 5, 2026, it finally happened.

With an Expansion Pass first revealed on June 9, 2026 with pre-order going live on the same day the DLC was shown off during a Nintendo Direct, the first part of the DLC has finally arrived and instead of going deeper underground, we’re diving into the deep blue sea.

Now, while it is true August 5, 2026 also saw the release of a sizable version 2.0.0 update, which added a whole host of changes and additions, we won’t be covering them in this review, purely because those changes are available to those who solely possess the base game. But we did cover them when we updated our original Pokémon Pokopia review, which is available here.

So, with this review being solely focused on Part 1 of the Pokémon Pokopia DLC, it’s time to get started. The DLC is immediately accessible to any player who has already learned how to Surf, and raised the enviroment level of Bleak Beach to Level 5. By meeting these requirements, players in Bleak Beach will be prompted to head over to an island that has suddenly appeared in the corner of Bleak Beach.

On the island, you will encounter Manaphy, who requires five seaweed. Gathering the seaweed and handing them to Manaphy will result in Manaphy teaching Ditto how to Dive. Afterward there will be a little tutorial on how to use it, in the form of Ditto needed to explore a sea cavern and recover a treasure. Afterward, when you return to the Pokémon Center, Popplio can now be discovered. Ditto will volenteer to help Popplio to return to their town, which in turn is the ruins of Cerulean City, now known as the area, Bubbly Basin.

Storywise, Bubbly Basin has a much shorter story than other areas, as it can be easily beaten within mere hours. Popplio needs you to rebuild their town and bring back the Pokémon who once lived there. Including forms, Bubbly Basin adds 52 Pokémon to the game. Not including forms, Bubbly Basin has a Pokédex consisting of 50 Pokémon, two of which are mythical. The forms that make up the difference come in the forms of male and female Frillish and Jellicent.

There are also 36 new habitats, which can be built to encounter and home said Pokémon, not counting a special Ocean Temple building that can be built to meet one of the DLC’s mythical Pokémon. Once you have built the Ocean Temple, then you can consider the DLC’s story completed, but by no means does that mean your time under the sea is at an end. Because, as we previously alluded to, there are 36 habitats to build, 52 Pokémon to befriend and a new Dream Island to explore thanks to an all-new Starmie Doll.

There are also plenty of new buildings to discover, our favourite being the Sharpedo Submarine, an environment to renovate all the way to level 10 and a whole line-up of new recipes to discover and should you wish to speed up the building process, you can. Provided you pay Tinkmaster a visit, a chat with them will see Ditto give them a bubble so that they too can dive beneath the waves and help out with all building works.

Additionally, not only is the nautical habitat an intriguing one, but playing the Bubbly Basin content at different times in the day is well worth it, to see how the water changes colour based on the time of day and the posisition of the sun. And just because you can complete the Habitat Dex and the Basin Pokédex in the main game, you can still do it all over again when you head to your Cloud Island. You aren’t able to discover a secret underwater map, but with the new recipes learned and new items available from the shop, it’s time to make friends all over again and build the required habitats to complete your Cloud Island Pokédex all over again, just to add your new Bubbly Basin pals.

Touches like this certainly ramp up one’s play time, but we loved every minute of it. There’s still more to uncover, new notes to learn and recipes to put into practise, now that a blender can be crafted and smoothies can be made, but in the meantime, Part 1: Bubbly Basin is a fantastic introduction as to what Pokémon Pokopia’s Expansion Pass will fully entail. Sure Part 2 is mostly cosmetic, but with Part 3 bringing with it a new town and promising to be just as big, if not bigger than Part 1, we’re here for it, especially when it’s a one-time price tag of $34.99 for three waves of content versus $29.99 for Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Mega Dimension DLC.

In conclusion, if you already love the base game, you’re going to absolutely adore Bubbly Basin and the DLC that’s going to follow it. It’s even more content for a game we utterly adore, even if we do find the Bubbly Basin Pokédex being on the shorter side and questionable as there are plenty of other Water type Pokémon that would have been worthwhile additions, but instead, they’re nowhere to be seen!

When it comes to Pokémon, leaks and rumours are inevitable. They happen all the time, and Pokémon Pokopia is no exception. Long before DLC was officially revealed, it was heavily rumoured that Pokopia would go on to become a bigger game — and on August 5, 2026, it finally happened.

With an Expansion Pass first revealed on June 9, 2026, and pre-orders going live on the same day the DLC was shown off during a Nintendo Direct, the first part of the DLC has finally arrived. Instead of going deeper underground, we’re diving into the deep blue sea.

While it is true that August 5, 2026 also saw the release of a sizeable version 2.0.0 update that added a whole host of changes and additions, we won’t be covering them in this review. Those changes are available to anyone who owns the base game, and we already covered them when we updated our original Pokémon Pokopia review (available here).

This review is focused solely on Part 1 of the Pokémon Pokopia DLC. The content is immediately accessible to any player who has already learned how to Surf and raised the environment level of Bleak Beach to Level 5. Meeting these requirements prompts players in Bleak Beach to head over to an island that has suddenly appeared in the corner of the area.

On the island, you encounter Manaphy, who requires five pieces of seaweed. Gathering the seaweed and handing them over results in Manaphy teaching Ditto how to Dive. A short tutorial follows, in which Ditto must explore a sea cavern and recover a treasure. Afterward, when you return to the Pokémon Center, Popplio can now be discovered. Ditto volunteers to help Popplio return to their town — the ruins of Cerulean City, now known as Bubbly Basin.

Story-wise, Bubbly Basin has a much shorter story than other areas and can be completed within a few hours. Popplio needs you to rebuild their town and bring back the Pokémon who once lived there. Including forms, Bubbly Basin adds 52 Pokémon to the game. Not including forms, the Basin Pokédex consists of 50 Pokémon, two of which are Mythical. The forms that make up the difference come from male and female Frillish and Jellicent.

There are also 36 new habitats that can be built to encounter and house these Pokémon, not counting a special Ocean Temple that can be constructed to meet one of the DLC’s Mythical Pokémon. Once you have built the Ocean Temple, you can consider the DLC’s main story complete — but that by no means marks the end of your time under the sea. As previously mentioned, there are 36 habitats to build, 52 Pokémon to befriend, and a new Dream Island to explore thanks to an all-new Starmie Doll.

There are also plenty of new buildings to discover (our favourite being the Sharpedo Submarine), an environment to renovate all the way to Level 10, and a whole line-up of new recipes. Should you wish to speed up the building process, a visit to Tinkmaster will see Ditto give them a bubble so they too can dive beneath the waves and help with construction.

The nautical habitat is particularly intriguing, and playing the Bubbly Basin content at different times of day is well worth it simply to see how the water changes colour based on the time and the position of the sun. Even after completing the Habitat Dex and Basin Pokédex in the main game, you can still do it all over again on your Cloud Island. While you won’t discover a secret underwater map, the new recipes and shop items make it worthwhile to befriend the new Pokémon and build the required habitats once more just to add your Bubbly Basin pals to the Cloud Island Pokédex.

Touches like this certainly ramp up playtime, and we loved every minute of it. There’s still more to uncover, new notes to learn, and recipes to put into practice now that a blender can be crafted and smoothies can be made. In the meantime, Part 1: Bubbly Basin is a fantastic introduction to what Pokémon Pokopia’s Expansion Pass will fully entail. Sure, Part 2 is mostly cosmetic, but with Part 3 bringing a new town and promising to be just as big (if not bigger) than Part 1, we’re here for it — especially when it’s a one-time price of $34.99 for three waves of content versus $29.99 for Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Mega Dimension DLC.

In conclusion, if you already love the base game, you’re going to absolutely adore Bubbly Basin and the DLC that follows it. It’s even more content for a game we utterly adore, even if we do find the Basin Pokédex a little on the shorter side. There are plenty of other Water-type Pokémon that would have been worthwhile additions, but instead, they’re nowhere to be seen. Nevertheless, just because Kabuto and Omanyte are missing in action, we’re not salty about it. They could still be added at another time, but until such a time comes, we’re going back to enjoying a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive we utterly love.

Game Specifications:

Developers: GAME FREAK, Omega Force
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Switch 2 (Digital)
Genre: Simulation
No. of Players: 1 (Single System) | 2 – 4 (Local Wireless) | 1 – 4 (Online)
Release Date: August 5, 2026
Price: $34.99
File Size: TBD
Nintendo.com Listing