Crawford: the joker Ranger of Vientown who trains the player

He slips a joke into every line, and he's almost always the only one laughing. Crawford holds an unglamorous post at the Vientown Ranger Base in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. Yet he's the one who welcomes the player, entrusts them with their first partner, explains half of the game's mechanics, and takes charge of the base when his boss goes missing.

Contents

• A rank-and-file Ranger, and often the only one laughing at his own jokes
• The Outdoor Class: a Ranger who takes questions
• The character who explains half the game
• The Vien Tribune, his other job
• Acting leader, then back in the field
• In the manga, a supporting role without the jokes
• Crawford at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

A rank-and-file Ranger, and often the only one laughing at his own jokes

Crawford is one of the Rangers assigned to the Vientown base, one of the Union's local outposts in the Almia region. The game describes him as an incorrigible joker: his puns fall flat with metronome-like regularity, and he keeps them coming anyway.

Behind the wisecracks, there's a solid professional. He stays reliable, always there for his teammates and busy keeping their spirits up when things get tense. His Ranger creed comes down to three promises: be someone people can count on, devote himself to the local residents, and never stop joking.

His partner Pokémon is a Budew, met on Nabiki Beach — a day he says he'll never forget. Above him is Barlow, the Ranger Leader, and beside him is fellow Ranger Luana, his most frequent patrol partner.

The Outdoor Class: a Ranger who takes questions

The Ranger School holds Outdoor Classes, and Crawford leads one of them. He introduces himself, then Budew and his Friend Pokémon, before opening the floor to the students' questions. The scene works as an introduction to the job as much as to the character.

Asked about his motivation, he says he loves Pokémon and wanted to become their friend — adding that the job is pretty cool. Asked what's hard about it, he points to Psychic and Ghost types, which vanish without warning in the middle of a capture. When two students ask him to predict their future, he declines to play fortune-teller while still encouraging them.

A question about his rookie mistakes gets him to list every last one: fruit juice spilled on his Capture Styler, an attempt to capture a stuffed toy, a uniform pulled on over his pajamas — and the confession that Ms. April scolded him about once a day. What he takes away from the job is the smiles he gets after helping someone.

The character who explains half the game

As soon as the player becomes a Ranger, it's Crawford who tells them they're entitled to an official partner and assigns them the Pokémon captured on Nabiki Beach — Starly, Pachirisu or Munchlax depending on your playthrough. A partner travels with its Ranger at all times and can help out during captures.

He moves on to the Partner Gauge, which you fill by drawing loops around the target before triggering the Poké Assist. Each partner has its own: Munchlax's powers up the Capture Styler and lengthens the Capture Line, Pachirisu's calls down lightning and leaves the target stunned, and Starly's whips up tornadoes as the loops pile up.

The rest of the tutorial falls to him too: Friend Pokémon's Poké Assists and their duration counter, the water bubble that slows a target down, the gooey puddles left by a Shellos that deal damage, and Field Moves for breaking through a barrier or a boulder. Finally, he teaches you to spot the "?" that appears above the player and marks the exact spot to trigger an Area Move.

🌱 Rangers' partners have their own section: browse our Pokémon plushies.

The Vien Tribune, his other job

Crawford writes and delivers the Vien Tribune. He usually handles the delivery route on his own, and one of the missions given to the player simply involves helping him deliver the paper to every home in Chicole Village and Vientown.

He makes no secret of his editorial line: the Tribune's articles are as upbeat as possible. He even warns the player that they're in today's issue, between breaks in which he admits he's thinking up new jokes.

His stories follow the plot. He announces that he'll devote the next edition to the Manaphy Egg, the first Pokémon Egg he has ever seen. He promises a special edition if Operation Brighton succeeds, witnesses the shower of flowers a Shaymin gives a newlywed couple at Altru Park, and closes out the game by promising an article about the player once their Browser is complete.

Acting leader, then back in the field

When all the Pokémon on the volcanic island of Boyleland disappear, Barlow rushes off, and then the Union's Operators lose his signal inside the volcano. Crawford steps in as acting leader and declares himself "Barlow for the day": he sends the player to lead the Outdoor Class in his place, then puts them in charge of finding the Ranger Leader, by boat from Pueltown.

Earlier in the adventure, he's the one who stumbles on the source of the trouble. In the Marine Cave, a red machine gives off vibrations that agitate the Pokémon and make any capture impossible; once the device is shut down, he realizes it's too heavy for two people and calls in the strongest person in Almia, Big Bertha, to carry it back to the base.

When fire breaks out in Vien Forest, he's already on the scene, with the Pokémon safely evacuated but a Capture Styler that malfunctions in the blaze: he has the player capture a Blastoise for its Rain Dance Area Move. In the finale, he seals off the road to the port with Luana and traps the Team Dim Sun members who rush in. Earlier in the adventure, he's also the one who answers, via voicemail, when Barlow is stranded on a sinking cargo ship.

In the manga, a supporting role without the jokes

The character also shows up in Pokémon Ranger: The Comic – Shadows of Almia, where he mainly appears alongside Barlow. His status as the Ranger Leader's subordinate is kept exactly as it is.

What gets cut is the humor. His comic side is far less developed than in the video game, which strips him of his most visible trait and reduces him to a sidekick role.

Budew still tags along, with no part to play in the story: it simply balances on top of the Ranger's afro. Elsewhere, the character changes names without changing tone — Ilario in French, Crawford in English, Hilario in Spanish, Frohderich in German.

Crawford at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Crawford in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia?
  He's one of the Rangers at the Vientown base, under Ranger Leader Barlow. An incorrigible joker, he's nonetheless a competent, reliable Ranger, and he accompanies the player through a good part of the adventure.
• Who is Crawford's partner Pokémon?
  A Budew, which he met on Nabiki Beach — a day he says he'll never forget. He always introduces it whenever he introduces himself.
• What does Crawford teach the player?
  Most of the mechanics: the partner Pokémon and its Gauge, Poké Assists and their duration counter, terrain damage, Field Moves for breaking barriers and boulders, and the Area Moves flagged by a question mark.
• Does Crawford become Ranger Leader?
  Only on an acting basis. When Barlow leaves for Boyleland and then loses his signal inside the volcano, Crawford takes charge of the base, introduces himself as Barlow for the day, and gives the player the mission of finding their leader.
• Does Crawford appear anywhere besides the game?
  Yes, in the manga Pokémon Ranger: The Comic – Shadows of Almia, mainly alongside Barlow. His humor is far less developed there, and his Budew, with no role to play, just perches on his afro.

In short

Crawford holds a place few supporting characters ever reach: he's the game's tutorial, its comic relief, and its backup leader all at once. The player owes him their first partner, half of what they know how to do with a Capture Styler, and a newspaper delivery round turned into an official mission. The manga, for its part, keeps the Ranger and ditches the jokes — which says a lot about what made the character.