First Pokémon Pokopia DLC gets August release date alongside free update

Pokémon Pokopia has officially revealed the exact date of its first DLC expansion, which will be accompanied by a free update for those who haven’t bought the Season Pass.

The release date was accidentally shared by Nintendo’s Japanese social media channels yesterday, but the posts were quickly taken down prompting speculation of whether they were legitimate or not.

Today though, July 29, we’ve gotten official confirmation that the first part of Pokopia’s DLC will launch on August 5.

It’s called Bubbly Basin, and will add a new town to the game for you to rebuild and customise. Great news for players who’ve been running out of things to do, but bad news for those that are yet to finish the main story. Say goodbye to your free time…

Bubbly Basin’s new innovation is underwater decoration. Previously your Ditto custom-character was unable to stay underwater for a prolonged period, prompting you to transform into a Lapras if you wanted to stay afloat.

With the new Dive move and a bubble attached to your head however, you can now wander along the ocean floor, interacting with other Water-Type Pokémon living beneath the waves. This feature will be released as part of the free update coming to the game on the same day as the first DLC expansion.

The Pokémon Company

Speaking of Pokémon, new ‘mon are joining the game for you to meet and ‘collect.’ We say collect, but in this game it’s more like you’re recruiting them to live in your town. If you’re a fan of Water-Types you’ll be happy, as fan-favourites like Totodile will be making an appearance.

The aquatic ‘mon you become friends with can power new machinery, which requires bubbles in order to function. We’d imagine the game’s existing Water-Type ‘mon will also be able to help you with this. You can then reward your community for its hard work by growing them some watermelons. Isn’t that adorable?

So to summarise, the ability to dive beneath the water will be part of the free update, but to access the new town in Bubbly Basin you’ll need the game’s Expansion Pack. It currently costs $34.99/£29.99, which is a little steep, but hopefully once all of the expansions are out in the wild it’ll be worth it.

When are the other Pokémon Pokopia DLC expansions coming out?

The first part of the expansion pass will be all the content you’re getting in August, and for almost the remainder of 2026.

Part 2 is set for release sometime in Late 2026 though an exact date hasn’t been shared yet. It’ll involve dressing up your Pokémon friends in various clothing and accessories for what sounds like one hell of a fashion show.

Part 3 however is a complete mystery. All we know is it’ll be releasing sometime in 2027, but what kind of new content it’ll add is anyone’s guess.

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