Pokémon Pokopia DLC has a hidden trick to make underwater travel easier

Pokémon Pokopia’s first DLC expansion, Bubbly Basin, has launched on the Nintendo Switch 2, adding even more content to a game that was chock-full of it.

The new DLC adds a brand-new town to the game, which you can access after you’ve levelled up the Bleak Beach area to Level 5. However, to properly explore Bubbly Basin, you’ll need to master the art of diving. Fortunately, Ditto is a quick learner.

What isn’t so quick, however, is the rate at which you swim beneath the waves, and some players are wasting precious seconds watching their character slowly sink to wherever they’re looking to go.

It doesn’t have to be this way, folks. Serebeii’s Joe Merrick has some helpful advice for those who cheekily skipped the DLC’s tutorial…

Joe said on X that if you do a spin while descending, you can shoot down to the bottom at pace. It’s not a game-changer, but it quickly solves one of our biggest gripes players have with the DLC so far.

This technique is outlined in the tutorials, but you’d be forgiven if you missed it the first time around. The pop-up windows feel very blink-and-you ’ll-miss-it if you’re overly eager to start the DLC like us.

Alternatively, you can hold the B and L buttons (not the trigger) simultaneously to paddle your way down instead. It’s not as fast as the spin technique, but it’s a tad quicker than just letting yourself sink.

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What else is new with Pokémon Pokopia’s Expansion Pass?

Aside from the ability to dive underwater and a new town to pull apart and put back together, the Bubbly Basin expansion adds plenty of other fan-requested features/changes.

Of course, dozens of new Pokémon have joined the fray. There are 50 in total! Given Bubbly Basin’s aquatic theme, the new ‘mon are mostly Water-Types, such as Totodile, Staryu, Mudkip, Sharpedo, Corphish and many, many more.

The DLC also fixes one of the biggest problems the game has had since it launched earlier this year. You’re never going to lose one of your in-game items again.

For those who are yet to dive in, you can grab the Expansion pass for $34.99/£29.99, which includes access to Bubbly Basin and the following two DLC expansions.

Following the release of the first DLC, the second has finally been teased. The details are slim at the moment, but we know fashion is going to play a big part. You’ll be able to dress up your Pokémon with a variety of accessories.

There’s currently no news on what the third, and potentially final, DLC for the game will be, though we wouldn’t be surprised if there were some legendary Pokémon involved. We also wouldn’t be surprised to see a second Expansion Pass one day.

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