New Pokemon Snap: How To Find The Seafloor Illumina Pokemon

Your overarching goal in New Pokemon Snap is to help Professor Mirror research the Illumina phenomenon, a mysterious occurrence causing certain Pokemon and plant life around the Lental region to inexplicably glow. As part of this research, you’ll need to travel about the region’s different islands and photograph the elusive Illumina Pokemon, which are the key to unraveling the mystery behind the phenomenon.

While most of the six Illumina Pokemon you need to photograph are fairly easy to find, the one located in the Lental Seafloor area, in particular, may give you some trouble, as it’s tied to a very specific interaction that you need to trigger using Illumina Orbs. This is the only instance in which you need to use these orbs to open a new pathway, but the game offers no clear indication of this, so you may find yourself at a loss for how to progress. If you get stuck, here’s how to find the Seafloor Illumina Pokemon.

How To Find The Seafloor Illumina Pokemon

Before we get into the specifics, it’s important to note that your quest to find Illumina Pokemon is primarily tied to Research Levels, one of the new features that New Pokemon Snap boasts over the original game. Each locale you visit has its own Research Level, which you can increase by taking photos of its endemic Pokemon and having them evaluated by Professor Mirror. The more photos you take, the more Expedition Points you’ll earn, especially for photos that the professor scored higher–this is the quickest way to boost your Research Level. As a locale’s Research Level increases, you’ll open up more photo opportunities; new kinds of Pokemon and interactions will appear around that area, and you’ll even gain access to alternate pathways that will help lead to Illumina Pokemon.

Keep in mind that in order to boost the Research Level of a course, which is required to progress in the story (and uncover the Seafloor Illumina Spot), you only need to keep playing the course until you’ve earned enough Expedition Points to level up. Partway through the story, you’ll start to receive requests from the other research team members. While these are a great way to snap up some four-star photos, they have no bearing on story progression–so if you’re simply looking to progress in the story and find all the Illumina Pokemon, you don’t need to spend any time completing these requests. You can always come back to them later.

Before you can find the Seafloor Illumina Pokemon, you’ll need to raise the area to Research Level 2. Shortly after you set off on the Level 2 route, you’ll spot a Clawitzer attempting to destroy a pile of rocks blocking an underwater cave to your left. However, the Pokemon won’t be able to destroy the rocks on its own; you’ll need to throw an Illumina Orb at it to power it up, giving it the strength it needs to smash through the rubble.

Once the rocks have been destroyed, quickly scan the opening that Clawitzer created to discover a new route, which, upon returning to the research camp, will give you access to the fourth Illumina Spot.

As previously mentioned, this is the only time in New Pokemon Snap that you need to use an Illumina Orb to power up a Pokemon and open up a new route. Whereas the paths to the other Illumina Spots are primarily found by scanning a new route (with the game even prompting you to do so), this particular Spot requires you to trigger a specific Pokemon reaction beforehand, and the game doesn’t really give you any clear hints as to what you need to do. With this guide, however, you should be able to find the Seafloor Illumina Spot without any difficulty.

New Pokemon Snap is out now on Nintendo Switch. While the game sticks very close to the original’s formula, developer Bandai Namco has made some pretty notable tweaks to the gameplay. Be sure to check out our guide on the biggest changes in New Pokemon Snap before you set off on your adventure.