Pokémon Island from above: every course hides scenes to trigger.

Pokémon Snap rewards curiosity. Almost everything that earns points requires testing, starting over, looking where you haven’t looked yet. This page gathers the tips and secrets we were able to verify in the French manual and in player records. They are sorted by theme: preparing your session, framing, triggering scenes, understanding the unlocks.

Preparing your session

  1. Set the Z button to your liking. In “Hold” mode, you keep Z pressed to aim; in “Toggle” mode, one press brings out the camera and another puts it away. The settings can be changed in the options, as you prefer.
  2. Choose the stick direction that suits you. In the inverted setup, you push the stick up to look down, and vice versa.
  3. Read the cover of the Report. The manual invites you to look at the advice written on it and put it into practice: it is useful.
  4. Save before turning off. Photos are only kept if you chose Save at the lab.

Framing to score points

  1. Go for the close-up. Size is the first criterion: a Pokémon that fills the frame earns far more than a distant one. Zoom in, wait for the ZERO-ONE to pass close by, or provoke a move closer with an Apple.
  2. Center at least part of the Pokémon. A Pokémon with a part near the center of the viewfinder has its points doubled. The red dot confirms that it worked, but specialists say it isn’t essential.
  3. Off-center framing can earn more. According to player records, a Pokémon placed toward a corner, with the viewfinder center on its farthest part, can get more size points. The idea works for Pikachu, where you aim at the tip of the tail.
  4. Group the individuals. The presence of other Pokémon of the same species in the frame earns a size bonus. Wait for the groups of Charmander, Dugtrio and Kakuna.
  5. Aim for attitudes. The manual advises photographing Pokémon “in action”: a Pokémon that eats, dances, leaps or gets angry earns more than a motionless portrait.
Dugtrio.
Charmander.
Pikachu.

Triggering scenes

  1. Throw items into the water. Wherever there is water, an Apple or a Pester Ball can make a Pokémon jump: Magikarp on almost every course, but also Psyduck, Goldeen and Dratini. Jumps with sparkles in the water earn more points, according to Bulbapedia.
  2. Photograph the links in the chains. Some scenes only unlock by photographing the previous element: the Diglett of the Tunnel, the first two Grimer of the Cave, the Lapras of the Beach. When in doubt, take a photo of everything that moves.
  3. Strike at the right moment. Specialists recommend spacing out throws at Grimer to let its dance finish, throwing the Apple when the Rapidash are close to make them rear up, and aiming at Mew as soon as it pops up behind you.
  4. Hatch the eggs. Zapdos (Apple and Flute), Moltres (fall into the lava), Articuno (Flute in front of Jynx): three major scenes that you can miss by going through too fast.
  5. Use the Flute freely. Each press plays a different tune, and Pokémon react differently to each. Try all three on the sleepers.
Diglett.
Goldeen.
Psyduck.

Understanding the unlocks

  1. Unlocks go through Oak. A course or an item only unlocks after the scoring session. According to TAS records, you can’t unlock a course and an item in the same session.
  2. Run each course several times. The manual advises it: you don’t land a course’s best photos in the first few runs. Come back with each new item.
  3. Let the Pokémon stop you. On the Volcano, don’t push Moltres’s egg before you’ve gathered the Charmander: the egg stops the ZERO-ONE and gives you time to act.
  4. Look back to slow down. Looking behind you reduces the ZERO-ONE’s speed: the manual lists it as a tip from Oak.
Moltres.

A few secrets

  • The fake Bulbasaur count. According to Bulbapedia, a photo of the disguised Ditto in the Cave counts as Bulbasaur for the Report, even though they are Ditto.
  • Chance plays a small part. According to speedrunners, the appearance of Cloyster on the River depends on a random draw that you influence by throwing Apples into the water. On the Volcano, some placements vary from one run to the next.
  • Pokémon Sign photos sometimes take time. The Pinsir Shadow disappears when the spotlight goes out, and the Mewtwo Constellation is only visible once the photo has been developed.
  • Lapras comes back closer. Photograph it as soon as it appears offshore: after three groups have been photographed, it returns to the shore.
  • A challenge among friends. The manual suggests each taking photos of the same Pokémon, starting with the Pidgey at the beginning of the Beach, to see who gets the best score.
Bulbasaur.
Pinsir.
Cloyster.

The numbers for the best photos can be found on the benchmark scores page. For the best-paying poses, see the special photos. For advanced framing technique, see the professor’s scoring.