The Pokémon Rangers ABSOLUTELY Deserve an Anime
Pokémon Ranger’s focus on protecting the wildlife of the Pokémon world presents the perfect opportunity for the anime to tread new ground.
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Many long-time Pokémon fans will remember the Pokémon Ranger games, where the player is tasked to help protect Pokémon and nature in the Fiore region, where there are no Pokémon trainers. Pokémon Ranger saw a fair amount of popularity, spawning two sequels, a ten-minute animated short and was featured prominently in various anime episodes across the Ruby and Sapphire and Diamond and Pearl arcs. They even headlined the movie Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea! But, other than the previously mentioned short, they never got a chance to shine in the anime on their own merits, apart from Ash and co. A crime that ought to be rectified.
The Pokémon Rangers as a concept have a lot more appeal than the small glimpses we’ve been able to see animated, and their stories are just as compelling as the main series’ games’. In the first game, the Go Rock Squad steals a prototype Capture Styler and use it to control Pokémon, seeking to destroy the Rangers, and in the sequels, Team Dim Sun try to use hypnotism to control all the Pokémon of Almia, while the Pokémon Pinchers control Pokémon with the ultimate goal of conquering the entire Oblivia region.
The way the Rangers fight against these teams couldn’t be considered standard either, providing something entirely new for any Pokémon fan. Due to the Rangers’ status in-universe as nature preservationists, they are unable to keep any Pokémon they befriend, meaning that they leave said Pokémon in their natural habitat, and must befriend new Pokémon as they go (not unlike Black & White’s, N). To that end, they use the Capture Styler instead of a Pokéball — the styler allows them to communicate their feelings of friendship to the Pokémon, creating a temporary bond where the Pokémon will help out, then head on its merry way; a catch-and-release technique. In doing so, this ensures that the Pokémon’s ecosystems are unaffected by the Ranger’s activities, and that the Pokémon do not need to be put in constant danger.
This also means that the Ranger is free to use the stylus without guilt on legendary Pokémon whose removal from the area could have disastrous consequences. Since they’re really only seeking to receive or give momentary help, or to free the Pokémon from the control of another, the ethics of “catching” a Legendary don’t ever come into play. Any anime based on Ranger would be able to include Legendaries often, whether they be the target of the Pokémon Pinchers or just regular poachers, the Rangers would be able to befriend and assist these magnificent beasts. Furthermore, with Guardian Signs introducing the ability to re-summon a Pokémon one’s befriended in the past, it means that a Ranger could even summon a legendary!
With the Pokémon Rangers being an altruistic organization dedicated to the protection of nature and Pokémon, it also opens up the world of Pokémon similar to Pokémon Journeys. Since the Rangers are given missions from their own headquarters, the writers of such a show would be able to send the characters to any region they want — in addition to exploring the Ranger-specific regions of Fiore, Almia and Oblivia.
And while it wouldn’t need to be the main focus of every episode, having the Rangers encounter and defeat the Go Rock Squad, Team Dim Sun or the Pokémon Pinchers would allow those who have played the games to finally experience their favorite moments in glorious limited animation. However, for the most part, the show could take on more of a “nature warrior” bent, similar to an animal rescue show you’d see on the Discovery channel, with the Rangers responding natural disasters, helping slow the destruction. or searching for injured Pokémon, befriending and healing them. The show could even highlight some real-world conservation tactics and efforts, albeit with a Pokémon flavor.
But those sorts of plots are truly only possible with a charismatic main character, someone the viewer can connect to on a personal level. Due to the ever-rotating cast of Pokémon, save for the main character’s “partner” Pokémon, and the solitary nature of the job, a small main cast would need to carry the show, with the two main heroes taking the brunt of the narrative weight. Since their only goal is to protect nature, this opens the opportunity for more character-driven storytelling, allowing the viewer to connect to a Pokémon protagonist like they never have before. But, regardless of the approach, the Pokémon Ranger series is a property with bucket-loads of anime potential that demands fulfilling.
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