Pokopia's latest downloadable content, Bubbly Basin, introduces a somber narrative set in a post-apocalyptic Kanto region. The expansion explores the emotional weight of humanity's abandonment of their Pokémon due to a climate disaster, with players left to uncover the fate of the world and its inhabitants. The new underwater area, while visually striking, serves as a backdrop for this melancholy exploration.
The core premise of Pokopia involves a world where humans have fled to space, leaving their Pokémon behind in PC storage, awaiting a return that may never come. This underlying narrative lends a pervasive sense of sorrow as players navigate familiar locations now in ruins. Notes scattered throughout the environment offer glimpses into what happened to the characters from the original games, often tinged with an air of finality and loss.
Bubbly Basin, in particular, features specific locations tied to well-known characters, emphasizing their tragic circumstances. Misty's gym, recognizable by statues outside and swimming pools within its sand-covered interior, suggests her fate is either death or permanent separation from Kanto and her Starmie. Similarly, a house containing a computer setup and a portal pod is inferred to be Bill's former residence. Bill, the inventor of the Pokémon PC system, is believed to have created the portal technology before his own departure into space, leaving behind a system that players now find indispensable for rebuilding.
The expansion also includes a sunken Japanese-style tower and bridge, remnants of a past that remain unexplained. Nugget Bridge, once a site for trainer battles, now lies submerged. Plans for a Dewgong clocktower, conceived by humans but never realized, are eventually completed by Ditto, though the original visionaries will never witness its completion. The narrative highlights Ditto's unawareness of humanity's permanent absence, contrasting with the player's understanding of the bleak situation.
Beneath a trap door near a ruined house, a hidden room further hints at the personal losses experienced within the game's world. Despite its colorful and cozy gameplay, Pokopia grapples with themes of grief, hope, and the consequences of environmental neglect. Bubbly Basin stands out as the most emotionally resonant area thus far, raising questions about the potential tone of subsequent expansion areas.