Pokémon Pokopia players can now dive beneath the surface. The game's 2.0 update, titled "Bubbly Basin," launched on 5 August 2026, and it brings a sprawling underwater world to explore — for free.

The 2.0.0 software update is available to everyone who owns Pokémon Pokopia, according to a Pokémon Company press release (Pokémon press release). It adds the move Dive, letting players swim freely through new oceanic biomes. A new underwater town built around the shape-shifting Pokémon Ditto sits at the centre of it all, ready to be rebuilt and explored (Pokémon news).

Bubbly Basin is also Part 1 of the Pokémon Pokopia Expansion Pass — paid downloadable content that requires the free 2.0.0 patch first. Part 2 arrives in late 2026 and will add more features and crafting recipes (Pokémon news).

The free patch is dense with additions. The Build specialty, a crafting skill, can now construct houses underwater. New items include the portal pod and a safe for storing valuables. Players can also paint a wider range of furniture — stools, handrails, vending machines, bikes, bookcases, Pokémon Center counters and more — giving decoration far more flexibility (Eurogamer).

Quality-of-life improvements run throughout. Players can move items in bulk between storage and their bag, delete objects placed inside garbage bins, and fine-tune the depth of windows and doors when decorating. Settings now include an option to walk while the move wheel is open, a toggle to hide the confirmation prompt when cancelling Magnet Rise, and motion-sickness reduction options for the camera.

The Pokémon themselves got attention too. Water-type Pokémon join the roster, and habitats behave more naturally: if a Pokémon's home is destroyed, it will return if the same habitat is rebuilt nearby. Pokémon upset by removed furniture now cheer up faster when it is put back. And a Pokémon that once taught you an emote will respond in kind when you use it.

New cosmetic options round out the patch. Five hair colours — orange, light pink, yellow-green, blue-green and brown — join the character creator. Two new emotes, "Lie Down" and "Ready, Set, Go!," can be found at Bleak Beach and on Dream Islands. A pattern called dynamic Ditto print is unlocked by speaking to Smearguru after earning the diploma, and new recipes become available for purchase as Palette Town's environment level rises.

For players who already feel lost, the Pokédex now offers a shortcut: if a searched Pokémon lives in another town, the Return Home function can take you straight there. Lost Relics can be appraised ten at a time instead of one by one. And the move Rollout can smash certain environmental objects, while Strength works underwater.

Taken together, the update pushes Pokopia from a building-and-collecting sandbox into something with genuine depth — literally and mechanically. Whether you are furnishing an underwater living room or chasing new water-type Pokémon through ocean biomes, Bubbly Basin gives the game its largest expansion of content yet. And with Part 2 still to come later in 2026, there is more on the horizon.