[Feature] New Pokémon Snap: Mirror Mirror on Lental -

Is Professor Mirror in New Pokémon Snap Barking up the right tree? More to the name than meets the eye.

With less than a month to go before Pokémon fans the world over can celebrate the 25th anniversary of such an iconic anniversary, the Pokémon franchise has much to offer. From a Kanto event in Pokémon GO, more movies, more games, and many more trading cards, there’s certainly something for everyone, including a blast from the past as April 2021 will see the return of the Pokémon Snap IP. A long-awaited sequel in the form of New Pokémon Snap, which has taken almost 22 years to come into being but who’s counting? [Editor’s Note: Pokémon Snap initially released in Japan on March 21, 1999].

Still, with the arrival of a new Pokémon game, comes a new region and a new Pokémon Professor to mentor players on their latest and greatest Pokémon adventure. While the new Professor Mirror has a name that doesn’t follow the regular naming convention utilized in the main games, which mostly sees professors named after trees, they’re also named after plants/flowers and Mirror does indeed follow suit thanks to the Mirror Plant.

Found natively in forests, grasslands, and even rocky terrains such as those in New Zealand, Australia, and even some Pacific Islands, the Mirror Plant hails from a genus consisting of ninety different species of small trees and shrubs. It is a plant well known for the beautiful splendour of its glossy leaves and impervious foliage that can appear in a variety of colourful combinations, including gold, pink, and burgundy.

Then, of course, there is another reason why the Mirror name is a worthy choice and it is to do with cameras. When using the likes of Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras, a mirror helps to reflect light from the lens to the viewfinder pentaprism, which gives the photographer the means to frame their shot whilst looking through the viewfinder.

Mirrors in DSLR cameras also lift up once the shutter button has been pressed, so as to allow light to hit the sensor, letting the shot be taken, however, when in Live View, because the sensor requires light to constantly hit it, the mirror is required to be raised permanently.

Not every camera makes use of mirrors, with mirrorless and bridge cameras being proof of that as they employ an Electronic Viewfinder. However, as far as names go for a Pokémon Professor, it might not be the most striking but it’s certainly creative and definitely helps to tie into the main premise of a new Pokémon game. Especially when it’s a game all about taking photos of the various Pokémon that call the Lental region their home.

Whatever the case may be, Professor Mirror, lead researcher in charge of the Laboratory of Ecology and Natural Sciences (L.E.N.S) and his assistant Rita, can’t wait to welcome one and all to the Lental region with open arms when New Pokémon Snap releases on April 30, 2021 for the Nintendo Switch. With players’ help, a Photodex to complete, an ecological survey to carry out, and a mysterious illumine phenomenon occurring, the photographic possibilities are endless.