Which Pokémon do you think would be good for a treasure hunting scuba diver? I can’t swim or anything so it’s not for me, but I’m interested in what you’d think. Personally I think Lanturn could help because of the light they give. Suicune could purify the water, but of course, catching legends is morally and ethically and generally Not Good.

Lanturn is indeed an excellent choice, particularly if trained to light up when it finds something. Because its light is so intense, it’s possible to use a team of lanturn to minimize the amount of time a human needs to dive (or fish) by having them do all the hunting and signal to the surface when they find something. Starmie can be used for the same purpose, but in both cases, be sure that their abilities aren’t Illuminate. The last thing you want is to attract more pokémon during their hunt.

Alternatively, strangely enough, magikarp might be handy in this case. Most water-dwelling pokémon leave them alone (either because they aren’t worthy prey or because they often evolve into gyarados mid-hunt), and magikarp are hardy enough to survive in the roughest territory—including anywhere treasure might be.

If your treasure-hunting friend is interested in accompanying their pokémon on a dive, use literally any pokémon that can use Dive. Mantine tend to be popular in Johto for this, as are dewgong and many starters. You may also wish to consider something capable of battling (such as bruxish or gyarados) to protect yourself from wild water pokémon.

Legendaries, of course, aren’t particularly recommended, not because they shouldn’t be caught but instead because many of them possess abilities that will be useless for treasure hunting at best. At worst, they might actually inadvertently kill you.

What’s the function of the back light on lanturn?

The light on a lanturn’s back bulb is brighter than the one on its front, and thus, it serves only one purpose. To put it a little more clearly, the front bulb is used for a variety of purposes, including navigation and attracting a mate. However, it’s most famous for being used to lure in prey. When a lanturn’s prey grows close enough, the lanturn uses its back bulb to blind and stun its prey, then uses that moment of distraction to go in for the kill.

In short, hunting.

Chinchou and Lanturn

Chinchou
The Angler Pokémon
Type: Water/Electric
Official Registration #: 170
Entry: A small, anglerfish-like pokémon that lives in the depths of the ocean. Due to its habitat in the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean, chinchou rely on the light they emit from their dual antennae to attract prey and to communicate with other chinchou. They illuminate these antennae by channeling electrical energy through their wire-like stalks, straight to their bulbs. Given the fact that these pokémon are exclusively oceanic and given salt water’s tendency to conduct electricity, one would think that a pokémon generating enough electricity to illuminate two bulbs for extended periods of time would be extremely dangerous, but in actuality, this process only leaves a chinchou with a slight tingling sensation as a result. On the other hand, it electrocutes everything (except other chinchou) within a ten-foot radius of the chinchou in question, but at least the chinchou itself is fine.

Lanturn
The Light Pokémon
Type: Water/Electric
Official Registration #: 171
Entry: The evolved form of chinchou, by battle experience. Known for the brilliant light it emits from its antennae, lanturn is referred to colloquially as “the sea-star”—a reputation that is largely uncontested by the starmie it shares its habitat with, largely because starmie know exactly how weak to Discharges they are. Contrary to popular belief, lanturn do not produce their light—which is so bright that it can illuminate the surface even if the lanturn is three miles deep—from electrical currents. Instead, lanturn produce their light through chemical reactions between the bodily fluids and symbiotic bacteria contained within its antenna bulbs. This, of course, conserves electrical energy, which is of great benefit to lanturn in the event that a starmie would like to object to lanturn’s colloquial name.