Pokemon Pokopia has received its first paid downloadable content, Bubbly Basin, alongside a significant free update. The Bubbly Basin DLC allows players to explore an underwater environment and renovate a new town tailored for Ditto. Complementing the paid content, the free update introduces the Dive mechanic, enabling underwater movement for all players, and adds the mythical Pokemon Manaphy.
The Dive mechanic is essential for navigating the new underwater areas and is available to all players regardless of whether they own the Bubbly Basin DLC. Once learned, players can construct buildings underwater, a key activity for restoring the Bubbly Basin area and a capability that extends to any underwater location in the game.
New items have also been added, including the Portal Pod, which allows for instant travel between different locations once two are built. The Safe offers a new storage solution. The Dynamic Ditto print, obtainable from Smearguru after receiving a diploma, can be used for decorating blocks and wallpaper.
Cosmetic and functional additions include two new emotes, "Lie Down" and "Ready, Set, Go!," found in Bleak Beach and Dream Islands respectively. Five new hair colors—orange, light pink, yellow-green, blue-green, and brown—are now available. Functionality improvements allow for bulk item transfers between the storage box and bag, deletion of items within containers, and more precise depth placement for building components like windows and doors. Several decorative and functional items, including stools, handrails, and vending machines, can now be painted.
Settings have been updated to allow players to hide the message displayed when canceling Magnet Rise and to toggle movement while the move wheel is open. New motion-sickness reduction settings for the camera have also been implemented.
The free update addresses numerous quality-of-life issues. Pokemon will now return to rebuilt habitats if their original one is destroyed, and they will notice replacements of removed furniture more quickly if they were previously saddened by its absence. Pokemon that teach Ditto emotes will now use those emotes in response. The Pokedex now features a "Return Home" function to travel to a Pokemon's town if it's currently elsewhere. Indicators for ordinary Pokemon conversations have been reduced in size and prominence, making it easier to identify conversations directed at Ditto. Lost relics can now be appraised in batches of up to 10. Actions like "Paint," "Gather Honey," and "Collect" can be performed multiple times per interaction. The limit for power generators has been doubled to 128, and each town can now display up to 40 photos, an increase from 10.
Ditto's liquid-holding ability has been refined, and adjusted water levels will automatically match surrounding areas when stored water is released. Smearguru can now learn patterns from photos in the References section. Painting with paint balloons offers improved visibility of target items. More treasure can be found using the Dowsing Machine on Dream Islands. Pokemon companions can now follow the player during the use of Surf, Glide, Rollout, or Magnet Rise. The bag can be opened or items inhaled while using Rollout, which can now also destroy large boulders. Using Surf on land will now activate the ability, and Surf and Waterfall animations have been smoothed. Using Leafage on farm soil will revert it to normal soil, and Strength can now be used underwater. The Pokedex and Habitat Dex include new "All" tabs. During construction, Pokemon not assigned to the Build role can assist with cooking. Treasures in Sparkling Skylands will not appear if they would fall due to terrain destruction. The 3D Printer now provides clearer feedback when items are insufficient. Items can be placed on top of square plants. Hide-and-sneak can be canceled mid-action. In-game event notifications are now restricted to startup during specific time windows. Some roof items now block water, and the crafting output for curved eaves has been increased to 10. Tidal Bell and Clear Bell can be triggered by laser sensors and switches. Rendering performance has been improved, and camping chairs and sleeping bags feature enhanced sound effects.
Several issues have been fixed, including rare instances where Pokemon assigned to construction might not display interaction options, Suicune and Gholdengo being unable to traverse water, Pokemon falling out of the ocean or off cliffs, Pokemon failing to return to habitats even when using honey, and Pokemon scolding players when using Magnet Rise. Pokemon that dislike water may now move across duckweed correctly. Requests for items from Pokemon may no longer ask for items the Pokemon dislikes. Berry processing in the community box has been corrected, and the music mat's timing has been adjusted. Painting certain items or surfaces, and the light color of painted surfaces, have also seen fixes. Issues with placing multiple cooking pots, item display at a distance, visual effects through glass, and multiplayer building cancellations have been addressed. Recovering building kits, resetting painted sand house portions, and positional errors when using Rock Smash have also been resolved. Specific requests in Withered Wasteland and Sparkling Skylands have been fixed to prevent progression blocks. Pokemon Center tour guide quests now correctly direct players to Tinkmaster's current location. Loading issues when returning from Dream Islands and incorrect player transport upon online session end have been resolved. Finally, player pronoun display on the Cloud Island loading screen has been corrected in some languages.