Florio Nature Park is the site of your first ecological survey and your introduction to snapping photos out in the wild of Pokémon in their natural habitat. During your first visit, you will have very limited options, so this walkthrough will first give you some tips for that first visit, but further down this page you’ll find some tips and advice for higher Research Levels and for when you have more tools available to you.
For the sake of explanation, this walkthrough will break up Florio Nature Park into four separate areas: Near the Start, The Forested Area, By the Shore, and The Final Stretch. These are unofficial names, but more or less describe where they are on the map and will be used later on to denote where paths branch off.
First Visit
Unlike taking the example photos of Vivillon and Pikachu back at the lab, your trip through the Florio Nature Park—and, for that matter, all of the areas in the game—will be “on rails,” if you will, where you are guided along a generally predetermined path and have little to no control over your speed, so it’s more about having quick reactions, looking at your surroundings, and making good use of the tools you have available to you to take good pictures of Pokémon in their natural habitats.
During your first visit, you’ll have very few tools available to you—the ability to Zoom (ZL by default) and the ability to… well, take a photo (A by default). Of course, you can move your camera around, so looking around you will be key to getting some decent pictures.
Something else very important to keep in mind for this trip and all future trips: you are limited to 72 photos per trip. This is usually a generous amount, but you will need to be a bit conservative rather than going crazy with the shutter (until you get to the point where you just need a very specific photo of a Pokémon, in which case you’ll sometimes play through a course just for that one Pokémon, which is fine).
Lastly, this is a very important disclaimer: this is not a comprehensive list of interactions! There may be other possibilities here that were missed, so feel free to explore and try out different things! This is just to give you an idea of ways to earn enough points to continue through the game.
Near the Start
As soon as you arrive in the Florio Nature Park, you’ll find quite a few Pokémon nearby that you’ll want to take some pictures of.
Vivillon
There are a few Vivillon that flutter by as you arrive. This won’t be your only chance to take a picture of them during this trip, but it might be a good idea to take one just in case, especially while zooming in. It will probably be hard to get any of them to face you during this trip, though, so don’t worry too much about Direction.
Keep in mind that you’ve already taken a 1⭐ photo of Vivillon during the tutorial, so ideally you’ll want to focus on getting a more interesting shot of Vivillon for more points, although this might not be so easy.
Pichu and Grookey
Immediately after the Vivillon, pan your attention to the right and you’ll see a Pichu and a Grookey playing together. These two will wander around the course, but there aren’t a lot of good opportunities to take pictures of them just yet, so this is a good chance.
Remember you’ll want to take a picture of both Pichu and Grookey separately, so if they’re close together, have one shot centered on Pichu while the other is centered on Grookey. They can move a bit fast, especially if you are zoomed in, but they’ll also appear later on in the course.
You can get a ⭐⭐ photo of Grookey and/or Pichu if you catch them while they’re surprised looking at you, although remember, you don’t need to get ⭐⭐ or higher photos right now since these will be your first of the area and ⭐ photos still give plenty of score, plus their score is counted separately.
If you miss your opportunity, they’ll probably be a bit too far off and not facing you, so you’ll need to be quick if you want to take a picture of them at this point—however, as mentioned just a moment ago, they’ll be around later on.
Dodrio
There’s a drowsy Dodrio along your path. It’s pretty hard to miss and you should be able to get a “just in case” shot of it, but it is also a good idea to wait until after you’ve taken some pictures of the Bouffalant and are closer to the bridge, because Dodrio will turn around and should face you, giving you a much better chance at a good picture—it should even be close enough that you won’t need to zoom in!
You’ll have another chance to take a picture of Dodrio if you miss it here, though, but it won’t be quite as exciting during your first trip.
If you take a picture of it while something has caught its attention and it’s looking around, you can get a ⭐⭐ photo of it.
Bouffalant
Off to the right, you’ll find a herd of Bouffalant grazing in the nearby meadow. They’re a little far off, so zoom in on them and ideally try to focus on one of the ones that are looking at you. Don’t expect a lot of points from them during this trip, but any points are better than none!
The Forested Area
Emolga
As soon as you start to cross the bridge, you might notice a flying Pokémon zoom by. It’s actually the flying squirrel Pokémon Emolga! It will land up on a ledge to your left, but that’s not going to make for an interesting shot. Instead, wait for it to fly overhead—it’ll be tricky to take a good photo while it’s flying, but it is possible—and land on a nearby tree, although facing away from you.
That’s fine, you won’t be able to do much with that one, but there’s another one up in a tree to the left that should be facing you, and you can even get a ⭐⭐ photo of it if it is alert or surprised, or while it’s flying toward you.
Bidoof
There’s a lone Bidoof on the ground to the right as you enter the forest. It’ll probably be your best shot of Bidoof for this trip, but it also distracts you from Emolga and you’ll have a chance to take at least passable pictures of Bidoof later in the stage.
Vivillon
There’s a lone Vivillon as well in the forest, although it’s probably not worth taking a picture of it here, and there are also still more opportunities to get a good photo of it.
Wurmple
There are several Wurmple in this forested area. One of them is straight across the bridge and forward, down on the ground, and it should be looking right at you. You’ll have time to see it even after taking some pictures of Emolga.
Otherwise, there are a few on nearby trees or on the ground in the area. These may be a bit trickier to get a good photo of, but it’s still possible.
By the Shore
Taillow
You’ll find a bunch of Taillow on the ground and sometimes flying away as you enter the shore part of the park.
There are a few other places to take a picture of Taillow that should give you a bit better zoom, but grabbing one here “just in case” is a good idea.
Pichu and Grookey
The two friends return, and while they may be a bit closer to you than before, they’re unfortunately hiding in the grass. Whenever a photo subject’s face is covered, it will deduct some points, so this could prove to be problematic! It’s still a good opportunity for you to take a picture of one or both of them if you missed them earlier.
Swanna
Off to the right, away from the field of grass that Pichu and Grookey are playing in, you’ll find a few Swanna in the water. You should have a good opportunity to take a nice shot of one if you zoom in. There are also a few that may fly by overhead as you travel through this part of the route, but it can be a bit tricky to get a picture of them, so you’re really better off just focusing on the ones by the shore.
Bidoof
There are a few Bidoof scattered around the area. Some of them are over the shore, working on building a dam, while others are just hopping around through the grass.
Take whichever picture you can get of them, because they’re not going to be doing too much of interest during your first trip through. The one by the shore, just before the bridge (to your right), can look right at you and is also of a decent size.
Magikarp
Although it will be from a distance, you might be able to take a picture of Magikarp mid-splash before you cross the bridge. It’s over by the big tree in the distance, behind the Bidoof dam.
Snapping a photo of Magikarp mid-splash should result in a ⭐⭐ photo. You can also take a picture of it after crossing the bridge, in “The Final Stretch” section.
The Final Stretch
Dodrio and Bidoof
As you cross the final bridge, you’ll see some Bidoof to your left. There’s a Dodrio taking a snooze over there that should be nice and close.
Magikarp
As you approach the big tree, the Magikarp you might have seen flopping around in the distance is to your right. You should be able to get a good picture of it, but you’ll get a ⭐⭐ if it is flopping in the air.
Hoothoot
There’s a hole in the big tree if you look up and if it looks like there’s something inside of it… there is! It’s a sleeping Hoothoot. While it might not be the most interesting—or graceful—pose for Hoothoot, it will still count as a picture of it, so you might as well take it.
Taillow
A few Taillow can be found on the ground near the end of the rocky walls. There’s also one perched on a signpost that makes for getting a nice photo.
Wurmple
There are a few Wurmple crawling around near some of the trees and the grass in case you missed some earlier. They might be a bit too covered by the grass, depending on your timing, and you’ll want to use your Zoom feature to get a good shot.
Vivillon
You’ll find a bunch of Vivillon fluttering around in the meadow at the very end of the stage. Some of them may even look at you as you’re taking photos of them, so that should make for a decent shot, even without any extra tools to help you out.
Comfey
Some Comfey are also hovering around the flower meadow near the end. Zooming in on them is a good idea as they are a bit far away, although they do tend to be a bit camera shy so it might be tricky finding a good shot.
Florges
Just before the end of the stage you’ll find a Florges in the flowers, on the right. It is quite friendly and will even wave at you as you pass it by—if you take a photo of it doing so, it will result in a ⭐⭐⭐ rank.
Regardless of if you take a picture of it waving or not, it is quite photogenic and should be easy to get a good, high-scoring picture of. There’s also not much left after it unless you somehow missed Comfey or Vivillon, at least on your first visit through, so this is a good one to focus on burning through some of your snaps if you still have a few left to take.
After Your First Visit
You’ll go through the evaluation process, just as you did during the introduction part, but this time you’ll have a lot more variety of pictures to flip through. Take your time while going through them, but keep in mind some of the following tips:
Tips to Pick the Right Photo
- When flipping through your folders of pictures, you’ll see a red ! on the folder of any Pokémon you’ve taken a picture of that has a ⭐ rank you haven’t previously gotten. You’ll definitely want to make sure you show new ⭐ rank photos to Professor Mirror, even if they’re not good!
- When going through a folder of a Pokémon, it will show how many photos of each ⭐ rank you’ve taken of it on the right, with red ! symbols for any ranks you haven’t yet added a photo to your Photodex.
- You can also press L and R to filter your newly taken photos by only the selected ⭐ rank (shown at the top). It defaults to showing all ranks. (This shouldn’t matter much during this first trip, but it’s good to know for the future and for repeat trips!)
- You can also see the star ranks you already have in your Photodex, along with the existing photo of that rank, over on the left side in a Pokémon’s folder. This can be helpful when trying to figure out which photo to pick and which one you think will improve your total score the most.
- You may have to choose between ⭐, ⭐⭐, or even ⭐⭐⭐ photos. You can only pick one per Pokémon, so this can sometimes be a difficult decision to make! Here are some tips to help figure this dilemma out:
- ⭐⭐⭐ photos (and ⭐⭐⭐⭐) tend to be a bit more difficult to get, so those should be your first priority if you don’t already have any of them in your Photodex. (If you do, then rather than replacing a ⭐⭐⭐ or ⭐⭐⭐⭐ photo, add a ⭐ or ⭐⭐ instead.)
- If you’re just deciding between whether to pick a ⭐ or a ⭐⭐ photo, pick whichever one looks the nicest and that you think will earn the highest score, because you can’t take both and you’re always better off picking whichever ⭐ or ⭐⭐ gives more score since that’s what matters immediately and you can always go back to get the other one you don’t pick. ⭐ ranking doesn’t necessarily indicate its score, and score is what helps you progress in the game.
- If you have to pick between a Pokémon that isn’t facing you but is very large in the photo, or one that is facing you but is rather far away, you’re probably better off picking the photo with the larger Pokémon. Size tends to matter the most, and Distance and Direction (whether it’s facing you) are about the same level of importance.
- Even a Pokémon viewed from the side should earn an alright amount of Direction points—usually about 600–800, out of 1000—so don’t worry too much about this by comparison to Size.
- Although this won’t matter for your first visit (except for Vivillon), if given the chance to pick between a really good photo of a Pokémon with a ⭐ rank you already have or a mediocre photo that’s of a ⭐ rank you don’t have (for instance, a lousy ⭐⭐ Vivillon photo compared to a really good looking ⭐ one that you already have a photo for), you’re better off prioritizing new ⭐ ranks than upgrading existing photos, since you’ll earn more net points that way—unless it’s a substantial upgrade, of course.
Once you’ve decided on all of the photos you want to show to the Professor, press the + button, or just move your cursor down to the Show Professor button in the bottom right.
He’ll then go through each of the photos you’ve submitted for evaluation, similar to what he did during the introduction section, except this time there’s no handholding—the pictures you’ve taken are from your own skill!
Every time you take a picture of a Pokémon you haven’t before, he’ll mention it. Additionally, every time he evaluates a new ⭐ rank of a Pokémon already in your Photodex, he will mention that as well. Otherwise, he’ll show you your existing photo on the left, and any improvements in score in any category will be shown with a yellow color to signal it’s better than the existing photo.
Research Levels and Expedition Points
After you’ve gotten your score for all of the photos, he will show you something new: your Research Level for the stage, along with your Expedition Points. You gain Expedition Points equal to the total score of all of your photos you had evaluated for that trip.
You start out at Research Level 1 at any area you visit, but the amount of Expedition Points required to reach new levels varies based on the area as well as the level you’re at. In the case of reaching Research Level 2, you need a total of 40,000 Expedition Points to reach Level 2, which may seem daunting, but it shouldn’t take too long.
As Research Levels go up, you’ll notice a few differences happening when you revisit the areas. Pokémon might do different things, be in different places, or there might be several new Pokémon that weren’t appearing before. By default, any time you visit an area, it will choose the highest Research Level you’ve attained for it, but you can also manually choose while selecting an area if you want an earlier Research Level.
Research Titles
Next, you’re guaranteed to gain at least one research title for researching the area for the first time—Photo Program Newbie. You might also unlock a few others.
There are various cosmetic titles, avatars, and even stickers and frames and stuff you can customize your photos in your album with (you’ll be able to do this soon, don’t worry!), and you unlock most of these by either progressing through the game or by accomplishing certain feats, like getting a perfect score in a category (like 1000 points in Direction, for example).
Adding Photos to Your Album
Finally, after you’ve gotten your photos evaluated and earned your Expedition Points, you’ll have a chance to go through all of the photos you’ve taken during a research trip and save any photos you’d like to your album, which is just a freeform album of photos you like.
These don’t have to be the same ones that you submitted for evaluation—you can add ones that you find funny, cool, cute, or whatever tickles your fancy. You can do so either by pressing + as a shortcut, or you can press A to open up the large version of the photo to get a better view of it, where you’ll have two options: Save and Re-snap. Choosing Save from there will mark it with a little checkmark, indicating you’re going to save it to your album—after you’ve hit that, you can hit B to go back to all of the photos you’ve taken, or you can navigate between photos by pressing L or R.
Re-snapping Photos
What is “Re-snap,” you ask? This is a cool feature that allows you to zoom in/out, reposition your shot, rotate the camera, and even do more advanced things like adjust the focus and blur. This does NOT affect your score, so it’s purely for creative expression and can help you fix some shots you really personally liked but they were a bit off. You can only make these modifications here; once you add it to your album, you cannot change most of these settings anymore! You can give your photo a caption either here or in your album, though, so don’t worry about getting that part right, at least right now.
When you’ve finished the process of Re-snapping a photo, scroll down to the Snap a photo button and, after saying “Yes” to the prompt asking if you want to save the photo, it will immediately save the modified photo—as a copy—to your album! You can still save the original separately, but it won’t by default if you’ve just chosen Re-snap and saved the modified version to your album (which is honestly fine).
After you have Re-snapped a photo, just press B to leave the screen showing the original photo you just modified! This is not explained very well, unfortunately, so rather than worry whether or not you saved your masterpiece, as long as you hit “Yes” on the previous Re-snapping screen, your photo is saved to your album, even if you don’t see it anywhere on the screen or in your list of pictures you’ve taken on this trip. Don’t worry!
How to Expand Your Album Size to 480 Photos
When you start out, you’ll have the ability to store 48 photos in your album. This number is only for your album; photos that go into your Photodex do not count toward this limit.
What happens when you run out of album space? Well, you can’t save any more photos to your album, that’s what! But, thankfully, once you run low on album space, the game will ask you if you’d like to increase your album size!
How does that work? It will ask if you’d like to expand your total album size to an incredibly generous 480 photos—10 times what it was initially—as long as you’re ok reserving just over 200 MB of storage space on your Nintendo Switch.
If you’re tight on storage space, such as if you don’t have a MicroSD card installed, this might not be something you’ll want and you need to think carefully because it’s irreversible—once you reserve the space, you can’t get rid of it without uninstalling the game—but honestly it’s not really that much space. The game makes it sound way scarier than it really is.
It’s a really good thing that they let you expand it to such a high number, so just keep that in mind as you take pictures—you’re not at all limited to just 48 in your album!
Back to the Lab
That should just about cover everything you’ll need to know for your first trip as well as wrapping up not just that trip but really any future research trip you’ll undergo.
To continue through the game, continue to the next section with the link immediately below to return to the Lab and learn about a few more features back at the base.
Otherwise, the rest of this page covers the Pokémon you’ll find at different Research Levels and some tips for taking photos of them. It also will include tips for different tools, some of which you might not yet have access to, so use it as a guide for those times you need to come back to the Florio Nature Park in the daytime.
Research Level 1
(coming soon)
Research Level 2
(yet to be written)
Research Level 3
(yet to be written)
Post-Game Changes
(yet to be written; will be behind a spoiler tag)