Written by Dr Lava, February 12 2019

My Pokemon Ranch was a 2008 WiiWare title that as a game, was kind of dull. But as a Pokemon Bank, it was actually pretty awesome — you could play with your Pokemon, snap photos of them, and connect to Gen 4 to hunt down bounties. And there a few more reasons Pokemon fans might find the game interesting — for one, it allowed players to legitimately unlock two extremely rare Mythical Pokemon, Phione and Mew, then transfer them to Diamond & Pearl. The game also received a Japan-exclusive expansion. And since Pokemon Ranch was only available as a WiiWare game, it basically ceased to exist when the Wii Shop was shut down on January 30, 2019 — meaning if you didn’t purchase the game before that date, you’ll never get a chance to play it. Though to be fair, I’ve heard it can be pirated… not that I condone that kinda thing, of course.

On this site and on my YouTube channel, I usually only talk about content that was cut from Pokemon games, or was content that was only available in Japan. But a Pokemon title that was essentially wiped from the face of the earth, and had a Japan-exclusive expansion to boot… well, I suppose that’s close enough. So let’s take a look at why the game was worth playing, despite its poor reception when it released back in 2008.

Bad Reviews

My Pokemon Ranch launched on WiiWare in March 2008 at a price of $10 — but it wasn’t exactly a game, its primarily purpose was to act as a storage system for Pokemon caught in Diamond & Pearl, plus a few extra features added on top. Essentially, it was Gen 4’s version of Ruby & Sapphire’s Pokemon Box on Gamecube — or in other words, it was the Pokemon Home of its day. It was also the first Pokemon game that never received a physical release — Ranch could only be downloaded via the Wii Shop.

Fans had high hopes for what a Pokemon game on Wii might look like. They were expecting something big and ambitious… but instead, they got a Pokemon Bank. As a result, the game was widely panned by critics. IGN’s Craig Harris rated the game 4 out of 10, with a review that began like this:

“My Pokemon Ranch reeks of a rushed development, as if Nintendo realized at the 11th hour that it’d be launching its hotly anticipated WiiWare channel without a Pokemon-branded game. While I completely understand the idea and intention of the design, I don’t buy what the development team’s done, and I wouldn’t have downloaded it if I didn’t have to review it. And this is coming from someone that’s jammed his DS Pokedex with hundreds of Pokemon in anticipation of one day doing something with them on the Wii.”

Admittedly, the game wasn’t exactly busting at the seams with content. But despite that, a lot of fans remember My Pokemon Ranch fondly — it had a lot of charm, and it was a lot of fun for what it was. And the ranch had some cool features beyond just Pokemon storage, so let’s talk about what it had to offer.

What Happens on the Ranch

So here’s how it works. You can connect up to 8 copies of Diamond & Pearl to Pokemon Ranch in order to store up to 1000 monsters, and whenever you like, they can be sent back to Diamond & Pearl. Once you’ve populated your ranch with a few Pokemon, they begin playing together — jump-scaring each other, climbing on each others’ heads to form Pokemon totem poles, that kinda thing. You can also use various toys to play with your Pokemon, and when the mood strikes, you can snap photos and share them online using WiiConnect24.

But Pokemon aren’t the only ones inhabiting the ranch. Your Miis hang around too — as well as Hayley, the girl who runs the ranch. Probably the most interesting part of the game, Hayley occasionally puts out a Pokemon bounty — that’s right, you’re a Pokemon bounty hunter now. You’ll hunt through the Sinnoh region in your Gen 4 game, catch the Pokemon Hayley asked for, and transfer it over to the Ranch. These are usually Pokemon you haven’t obtained yet — so catching ’em all is made all the more fun by the ranch’s bounty hunting mechanic. Once you bring Hayley the Pokemon she wants, she’ll trade you a Pokémon of her own. Usually these are ordinary Pokemon that aren’t too difficult to find in Diamond & Pearl, but they always know a special Egg move or TM move. Hayley can also give you Phione and Mew, but more on that in a minute.

The more creatures you send to the ranch, the more it levels up. To get your ranch upgraded to level 2, you’ll need to deposit 7 Pokemon. When your ranch is home to 10 Pokemon, it’ll upgrade to level 3. Eventually 100 Pokemon gets you to level 8, and so on — maxing out at level 25 after you’ve deposited 999 Pokemon. The ranch expands as you level up, and you get more toys to enjoy with your Pokemon. Some other small upgrades are made available as well, like the ability to have more Miis can hang out on the ranch — up to 20 at once. You’ll also unlock some more substantial rewards…

Legendary Unlockables

Depositing 250 Pokémon inspires Hayley to put out a bounty on Leafeon. Once you’ve fulfilled her request, your ranch progresses to level 15, unlocking a Phione that can be transferred to Diamond & Pearl. This is somewhat similar to how Manaphy could be obtained by completing Pokémon Ranger’s final bonus level. I’ve already detailed Ranger’s connectivity to Generation 4 on my YouTube channel — here’s a link to my video covering Gen 4’s cut content in case you missed it.

The ranch finally reaches level 25 when it’s home to 999 Pokémon, at which point Hayley asks you to bring her a Pokémon egg. Any egg will do. Once she’s got her egg, she’ll hand over a Mew, which you can transfer to Diamond & Pearl. now at long last, My Pokemon Ranch is pretty much finished. You’ve completed the final objective… unless you live in Japan, that is.

Japanese Expansion

It was fairly common for Pokemon games to receive Japan-exclusive content back in those days, and My Pokemon Ranch was no exception. In November 2008, Pokemon Ranch received an expansion that added some new features. After downloading the expansion via the Wii Shop, depositing your 1000th Pokemon upgraded your ranch to level 26. The game was previously only compatible with Diamond & Pearl, but the expansion made Platinum compatible as well.

The ranch was made visibly larger and fancier (pictured above), and its maximum capacity was increased from 1000 to 1500 — although at this point, there was no real incentive for depositing another 500 Pokémon. Platinum’s new forms for Giratina, Shaymin, and Rotom were also added in the new expansion, as well as eleven new toys. There were also a dozen new animations — like rival battles between Seviper and Zangoose, Dialga vs Palkia, and Darkrai vs Cresselia. And there were a few more small updates, like the option to change the game’s music in a new menu.

Closing Comments

Ranch wasn’t the most exciting Pokemon spinoff, but it had its perks. If played alongside a new copy of Diamond or Pearl, Hayley’s bounties could help you fill your Pokedex. Hayley always tells you where to find Pokemon when she puts out a bounty on them, and the new Pokemon she gives you in return might be one you needed. Some folks might’ve been happy simply having a place to store all their Pokemon. Offering a legitimate method of obtaining Phione and Mew was certainly a welcome addition. And looking back at the Ranch now more than a decade later, it’s hard to deny its charm.

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• Gen 4’s Cut Content and Ranger Connectivity

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