Pokémon Ranger (ポケモンレンジャー, Pokemon Renjā) is an action role-playing video game created by HAL Laboratory and Creatures Inc. and made available by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS console. The game was first released in Japan, North America, and Australia in 2006, and later in Europe in 2007.
It was also made available on the Wii U Virtual Console on February 25, 2016, in Europe; February 26, 2016, in Australia; April 13, 2016, in Japan; and July 21, 2016, in North America. This version is no longer available because the Wii U Nintendo eShop closed on March 27, 2023.
This game is a different version of the main series set in the Fiore region. It has a new way to play and a unique story. The battle system and capturing Pokémon are different from other games. Instead of fighting in Pokémon Gyms, the Elite Four, and the Champion, players complete missions to move the story forward.
It works with Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, HeartGold and SoulSilver, and Platinum. This lets players transfer the mythical Pokémon Manaphy’s egg to those games.
When it was first released, Pokémon Ranger got both good and bad reviews. It was praised for having a long story with many missions, but some people criticized how the game used sounds made by players as a game mechanic.
Gameplay
In Pokémon Ranger, players do not use traditional turn-based fighting or Pokéballs to capture Pokémon. Instead, the player uses a device called a Capture Styler, controlled with the stylus on the Nintendo DS. To capture a wild Pokémon, the player must draw circles around it on the touchscreen one after another. Opposing Pokémon may try to escape or attack the Capture Styler during this process. When a Pokémon is captured, it joins the player’s team temporarily. Team Pokémon can help solve puzzles outside of battles by using moves like removing rocks, blowing fire, or tackling obstacles. These moves are called Field Moves. During battles, team Pokémon can also perform short attacks to assist the player, called Poké Assists. If a team Pokémon successfully uses a Field Move or is hit by an opponent’s attack in battle, it will leave the team.
The Capture Styler has an energy bar, similar to a health counter, that loses points when hit in battle. Like other Pokémon games, players can visit a base that acts like a Pokémon Center to "heal" or recharge the Capture Styler’s energy. If the energy bar is emptied completely, the game ends, and the player must return to the last Save Terminal.
Save Terminals are located throughout the map and let players save their progress. If a Save Terminal is not nearby, players can use a quicksave option to save the game quickly.
Plot
The story follows the player as they begin their journey as a Pokémon Ranger and eventually become a top-ranked Ranger.
After saving and capturing a wild Pokémon, the player is taken to the ranger’s base in Ringtown. There, they must complete missions, such as saving Pokémon and helping others. Once the player proves their skills, they are assigned a patrol mission to travel through the Krokka Tunnel. There, they meet the Go-Rock Squad, the main villains in the Fiore region.
The player reaches Fall City and reports the Go-Rock Squad to the Ranger Leader of Fall City. They are sent on a mission to gather information about the Go-Rock Squad. During this mission, they encounter a Go-Rock member whose Pokémon tries to destroy buildings in Fall City.
The player continues to improve their rank and is later needed in Summerland. There, they help the Ranger Leader of Summerland find a lost Pokémon. While exploring the Olive Jungle, the player meets the Go-Rock Quads, mysterious musicians who reveal the Go-Rock Squad’s plan to create a Super Styler. This device can control all Pokémon, and the Go-Rock Squad wants to use it to destroy the Pokémon Rangers.
After returning the lost Pokémon to the Ranger Leader of Summerland, the player returns to Fall City. There, they work to clear the Krokka Tunnel and meet the Go-Rock Quads again. The player fights a leader of the Go-Rock Squad, captures their Pokémon, and earns a higher rank.
The player then returns to Summerland, where they are encouraged to challenge the Jungle Relic. There, they complete four challenges: the Challenge of Wind, Challenge of Destruction, Challenge of Water, and a secret fourth challenge they are told not to complete. They meet the Go-Rock Quads again, who ask them to calm a frenzied Pokémon. This causes the player to unknowingly complete the fourth challenge, leading to an earthquake. The Jungle Relic turns into a volcano, where a Go-Rock Squad member challenges the player in a battle. After winning, the Go-Rock member sends a legendary Pokémon after the player.
After capturing the legendary Pokémon, the player returns to the ranger base. There, they team up with a Pokémon Professor to go to a factory. At the factory, they rescue Pokémon that the Go-Rock Squad is using for labor.
The player then travels to Wintown, where they must calm a frenzied Pokémon causing small earthquakes. They find the Go-Rock Squad’s base and infiltrate it. Multiple leaders of the Go-Rock Squad attack the player but are defeated. They trigger a self-destruct button, forcing the player to flee the base and return to the mountains.
In the mountains, the player finds the leader of the Go-Rock Squad in the Fiore Temple. The leader reveals the Super Styler is complete and sends three legendary Pokémon to attack the player. The player calms the legendary Pokémon, leading to celebrations across the region and earning the highest rank. This ends the main story.
In the postgame, the player can explore more and catch new Pokémon, including legendary ones. A special mission involving Manaphy is unlocked, and completing it gives the player a Manaphy egg that can be transferred to other games.
A final mission requires the player to stop the Go-Rock Squad after they anger another legendary Pokémon. Completing this mission finishes the story.
The game takes place in the Fiore region, named after the Italian word for flower. Fiore has no Pokémon unique to it, only Pokémon from the three generations before this game. Instead of traditional Pokémon Trainers, Fiore has Pokémon Rangers, who do not train Pokémon and keep them outside of Pokéballs.
Fiore is a small island region with four major settlements: Ringtown, Fall City, Wintown, and Summerland. These towns represent spring, fall, winter, and summer, respectively. Ringtown is a small town surrounded by forests and grasslands. To the north of Ringtown is the Krokka Tunnel, which connects to Fall City. Fall City is a larger port town on the coast.
Wintown is a northern town near the base of the Sekra Range, the coldest area of Fiore. The Sekra Range is a mountain range 6,500 feet (2,000 meters) high and has a large waterfall that can fill the Capture Arena 23 times in one minute. It houses the Go-Rock Squad’s base and the Fiore Temple.
Summerland is located on a southern island with the large Olive Jungle. The Jungle Relic is found deep inside the Olive Jungle.
Depending on the player’s choice, they play as Lunick (male) or Solana (female). If the player chooses Lunick, their partner Pokémon is Minun. If they choose Solana, their partner is Plusle. The player can change the protagonist’s name. The character not chosen becomes an NPC who works with the player.
Each town has a team of rangers and a Ranger Leader. The Ranger Leaders are Spenser (Ringtown), Joel (Fall City), Elita (Wintown), and Cameron (Summerland). They often work with Professor Hastings, the Chief of Technology for the Ranger Union.
The Go-Rock Squad includes nameless grunts and commanders. The leaders, called the Go-Rock Quads, are Tiffany, Clyde, Garret, and Billy. They are revealed to be the children of Gordor, the leader of the Go-Rock Squad.
Several legendary Pokémon are important to the story, including Entei, Raikou, Suicune, Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza.
Development
Information about Pokémon Ranger first appeared in the July 2005 issue of CoroCoro Comic magazine. At that time, few details were shared, but it was suggested that the project would include a game and a movie. An announcement about Pokémon Ranger was shown as a short preview at the end of the 8th Pokémon film, Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.
Several episodes of the Pokémon animated series feature Pokémon Rangers. These characters go on special missions to help protect Pokémon, human relationships, wild Pokémon, and the environment. Solana, the female main character, appears in three episodes of the series. In one episode, she must stop a troubled legendary Pokémon named Deoxys.
In the mainline Pokémon games, players can battle several Pokémon Rangers. These rangers come from different regions and keep their Pokémon in Poké Balls. They are shown as working to protect wild Pokémon and the environment.
A movie titled Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea was released directly to DVD. It premiered on Cartoon Network on March 23, 2007, and was made available on DVD the following month. The movie introduces a new Pokémon Ranger named Jack Walker, or Jackie, whose task is to protect a Manaphy egg. Throughout the film, Ash and his friends help Jackie complete his mission.
Many merchandise items have been released for Pokémon Ranger. These include a toy called the Capture Styler, a watch based on the Capture Styler, handbooks, pins, and other items.
Reception
Pokémon Ranger sold 193,337 copies in Japan during its first week of release. Game reviews for the title were mostly positive, with a 70% score from GameRankings. IGN gave the game a score of 7.1 out of 10, praising its presentation, gameplay, and graphics. However, the review noted that the game's use of sound was a weakness, including the use of 8-bit sounds from older Game Boy Pokémon games for Pokémon cries. IGN also mentioned that the lack of a multiplayer mode was a drawback.
GameSpot gave the game a similar score of 7.5 out of 10. The review highlighted the game's "unique capturing system," "good-sized quest," and "attractive 2D graphics and animation" as strengths. However, it pointed out issues such as the possibility of scratching the Nintendo DS touch screen during battles and "basic exploration sequences" as weaknesses.
Retronauts podcaster Jeremy Parish criticized Pokémon Ranger, calling it "crappy" and pointing out problems with its dialogue and story. He noted that while Pokémon games are typically aimed at younger audiences, the writing in Pokémon Ranger was worse than in the main series games. Retronauts contributor Justin Haywald also criticized HAL Laboratory, the game's developer, for creating Pokémon Ranger.
As of January 2025, Pokémon Ranger has sold more than 2,930,000 copies worldwide.
Sequels
Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia is the sequel to Pokémon Ranger, created by Creatures Inc. for the Nintendo DS. It was announced in the January 2008 issue of CoroCoro Comic and released in Japan on March 20, 2008. At E3 2008, it was announced that the game would be released in the United States as Shadows of Almia on November 10, 2008, and in Europe on November 21, 2008. This game continues the mission-based story from the first game, with players able to download new missions using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. It includes 270 new Pokémon that were not featured in Pokémon Ranger.
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs is an action role-playing video game developed by Creatures Inc., published by The Pokémon Company, and distributed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the third and final game in the Pokémon Ranger series and was released worldwide in 2010. The main character explores a new region called Oblivia while continuing the mission-based story from earlier games.