Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs

Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs is an action role-playing game for the Nintendo DS. Creatures Inc. handled development, while The Pokémon Company published it in Japan and Nintendo handled the worldwide release. It follows Pokémon Ranger and Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, making it the third entry in the Pokémon Ranger series. Japan got it first on March 6, 2010, followed by North America on October 4, 2010, and Europe on November 5, 2010. A European Wii U Virtual Console version arrived on June 9, 2016.

Players capture Pokémon by using the Capture Styler to draw circles around them. If a Pokémon attacks and breaks through those circles, the styler loses energy. Once energy hits zero, the styler breaks and the game reloads from the last save. If a Pokémon crosses the line without attacking, the line snaps but the styler keeps its energy. Capturing Pokémon and finishing missions earns experience points, which unlock styler upgrades like more power or a bigger energy capacity. Later on, players can charge the styler for more effective captures. A new feature lets players call out their own Pokémon for support during captures. "Guardian Signs"—also called "Ranger Signs" or "Emblems"—are drawn symbols that summon Legendary Pokémon like Entei, Raikou, and Suicune for use outside battle. The game also supports four-player cooperative play with unique missions, plus Wi-Fi mission downloads. One such download grants access to Deoxys, which can be transferred to other DS Pokémon games.

The story takes place in the Oblivia island region. The player and a fellow Ranger—Summer for a male player, Ben for a female player—fly on Staraptors while chasing the Pokémon Pinchers, who are pursuing Latios (or Latias if the player is female). The player distracts the Pinchers, letting the Legendary Pokémon escape. Their squad leader, Red Eyes, then shows up and fires a plasma weapon after the player’s partner taunts him. The player shields their partner from the blast and falls into the sea, losing their styler (which they later recover), while the partner gets kidnapped. The player washes up on Dolce Island and meets a Pichu carrying a ukulele, called Ukulele Pichu. After fixing its broken instrument, Ukulele Pichu becomes the player’s partner. As a new Pokémon Ranger, the player takes on missions, meets allies and rivals, and encounters many Pokémon.