Ms. April: The Teacher Who Shows You How to Use a Styler

Her class is the game's tutorial. Ms. April teaches at the Ranger School, the Almia academy where Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia begins, and it's in her classroom that the hero learns how to use a Capture Styler. She has no Pokémon and never battles, yet she fills the entire first act: welcome, lessons, a disciplinary crisis, graduation.

Contents

• The Class She Teaches
• The Styler Lesson, Which Doubles as the Tutorial
• Rangers and Operators: The Lesson on Voicemail
• The Case of the Stolen Capture Stylers
• Crawford, the Student Who Makes Her Lose Her Cool
• After Graduation: A Tradition, a Cargo Ship and a Pachirisu
• Ms. April at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

The Class She Teaches

Her infobox fits on one line: teacher at the Ranger School. She runs the class the hero joins at the start of the game, at a school that trains students for three careers at once — Ranger, Operator, Mechanic — which she lists for her students while encouraging them never to give up on their goals.

Her physical description is understated: very pale skin, brown hair cut in a bob, a light green shirt, a white skirt. Her temperament is described as calm and cheerful by default, which makes the rare moments when she loses her temper all the more noticeable.

Her first appearance is a formality. She announces that the newcomer is now one of the students, introduces the hero to the class, noting that they left their family behind to come to Almia and become a Ranger, mentions an entrance exam passed with flying colors, then assigns them the seat next to Keith's. She wraps up the scene by saying how proud she is of this class.

The Styler Lesson, Which Doubles as the Tutorial

The first real lesson is a tutorial in disguise. Ms. April scraps the planned curriculum, lets the class work on its own and takes the hero aside to go over the device handed out before the entrance exam: the School Styler, which she describes as a lighter version of the official Ranger model.

The principle she lays out is that of the whole game: the device is used to befriend and capture, and a capture is made by drawing loops around the Pokémon until you've conveyed all of the Ranger's friendship to it. She moves on to the interface — the menu opened by the icon at the bottom right of the touch screen, the device's status and level displayed above it, and the icon that switches the top screen between the map and the list of friend Pokémon.

A house rule comes up along the way: a student can't keep more than three Pokémon, and a fourth one means releasing one. She refers the hero to the Glossary for the rest, insists that they try out the options on their own, then puts Rhythmi in charge of the school tour before heading off to the staff room.

Rangers and Operators: The Lesson on Voicemail

The next lesson covers the partnership at the heart of the entire Ranger series. She presents trust between a Ranger and their Operator as a safety requirement: without it, even the most routine mission can turn into a disaster. Her motto splits the roles — Rangers head into the unknown, Operators light the way for them.

She takes care to debunk the cliché: the Operator doesn't walk out in front, lamp in hand. Their real job is recharging Stylers and relaying information and advice from the Ranger Union's control room, through a communication system that Rhythmi correctly names when asked — Voicemail.

Since the School Styler isn't compatible with that system, she arranged to borrow two devices that have it from the Ranger Union, an errand Principal Lamont went to run in person. The exercise was supposed to pair Rhythmi as the Operator with Keith as the Ranger; Keith, unusually for him, is a no-show, and the hero takes over the role.

The Case of the Stolen Capture Stylers

Keith's absence spirals when Mr. Kincaid bursts in mid-lesson. Stylers stored in the staff room have gone missing, his own students have already been cleared, and he concludes that the absent student is the culprit. Ms. April doesn't dispute the theft: she turns her colleague's own maxim back on him, that you don't accuse anyone without proof, and asks for a few minutes to go check.

The thief turns out to be an adult, and his motive is a dream that never went anywhere: he wanted to become a Ranger, never did anything about it, and convinced himself that a Styler would settle the matter. It's that giving up, more than the theft, that makes her angry — she tells him it's never too late, that the school takes adults too, and that he'd do better to go home and think about taking the proper route.

The conclusion she draws from the episode is a lesson in itself. Keith, for his part, had been out looking for the thief; what she highlights first is that Rhythmi never doubted her friend, and she sees that as the most important quality in an Operator. To Keith, she delivers the other half of the lesson: too much rushing around, not enough leaning on his classmates, and nobody carries out a mission alone.

Crawford, the Student Who Makes Her Lose Her Cool

The character has a breaking point, and it has a name: Crawford, a former student turned Ranger, back to answer the class's questions during an outdoor lesson. When asked about it, he admits he got scolded about once a day; she corrects him in front of everyone and revises the count to three times a day.

The correction isn't about settling scores. In the same breath, she describes a very pleasant student whose kindness and humor kept the class in good spirits. What really bothers her lies elsewhere: his spiky hairdo, which she compares to a giant pineapple and whose tangles she dreads — a grievance she'll bring up again in public on graduation day.

That outdoor lesson is cut short when Crawford leaves to rescue a Mantine. It's Ms. April who tells her students how it all ended: the Ranger Union treated the Pokémon and released it back into the sea. She also reins in Mr. Kaplan when his antics go too far, proof that Crawford never had a monopoly on her scoldings.

After Graduation: A Tradition, a Cargo Ship and a Pachirisu

On graduation day, she warns that this is the last time she'll speak in this classroom, frees up the day for goodbyes and sets the meeting point in the main hall when the bell rings. She admits she's moved, then picks the hero to represent the graduating class.

The school keeps up a tradition: its graduates come back to teach. The hero returns for exactly that, to lead an outdoor lesson in place of Barlow, introduced by Ms. April, who takes the opportunity to explain to the students that every Ranger chooses a pose that reflects their personality. When a Team Dim Sun grunt crashes the question-and-answer session, she places herself between him and her students.

The same organization leaves behind a more cumbersome souvenir: its cargo ship, used to kidnap Pokémon, ends up wrecked on the school pier after its cargo has been rescued. Principal Lamont considers the pier a small price to pay given the example set for the students, and the Pokémon recovered on board are taken back to Boyleland with the whole school pitching in.

One last request remains, available once you've graduated. A Pachirisu has moved into the building: it's teething there, hiding items, and has even bitten Mr. Kaplan's nose, and neither teacher has managed to catch it. So she turns to the hero, and the request only triggers if the hero hasn't already taken a Pachirisu as a partner.

🐿️ The Ranger School's squatter has its own section: see the Pokémon plushies.

Ms. April at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Ms. April in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia?
  She's a teacher at the Ranger School and runs the class the hero joins at the start of the game. She's the one who explains how the School Styler works, and she guides the hero all the way to graduation.
• What does Ms. April ask for after graduation?
  She gives the hero a quest: catch a Pachirisu that has moved into the school building, where it's teething and hiding items. The request only appears if the player hasn't already taken a Pachirisu as a partner.
• Why does Ms. April get angry at Crawford?
  Crawford was her student and she scolded him three times a day, as she reminds the class. She also takes issue with his spiky hairdo, which she compares to a giant pineapple. Still, she describes him as a very pleasant student.
• What does Ms. April do when Mr. Kincaid accuses Keith of stealing the Stylers?
  She counters with his own rule, never to accuse anyone without proof, and asks for time to go check. The thief turns out to be an adult who had never made any effort to become a Ranger.
• Does Ms. April have any Pokémon?
  No Pokémon is assigned to her and she never battles. Her role is educational: she passes on the basics of being a Ranger and of being an Operator.

In short

Ms. April has no team, no badge and no battles to her name: her role is to teach the player how to handle a Styler and work with an Operator, in other words to give them the two reflexes the rest of the game is built on. Her portrait is rounded out by the times she slips — three scoldings a day for Crawford, anger saved for a thief who had given up on his dream, and a Pachirisu too fast for her to catch. A teacher who serves as the tutorial without ever seeming like one.