Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia is an action RPG sequel to the original Ranger game for the Nintendo DS. Like in the past game, you set out as a rookie Ranger just starting out in the region of Arumia. Unlike in the past games, you can choose your partner out of 17 possible Pokémon with many more able to be captured to use their abilities

In addition to the normal abilities seen before in the previous games such as Fire Using, Gusts, Cuts and so forth, this game allows you to ride your Pokémon in order to move on to new areas

Unlike the first game, Shadows of Almia utilises a Hit Point system in order to capture the Pokémon. As opposed to just requiring you to circle them without lifting the stylus up, this allows you to lift up and take a breather or avoid an attack. However, due to this, the amount of hits the Pokémon have to take is increased

There's a total of 270 Pokémon obtainable within Almia including many Sinnoh-native Pokémon. Many require Quests to be partook in order to find them, making it even more of a challenge to fill your Browser. There are also several downloadable missions featuring new Pokémon and three which you can send to your Diamond & Pearl games

In addition to the Pokémon Assists and other Styler boosters in the game, you can also obtain Guards from optional missions. These Guards upgrade the styler so that it can do more damage or prevent damage from attacks and other unforseen circumstances. This makes the strategy even better for it

In the storyline of the game, you have to face off the evil Team Dim Sun as they try to have Darkrai send the world into the massive void of nightmares.