At the start of Pokémon Snap, Todd has only his camera. Professor Oak says so himself in the French manual: it is too early to entrust items to a beginner, but he will hand them over once the player has made progress. As your Report fills up, he equips you with four accessories: the Apple, the Pester Ball, the Poké Flute and the Dash Engine. Each one changes what you can provoke in Pokémon, and therefore what you can photograph. This page describes the four items, their controls and their unlock conditions.
Overview
| Item | Control | Unlock | Main role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple (Pokémon food) | A button | About 24,000 points in the Report | Attract, feed, make walk, hit |
| Pester Ball | B button | 72,500 points in the Report | Flush out, anger, daze, trigger switches |
| Poké Flute | Bottom C button | Dash Engine in hand, then about 130,000 points | Wake up, make dance, hatch |
| Dash Engine | R button (held) | After discovering Oak’s cabin in the Valley | Speed up the ZERO-ONE |
The point thresholds vary depending on the source. The details of the figures and their discrepancies are given on the progression page. One common rule: you only throw an item while you are not aiming. The manual states that you cannot use them while using the camera, and speedrunners note a short delay to respect after leaving the aiming mode before you can throw again.
The Apple
The Apple is the food Oak developed. The manual explains that Pokémon love it and that you can make them truly happy by tossing it next to them. It comes in unlimited quantity. According to Bulbapedia, a well-aimed throw can also hit a Pokémon, which then jumps, faints or gets angry.
Three uses come up again and again. First, attracting: a Pokémon moves to where the food landed, which lets you lead it to a specific spot (Pikachu to the surfboard, Slowpoke to a sign of Shellder, the Magnemite to the center of the triangle). Second, reassuring: some will only let themselves be photographed with the help of an Apple, like Eevee or the Magnemite whose Supersonic blurs the photo. Finally, hitting: an Apple makes a motionless Electrode explode, pushes an egg into the lava or knocks a Charmeleon into a lava pool. Thrown into the water, it makes a Magikarp jump.
The Pester Ball
The item is called Iya Iya Ball in Japan, which Poképédia translates literally as “unpleasant ball”, and Pester Ball in English. The manual presents it as an insecticide spray ball, handy for flushing out Pokémon hiding in tall grass. Poképédia adds that it releases a harmful repellent that can knock out a Pokémon or drive it into a rage. It is also unlimited, even in the middle of a course.
The Pester Ball is the puzzle item. It opens the secret exits of the River (the Porygon on the switch) and the Valley (the Mankey on its switch), reveals the Ditto disguised as Bulbasaur, forces Scyther out of the grass, knocks Meowth off its ledge, evolves Grimer into Muk and Weepinbell into Victreebel, frees Pikachu from a Zubat, and breaks Mew’s bubble. It is also used to get angry expressions: back in 2000, Gamekult noted, about hitting Pokémon with Apples, that a Pokémon photographed getting angry earns more points.
The Poké Flute
Each press of the bottom C button plays a different tune. The manual says that some Pokémon react to music, which increases your chances of photographing them. According to Bulbapedia, the flute can play three tunes, and Pokémon react differently to each. It wakes sleepers (Snorlax, Vileplume, Graveler, Jynx), makes Pokémon dance (Kangaskhan, Meowth, Charmander marching in place) and triggers Pikachu’s electric attacks, notably on Zapdos’s egg.
The Dash Engine
The Dash Engine is an upgrade for the ZERO-ONE. While you hold R, the vehicle speeds up for as long as you like, then returns to its normal speed as soon as you let go. It does not let you reverse, and the ZERO-ONE always stops when a Pokémon is in its way. It does not interact directly with Pokémon like the other three items, but it lets you get ahead of them, reach a point of interest faster or catch up with a Pokémon faster than the vehicle. Guides recommend it for overtaking Pidgey at the start of the Beach, for finding the four Butterfree on the bridge and for shooting Doduo head-on. In the Rainbow Cloud, it helps you get close to Mew.
What each item changes, course by course
| Course | Apple | Pester Ball | Poké Flute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beach | Surfing Pikachu, Eevee, Magikarp | Meowth, Scyther, Chansey, Doduo | Snorlax, Pikachu on the stumps, Kangaskhan |
| Tunnel | Pikachu to the egg, Magneton, Electrode | Electabuzz | Zapdos via Pikachu |
| Volcano | Charmander, Vulpix, Magmar | Koffing, Growlithe, Arcanine | Charmander in line |
| River | Slowpoke, Bulbasaur | Poliwag, Porygon, Metapod | Vileplume, Cubone Tree |
| Cave | Ditto | Muk, Jigglypuff, Pikachu | Jynx, Articuno |
| Valley | Squirtle | Geodude, Mankey, Dragonite | Graveler |
| Rainbow Cloud | Mew | Mew | No documented use |
Items in New Pokémon Snap
The sequel, New Pokémon Snap, kept the idea of provoking Pokémon but not the Pester Ball. Bulbapedia, citing an IGN interview, explains that the creators wanted players to treat Pokémon more humanely. The Apple is replaced there by the gentler Fluffruit. As for the Poké Flute, it gives way to a melody function.
