#capture styler

[ringtownrangerlark]

Pokeballs vs. Capture Stylers

As a ranger, it is my deeply held belief, based on observation and experience, that Pokeballs are an under-estimated danger to pokemon and the environment. They can cause harm even when used properly and with good intentions. When used by someone with criminal or otherwise nefarious intent, they make causing harm ludicrously easy. Let's do a little comparison, shall we?

How do you get it? Pokeballs can be bought for money in Pokemarts, and are often handed out for free at promotional events. Capture stylers are given only to certified rangers.

What about more advanced versions? Some types of Pokeball require a certain number of League badges to purchase. Others are gated only by cost alone. Capture stylers have built-in limits that can be gradually removed by senior rangers once a ranger has proven experience and risen in rank.

Who regulates it? Pokeballs are produced by the Silph and Devon corporations. While they have some cooperation with the Pokemon League, and are regulated by government, their fundamental motivation is profit. Capture Stylers are regulared by the Ranger Union. Even if one could mass-capture using a styler, it would not benefit the Union to do so.

How many pokemon can you catch? While league battles allow only a fighting team of six, a person can buy and own as many pokeballs as they can carry. Even for the highest-ranked rangers, the maximum number of friend Pokemon is 7.

Can you take pokemon somewhere unsafe for them/the environment? Capture stylers prevent taking a pokemon out of it's native habitat, a limitation removed only for Top Rangers. A brand-new trainer could catch a magikarp and then immediately release it into the desert if they wanted.

What happens if you capture a wild pokemon? With a pokeball, the pokemon is now permanently registered as captured by the trainer. It can be released. Depending on the training experience, it may or may not be safe/appropriate to release back into the wild, even in its native habitat. With a capture styler, the pokemon remains wild. It can temporarily assist a ranger, and then return immediately to its natural environment and behaviors.

What if you try to catch someone else's pokemon? A pokeball prevents re-capture of an already registered pokemon. A capture styler can be used to capture an owned pokemon (this is often done to return lost pokemon, or soothe agitated or injured ones) but it does not change the ownership of the Pokemon.

Is there skill involved? There is strategy in Pokeball capturing, especially via battle. But theoretically, one could still bombard even a legendary pokemon with enough pokeballs and capture it by sheer statistical chance. Proper use of a capture styler requires education and training. Even if someone stole a capture styler, they would not automatically be able to use it.

What if someone "bad" tries to catch a pokemon? Anyone can buy and use a pokeball regardless of intentions. A capture styler conveys the intentions of the ranger. No matter how skilled/experienced, a person could not capture a pokemon they wished to harm in an unmodified/unhacked styler.

What about evil teams? Criminal organizations where pokeballs are readily available (Johto, Kanto, Hoenn, etc.) have simply used regular pokeballs for purposes of robbery, poaching, etc. Evil teams in regions where capture stylers are popular (Fiore, Almia, and Oblivia) have either heavily modified an experimental styler (Super Stylers) or needed to invent and produce an entirely new capture system (Gigaremo, Capture Gauntlet). This vastly limited available supply to team members, and speed of plans. I'm going to repeat that bit. Without access to pokeballs, evil teams found it easier to make, manufacture and distribute their own inventions than to use capture stylers for crime.

What happens if you defeat a criminal using a pokemon? Defeating a criminal (such as an evil team member) in a trainer battle may lead to an arrest, but they may also run away and keep the pokemon they own. When using a styler to capture pokemon controlled by other means (e.g. gigaremo units) the pokemon return to the wild.

You see why I think it's insane that of these two methods, one is meticulously regulated, and the other can be bought for pocket change at a corner store? In case anyone lacks reading comprehension, I'm not saying pokeballs make people evil. But it is a hell of a lot easier to commit crimes like mass trafficking with pokeballs than with stylers. And even well meaning, perfectly nice people can do things like drastically alter local pokemon populations by catching many in a short time span, or releasing them inappropriately. Pokeballs are insane and I'm so tired of people thinking I'm the weird one for saying so.

[fad1d]

[ranger-rai]

Hello! I'm Lark, a ranger primarily based in Fiore (though missions require travel sometimes, as I'm sure you know). No particular questions- just wanted to introduce myself. The union operators do great work for big-picture coordination, but I always find it helpful to meet fellow rangers and get to put names to faces, so to speak. Let me know if I can be of help!

Welcome to the Ranger Association.

It's always good to know about more people who are here to help people and pokemon.

If you're part of the Special Ops Rangers, make sure you're keeping up with your styler maintence, a lot of recruits didn't do that, and it was a whole issue.

One of my friends is a Special Ops, and they told me about how they hadn't kept up with it, and it completely glitched out in the middle of a serious mission.

If you're a Field Ranger like myself, then you might not see the level of action the Special Ops get, but we need more Field Rangers to keep our regions running smoothly.

No matter what, as long as you want to help people and pokemon, I'm sure you'll do well.

Make sure you check the Ranger Net and join some group chats, I can link you to a fun one we have for memes.

[schopenailleurs]

Did you just call me to explain your weird idea? (I’ll do it)

[pokemonshelterstories]

Hi! I'm a different anon, following up on the anon who asked about working with flying pokemon. I work at a trainer school in Hoenn, and a lot of my students would say that if your relationship with that wild Staraptor you mentioned is so good, you should "just" catch it. What would you say to them?

it's because i don't think capturing him would be good for him or me. the only place i have to put him would be my enclosed backyard, but i've set that space up for my other pokemon. it wouldn't be fair to them to kick them out longterm for him. i'm also taking a break from taking on pokemon that have more intense care needs. going from a roaring moon to an archeops meant that i was doing a lot of extremely hands on, time consuming work. now that i'm in grad school, i want to be able to dedicate more time to my other pokemon as well as to taking in rehab and foster cases.

as for staraptor...even though he willingly chooses to interact with me, he's still very much a wild pokemon. he's generally human-averse and only tolerates me because i work with him frequently. i would never approach him without my styler on hand, and if he doesn't want to deal with me in a given moment, he just flies away. if i were to catch him, i could never provide a comparable environment for him to what he currently has. staraptor are really pokemon that need to either be on a battling team or actively be used as falconry pokemon. that's just not in the cards if i were to catch him! having a "good relationship" with a wild pokemon as a ranger is very different from what a good relationship with an owned pokemon is like. if he were captive, i'd be spending most of my time working with him, and he would see me as a source of food and safety. as it is, we're on good terms in the sense that i generally trust him not to gouge my eyes out with his talons, and he generally trusts me to hang around him and ride on his back when necessary.

it's something that's kind of hard to describe to someone who hasn't used a styler before, but there's a different kind of feeling that develops between a human and a pokemon when that bond is formed using a styler versus using a pokeball. while- ideally- a captured pokemon should respect its trainer because its trainer provides for it, a wild pokemon respects a ranger on a deeper level because of how the styler projects the ranger's emotions and intent to it. it's almost like there's a sense of equality to it. there have even been cases of specific wild pokemon entrusting rangers with the ability to effectively call for them using a special sign. that's a very different kind of connection than the one forged by capturing a pokemon. neither is inherently better than the other- it's just that, in this case, giving him the independence from me that remaining wild allows him is better for both of us.

[dunno-u-decide]

Wild Kratts x Pokemon Headcannons

Feel free to use these if you wanna write fics.

If the Wild Kratts were from the Pokemon world:

The Wild Kratts are a team of traveling Pokemon rangers and researchers. Martin and Chris are the primary rangers and field researchers, Aviva and Koki are the engineers and data analysts, and Jimmy pilots their ship and is the primary cook and social media handler.

All of them can use a capture styler to some degree, even Jimmy. Martin and Chris are the best at using them because they do most of the field work, then Aviva and Koki, then Jimmy.

All of them train Pokemon. Martin is a water specialist, Chris is a grass specialist, Aviva is a fairy specialist (but likes all cute Pokemon), Koki is an Eeveelution trainer (and has both forms of Ninetales), and Jimmy has no preference.

Jimmy is the only member of the team to have completed a league run, being Unova. Going by the anime setting, he got to the top 4 in the conference. Going by the game setting, he managed to beat Grimsley and came close to beating Marshal.

From best to worst in terms of battling skill, Jimmy is the best, then Martin, Chris, Aviva, and Koki.

With the exception of Aviva, everyone is originally from Unova. Aviva is originally from Paldea.

The Tortuga HQ is modeled after Drednaw and is called the Drednaw HQ.

When they run into Wild Kratts Kids, they give them tips on raising and training Pokemon and helping and approaching wild Pokemon.

If the Wild Kratts were sent to the Pokemon world:

They'd all instantly go crazy over the plethora of Pokemon to study. Their own insights on their animals may also help researchers and trainers.

They constantly compare Pokemon with animals.

Out of curiosity, one of the bros tries to activate a creature power suit using a Pokemon that is similar to the animal genetically, like activating zebra power with a Blitzle or Zebstrika. It works, but the resulting suit looks a mix of the animal and the Pokemon and it only has the animal's abilities. The suit also malfunctions, causing the brother who activated the suit to speak using puns on the Pokemon's name and it can't be deactivated until Aviva fixes it. The suit, however, does allow the brother to understand Pokemon speech.

Aviva and Koki soak up the Pokemon world's tech like a sponge. It takes a long time before Aviva is able to create a Pokemon power disc.

A Pokemon power disc for a Pokemon that can evolve can switch between forms.

Jimmy easily takes to learning about Pokemon battling thanks to his video game skills.

Villain headcannons, most can be used in either of the above scenarios:

Zach steals Pokemon from the wild and uses them to power his robots. If Zach was from the Pokemon world, he'd sell his robots to poachers. After he's defeated, the Pokemon he captures are released.

Donita raids wild Pokemon for materials for her luxury lines, like Clamperl pearls and Flabebe flowers. After she's defeated, the Pokemon she captures are released and the stuff she steals are returned or compensated for if possible.

Gourmand hunts wild Pokemon to use as ingredients. After he's defeated, the Pokemon he captures are released.

Pre-redemption, Paisley tries destroying nature to build facilities. Post-redemption, she takes inspiration from nature to build in a way to protect it.

If the villains were sent to the Pokemon world, they'd initially be bewildered with how often they get thwarted by people other than the Wild Kratts because normal trainers would pick fights with them when they get up to their schemes.

Edit: I forgot the most important headcannon: Martin nicknames every wild Pokemon they get close to, and those Pokemon recognize him and the other Wild Kratts whenever they run into each other.

[sharowolet]

boothill x pkmn friends, but as a pkmn ranger (I miss those games)

they enjoy each other's company around a campfire at night when possible

[ID: digital drawing of boothill as a pokemon ranger with a partner braviary, a capture styler, and 5 other partner pokemon. He wears his hat in his portrait and his hair is tied into a long ponytail. He also wears a dark turtleneck with an open cropped jacket (similar to original design) that has a red scarf pinned to his chest with a star medallion. His partner pokemon is braviary, and his styler is black and in the shape of a barcode scanner (tiny gun shape). His other partner pokemon are mudsdale, brambleghast, orthworm (with a cowboy hat!), maractus, and drakloak]

[harukadrawsthings]

The sketch of this idea was 80% done by November 2023 but I could only fully complete the illustration in the latest days because many things happened and getting ill by the end of the year certainly didn't help. It was about time I had something new to show from the Soul(mate)s of Light AU!

Destiny bonding with a Shiny Latios has been in my ideas list since 3 years ago, but it got reinforced thanks to Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs and the disclosure of Ash Ketchum's animé arc. Long-story short: Destiny rescues a rare Shiny Latios in her original adventures in Hoenn region as a Trainer. Grateful, this rare Pokémon offered flights in the region anytime she would play the Eon Flute. She nicknamed him Delta due to this reason and others! Later as an adult, she's one of the fewest Rangers capable to use Involiths. Whenever her Fearow's flight power isn't enough, she can summon Delta's help with her Capture Styler!

[✨☀️Soul(mate)s of Light Pokémon AU Master Post🌕✨]

Do not repost. Do not modify. Always credit me!

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Twitter || Ko-Fi

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Shiny Latios © Nintendo/TPC

Destiny © HarukaDrawsThings

[paldean-ranger-brandy]

Brandy was sitting mostly in the dark, the overhead light of the office having been turned off long ago. There was a lamp on the desk providing a warm source of light, and a laptop that had been pushed to the side providing a cool one. Macaroon sat atop a pile of papers, quietly napping. The much larger form of Medusa was laid out beside the desk, half on a cushion. She greeted Lark as he came in with a relaxed snarl. Michael was, presumably, Out and About.

"No worries. Whatcha got for me?" Brandy replied. She looked...tired. Tired and possibly annoyed, but then again she always seemed vaguely annoyed. Her eyebrows twitched together as Lark continued, in concern or confusion it was hard to tell. She pushed her fingers through her already messy hair and dragged her laptop closer to check something on the screen.

"I. Hm. I've dealt with a couple Scream Tail, and not one of them would I describe as docile. I double checked the reports to see which of my previous captures this one was, and funny enough this is the same Scream Tail that inspired me to apply for this mission in the first place. Showed up in my forest one day, tearing the place apart. Not exactly what I would call 'quiet'."

She tapped her finger on the desk, thinking. This wasn't the first paradox Mon to show signs of human interference, but it was certainly the most dramatic change. At least, it was the most dramatic change they had proof of. Brandy thought again about the Great Tusk in Asado Desert. "You said it seemed trained? Did it have any previous trainer IDs associated to it?"

(Text sent via capture styler) We should talk about this scream tail when I get back. Apparently you've caught it before.

(text reply)

That's not super surprising, we've had some repeat escapees. Glad you were able to track it down. I'm working late today, feel free to check in when you get back.

[rpking99]

Welcome To The Luxure Region

Closed with @jokundicesmith

Anything Jason was about to say dies in his throat as he takes in what the lady Ranger was saying to him, as his eyes take on a steely quality as he turns towards his Turtwig. "..........Is that right?" He says in a neutral tone before turning back to Solana. "....Anything I can do to assist you, Ranger? I suddenly find myself with a lot of time on my hands and the urge to beat the snot out of somebody." He says as he continues gently petting the Vulpix in his hands. "Because this is not something I can just ignore."

"It isn't something I should be sharing, and even then it is very dangerous." Solana sighed as she ran a hand through her blue hair. Grumbling to herself about accidentally letting a normal civilian know about the situation this way

Her hips swaying back and forth as she debated on what to do or say

"Honestly... can you look after the Vulpix? Keep her safe?" she asked while holding up her Capture Styler and tapping it against Jason's PokeDex "I've added my contacts to your PokeDex's phone app as well. Call me if you get any leads." she urged

[fiore-region-appreciation]

Joel absolutely hates flying (on a Pokémon). Always has. Has never really given a clear reason for it other than it's "not for him" and "yes he has tried it multiple times and didn't enjoy it at all".

... And also one time Cameron gave him a lift back to Fall City on his Pelipper and dropped him in the sea and he lost his glasses AND styler and spent three hours sopping wet on the back of a Lapras whilst Cameron made himself useful for once capturing random fish to try and retrieve his shit from the sea floor.

He at least got his styler back.

[ringtownrangerlark]

Ranger Helper Spotlight: Magnemite/Magneton

Pop quiz: You encounter a ranger literally anywhere. What friend pokemon are they likely to have captured, besides their primary partner?

The answer is often Magnemite or Magneton!

The reason for this, most of the time, is very simple: these pokemon are among the group that can assist in recharging a styler. While a capture styler isn't everything, and a good ranger should be able to do without it, it sure helps a lot. Which means a magnemite friend is the key to capturing any other pokemon, or doing a lot of ranger work. And with the spread of urban environments and electrical grids, they can be found practically anywhere. (Pokemon like the Pikachu line also have this function, but are apparently more rare in the wild depending on region).

So most rangers have familiarity with magnemite as a friend pokemon, but I want to give it a little more attention as a dedicated partner pokemon, not just a floating emergency battery. Attacks by wild magnemite/ton can cause a lot of trouble for power plants and electronics, but with training, the same skills can be put to use. As a ranger's partner, magnemite can:

-Use magnetic abilities to find/attract metal objects -Manage electrical surges -Disable devices -Detect electrical currents and anomalies -Magneton in particular can send radio waves for long-distance signalling.

I know a ranger who was saved from being zapped by a downed power line (disaster areas are messy and it was concealed by rubble and other things) because his partner Magnemite alerted to the electricity. They are sometimes thought of as nuisance pokemon for their aforementioned effect on electrical systems, but they are reliable little buddies and great helpers in the right niche.

[fad1d]

[ninadove]

Miraculous Mons Kagami for @beezonia! ❤️🐉

Here she is, handling a ranger’s capture styler for the very first time.

Turns out Garchomps are really, really hard to draw. WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED

Bonus:

(This was started before you posted the cousins’ designs but here you go!)

[ranger-rai]

Summer Camp 2024

While his initial expectations for this summer were immediately dashed upon his arrival, Rai was prepared to deliver the best lecture he could for the many trainers in attendance today.

It's not like educating was anything new to the ranger. His mind was just a little spread thin lately. Despite this, he was ready to do his best.

He wondered why he felt so anxious about this?

*Rai enters the room, his eyes glancing around at many faces that choose to attend his discussion this day, a few faces he even recognizes.*

"Hey there, trainers!" He spoke with his familiar, welcoming tone.

"It's great to be back for another summer camp lecture! A lot has gone down, but with experience comes knowledge and understanding, and that is what I would like to share with you all today!"

*He chuckles a bit to himself. A little breath is let out as he scratches the back of his head. The ranger would admit that he looks a bit different from his last lecture. His hair seemed a bit longer and messier, and his usually clean-shaven face was adorned with stubble. Along with that, his eyes looked a bit more tired, yet he still held a smile through his slightly worn look.*

"For anyone who might not know, my name is Rai, and I'm a Pokemon Field Ranger from Sinnoh." He explained, but he was sure they probably knew that if they read the class description.

"A quick recap on Pokemon Rangers you should know. There are two main groups of rangers: Field Rangers and Special Ops Rangers." How many times has he explained this to children and even adults? Enough to come prepared with some assistance, he smirked to himself.

*He held up a small device that resembled a phone with a long antenna and a weird spinning top-like device attached.*

"Special Ops Rangers are the ones you may see in the news every so often who use special tools called “Capture Stylers”, and these guys have some serious skills." He really did mean this. He always had a level of respect for rangers who could use the Capture Stylers, seeing as he couldn't, but he never wanted to discredit his own line of work as well.

*He waved the device around and did a few poses like they might see in the news, but he assured them that it was a broken device that was just for show, passing it around for the trainers to see and inspect.*

"Field Rangers are the category of ranger that myself and the rest of my team here at The Ranger Base are. We are like guardians of the land back in Sinnoh, making sure every ecosystem is in balance for the many Pokemon that call this place home." He definitely took this role seriously. Some might even say too seriously at times, but hey, when you find something worth protecting, you gotta give it your all.

*Rai took out a hat and placed it on his head, revealing the logo for the Sinnoh Ranger base along with a badge he removed from his vest to show off to the trainers.*

"While Special Ops Rangers might handle super special missions like “stopping evil teams” or “Rescuing Precious Artifacts” We field rangers need to watch out on the daily for things out of the ordinary, and help stop a lot of common and very dangerous threats like natural disasters, rampaging pokemon and people who seek to hurt or hunt pokemon." The comparison between the two ranks had always been made. However, Rai had always been able to really highlight how important both groups of rangers were, even if it felt more like he needed to justify why his kind of work existed.

"Both types of rangers are super important, and we rely on each other to keep many regions calm and safe." His usual notes had been left at home and destroyed by two mischievous Pokemon, leaving the rest of this lecture to be a little more free-form compared to what he had planned.

*Rai took his items back, placed his badge back into his vest, and took out his Poryphone, fiddling with it for a moment before leaving it there to float for a bit while he resumed talking.*

"Now I wanted to talk with you all today about anomalies that can occur when being around Pokemon and how our connection to them can bring about serious change." Rai had first-hand experience with this, and it just kept sitting in the back of his mind, so maybe this was going to be a way to relieve some of the pressure? Maybe he could prevent something like this from happening to other trainers?

"I'm sure we all here have seen or interacted with a Pokemon before? Most of you probably have a Pokemon partner or a few, right?" He asked, getting a range of nods and answers.

"Awesome, now by a show of hands, how many of you have encountered a legendary or mythical Pokemon?" A pretty strong question, but he needed to know where these trainers stood on the topic.

*He surprisingly received a couple of hands up and got their stories, some sounding a bit more made up, and some as just simple encounters, all of which he was delighted to hear.*

"That's really amazing to hear! Legendary Pokemon were given that title due to their extreme power or their tales from old legends far before our time." He was pretty relieved that it didn't seem like others were dealing with anything too crazy.

"But I'm sure you knew that." Rai shrugged with a little chuckle as he checked on his phone and noticed it was still loading.*

"Well, while we wait for that to finish, why don't you guys tell me your favorite legendary that you would like to meet?" The odds of it happening to them aren't too high, but Rai did enjoy hearing trainers' preconceptions about some legendary Pokemon. Even after his encounters, he did find these creatures incredible.

*Rai allowed the trainers to speak freely for a moment, some trainers called out Pokemon like “Rayquaza” or “Giratina” with some very interesting reasons, however, a couple of choices caught his attention, especially Raikou.*

*One of the trainers asks Rai if he’s met a legendary Pokemon. A question Rai didn't expect, but he actually did have a couple stories to share, mostly from his early days as a ranger, times when he didn't have a lot to worry about*

"Oh yeah, I've met a few." The ranger seemed a little melancholy with this answer, but he didn't linger long as some of the trainers asked which ones he’d met, and which was the most amazing.

"Oh, um, let's see. I've met an Articuno who I watched over for a night while it recovered from a battle injury. Legendary Pokemon can recover pretty quickly. Articuno are also very cool to the touch but still somehow soft and warm, and I still have a feather back at home. I can show you guys some pictures." This was one of Rai's first encounters, and he would still get pretty excited about this memory.

*His answer was met with awe by some trainers, most of whom wanted to see the pictures as well.*

"I have also encountered some mythicals as well, they are far more curious than legendary Pokemon…sometimes a little too curious for their own good…" Unfortunately, this fact was pretty common knowledge for Rangers, and it was a pretty big factor regarding a lot of his previous traumas.

*Rai caught himself trailing off as he looked at his hand, thoughts of his previous experiences running through his head, but he quickly shook it off and began playing into a sense of wonder for the trainers with his next question.*

"However! Do you know who has to be the most interesting legendary Pokemon I've met so far?" The trainers began asking for the answer, some throwing out absurd answers like Mewtwo and Ho-oh.

"I've come face to face with Regigigas several times, in fact, and it has been incredible each time!" Rai could feel his excitement swelling up once more.

*The trainer's enthusiasm went from excited to disappointed by this answer, some claiming that Regigigas wasn't impressive and that anyone who visits Sinnoh can see it in the temple. It's practically a statue.*

*Rai felt a little distraught by their response. However, the sound of his Poryphone beeping would help prove his point.*

"It's true, Regigigas might not seem like much, but you need to consider things from its perspective. It has some tremendous power hidden away inside and must stay resting to keep its power stored." Rai would gladly defend every Pokemon's existence and how they don't exist to entertain us.

*Rai took his phone and projected images of Regigigas for the trainers to see, most of them being Regigigas in its resting form, with some art pieces showing it crushing mountains and moving large pieces of land.*

"The story passed down through our culture states that Regigigas is capable of leveling mountains and dragging entire continents on its own, some even believe that this process was the reason Mt. Coronet even exists to this day." This story seems to hold some weight, and it usually grabs peoples attention.

"Everyone wants to see power expressed on a daily basis and to be impressed, and unfortunately Regigigas is the opposite of that, as it locks away his power for when it might be needed again, most likely to protect its home." Why should a creature be forced to use its full power on a regular basis?

"This is why we consider him one of Sinnoh's Guardians." Rai projected images of the temple walls covered in graffiti, including Regigigas, who still remained motionless.

"Unfortunately, people don't always respect the habitats and resting places of more docile creatures, resulting in messes like this." This was a consistent problem at the Snowpoint Temple and in many other natural environments, something he has seen many times.

*The trainers had let out collective gasps and murmurs, most of which seemed to wonder how someone could do something like this.*

"This was pretty early into my ranger career, and I couldn't help but feel bad for Regigigas. Some people decided to come into his home and make a big mess." It hadn't been the first time, but he made it his mission to make sure people respected these creatures' homes.

"It took me a good two days to clean this, and in that time, I got to know Regigigas, or rather it felt like he got to know me."

"Many of us believed he would never move unless the world was in danger. However, as I began cleaning him up, running the paint off of him, he woke up, just a little." Rai reminisced on the experience and how this changed his perspective on Pokemon and their needs.

"Regigigas seemed grateful, moving slightly to allow me to clean. I think it was the first time in a while that someone really treated it with kindness." Rai wondered why this was such a hard concept for so many people.

*Rai showed more pictures of the large titan and a before and after of its cleaning.*

"Even though I couldn't understand its language, I could understand its thoughts and feelings, all from a genuine connection understanding," Rai explained as he went over his pictures.

"It's because of connections like that that allow us to understand Pokemon and each other on a deeper level and allow us to become closer." He began smiling to himself at the thought and memories he has made from this way of understanding.

*Rai's phone beeped once again, surprising some trainers.*

"Oh, speaking of connections, I think I have a friend here who really wants to say hello to everyone!" The trainers perked up with excitement, one of which asked who would be answering this phone call.

"A Phone call?" One of the students asked.

*Rai responded with a smirk as his phone went silent for a moment before a figure made out of pixels began materializing out of the device.*

*The figure was vaguely bird-shaped, with a blue and white color scheme and an unusual device around its neck area.*

"Everyone, this is one of my many amazing Partner Pokemon: Skip!" The ranger explained as he greeted his pixeled companion who was extremely affectionate, despite only being gone for about two days.

*The trainers were in awe of the porygon that floated before them, not only did it come from the device, but it was a super cool shiny porygon as well. not the common sight in most places.*

"Why don't you say hi to the people Skip?" Rai questioned his digital friend.

"H-h-h-hello!" The virtual Pokemon greeted the trainers cheerfully with his robotic voice glitching in an attempt to respond. 

*The porygon spoke up in a broken, computery voice that took the class by surprise. One of the trainers asked what was wrong with him.*

"Nothing at all. He's perfectly healthy and energetic as always!" Rai responded a little cheeky as he rubbed his partner's head.

"Now if you're referring to the way he speaks, Skip here is an older model of Porygon, because of that he isn't as well equipped for newer technology, and his old vocal drivers were corrupted, but thanks to a friend of mine, we equipped him with this helpful device that would assist him with speech, however, it does result in the skipping, which is how he got his name." Rai was very much ready to educate people on how just because a Pokemon might be differently abled, that doesn't mean there's something wrong with them, something many trainers dismiss which became one of the main cornerstones of his educational teachings.

"One of the biggest things we do as rangers is rehabilitation and rescue. Some Pokemon come to us injured and we try our best to help them stay wild and release them back in full health. However, there are times when a Pokemon is just a little too injured or unable to be released, resulting in a Pokemon that we try to help find a new lease on life, hopefully through adoption." He explained, showing pictures of the many adoption events they hold for Pokemon of varying disabilities and needs.

*One of the trainers asked why they don't just fix Skip, or evolve him.*

"Well that's because there's nothing to fix, he's amazing just how he is, and while his drivers might get repaired from evolving, he doesn't express any desire to evolve and I would never force that onto him." This was a very important lesson he reinforced to any students who would listen, as growth and strength can't be forced, and bonds are made through understanding.

"One thing you should all know as trainers is that we don't control the Pokemon, we are partners, and their feelings matter just as much as ours do." We already take land and resources from wild Pokemon, and now we feel like we should be controlling them to do our bidding, that was a terrible mindset to have, a very similar mindset to...him...

*Rai took some time to let the trainers meet and greet Skip, answering questions about him, and allowing him to be his goofy self for a bit.*

*Rai noticed their time was getting shorter, and he wanted to make sure he covered the main topic of his lecture, even if his lesson got a little lost from his intentions he wanted to get his main point across, so he rounded the students back to his attention.*

"Now before we wrap up here today, I wanted to give you all some very important advice as you venture out into the mysterious world we inhabit with these amazing and mysterious creatures." He stated, not quite knowing how to explain how amazing and terrifyingly chaotic things can become.

"You'll see so many amazing things, new places, and fantastic creatures, but you need to know that if you're not careful, this world can change you, and you need to be ready." It was a start, but that still felt too vague. How could he let them know that this world is chaotic without crushing their spirits?

"Different battle techniques have allowed us to bond closer with our Pokemon, while some Pokemon can only evolve from a deep friendship or with help from a trainer like yourself." Maybe he needed to stop worrying about how they would react to danger and just trust that they could handle the truth?

*Rai gripped his fist tighter before reaching up and taking off his hat.*

"And when you open yourself up to the many anomalies and mysteries of this world, you might find yourself needing to adapt to a whole set of new responsibilities you didn't expect…" He finally decided to just let go of his worries and just said screw it. If he could handle a multiverse of himself and the weight of knowing what's out there, they could handle this much.

*Rai looked at the trainers as his dark brown hair began to glow a fiery orange, moving like roaring flames.*

"We have a responsibility to these creatures, and to the world. You never know where an adventure might take you, but just know that when you open your heart to people or Pokemon, it will change you." He said this with an honest smile on his face and tired eyes that finally looked like they were finally able to have a good rest.

*Rai Smiled a very warm smile as his hair flowed back down into its usual brown state.*

"Now if you all want to learn more about how interesting Pokeballs can be, I do have some cool examples I can show you all if you have any questions." He stated earnestly as he reached into his bag to pull out a couple of Pokeballs.

*The class erupted with a flood of raised hands and questions, most if not all were definitely not about pokeballs.*

[pokemonshelterstories]

Hey I have a question about catch and release when it comes to Pokémon. It doesn’t seem like a good idea for just anyone to go about and do it, but how does it differ for Pokémon rangers and researchers? Or other jobs? Like when they tag a Pokémon to understand their migration patterns better, or get a better understanding of things. How do stylers work in contrast to that, and I’ve seen a guy make videos about fishing, catch and release when it comes to Pokémon of certain sizes or when they have eggs. Does fishing and release count under catch and release with the stress? Or do those fishing competitions use farm raised mons for their events? Sorry if this got a bit wordy!

catch and release is a really tricky situation. almost any attempt to restrain a wild pokemon for any amount of time is going to cause some manner of distress. for us as trainers, rangers, and researchers, it's our duty to assess whether the stress we cause has some greater payoff that justifies it.

in the case of trainers, most pokemon that are captured from the wild end up gaining the benefit of long term companionship, a secure food supply, and readily provided enrichment. for rangers, stylers are designed to cause as little stress as possible, and we're expected to only use the styler on wild pokemon in a case of necessity; in many instances, these wild pokemon are being stylered for the sake of protecting their own natural environment. researchers capture wild pokemon for the sake of furthering our knowledge- again, this is often with the intention of better understanding wild pokemon populations so that we can better protect them. researchers and ranger unions also both have ethics boards that regularly assess the way they handle any pokemon they interact with for their jobs.

personally i find that catch and release for entertainment is almost never an appropriate way to interact with wild pokemon. while there's the rare wild pokemon that may find some enjoyment in capture as a game, for most wild pokemon, being caught uses up valuable energy they need for survival. if the only benefit to their capture is that the human finds it fun, then that's purposefully stressing a living being for no good reason, and it's cruel. there are indeed farm/"safari zone" facilities that allow people to catch pokemon that are trained for the job, and if someone is interested in catch and release, they can go to one of these places. but it's not right to go around stressing and potentially harming a wild pokemon for fun. unfortunately, not every pokemon-based competition takes the needs of the pokemon into account, especially at very high levels. some fishing competitions use wild populations, so i would always look into where the pokemon being used in a competition come from.