Principal Lamont: The Founder of Almia's Ranger School

He introduces himself as Lamont Splendidocious. At the head of Almia's Ranger School, this bespectacled principal fields no Pokémon and never fights a single battle. Yet he opens Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, closes its first act on graduation day, and in the meantime keeps a secret that only three people share.

Contents

• A Childhood Dream That Became the Ranger School
• Three Rules, and Alumni Who Come Back to Teach
• Stolen Stylers, a Wrecked Pier: Equipment Comes Second
• A Graduation Ceremony Interrupted by Tangrowth
• The Secret of the Three, Under the Pledge Stone
• Principal Lamont at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

A Childhood Dream That Became the Ranger School

Founding a school: Lamont has carried this idea since his youth, long before he had a single building to run. A page from his diary captures the moment the project found its name — he likes the phrase "Pokémon Ranger" and notes that he'll use it for his future school if his friend Hastings has no objection.

The school wasn't the first piece to fall into place. Professor Hastings develops the Capture Styler, Chairperson Erma founds the Ranger Union, and only then does the school come along to complete the structure. The three are childhood friends, and each of them built their own part of a single whole.

The school doesn't only train Rangers, either. It also prepares Operators and Mechanics, three professions Lamont puts on an equal footing when he addresses his students. His last name, which he finds far too long, goes unused: everyone simply sticks to Principal Lamont.

Three Rules, and Alumni Who Come Back to Teach

His welcome motto comes down to three verbs: play, study, capture. He promises a school life as fun as it is educational to anyone who sticks to them, and the player first runs into him during the campus tour given by Rhythmi. Behind the glasses, the description stresses eyes that are usually beaming with joy.

Outdoor lessons are his teaching pride and joy. The idea is to bring back former students who have become Rangers so they can pass on their craft to the next class. Crawford, stationed in Vientown, is one of these guest teachers, and Lamont makes no secret of looking forward to these sessions as much as his students do.

His philosophy is also set down on paper: the school keeps an essay written in his own hand, titled "Les Pokémon m'ont tout appris" in the French version — roughly, "Pokémon taught me everything." The title says plenty about where, in his view, most of what's learned here comes from. A principal who writes about what Pokémon have taught him rather than about his own methods is already taking a stand.

🎒 The school has its own section in the shop too: browse Back to school.

Stolen Stylers, a Wrecked Pier: Equipment Comes Second

A theft of Capture Stylers hits the school during one of his absences. When he returns, Ms. April tells him that Keith had tried to stop the culprit, who ended up getting away. His reaction isn't about the missing equipment but about the fact that nobody was hurt, and he states that priority out loud in front of his students.

He follows up with an ancient Almian word he found in a book in the library: "vatonage." The term refers to the idea of rekindling a light that darkness had smothered. His reading of it is straightforward: everyone has a dark side, today's thief included, but no one is condemned to live in it.

Later, a Team Dim Sun cargo ship crashes into the school's pier. The ship was being used to kidnap Pokémon, and to save them, Barlow and the player had to run it aground wherever they could. Lamont replies that the pier doesn't matter in the slightest and says he's glad it served that purpose, adding that his students now have one more example right before their eyes.

A Graduation Ceremony Interrupted by Tangrowth

His graduation speech addresses all three tracks at once. Rangers, Operators and Mechanics will each go their own way, and he wishes them all exactly the same thing: nothing insurmountable lies ahead, and they must keep on smiling. The advice comes up twice during the ceremony, which turns it from a nice line into a principle.

Yet the ceremony goes off the rails when Tangrowth fly into a rage in the middle of the gathering, and Mr. Kincaid himself admits he can't make sense of the outburst. Lamont stays calm and reminds everyone that these are exactly the circumstances that call for keeping a cool head and acting without haste.

The player and Keith capture the rampaging Pokémon. Lamont thanks them in front of the whole audience and points out that they've just shown their classmates how to get through a crisis, before picking the ceremony back up where it left off. The certificate for the student representing the graduating class is handed out right afterward.

The Secret of the Three, Under the Pledge Stone

Long after graduation, Lamont pulls the player aside to confide in them. Only three people hold this secret: Hastings, Erma and himself, and they want to pass it on to someone much younger. Their choice falls on the former student turned Ranger, to whom he offers it in the form of a quest.

He gives only a hint and a key. Head to Ascension Square, below the courtyard, where the Pledge Stone stands; the hiding place is underneath it, and that's where the trio kept a shared diary. The spot served as a refuge for three teenagers who talked about their dreams there and swore to support one another to the very end.

The revelation matters mostly for the echo he hears in it. He says he saw Rhythmi, Keith and the player take the same oath in the same place, and saw his own youth in them again. On a later visit, his last question to the player is about Erma's health: the childhood friendship has survived the three institutions it gave rise to.

Principal Lamont at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Principal Lamont?
  The principal of Almia's Ranger School, where Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia begins. He calls himself Lamont Splendidocious and trains Rangers as well as Operators and Mechanics.
• Does Principal Lamont have any Pokémon?
  None. He's never shown with a team and doesn't battle: his role is entirely about running the school, giving speeches and handing out missions.
• What connects Lamont, Professor Hastings and Chairperson Erma?
  They're childhood friends. Hastings invented the Capture Styler, Erma founded the Ranger Union, and Lamont created the Ranger School once the first two pieces were in place.
• What does the Pledge Stone hide?
  A hiding place where the three friends kept a shared diary and swore to support one another. Lamont gives the player access to it during the "Secret Kept by Three" quest, with a key and a single hint.
• What does the word "vatonage" mean?
  It's an ancient Almian word Lamont finds in a book in the school library. It describes rekindling a light that darkness had snuffed out, an image he applies to everyone's dark side.

In short

Principal Lamont doesn't battle, doesn't capture and doesn't have a single Pokémon to his name. His contribution to the story is structural: he provides the setting for the first act, the class the heroes graduate from, and one of the three pillars on which Almia's entire Ranger organization rests. A founder who considers his students' safety more important than his Stylers and his pier combined — it's that scale of values, more than his title, that holds the character together.