Disclaimer / Intro:

PokeRangers is a personal and not-for-profit crossover fanart series I started back in January 2017 on Instagram. As the two biggest nostalgia points of my generation – and two shows that highlighted working together and dreaming big -, I wanted to create something that could not only reintroduce a little love, nostalgia and togetherness into our lives; but also help foster new love and appreciation of the Pokemon, Power Rangers and Super Sentai series by introducing fans to series and/or Pokemon they might have not otherwise been familiar with. I am not affiliated with The Pokemon Company, Nintendo, SABAN Brands or the Toei Company. Please support the official series.

Though this series initially began with me simply sharing Pokemon-inspired redesigns of Power Ranger: Wild Force Zords, I slowly began to expand with a  story and some original characters as I entered the Mighty Morphin Era. What follows is a recap of those early days so that fans of this series – both new and old – can “catch up” on the story thus far in preparation for my Season 3 art, which will incorporate an entirely original (and fully written-out) story as well as introduce multiple completely original characters.

PokeRangers Season 1 – Beginnings:

Season 1 introduced us to 5 young adults who discovered the mighty Power Badges, which allowed them to become PokeRangers. With no mentor or anyone to guide them, they must rely on each other in their battle against the evil and mysterious organization, Team Rocket. These 5 are:

Mamoswine Ranger	Life was never easy for him, but he knew others had it just as bad as he did – or worse. That’s why he always pushed forward with a smile on his face! And whereas some might only see his physical strength, it’s his humor and wit that can life the most weight off ones shoulders.
Skarmory Ranger	Wealthy family, top of her class, star athlete. People always wanted something from her or made her feel like she had to live up to their perfect image of her. But not her team. With them, she doesn’t have to worry about ‘image’ or ‘expectations’. She can finally just be herself.
Aggron Ranger	Nothing can bring him down. Always hoping for the best, but knowing him and his friends can handle the worst. He studies hard, but makes time to dream about a better tomorrow. After all, how can people advance if they don’t let a little imagination in?
Raikou Ranger	Whether it’s from all the books she reads or the mountains she climbs, she’s the true tactician of the group. Always the first to want a birds-eye view of something – especially since she’s not one for being around too many people. But mess with someone she cares about, and – crowd or no crowd – you’ll regret it.
Tyrantrum Ranger	His dad always taught him that to be on top, you have to step on others; but that’s not how he views leadership. To him, a leader lifts others up and helps them to become their best selves. This is why he was chosen to be the group’s leader.

Unable to make any headway against these 5 and their PokeZords, Team Rocket soon recruited their own PokeRanger  – the Tyranitar Ranger. They made false promises and preyed upon his fears, but eventually he started to see through the lies and switched sides to work with the other PokeRangers.

PokeRangers Season 1 – Doomsday:

One day, Team Rocket activated an ancient WarZord known as Darklopsis. The PokeRangers rushed into battle but were no match for this nightmare’s Dark Void attack, which put the Zords into a deep slumber and rendered the PokeRangers powerless. In their darkest hour, they decided to look into the stories of a Legendary PokeZord known as Dialgus, which had the powers to control Time. Due to this power – and the complications of messing around with time – it was locked away eons ago after its first battle with Darklopsis; but desperate times called for desperate measures. With Dialgus’s mighty ‘Roar of Time’ the PokeRangers were able to undo that first battle and strike Darklopsis down with one final all out assault. They had won the day; but little did they know, resurrecting Darklopsis was only the first part of a much larger and darker plan by Team Rocket.

PokeRangers Season 2 – Deception:

Life soon returned to normal and with no sign of Team Rocket for months, it was as if the world no longer needed PokeRangers. Though one day, the Ranger of Time, the Dialgus Ranger, appeared to rebuke them for their past deeds. She spoke of the hierarchy of PokeZords, how Legendary PokeZords were in a class all of their own, and how the PokeRangers were not ready to use one. As punishment, the God Dragon and great balancer Serpenquaza was coming. Despite the PokeRangers being forced into using the mighty power of Dialgus, Serpenquaza judged them for letting the situation get that dire in the first place. It once again sealed away the Dialgus Zord and returned the PokeZords to the eternal sleep Darklopsis had once put them under. For with no signs of Team Rocket, it judged the PokeRangers as superfluous and a threat to maintaining the balance.

Little did they know, this was all a ploy by Team Rocket’s boss who seemed to have extensive knowledge of the PokeZords. By staying hidden, he knew Serpenquaza would come and strip the Rangers of their powers. Now was the perfect time to begin the next phase of his plan. For even though Darklopsis had been destroyed, they had been able to encapsulate some of the smoke it gave off in an effort to distill the powers of its Dark Void. With no PokeRangers to stand against them, now was the perfect time to take over the world with their new enhanced Rocket Grunts.

Seeing this, the Dialgus Ranger knew that Serpenquaza would never undo one of its rulings, so she used what little powers she had left to awaken 5 new Zords for the PokeRangers. They were not Legendary, but would be stronger than their old Zords to fight this new evil. And with that, the Mamoswine Ranger became the Luxray Ranger; the Skarmory Ranger became the Moltres Ranger; the Aggron Ranger became the Rapidash Ranger; the Raikou Ranger became the Silvally Ranger and the Tyrantrum Ranger became with Red Gyarados Ranger.*

Though the new PokeRangers proved a problem for Team Rocket, there were still bigger plans in the works. The test on the grunts was just Stage One, and now they moved onto Stage Two by introducing the Dark Void matter during a Pokemon’s evolution to create Pokaijin. Team Rocket experimented with multiple subjects such as Chinchou and Krabby, but the PokeRangers handled each threat until they met the true goal of Stage Two – Duorochi – the corruption of the Deino line. The beast proved too strong and the Rangers had to retreat.

PokeRangers Season 2 – Dusk Light:

Meanwhile, the former Tyranitar Ranger was following a strange voice that had been calling out to him for the past few months. He didn’t receive new powers when the others had, but this voice promised to show him that even in Darkness, there is Light. This voice led him to a new Legendary PokeZord known as DaiLiger. He returned to the PokeRangers and offered to fight the threat of Duorochi on his own – not because he was cocky; but rather because he was still unable to fully control these new powers and feared for his friends getting hurt in the crossfire. As expected, the DaiLiger crushed Duorochi, but in the final moments, the beast escaped before it could be put down for good.

In the following weeks, the former Tyranitar Ranger still struggled to get these new powers under control. The voice continued to speak to him, “Why do you seek me? Haven’t you heard I’m not to be trusted?” But the former PokeRanger didn’t care. He needed its power to help his friends and to continue to make up for his past deeds – even if it killed him. The voice warned that it might indeed kill him; but if that was his choice; then the Dusk powers were his. This couldn’t have happened at a better time as Team Rocket had just unleashed a pair of Pokaijin created from Plusle and Minum; but they were no match for the combined might of the DaiThunder and DaiLiger PokeMegazords.

Sadly, the Posiper and Negaper brothers were simply a stall tactic as Team Rocket attempted their first introduction of the Dark Void matter into a second stage Pokemon. This resulted in the creation of Fight Meister, the corruption of a Machoke upon evolution. The creature’s overwhelming power made the Rangers try crushing it in one attempt; but were surprised by its imposing Earthquake. With both Megazords taking heavy damage, they had to fall back and think of a new plan.

Thankfully, during the Dusk Ranger’s previous travels, he came across a friendly PokeZord that offered its help should he ever need. And with that, the Rangers summoned Tor, the ShuckleZord. Despite Fight Meister’s mighty attacks, it was unable to break through the ShuckleZord’s mighty defenses; and thanks to its mighty Power Trick, the ShuckleZord was able to convert all that defense and transform into its Battle Mode – crushing Fight Meister once and for all.

Little did PokeRangers know, Team Rocket was entering the final phase of their plane as even Fight Meister was just another means to an end. With data collected on late stage Dark Void introduction, Team Rocket once again returned to their Duorochi creation, which had almost fully recovered from its last battle with the Rangers. They once again hit it with Dark Void matter and caused it to grow into something completely new, the terrifying Yamatres! In order to stop this overwhelming threat, the PokeRangers combined all 6 of their PokeZords along with the ShuckleZord in order to create the Thundering DaiLiger Megazord. With this, they were able to stop the nightmare that is Yamatres once and for all, and deal a crushing blow to Team Rocket.

PokeRangers Season 2 – Judgment:

After suffering numerous losses to the PokeRangers, the boss of Team Rocket began to lose it. He sacrificed every remaining member of Team Rocket and then used the last of the Dark Void matter on himself, thus becoming Lord Zekk. The PokeRangers fought through a sea of grunts and revived Pokaijin and finally confronted Lord Zekk who revealed that he used to be like the PokeRangers. He once wanted to be a hero and studied all the legends; but despite all that, he was never chosen. Enraged, he pushed back the Rangers and was about to strike the final blow when Serpenquaza finally returned.

“Team Rocket, you feigned death and falsely forced my justice upon the PokeRangers.” It said. “You perverted the natural order, violated numerous beings – humans and Pokemon alike – and worse still, made a mockery of me.”

Lord Zekk cursed Serpenquaza and attacked the mighty God Dragon; but Serpenquaza struck back with an attack that snuffed out Lord Zekk like a candle in a hurricane – ending the nightmare and Team Rocket once and for all.

To make up for his prior ‘miscalculation’, Serpenquaza decided that whereas the Dialgus and the original PokeZords would remain sealed; he would restore their current Zords – the DaiLiger Zord included – to full power so that the PokeRangers could protect the world from whatever new evils may arise. But before he left, he gave them one final warning:

“Heed my words and learn from the example set here today: Should you disregard my laws or do anything to tamper with the balance of the universe, I shall obliterate you as mercilessly as I did Team Rocket. Legendary PokeZord or not, you should all learn your place!”

In the months following this battle, the PokeRangers continued to train so that they’d be ready for the next encounter. Without Serpenquaza, they wouldn’t have been able to defeat Lord Zekk and they had to be ready. They even began to tap into the power of Radiance Mode – though Dusk Ranger was still unable to achieve this form. More importantly, they reflected on their journey and what they had learned. Powers or no powers, they needed to remain thankful for the gifts they had and never lose sight of their bond. After all, if things were different, they might not have ended up too different from Lord Zekk.

What awaits our heroes in Season 3? Find out March 1^st on my Instagram where I’ll begin sharing daily images with accompanying story details in the captions.

*Note: Legendary Pokemon are not necessarily Legendary PokeZords (ie: Raikou, Moltres, Solgaleo); but all Legendary PokeZords ARE Legendary Pokemon (ie: Dialgus, Darklopsis, Dusk Mane Necrozma)