You’re staring at a patch of glowing grass in the Florio Nature Park, tossing Fluffruit like a madman, and absolutely nothing is happening. We’ve all been there. It’s the Lental region's unique brand of frustration. Most people picking up the game think it's just a relaxing rail shooter where you take cute pictures of Pikachu. It isn't. Not really. It’s a complex, timing-based puzzle game disguised as a safari. If you’re looking for a new pokemon snap walkthrough that actually gets you past those annoying Research Level roadblocks, you have to stop thinking like a photographer and start thinking like a sequence breaker.
The game doesn't hold your hand. Honestly, it’s kind of mean about it. You can play a stage fifty times and never see the best interactions because you didn't hit a Hoothoot with an Illumina Orb at the exact second it blinked. That’s the beauty and the curse of the Lental region.
The Research Level Trap
Here’s the thing about progression in this game: it’s tied entirely to your Research Level for each specific track. You might think you’re doing great because you have a Diamond-tier photo of a Dodrio, but if you aren't diversifying your shots, your XP will crawl. To unlock new stages or even nighttime versions of existing ones, you need points. Lots of them.
Most players make the mistake of taking the same "pretty" photo over and over. Professor Mirror doesn't care if the lighting is cinematic; he wants to see a Wurmple doing a backflip. To move the needle, you need to trigger the 3-star and 4-star behaviors. This usually involves a combination of the melody tool, Fluffruit, and those glowing Illumina Orbs.
For example, in the early hours of your new pokemon snap walkthrough, you’ll find yourself stuck in the Jungle (Day) stage. You’ll see the Mew floating around. You’ll hit it with a ball. Nothing. The trick isn't just hitting it; it's hitting it in a specific sequence across multiple points in the map to trigger its appearance at the end of the course. If you miss one spot, the whole chain breaks. That’s the "logic" the game operates on.
Decoding the Illumina Phenomenon
Let’s talk about the Illumina Orbs because the game explains them poorly. You get different colors for different islands, and they are the literal keys to the kingdom.
In the Lental region, "Illumina" isn't just a glow-in-the-dark effect. It’s a behavioral catalyst. When you’re stuck, the solution is almost always "throw an orb at the glowing plant." These Crystablooms are the environmental triggers. In the Sweltering Sands, hitting a Crystaboom might make a Minior crash-land from the sky. In the Undersea stage, it might wake up a sleeping Lanturn that then leads you to a secret path.
Speaking of secret paths, they are the lifeblood of a successful new pokemon snap walkthrough. You won't find the Lugia or the Ho-Oh by staying on the default rail. You have to use the Scan function (X button) constantly. But scanning isn't just for finding paths; it’s a sound cue. Some Pokémon, like the Eevee in the Research Lab, react to the sound of the scan itself.
The Mystery of the Ruins
The Aurum Island ruins are where most people give up on their 100% completion goals. It’s cryptic. You have to light up all the statues in a specific order while dodging a very annoyed Sigilyph. It feels more like Indiana Jones than Pokémon.
To get through this, you need to master the "Turbo" function you unlock later in the game. Speeding up is just as important as slowing down. Sometimes, you need to get to a certain point in the map before a Pokémon moves away. If you’re drifting at the default speed, you’ll miss the window where the Noivern and the Salandit interact.
The Four-Star Photo Formula
Getting a 4-star rating is less about the "quality" of the photo and more about the rarity of the action. You could have a blurry, off-center shot of a Pokémon yawning, and it’ll be a 4-star because yawning is a rare behavior.
- 1-Star: Basic shots. Pokémon walking, eating, or just existing.
- 2-Star: Common reactions. Getting hit by a Fluffruit (don't feel too bad, they like it) or reacting to a scan.
- 3-Star: Social interactions. Two Pokémon playing together or a Pokémon using a basic move.
- 4-Star: Rare, unique events. Evolution-adjacent behaviors, legendary appearances, or complex environmental triggers.
If you’re stuck at Research Level 2 and can't hit Level 3, stop taking 1-star photos. They give diminishing returns. You need to force the 4-star interactions. In the Shiver Snowfields, try luring the Beartic toward the Swinub. It sounds chaotic because it is. But that chaos is worth 4,000 points.
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How to Handle the Illumina Spots
The "Boss" battles of this game are the Illumina Pokémon. These aren't fights; they're photography puzzles. The Meganium in the first park is easy—just pelt it with orbs. But by the time you get to Milotic or Volcarona, the game expects you to be a pro.
For Volcarona, you have to use Fluffruit to knock off its fire shield before an Illumina Orb will even register. It’s frustrating. You’ll miss. You’ll run out of fruit. The trick is to watch the loop. These Pokémon move in very predictable circles. Don't aim where they are; aim where they're going to be in two seconds.
Beyond the Credits
Most people think the game ends when the credits roll. It doesn't. That’s actually when the real new pokemon snap walkthrough begins. Completing the main story unlocks the ability to see your current "Course Score" in real-time, which is a godsend for grinding levels.
It also unlocks the legendary Pokémon sightings. These are the hardest photos to get because they require multi-stage triggers. To find Celebi in the forest, you have to hit it with an orb in the first area, then feed it in the second, then play music in the third. If you mess up the timing by a fraction of a second, Celebi just won't show up at the end. It’s brutal, but catching that shot is a massive dopamine hit.
Practical Steps for Progress
Stop trying to 100% a stage on your first visit. You literally can't. The game is designed for back-tracking.
- Level up first. Focus on getting every stage to Research Level 2 as fast as possible. This opens up the widest variety of Pokémon and triggers.
- Abuse the "Retry" button. If you miss a 4-star trigger in the first thirty seconds of a map, don't finish the course. Just restart. It saves hours of mindless drifting.
- Check the Request Board. The "Requests" from Todd and the others are actually disguised tutorials. If a request says "I wonder what happens when Scorbunny kicks a fruit," that is the game telling you exactly how to get a 4-star photo.
- Use the Burst Mode. Once you unlock the ability to take multiple shots in a row, use it. The difference between a 3-star and 4-star photo can be a single frame of animation.
- Look behind you. The Neo-One vehicle always faces forward, but the best interactions often happen right after you pass a Pokémon. Keep your thumb on the stick and constantly check your six.
The Lental region is packed with secrets that don't show up on a map. There are hidden Pokémon like Keckleon that only appear when hit with an orb in a seemingly empty space. There are interactions that only happen if you don't throw any fruit at all. It requires patience and a lot of trial and error.
Start by revisiting Florio Nature Park at Night. Look for the Pinsir buried in the dirt. If you use the search function and then the music, a Heracross might fall out of the tree. That single interaction can jump your score enough to unlock the next area. Keep moving, keep scanning, and stop worrying about "wasting" orbs. You have an infinite supply. Use them.