Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (Nintendo DS)

Titles	Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia ポケモンレンジャー バトナージ (Pokémon Renjā Batonāji) Nuit sur Almia (French) · Finsternis über Almia (German) · Ombre su Almia (Italian) · Sombras de Almia (Spanish)
Platforms	Nintendo DS · Wii U (Virtual Console, 2016)
Developer	Creatures Inc.
Publisher	Nintendo (The Pokémon Company in Japan)
Director	Katsuyoshi Irie
Producers	Hiroaki Tsuru · Hiroyuki Jinnai · executive producers Satoru Iwata and Tsunekazu Ishihara
Music	Takuto Kitsuta · Kinta Sato · Shinobu Amayake
Players	1 · Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for downloadable missions · DS wireless link to Diamond, Pearl and Platinum
Genre	Action role-playing game
Pokémon	270 in the Almia Browser: 267 numbered entries plus Dialga, Palkia and Shaymin
Missions	A Rookie Mission and 16 story Missions · 61 Quests · 6 Ranger Net missions
Released	20 March 2008 (Japan, Taiwan) · 10 November 2008 (North America) · 13 November 2008 (Australia) · 21 November 2008 (Europe)
Re-releases	Wii U Virtual Console: 9 June 2016 (Europe, Australia) · 27 July 2016 (Japan) · 4 August 2016 (North America)
Service ended	Ranger Net downloads: 20 May 2014, when Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection closed · Wii U eShop sales: 27 March 2023
Rating	ESRB E · PEGI 3 · CERO A · ACB G · OFLC (NZ) G
Predecessor	Pokémon Ranger (2006)
Successor	Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs (2010)
Sales	2.04 million by 31 March 2009 (Nintendo)

Overview · Quick Answers · Story · Quests & Ranger Rank · Gameplay · Characters · Team Dim Sun & Bosses · Pokémon · Ranger Net · Regional Variations · Trivia · Legacy · Sales & Reviews

Overview

Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia is the second game in the Pokémon Ranger series, an action role-playing game for the Nintendo DS made by Creatures Inc. and directed by Katsuyoshi Irie. The Pokémon Company released it in Japan on 20 March 2008 as Pokémon Ranger Batonāji, and Nintendo brought it to North America, Australia and Europe that November. The adventure leaves the first game’s Fiore region behind for Almia, and this time the hero has to earn the uniform first, starting out as a pupil at the Ranger School.

As in the original Pokémon Ranger, nothing is battled or caught for keeps. The player draws loops around wild Pokémon on the touch screen with the Capture Styler, each loop filling a friendship gauge while the Pokémon’s attacks wear down the Styler’s Energy. Befriended Pokémon then lend a hand for a while, adding a Poké Assist to the next capture or using a Field Move such as Cut, Crush or Soak to clear an obstacle, before going back to the wild. Only the Partner Pokémon, picked from 17 that cover every type, stays at the hero’s side for good.

Around the 16 story Missions sit 61 optional Quests that power up the Styler, a Ranger Rank that grows as the story unfolds and six Ranger Net missions that were downloaded over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Almia is also a friendlier place to play than Fiore was: a broken loop no longer wastes a capture, the Browser grows to 270 Pokémon with a strong Sinnoh flavour, and the villains, Team Dim Sun, hide behind the respectable front of the oil company Altru Inc.

The Wi-Fi missions delivered a Manaphy Egg, a Riolu that knew Aura Sphere and a Darkrai that knew Dark Void to Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, and an anime special starring the game’s hero premiered in Japan on launch day. Shadows of Almia had sold 2.04 million copies by the end of March 2009, and the series carried on with Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs in 2010.

Quick Answers

The questions people ask most about Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, answered first and explained further down the page.

How many Pokémon are in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia?

The Almia Browser holds 270. The numbered entries run from R-001, Pichu, to R-267, Regigigas, and can all be met in the story or after it, while three special entries, Dialga, Palkia and Shaymin, could only be filled through downloadable Extra Missions. Sinnoh species from Diamond and Pearl make up a big share of the cast, alongside older favourites. More →

Can you still get the Wi-Fi missions, Manaphy Egg, Riolu and Darkrai in 2026?

Not by downloading them. Ranger Net missions came over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which closed on 20 May 2014, and every distribution window had ended long before that. A cartridge that downloaded them still holds the missions and can play them again, but each event Pokémon could only ever be sent to Diamond, Pearl or Platinum once. More →

Is Shadows of Almia on Nintendo Switch or phones?

No. It came out on Nintendo DS cartridge and, in 2016, as a Wii U Virtual Console download. The Wii U eShop stopped selling games on 27 March 2023, so a second-hand DS cartridge, which works in any DS or 3DS, is now the only way to buy it. More →

How do you get Regigigas in Shadows of Almia?

Regigigas is the post-game reward for a nearly complete Browser. Register the first 266 Pokémon, then go to Hippowdon Temple in the Haruba Desert with Regirock, Regice and Registeel among your Friend Pokémon. A new chamber opens, and Regigigas waits inside as a boss capture that fills the last numbered slot, R-267. More →

How do you unlock all 17 Partner Pokémon?

You pick Pachirisu, Starly or Munchlax at Nabiki Beach on your first Vientown mission, and the other two come later through Quests. Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Cranidos, Shieldon, Snover, Machop, Sneasel, Misdreavus, Gible and Hippopotas are Quest rewards too, while Kricketot, Mime Jr. and Croagunk join through the story. Partners can be swapped at the Partner Farm south of Chicole Village. More →

Does Shadows of Almia connect to Pokémon Diamond and Pearl?

Yes. Finishing the Special Missions “Recover the Manaphy Egg!”, “Rescue Kidnapped Riolu!” and “Liberate the Tower!” let players send a Manaphy Egg, a Riolu that knows Aura Sphere and a Darkrai that knows Dark Void to Diamond, Pearl or Platinum by DS wireless link. The Dialga, Palkia and Shaymin Extra Missions had nothing to send. More →

What are Quests and how many are there?

Quests are optional jobs for the people of Almia, such as calming a Miltank or finding a lost fishing rod. There are 61, unlocked as the story moves on, and only one can be taken at a time. Each pays out either Power-Up Data for the Capture Styler, sent over by Rhythmi, or a new Partner Pokémon. More →

Is there a sequel to Shadows of Almia?

Yes. Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs followed on the Nintendo DS in 2010. It moves the series to the Oblivia region and adds Ranger Signs, symbols drawn on the touch screen to call Pokémon in to help. More →

Story

The hero, Kellyn or Kate, enrols at the Ranger School east of Vientown and soon makes two friends: Keith, a brash classmate set on becoming a Top Ranger, and Rhythmi, who is training to be an Operator. The school chapter ends with the hero’s first boss capture, a rampaging Tangrowth, and after graduation the hero joins the Vientown Ranger Base under Barlow as an Area Ranger, choosing a first partner on Nabiki Beach.

Early Missions turn up strange machines that leave Almia’s Pokémon dizzy and violent: the Gigaremo and Miniremo units of a gang called Team Dim Sun. When Barlow goes missing, the trail leads to a Cargo Ship, where the hero discovers that Mr. Kincaid, a teacher at the Ranger School, is Team Dim Sun’s second-in-command. Kincaid tries to sink the ship with everyone aboard, but the hero escapes with Barlow and is promoted to Top Ranger at the Ranger Union.

In the Chroma Ruins the Rangers find Dark Crystals, shards of a Shadow Crystal that power the machines, and learn that three gems called the Tears of Princes can cancel out their effect. Racing the Sinis Trio, the hero claims the Blue Gem in Almia Castle and the Red Gem in Boyleland’s Volcano Cave, then wins the Yellow Gem from Cresselia in Hippowdon Temple, only to hand it over to Heath, who is holding Keith hostage. Team Dim Sun goes on to raid the Ranger Union itself, and the trail finally leads to the oil company Altru Inc., whose young president, Blake Hall, is secretly the team’s leader.

For Operation Brighton the hero storms Altru Tower with the Vatonage Styler, powered by shards of the three gems. Blake’s Incredible Machine summons Dusknoir and then Darkrai, until he pushes it too far, loses control and is swallowed by Darkrai’s Dark Void. The hero befriends Darkrai and Blake surrenders. The Shadow Crystal becomes the Luminous Crystal, and Almia celebrates with a concert as Darkrai circles the new crystal.

Quests, Ranger Rank & Poké Assists

There is no single level number in Shadows of Almia. Growth is spread across several linked systems instead: story Missions raise the Ranger Rank, which decides how many Friend Pokémon can be carried and which Poké Assist types may be used; every capture levels up the Styler itself; and 61 optional Quests hand out Power-Up Data cards and new Partner Pokémon. Field Moves and riding abilities then turn the Pokémon around the hero into tools for exploring Almia.

• 61Quests, 60 in any one playthrough
• 47Power-Up Data cards to earn
• 0–10Ranger Ranks, graduation to the finale
• 18Poké Assists: one per type, plus Recharge

Quests

How Quests workQuests are requests from Almia’s residents, posted as the story opens up new areas, and range from calming a Miltank to finding a lost fishing rod. Only one can be accepted at a time, so the current job has to be finished or cancelled before another is taken. Most become available after a particular Mission or the promotion to Top Ranger, some need an earlier Quest first, and Quest 54, “Wish for the Vien Forest”, only appears once every other Quest is done. Rhythmi’s own request, a hunt for a Roserade, turns out to be a cover for a surprise party.

Partner QuestsFourteen Quests reward a new Partner Pokémon, among them “Please Save Cranidos”, “Please Save Turtwig” and “What Happened to Machop!?”. Three of them are for the starters, Pachirisu, Munchlax and Starly, and the one for whichever starter was picked at Nabiki Beach never appears, which is why any one playthrough offers 60 Quests out of the 61.

Power-Up DataThe other 47 Quests pay out Power-Up Data cards, which Rhythmi sends straight to the Styler. Thirty-four are type Defense cards, two for each of the 17 types, and each one cuts the damage from that type by 3. The rest bring Power Plus, Energy Plus, Long Line, Recovery, Time Assist, Latent Power and Combo Bonus, and the last of all, Supreme Defense, trims every attack by one more point.

Ranger Rank and the Styler

Ranger Rank rises at fixed points in the story, from Rank 0 at graduation to Rank 10 after the final Mission. The table shows when each rank arrives, how many Friend Pokémon the hero can then carry and which Poké Assist types it opens up:

What a rank bringsEach step up can raise the number of Friend Pokémon the hero may carry, from three at the start to seven by the end, unlock a new batch of Poké Assist types or strengthen the Power Charge for quicker captures. Rank 4 also opens up riding Doduo, and Rank 10 is required for the Riolu, Darkrai, Dialga and Palkia download missions.

Styler levelSeparately from Rank, the Styler earns experience from every capture, and S-rank captures pay the biggest bonus. Levelling up raises its Energy, which works as its health, from 10 to 104 by level 50, and its Power, the friendship each loop delivers, from 10 to 205. With every Power-Up card added on top, a level-50 Styler reaches 109 Energy and 210 Power.

Poké Assists

Field Moves and overworld abilities

The Pokémon behind the overworld abilities, with what each one does:

• DoduoAgility
• TorkoalMagma Flow
• FloatzelRiver Flow
• EmpoleonRiver Flow
• StaraptorFly
• MantineDeep canyons
• DrifloonAir Lift
• DrifblimElevate
• HippowdonSand Fill
• SkarmoryDemist
• ElectabuzzFlash
• BlastoiseRain Dance

Gameplay

Most Missions follow the same rhythm: explore, befriend the Pokémon the job calls for and use them to clear the way, with a boss capture waiting at the end of many of them.

Capturing Pokémon

Missions and Stylers

Missions and exploringThe story is split into a Rookie Mission and 16 numbered Missions, handed out first by the Vientown Ranger Base and later by the Ranger Union. They range from delivering a newspaper and fighting the Vien Forest fire to slipping aboard a Cargo Ship and storming Altru Tower, and most of the later ones end in a boss capture with a far larger friendship gauge than usual. Between Missions the hero is free to roam Almia, from icy Hia Valley to the Haruba Desert, talking to residents, taking on Quests and filling the Browser.

Four StylersThe hero goes through four Stylers. The School Styler given to pupils cannot use Poké Assists; graduating brings the Almia Capture Styler, which can; promotion to Top Ranger brings the wrist-mounted Fine Styler and its Power Charge for quicker captures; and for Operation Brighton the hero carries the one-of-a-kind Vatonage Styler. Powered by shards of the Tears of Princes, it can befriend Pokémon hypnotised by Team Dim Sun, which ordinary Stylers can only free, and it is strong enough to reach Darkrai.

After the story

After the creditsAlmia stays open once the story is over, with Quests to finish and the Browser to complete. Registering the first 266 Pokémon and bringing Regirock, Regice and Registeel opens a new chamber in Hippowdon Temple, where Regigigas waits as the last boss capture. The Capture Arena offers a run of rooms built to test the player’s capture skills, and the downloadable Ranger Net missions described below were post-game adventures too.

Characters

The hero and the friends and colleagues who see them through Almia’s crisis:

Kellyn

The boy hero, named Kellyn unless the player renames him. He graduates from the Ranger School, serves as an Area Ranger in Vientown and becomes the eleventh of Almia’s twelve Top Rangers. He went on to star in the anime special Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu!, helping Ash and his friends protect a Riolu from Pokémon Hunter J.

Kate

The girl hero, who follows exactly the same path as Kellyn, from Ranger School pupil to Vientown Area Ranger and finally Top Ranger at the Ranger Union. Kate later appeared alongside Kellyn in the official manga adaptation, where the two work together as Top Rangers.

Keith

A brash Ranger School classmate who quickly becomes the hero’s friend and rival. He meets his partner Buizel while stationed in Fiore after graduation and becomes the twelfth Top Ranger, just after the hero. Heath kidnaps him at Hippowdon Temple and uses his Styler to bait the hero, and during Operation Brighton Keith repays the favour by pulling the hero out of Darkrai’s Dark Void.

Rhythmi

The hero’s other close friend from the Ranger School, where she studies to be an Operator. After training in Fiore she works at the Ranger Union headquarters as a Top Operator, guiding the hero over the Styler and sending the Power-Up Data that rewards each finished Quest.

Barlow

The leader of the Vientown Ranger Base and the hero’s first boss after graduation, handing out the early Missions. His disappearance drives the first half of the story: the search for him leads to Team Dim Sun’s Cargo Ship, where the hero frees him and the two escape as Kincaid tries to sink the vessel.

• Professor Hastings: The Ranger Union’s Chief of Technology, back from the first game. He is the first to find the Dark Crystal shards that power the Gigaremo units. A diary hidden near the Ranger School reveals that as children he, Erma and Lamont dreamed of a device for sharing friendship with Pokémon, the idea that grew into the Capture Styler, and he later pieces together Blake Hall’s past from the diary of Brighton Hall, a former president of Altru.

Team Dim Sun’s leaders, Kincaid, the Sinis Trio and Blake Hall, have their own cards in the bosses section below.

Team Dim Sun & the bosses

Team Dim Sun is the shadow of the title: a gang whose Dark Crystal-powered machines drive Almia’s Pokémon wild, run in secret from the offices of the oil company Altru Inc. Most later Missions end in a boss capture, a single powerful Pokémon (or a group of them) with a friendship gauge far larger than usual and attack patterns of its own. These are the villains who send them out, and the other bosses waiting in the wild:

Grunts: Team Dim Sun

Gigaremo and Miniremo machines · Pueltown, Vientown and the sea · Missions 4, 6 and 12

Team Dim Sun’s foot soldiers do the dirty work across Almia, planting the Gigaremo and Miniremo machines that leave Pokémon dizzy and violent. They work in specialist squads, among them the Marine Unit at sea and Lavana’s all-female Crimson Unit.

Bosses: Toxicroak (Mission 4), two Rampardos (Mission 6), Kingdra (Mission 12)

Toxicroak floods the arena with Poison attacks, so an Electric assist to paralyse it and a Recharge Pokémon both help. The two Rampardos, fought two at once with the hero’s Ranger leader, headbutt, hurl and drop rocks, and fallen rocks heal them if left lying. Kingdra, fought underwater beside a captive Wailord, is one of the gentler bosses.

Second-in-command: Kincaid

Poison/Dark and Ground/Flying · Cargo Ship and Oil Field Hideout · Missions 8 and 13

Mr. Kincaid poses as a Ranger School teacher with a laboratory in the school basement, secretly scouting pupils for Team Dim Sun, and he gives the Sinis Trio their orders. Unmasked on the Cargo Ship, he returns at the Oil Field Hideout, and after the story he gathers the team’s remnants into Team Debonairs. His Japanese name is Mirakado.

Bosses: Drapion, Gliscor

Drapion sprays Poison puddles and Poison Stings, and capturing it is what drives Kincaid to try sinking the ship. Gliscor uses gusts, mud puddles and charges, and speeds up once its gauge passes about 70 per cent.

Admins: The Sinis Trio

Ice, Lavana and Heath · Almia Castle to Altru Tower · Missions 10 to 16

Team Dim Sun’s three admins chase the Tears of Princes across Almia. Ice is their leader, Lavana heads the all-female Crimson Unit and Heath is the one who takes Keith hostage. In Japanese they are Trio the Hell.

Bosses: Ice: Froslass, Garchomp, Gallade. Lavana: Infernape, Magmortar. Heath: Magnezone, Electivire, Rhyperior

Froslass hides behind circling flames, drops icicles and sends a homing flame at the Styler, so patience pays. Infernape, fought after two Crimson Unit grunts and their Monferno, leaves lava puddles and explosions that spread across the arena. Magnezone is a fairly easy capture, Electivire throws two Spark Balls at once, and the very fast Garchomp slashes, digs mud pits and charges across the room. In Altru Tower, Rhyperior, Magmortar and Gallade are faced one per floor and then all together, when paralysing all three at once is the safest plan.

Leader: Blake Hall

Ghost and Dark · Altru Tower · Mission 16

The young third president of Altru Inc. and the hidden leader of Team Dim Sun, who plans to control every Pokémon in Almia and use them to generate endless energy. Exposed to the Shadow Crystal as a child, he was fed by its darkness, and at the top of Altru Tower his Incredible Machine summons Dusknoir and then Darkrai before he loses control of it.

Bosses: Dusknoir, Darkrai

Dusknoir, summoned from Hippowdon Temple, fires Shadow Ball beams, ghostly puddles and homing fire. Darkrai shrugs off every loop until the Tears of Princes empower the Vatonage Styler; it then teleports between Shadow Balls, dark portals and puddles in the hardest capture of the story.

Gem guardians: Lucario, Heatran and Cresselia

Fighting/Steel, Fire/Steel and Psychic · Almia Castle, Volcano Cave and Hippowdon Temple · Missions 10, 11 and 14

Three Pokémon guard the Tears of Princes, the gems that can cancel out the Dark Crystals, and each has to be befriended before its gem can be claimed, with the Sinis Trio never far behind.

Bosses: Lucario (Blue Gem), Heatran (Red Gem), Cresselia (Yellow Gem)

Lucario fires Aura Sphere, punches and electric puddles, and lets loose four puddles at once when fully charged. Heatran’s headbutts and Fire Blast grow stronger as its gauge fills, with lava plumes erupting at one third, half and two thirds. Cresselia, faced alone after Keith is taken, fights inside a permanent ring of energy and fires energy balls and beams.

Wild bosses: Tangrowth, Spiritomb and Regigigas

Grass, Ghost/Dark and Normal · Ranger School, Chroma Ruins and Hippowdon Temple · School, Mission 9 and post-game

Not every boss answers to Team Dim Sun. Tangrowth ends the school chapter, Spiritomb haunts the Chroma Ruins bound to five Odd Keystones, and Regigigas waits in a hidden chamber of Hippowdon Temple for anyone who registers 266 Pokémon and brings Regirock, Regice and Registeel.

Bosses: Tangrowth, Spiritomb, Regigigas

Tangrowth comes before the hero has any Poké Assists, so it is a pure test of steady looping and of watching for the warning mark before each attack. Spiritomb’s attacks change with each Odd Keystone, from homing flames and beams to shockwaves, so paralysing it and bringing a Drifblim help. Regigigas sends out an 18-damage shockwave with every step and follows up with Hyper Beam and fissures, though the Steel assist halts its attacks.

Every boss capture

All 19 boss captures, in the order they come:

• TangrowthRanger School
• ToxicroakMission 4
• RampardosMission 6 (two)
• DrapionMission 8
• SpiritombMission 9
• FroslassMission 10
• LucarioMission 10
• InfernapeMission 11
• HeatranMission 11
• KingdraMission 12
• GliscorMission 13
• CresseliaMission 14
• MagnezoneMission 14
• ElectivireMission 15
• GarchompMission 15
• RhyperiorMission 16
• MagmortarMission 16
• GalladeMission 16
• DusknoirMission 16
• DarkraiMission 16
• RegigigasPost-game

Pokémon

Shadows of Almia has 270 Pokémon, around 50 of them species that were not in the first Ranger game, and the newcomers lean heavily on Sinnoh, the region of Diamond and Pearl. The Almia Browser numbers 267 of them, from R-001 Pichu to R-267 Regigigas, and keeps Dialga, Palkia and Shaymin in a special section of their own, because they could only be met in downloadable Extra Missions. As in Fiore, Pokémon are befriended for a while and released once they have given a Poké Assist, used a Field Move or carried the hero somewhere; only the Partner Pokémon stays for good. Legendary Pokémon such as Cresselia, Heatran and Darkrai appear as story bosses.

Partner Pokémon

The 17 Partner Pokémon, one for each type. Three are offered at the start, three join during the story and eleven are Quest rewards, and the two starters that were not chosen come back later through Quests too:

• PachirisuElectric · Starter
• StarlyFlying · Starter
• MunchlaxNormal · Starter
• TurtwigGrass · Quest
• ChimcharFire · Quest
• PiplupWater · Quest
• CranidosRock · Quest
• ShieldonSteel · Quest
• SnoverIce · Quest
• MachopFighting · Quest
• SneaselDark · Quest
• MisdreavusGhost · Quest
• GibleDragon · Quest
• HippopotasGround · Quest
• KricketotBug · Story
• Mime Jr.Psychic · Story
• CroagunkPoison · Story

Legendary and event Pokémon

The event and legendary Pokémon that are not met as story bosses. Riolu and Manaphy were the gifts of two Special Missions, Dialga, Palkia and Shaymin fill the Browser’s special section, and the three Regis are the key to Regigigas:

• RioluSpecial Mission gift
• ManaphyEgg, Special Mission
• DialgaExtra Mission
• PalkiaExtra Mission
• ShayminExtra Mission, Land Forme
• RegirockKey to Regigigas
• RegiceKey to Regigigas
• RegisteelKey to Regigigas

Ranger Net download missions

Ranger Net, an option on the game’s menu, downloaded extra missions free of charge over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, each for a limited period. They came in two kinds. The three Special Missions each ended with a gift for Pokémon Diamond, Pearl or Platinum, sent by DS wireless link and only once per cartridge; the three Extra Missions let players befriend a legendary Pokémon for the Browser’s special section but sent nothing onward. A downloaded mission stays on the cartridge and can be played again.

Special Missions

• Recover the Manaphy Egg!: A follow-up to the first game’s own Manaphy Egg mission. The Egg is in the care of a Happiny this time, and once it is recovered it can be sent on to Diamond, Pearl or Platinum to hatch.
• Rescue Kidnapped Riolu!: Unlocked once the story is finished and the hero has reached Ranger Rank 10, it rewards a Riolu that knows Aura Sphere. The anime special Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu!, starring Kellyn, tells a story along the same lines.
• Liberate the Tower!: Also needs the story finished and Rank 10, and ends with a Darkrai that knows Dark Void, ready to send to Diamond, Pearl or Platinum.

The downloaded missions also bring back Team Dim Sun’s leftovers, among them Kincaid’s short-lived Team Debonairs, who try to pull the Tears of Princes away from the Luminous Crystal.

Extra Missions

• Dialga in Hia Valley!?: Dialga waits in Almia Castle and unleashes Roar of Time if the capture drags on.
• Palkia in Haruba Desert!?: Palkia is found beneath Hippowdon Temple, where the hero faces it alongside Sven and Henry.
• For the Bride and Shaymin!: A Land Forme Shaymin is hiding in a wedding bouquet.

The Dialga and Palkia missions also need Ranger Rank 10. Saving is switched off while an Extra Mission is under way, and the Save Machines show an “Undergoing Adjustments” notice until it is finished.

Distribution dates

When each mission could be downloaded; where only a start date is known, it is marked “from”:

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection closed on 20 May 2014, taking Ranger Net with it. The Wii U Virtual Console release has no wireless features, so it cannot send Pokémon on to the DS games either.

Regional Variations

Japan had Shadows of Almia almost eight months before the rest of the world, and a few things differ from region to region:

• In Japan the game is Pokémon Ranger Batonāji and was published by The Pokémon Company; everywhere else Nintendo released it as Shadows of Almia, and Europe translated the subtitle: Pokémon Ranger: Nuit sur Almia in French, Finsternis über Almia in German, Ombre su Almia in Italian and Sombras de Almia in Spanish.
• The Japanese subtitle, often romanised Vatonage, lives on in the English version as the name of the hero’s final Styler, the Vatonage Styler.
• Taiwan received the DS game on 20 March 2008, the same day as Japan.
• The European cartridge holds English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The language follows the DS system setting when a save file is first made and is then locked to that file.
• Ranger Net schedules differed by region: Japan had the Darkrai mission from 26 April 2008, while North America and Europe waited until 1 December 2008, and Japan got a second run of its Special Missions that winter.
• The event Riolu’s Original Trainer is Kaito in Japanese copies, Kyle in English and German copies, Karel in French, Carlo in Italian and Kiko in Spanish, always with the ID number 03208.
• The Wii U Virtual Console version reached Europe and Australia first, on 9 June 2016, ahead of Japan on 27 July and North America on 4 August 2016.

Left in the data

• The game data has names, descriptions and cries for all 493 Pokémon that existed at the time, even though only 270 can be met, and Mudkip’s evolutionary line even has sprites without ever appearing.
• Leftover data suggests that Duskull and Riolu were once meant to be Partner Pokémon.
• An unused Field Move called Aura Blast sits in the files, probably intended for Riolu or Lucario.
• Placeholder text points to plans for Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Giratina and Arceus, and Phione’s graphics went unused until Guardian Signs.
• An unused Electric-type slot loads Rotom’s graphics but has no battle behaviour, and East Sea Shellos, East Sea Gastrodon and Overcast Cherrim were cut.

Trivia & facts

• The Japanese subtitle has a cameo in the game itself: two of the Ranger Union’s clients in Quest 43 are called Vatona and Nage.
• Fail to get off the sinking Cargo Ship in time and the hero goes down with it, which is thought to be the first time a Pokémon game let its player character die.
• Shadows of Almia is the only Ranger game in which the unchosen hero never appears: whichever one the player picks, Kellyn and Kate never meet in the story.

• 

  The Wii U Virtual Console release misnames the game slightly, as “Pokémon Ranger: Shadow of Almia”.

• Because the English dub held back Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! to coincide with the American release, a later Diamond and Pearl episode was shown before it in English.
• Blake Hall’s Japanese name means Black Hole, and his birth name, Wyatt Hall, is a play on White Hole.
• Professor Hastings’s Japanese name, Shinbara, comes from the Japanese name for the constellation Pyxis, and he is styled kyōju, a university professor’s title, rather than the hakase used for the core-series professors.

• 

  Team Dim Sun’s name looks like a pun on dim sum, and its use of controlled Pokémon recalls Cipher from Pokémon Colosseum.

• Unlike the first game’s Browser, the Almia Browser has no flavour text for its Pokémon.
• Shadows of Almia marks the first appearance of the word “Eeveelution” in a Pokémon game.
• Fiore, the region of the first Pokémon Ranger, is mentioned throughout, and both Keith and Rhythmi spend time training there after graduation.

Legacy

What came after

• Announcement – January 2008 issue of CoroCoro Comic. First reveal, under the Japanese title Pokémon Ranger Batonāji
• Japanese launch and anime special – 20 March 2008. Released in Japan and Taiwan; the anime special Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! premiered on Japanese television the same day
• English title revealed – E3 2008 (July 2008). Nintendo of America announced the game as Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
• North American launch – 10 November 2008. Followed by Australia on 13 November and Europe on 21 November 2008
• Two million sold – 31 March 2009. Nintendo reported lifetime sales of 2.04 million units at the end of its 2008/09 financial year
• Sequel: Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs – 6 March 2010. The third Ranger game, released first in Japan, moved the series to the Oblivia region
• Online service ends – 20 May 2014. Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection closed, ending Ranger Net downloads
• Wii U Virtual Console – 9 June 2016. Europe and Australia first, then Japan on 27 July and North America on 4 August 2016
• Wii U eShop closes to purchases – 27 March 2023. The Virtual Console version can no longer be bought

Where to play it today

As of October 2026 Shadows of Almia can no longer be bought new. The Nintendo DS cartridge is the way to play it: copies are easy to find second-hand and run on every DS and 3DS model. The Wii U Virtual Console version, played on the GamePad, left sale when the Wii U eShop stopped selling games on 27 March 2023, although Nintendo said that existing owners could carry on re-downloading their purchases. There is no Switch or mobile release, and the Ranger Net missions have been out of reach since Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection shut down on 20 May 2014.

How it was made

Shadows of Almia was made by Creatures Inc., the Tokyo studio that is one of The Pokémon Company’s three joint owners. Katsuyoshi Irie directed, Hiroaki Tsuru and Hiroyuki Jinnai produced, and Satoru Iwata and Tsunekazu Ishihara were the executive producers. Akihito Toda wrote the scenario, Yusuke Shimada designed the characters and the sound team of Takuto Kitsuta, Kinta Sato and Shinobu Amayake handled the music, while Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda and Tetsuya Watanabe advised on the game design.

The game was first revealed in the January 2008 issue of CoroCoro Comic under its Japanese title, Pokémon Ranger Batonāji. The name was Ishihara’s idea, taken from bâtonnage, the winemaker’s practice of stirring the lees in the barrel. Nintendo of America announced the English title at E3 2008, and the European release was confirmed on 25 September 2008. Nintendo’s localisation team prepared the English version, with translation by Nob Ogasawara, and the European cartridge added French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Shadows of Almia elsewhere

Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu!A two-part special within the Diamond and Pearl anime, episodes DP071 and DP072, which premiered in Japan on 20 March 2008, the day the game came out. Kellyn joins Ash, Dawn and Brock to protect a Riolu that knows Aura Sphere from Pokémon Hunter J, a story that mirrors the Special Mission “Rescue Kidnapped Riolu!”. In English, Part 1 aired on 1 November 2008, shortly before the American launch.

Darkrai Mission Story mangaHidenori Kusaka and Satoshi Yamamoto, the team behind Pokémon Adventures, adapted the game as Darkrai Mission Story: Pokémon Ranger Batonāji, set in the same continuity as their long-running series. Kellyn and Kate work together as Top Rangers to stop Kincaid and capture Darkrai. It was published online for members of the Pokémon Daisuki Club rather than in print.

Bandai Styler toysBandai made toy versions of the game’s gadgets, among them a replica of the Almia Capture Styler and a Vatonage Styler modelled on the one-of-a-kind device carried into Operation Brighton. They followed Bandai’s Capture Styler toy for the first Pokémon Ranger, letting fans spin a Styler of their own away from the DS.

Sales & reviews

Sales figures

Shadows of Almia went straight to number one in Japan, selling 241,663 copies in its first week, more than half of its initial shipment. Famitsu counted 576,467 by 9 July 2008, and the year ended on 645,778, which made it Japan’s 13th best-selling game of 2008; sales kept creeping up afterwards, passing 660,000 by January 2010 and reaching 662,155 by the end of 2013. In the United States it was the sixth best-selling DS game of December 2008. Nintendo’s results for the year to 31 March 2009 put lifetime sales at 2.04 million, 1.50 million of them during that year, split between 130,000 in Japan and 1.37 million overseas.

• 2.04msold worldwide by March 2009 (Nintendo)
• 241,663first week in Japan, at number one
• 662,155sold in Japan by the end of 2013
• 68on Metacritic, from 24 critics

Review scores

Reviewers broadly agreed that Shadows of Almia improved on the first game; where they differed was on whether that was enough. Austin Shau of GameSpot felt it “improves upon its predecessor just enough to make it a fun, solid addition to the spin-off series”, while IGN told owners of the first game that “you could probably pass on this and be just fine”, and Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer warned fans that “they shouldn’t expect anything more than a mild distraction”.

The Metacritic average of 68 from 24 critics reflects a split verdict on a sequel that improved on its predecessor without quite finding an identity of its own. The warmest scores came from Official Nintendo Magazine in the UK, with 84%, and Nintendo Power, and the game’s admirers found it more approachable and more fun than the original. In Japan, Famitsu’s four-reviewer panel gave it 32 out of 40, praising the clear tutorial, the stress-free controls, the Styler upgrades and the puzzles built around each Pokémon’s abilities, though one reviewer found the story fragmented and the hunt for the right Pokémon tedious, and another noted a feeling of running errands. The cooler reviews felt too little had changed since 2006, and 1UP.com, which gave it a C+, wanted a deeper story. Players have been kinder, with a Metacritic user score of 7.7 out of 10.

Further reading

More Ranger, Sinnoh and DS links on the site: