Pokémon Pots Volume II: Spin Off Games

There are quite a few spin off games of Pokémon, so many that Titus and I haven’t really had the chance to play them all. In fact, Titus had never even heard of Ranger and Mystery dungeon (this is awful. I will have to). In this post, we’ll be looking at some of the Pokémon spin off’s and what we think of them. Oh, and the answers to last week’s quiz will be revealed at the end.

I remember when the first Pokémon Ranger game was released. It seemed so exciting that I just had to buy it. I’ve played two out of the three Ranger games, and below is a brief plot summary along with my opinion on this series.

Pokémon Ranger (first game)




This particular game is set in the Fiore region, which is far away from any of the other regions found in the main series and contains Pokémon up to generation III (or at least from what I’ve found). There are no Pokémon trainers here, and instead people keep them like pets – so they run free. You play as a Pokémon Ranger, and will receive a Pokémon when you first start the game (Plusle for male, Minun for female). The story will revolve around a single Ranger named Lunick or Solana, depending on the player’s choice. There aren’t the only two Rangers, however. Every town has a lead Ranger who keeps an eye on each Ranger that operates in that area, and in turn each Ranger is a member of the Ranger Union (Ranger was used a lot there). There is also a Professor who is named Professor Hastings who is the chief of technology for the Ranger Union.
The enemy group in this game is known as the Go-Rock Squad, which has four sub-leaders named the Go-Rock Quads (a rather queer looking bunch) who are the sons and daughter of the Go-Rock Quad leader (who I will not be revealing the name of because it takes away from the fun). Their plan is to use the Super Styler (all will be explained below this), which is a more powerful version of the original Styler, to take control of Entei, Suicine and Raikou so that they may attack the citizens of Fiore. As these legendaries will be under their control, all the Squad will have to do is command them to stop and they will be recognised as heroes for saving the region. Following that, they would use the Pokémon to cause other problems and charge money to fix them, thus ripping off the citizens of the tiny island. Once the team have been defeated (not giving anything away ‘cause you always have to fight the bad guys, right?) there are three extra missions to complete which involve three different legendaries – Kyogre, Groudon and Rayquaza.

So, what’s all this stuff about a Styler?

The Styler

The Styler is the main (well, only) weapon that a Pokémon Ranger uses. It will capture Pokémon temporarily so that in another battle you may use their power to aid your Styler. The Styler works by drawing rings around the Pokémon until they have been caught. It’s a little bit like battling them, but you don’t hurt them, merely capture. You can tell how close you are to capturing the Pokémon by the little yellow gauge underneath it. However, Pokémon have special abilities that can break the loop that is being made around it and will damage your Styler (like your health bar). When your Styler breaks you are ported back to the previous save point. The Pokémon that you have temporarily caught can help to enhance the loop that is made around the enemy Pokémon. Some immobilise the Pokémon, others may enhance the effectiveness of the line thus making the yellow gauge go up faster.  As Rangers are kind and respectful towards Pokémon, once they have aided you in battle they are set free so that they may return to their natural habitat. If you don’t use a Pokémon to help you, they will stay with you until you dismiss them yourself.
Now that you know about the Styler, here’s some info on the other two Ranger games.

Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia

Valhalla’s favourite Ranger game so far.

You’re a young Pokémon Ranger in the region of Almia who is about to graduate from Ranger School so that you may take on the responsibilities of a real Pokémon Ranger. The game begins here, where you enrol as a student after capturing a Pikachu with expert skill. You are fast to make friends with fellow students Rhythmi and Keith, the former wishes to become an Operator and the latter is your rival in the Ranger world. After graduation, your friends go to the Fiore region as part of their training leaving you behind. Your family is quick to move to a nearby town after you graduate and you move in with them (ambitious).

The following day you become an Area Ranger for the village of Vinetown. It is near here that you recover your partner Pokémon (Munchlax, Pachirisu or Starly) from the beach and take it as your own (yay, you can choose a partner Pokémon rather than be given one). Your first mission is to patrol a nearby cave, and upon entering you realize that the Pokémon inside are unusually aggressive and resistant to capture by your Styler. When you manage to venture to the back of the cave you discover a Gigaremo (of course you don’t know what it is at the time) and realize that it appears to be controlling the Pokémon.


On a later mission your team leader (Barlow) has gone missing. He was last seen investigating a volcanic cave, and it’s up to you to find him.  You are able to find Barlow and release him, allowing the two of you to launch an attack on Team Dim Sun. The battle is intense, and I won't tell you how that turns out(why would I ruin it for you?).

The threat posed by Team Dim Sun worries the Ranger Union and after your heroic actions you gain the promotion of Top Ranger (Keith is gonna be jealous). It is then that you discover your friend’s have also achieved their dreams (or not). However, you don’t really have the time to be sentimental, already you have a new mission as Top Ranger, and it’s important. You need to aid Sven in investigating a Dim Sun mining operation. It is there that you and Sven (another Top Ranger) discover that Dim Sun is actually looking for dark crystals to power the Gigaremo devices.

 It is around this time that Rangers discover that the crystals can be neutralised by a combination of red, blue and yellow shards. You and Keith go separate ways to collect the shards required, but Keith is captured by the evil Dim Sun and you have no choice but to hand over the yellow shard to ensure the release of your friend. From there the story escalates, Dim sun get closer to their goal and you and the other Rangers have to try and keep up. I’m not going to tell you what happens in the end as that would be totally unfair and ruin the rest of the story for you. I will tell you, however, that Darkrai the awesome makes an appearance.



More types of Styler?

Yes, you read right, there are more types of Styler in this game. They are: the School, Capture, Fine and Vatonage Stylers.

The School styler is a simplified version of the capture Styler which is used whilst you’re in education. The Fine Styler has a charge feature (which can be upgraded) which activates when the Styler is held down, increasing the amount of feelings conveyed to the Pokémon and enabling quicker captures. The Vatonage Styler is a unique Fine Styler that can capture Team Dim Sun's Pokémon instead of merely releasing them (pretty groovy, in my opinion).

Partner Pokémon

There’s more than just the original three, in total there are 17 – one for every type. The available partners are as follows: Chimchar, Turtwig, Piplup, Munchlax, Pachirisu, Shieldon, Sneasel, Snover, Starly, Cranidos, Croagunk, Gible, Hippopotas, Kricketot, Machop, Mime Jr. and Misdreavus. This vast selection gives the player something to aim for once they are finished their main mission line so that you can collect them all. Once you capture another partner, you are able to swap it out for the one that is currently active.

Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs


This particular Ranger game was released late last year, and sadly I had no idea it existed. As I have never played it, I would prefer not to review it as I haven’t the experience with the game and so cannot clearly judge its quality or enjoyment. Once I have bought it, I’ll play it and tell you what I think of it.

So, what’s my opinion on Ranger?


The first Ranger game was enjoyable, light and a bit of fun when you have nothing much to do. Gameplay was relatively simple, the controls were easy to use and in general it was easy enough to read (bear in mind this game is for ages 3+). The graphics were nothing to complain about and the fact that my team of Pokémon stood around me and followed me was a lot of fun. This was certainly a new way to play Pokémon – don’t keep them in tiny balls, let them run free. The only problem with the first one was that the story was a bit slow at times and I felt it wasn’t detailed enough and could have gone longer.

Valhalla’s Gamer Rating GGGGGGG (7/10)

Shadows of Almia, however, was something else entirely. New Styler types, a variety of partner Pokémon – yes, this was the good life. The missions and story line were gripping and exciting, the quests that came on the side, amusing and fun to do. Again, my Pokémon ran freely around me, and it was just a relaxing game. The graphics, like the first game, were good and gameplay was simple and controls were easy to use. Nothing to complain about here. I especially liked Ranger school.

Valhalla’s Gamer Rating (GGGGGGGGG) (9/10)

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Blue/Red Rescue Team

Mystery dungeon is a strange game really, but very entertaining. Again, Titus has never heard of it, but as I managed to get him to play it on Monday I reckon he will soon be addicted like I was...and am.
One day you wake up and realize that you’ve been transformed into a Pokémon (the type of Pokémon you are will be determined before the game begins). You have no memory of your past and are only really able to remember your name. Another Pokémon finds you and becomes your new friend in the strange and unfamiliar world. The world you are in has been devastated by natural disasters recently, and so you and your new friend decide to become partners and form their own rescue team to aid Pokémon in need. At the beginning of the game you’re a low ranking rescue team and are able to meet high ranking teams such as ACT and their enemy Team Meanies, who seek world domination but are disguised as a rescue team.
Soon after, you are told a story about a human who dared to grab one of the tails of a Ninetails; who then laid a curse on the human so that he would eventually be reborn as a Pokémon. However, when this occurred it would disrupt the balance of the world. You and your friend decide to try and recover your lost memories, and on the way you meet Xatu, who not only is able to tell that you are a human, but that you are tied in with the natural disasters. Hearing this, Team Meanies tells everyone who you are and that by killing you, the natural order of the world will be restored (it’s fair enough to an extent). A town meeting is held and it is decreed that you and any Pokémon that are aiding you will be executed. They give you some time to get away and then begin to hunt you down, desperate to stop the natural disasters. Along the way, legendary and regular Pokémon alike are there to aid you and help to discover the true cause of the natural disasters. Together with your new friend, Absol, you reach the top of Mt. Freeze where you are confronted by Team ACT. Will you make it out alive? Are you really the cause of the natural disasters? You have to finish the game to find out.

Gameplay




There are 16 Pokémon that you can be in the game, and the one that you are is determined by a test at the start before you begin playing. The Pokémon you can be are as follows: Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Chikorita, Treecko, Mudkip, Pikachu, Eevee, Machop, Cubone, Psyduck, Meowth and Skitty. You are then able to choose your partner Pokémon (choice of all but the last six in the above list).
The game is based on questing, and different quests can be chosen from the bulletin board, requested via mail or may be a part of the main story. The quests can involve rescuing other Pokémon, delivering items or escorting clients to various places. Once you successfully complete a job you receive a reward and rescue points which increase your team ranking.
The jobs take place in dungeons which have a random layout every time you enter/go up a floor. To go up a floor you must locate the staircase on each level and battle other Pokémon as you go. It’s like being in a Pokémon battle without the flashy initiation scenes and no trainer. There are basic and special attacks available to your Pokémon. Be sure to keep apples in your inventory, because as you travel your Pokémon will get hungry and if you don’t feed it, it will faint.
The menu can be accessed using the ‘X’ button and you will be able to access your inventory, attacks and the stats of your party Pokémon.
The red version is only available on Gameboy Advance SP, the Blue only on DS. I found it strange that they would do it this way...but whatever.
You can request help from friends using the option that appears when you or your partner faint so that your friend can come and help you with the dungeon so that you are able to get past without going back to the last save point.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time/Darkness

I went OTT on this, so Titus was kind enough to rewrite and shorten it for me.



The first days in the team begin when the player is washed up on shore after a storm in which the player has been transformed into a pokemon. The player discovers an ability to see the future and past events. This comes in handy.
The guild launches an expedition to recover the time gears and discover that the player's ability to see events is called Dimensional Scream.
The players discover another time gear and that they are being stolen to cause the Planet's Paralysis. The characters capture the culprit and send it back to the future to face the concequences. The player gets dragged into the future too. The player is captured but then find out that the world is in Paralysis desite their attempt to save it(useless people). They learn that it was caused by time breaking down(whatever that means) because Dialga became corrupt after the fall of Temporal Tower.
Primal Dialga has sworn to preserve all things evil and dark and the player learns that he should have let the time gear be stolen so that the future can be saved(told you player was useless). Player looks for a way to return to the past despite being persued by evil minions before arriving at Passage of Time(creative me thinks). The player turns out to be in fact from the future and the one stealing the time gear's human partner.
Dusknoir reveals his evil plans. The player gets to go through the passage of time before Duknoir.
They arrive back in the present with plans to take the time gears(again). The guild finally learn the truth about the player.
They soon discover that time has still stopped where the imte gears are. So they go on a difficult journey to take them to Temporal Tower in the Hidden Land(these things are all conveniently named because no one knows where the hidden land is ironically). The town elder tells them how to get to the Hidden Land(I lied about no body knowing how to get there). They need an inscription in Brine Cave.
After collecting the neccesary time gears they forge ahead.

The team find a rock that looks like the one they need(you'd think they'd just accept it). When the relic is shown a light shines at the sea(seems a stupid sign if you ask me). They hitch a ride accross the sea to the Hidden Land(see it wasn't so hidden after all). They are told that to reach Temporal Tower they need to take the Rainbow Stoneship(I'm beginning to worry about these people, it sounds like they have been on magic mushrooms) in a ruin. They find a temple in which the relic pattern is repeated and then they discover that the Rainbow Stoneship IS the temple(way to go) and it needs the relic to work.
(Dun dun dunnnnn) And then they are captured by the minions. and told that if they suceed in their mission all future pokemon will be erased from existence(I'm beinning to think these guys just like double standards). Grovyle is very nice and says he is willing to sacrifice himself to save the future. The player accepts.
The Rainbow Stoneship is activated and Dusknoir gets dragged through the Dimensional Hole by Grovyle in an attempt to savethe player. The player recovers the time gears and proceeds(heartless) to take on their final mission.
The team defeat Primal Dialga and the player ceases to exist. Nice Dialga is moved by the players devotion and restores the player as thanks.

After Story
After the main credits.
The player is given permision to take the Guild graduation exam this requires the player to defeat the "Grand Master of all Things Bad" (I am also a little confused).
The player falls into a trap in the Mystifying Forest where they encounter the "Grand Master of all Things Bad"(I just love saying his name).
The "Grand Master of all Things Bad" is defeated(you'd think it might be slightly harder). They continue to Luminous Spring where Teddiursa evolves into Ursaring and they are told that player and partner cannot evolve due to a distortion in space that their existence creates(basically they ate something bad).
The player and partner graduate upon their return and their base of operations. They must recue Scizor from Froslassto get the Secret Rank.
The player goes to a cave called Surrounded Sea and finds a baby Manaphy. They feed it Blue Gummis(like Gummy Bears but for pokemon) but it grows sick. They go to  Miracle Sea and find a cure but they are not allowed to look after Manaphy after this(honestly I'm not surprised).
It is revealed that Wigglytuff was once a memeber of Team Charm and Lopunny wants a key that Wigglytuff found on previous travels because they found what it is for.
As Team Charm are leaving the partner requests to tag along and then the whole guild want to and Team Charm agrees. They head for Aegis Cave.
They find a stone tablet which says "ICE Close your eyes and submit your proof." They proceed. Upon completing the cave the layer returns to the room with the tablet. They find Team Charm checking it out, they ask for Unoun letters I,C and E. Following this the tablet disappears and a staircase receals itself where Regice, Regirock and Registeel await to defeat the player.
After this the statues come to life as Bronzong, Hitmonlee and Regigigas and Team Charm help to defeat them. When Regigigas is defeated another stone tablet appears telling hte player to let his aura flow into the ground(like I said, drugs man). Regigigas gets up and the player and Team Charm flee to the Dungeon where Medicham finds a cave. Team Charm head off to look for treasure.
The player begins to get dreams in which Cresselia tells the player that the player does not belong in this world(friendly) and that their existence will ultimately destroy the world.
Azurill has a nightmare and Drowzee sends them into it where they  fight Cresselia but are interrupted by Drowzee.
They report their findings and teh partner lies about how they can save the world.
They go to speak to LApras who tells them that Palkia is ruler of Space and he lives in a Wormhole but Lapras doesnt know where(there is theme of ignorance have you noticed?).
The next morning Palkia apears to destroy them. They fall into a chasm and proceed to complete Spacial Rift and defeat Palkia who also has a nightmare. They enter Palkia's nightmare where they once again meet Cressilia who fights them again but then the real Cressilia appears and it turns out the other one was Darkrai who flees.
They go with Cressilia to defeat Darkrai who was behind the transformation of Primal Dialga, the players trandformation AND the break in the space-time continuum(so it's very complicated stuff really).
They defeat Darkrai, recruit Palkia and then the player can evolve. Manaphy returns and asks to join them(I wouldn't if I were Manaphy) this can either be accepted in which case they go to a Dungeon called Marnine Resort(soudns quite nice) or they can choose not to accept.






Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky

This Mystery Dungeon game is pretty much exactly the same as Darkness and Time, except that it introduces six new gender specific Pokémon. For females Eevee, Skitty, and Vulpix are available. Riolu, Phanpy, and Shinx are for male characters. A few extra dungeons are added too. From what I’ve read, it’s basically an expansion of Time and Darkness.

Gameplay

For these games gameplay is pretty much the same. Dungeons are randomly laid out and the same basic principles apply for questing and SOS requests to and from friends.


What do I think?




The idea of being a Pokémon is really quite exciting. It’s very different from the other games in that it follows a different kind of story and layout. I especially like Wigglytuff’s guild – I think it rocks. The ability to build teams of Pokémon up to aid you through most dungeons is enjoyable too. The graphics are decent and of a good quality. The controls are pretty simple, it doesn’t take much getting used to.
My only problem is that with Explorers of Darkness/Time, Dialga is damn hard to get past. I mean, seriously, he takes about 100dmg when we battle and I only had 130 health. Next move 85dmg...BAM! I’m dead.

Valhalla’s rating: GGGGGGG (7/10)



Here are the answers for last week's Quiz! See how many you got right. The winner gets a mention in next week's Pots Post!

1) Is Dragonite as smart as a human?


Yes. Dragnt i smart, fast and can fly. becasue of these traits dragonite was used as a messenger in the first movie


2) What is Tentacruel's nickname?


'The Gangster of the Sea' it strikes without warning and can leave your pokemon daised and confused


3) where was the first information about mew found?


cave paintings. the first pokemon movie talked about this...some people who went to see it at the cinema got an ancient mew cave drawing, from the theatre.


4) what is the name of the pokemon that helps nurse joy in most pokemon centres?


Chansey. Even in the wild Chansey help out with the sick and young


5) what is the early warning sign that Pikacu is cold?


sparks from cheeks. when pikachu is getting a cold the electric generators in its cheeks get overcharged.


6) what is the heaviest pokemon?


Snorlax. Snorlax weighs a massive !,014 pounds making it the heaviest pokemon