Barlow: the Ranger Leader who kicks the doors down himself

A human with a Field Move: the game plays it completely straight. Barlow runs the Vientown Ranger Base in Almia, and he's the one who takes in the rookie fresh out of the Ranger School. Behind the muscleman act is the superior who hands over the Capture Styler, awards the ranks and leads the investigation into Team Dim Sun.

Contents

• Vientown: one base and four subordinates
• "Target clear!": his trademark
• The superior who hands out the Capture Styler and the ranks
• The investigation into Team Dim Sun
• Prisoner in a cargo hold, then at the helm
• After the player leaves: a look-alike and a manga
• Barlow at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Vientown: one base and four subordinates

Barlow is in charge of the Vientown Ranger Base, and in that role he welcomes the character the player controls straight out of school. Four people work under him: Rangers Crawford and Luana, the mechanic Elaine, and an Operator posted at the front desk.

Arrivals come with a house ritual. The welcome meal opens with a prank staged entirely by Crawford, which the boss covers for by presenting it as a house tradition, followed by a roll call in which he sums up each team member with a teasing quip. In the same breath, he warns that the town no longer lives up to its slogan as the capital of relaxation.

His partner Pokémon is a Makuhita, which he introduces within the first few minutes. On the other hand, he denies trainees the right to a partner until they're officially Rangers — a rule he upholds even when a Pokémon from the beach grows attached to the player, granting them only a moment together before they part ways.

"Target clear!": his trademark

The character is built on a deliberate anomaly: blessed with great physical strength, Barlow has a Field Move, something usually reserved for Pokémon. He uses it several times in the game to knock down the toughest doors, after taking a run-up and letting out the cry that serves as his signature.

The method has its limits. Called via voicemail to the tenth floor of the Altru Building, he examines the door, acknowledges that the place doesn't do things by halves, and his first charge fails: it takes the help of the two young Rangers to bring the door down. He uses the same move later to free Isaac from the generator where he was being held.

The catchphrase eventually spread beyond its owner. In Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs, Murph tries the Target Clear technique in turn, without the slightest success — which says a lot about the place Barlow holds in the Union's imagination.

💪 The boss's partner has its own section: browse our Pokémon plushies.

The superior who hands out the Capture Styler and the ranks

His first scene in command is an equipment handover. Barlow presents the player with their Capture Styler, the mark of their status as a certified Pokémon Ranger, stressing what the device unlocks that School Stylers didn't offer: Poké Assists.

Promotions go through him, as missions are completed. He personally awards Ranger Ranks 1 to 4, reminding the player that the Capture Styler's functions are upgraded with each new rank; at the third, he raises the Friend Pokémon limit from three to four, then uses a trip together to teach the Agility Field Move by capturing a Doduo with his pupil.

He also insists on the distinction between a mission and a quest: any resident can ask a Ranger for help, and you don't say no if you can help it, one quest at a time. Before taking on a group of Rampardos, he checks that the Poké Assists they've brought along are effective and warns that there's no shame in running away.

The investigation into Team Dim Sun

It all starts with local incidents: Pokémon turning aggressive on Nabiki Beach, then strange noises reported in the Marine Cave, where the investigation turns up a machine that alters Pokémon behavior. Elaine wants to take it apart on the spot; Barlow stops her and waits for the return of Professor Hastings.

The organization acquires a name as the investigation goes on, and the devices multiply: a Gigaremo carried off by five fugitives in Pueltown, another made of yellow plastic hidden at the Peril Cliffs by a man claiming to be a geologist. In front of the assembled Union, he has his recruit demonstrate how to neutralize a Gigaremo, then announces that the Area Rangers will wipe them off the map one by one.

The affair also produces a change of heart. Ollie, the man picked up after the fire in Vien Forest, stays silent once he's been tied up; it's Big Bertha's milk custard that loosens his tongue and gets him to own up to his blunder. Barlow has him untied and lets him walk free, and he'll be the one to introduce the newlyweds on the day Ollie marries Elaine.

Prisoner in a cargo hold, then at the helm

The character's low point plays out in a pitch-dark hold: captured, tied up and stripped of his Capture Styler, he's found by the player, who has come to free him. He first asks for an Electabuzz to light up the hold, then for a Pokémon that can cut the rope, all the while lamenting being seen in such a state.

The counterattack begins with taking over the ship. He heads up to the bridge to seize the controls and runs into Mr. Kincaid, the cargo ship's captain, whom he takes on while announcing that he doesn't intend to defeat his Drapion but to make a friend of it. His Capture Styler is destroyed in the clash, and Mr. Kincaid seizes the moment to show off the Miniremo, revealing that he had become a teacher at the Ranger School to recruit the very young genius who designed it.

That leaves a ship taking on water, which he refuses to abandon with Pokémon still on board. He raises the alarm over the ship's radio, sends the player to put the drain plug back in within four minutes, then deliberately runs the cargo ship aground on a small island with a jetty that he spotted just in time. His transmission to Crawford, which he framed as possibly his last, was just one more joke.

After the player leaves: a look-alike and a manga

His recruit's promotion to Top Ranger leaves him torn: in the same sentence, he voices his sadness at seeing them leave for the Ranger Union and his pride as their leader, then turns the farewell into a party. His letter is more restrained: he knew this day would come from the moment he handed over the Capture Styler, just not so soon.

The next game in the series doesn't really bring him back. In Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs, a man named Tanvir who looks exactly like him turns up in Oblivia's past, though the game never clearly establishes a link between the two.

The manga adaptation, for its part, keeps him in his post. In Pokémon Ranger: The Comic – Shadows of Almia, he remains a very present character who hands out orders to the Rangers, accompanied by a Makuhita that sees only minor use.

Barlow at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Barlow in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia?
  The Ranger Leader of the Vientown base in Almia. He's the direct superior of the player's character: he welcomes them when they leave the Ranger School, gives them their Capture Styler and awards them their first ranks.
• Why does Barlow shout "Target clear"?
  It's the cry he lets out after taking a run-up to break down a door. His great physical strength gives him a Field Move usually reserved for Pokémon, which he uses several times in the game.
• What is Barlow's partner Pokémon?
  A Makuhita, which he introduces to the player as soon as they meet at the Vientown base. It's at his side again in the manga Pokémon Ranger: The Comic – Shadows of Almia, where its role remains minor.
• Who works at the Vientown Ranger Base?
  Under Barlow's command: Rangers Crawford and Luana, the mechanic Elaine and an Operator who staffs the front desk. The recruit the player controls joins them after their day of training.
• Does Barlow reappear after Shadows of Almia?
  Not directly. In Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs, a man named Tanvir in Oblivia's past looks just like him, and Murph tries his Target Clear technique there without success.

In short

Barlow runs the Vientown base the way you'd run a family: pranks for newcomers, ranks handed out one by one, and a flat refusal to leave a Pokémon behind when the ship goes down. His human Field Move is the gag that sums him up; the tenth-floor door is the scene that cuts him down to size — it takes two young Rangers to get it open. The boss isn't the strongest man in the game; he's the one who makes Top Rangers.