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Pokémon Colosseum(JP) is a RPG Pokémon series game for the Nintendo GameCube. It was an RPG game that was set in the region of Orre. Many people have criticized the game, as it strays too far from the tried and true formula of the Game Boy Pokémon games. Pokémon Colosseum also got a sequel called Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness in 2005, which was also for the GameCube.

Plot[]

The protagonist, Wes, leaves the Snagem Hideout after stealing the portable Snag Machine and causing an explosion. Wes escapes to the Outskirt Stand where the recent events are played on the news. After Wes' break, Biker Willy follows Wes and challenges him to a battle. Wes proceeds to defeat Willy's two Zigzagoon with Wes' Espeon and Umbreon.

In Phenac City, Wes encounters Folly and Trudly which have a girl trapped in a sack. Defeating the two had them escape for the moment, allowing Wes to open the bag and free the girl, Rui. Not long after, Rui learns that Wes is a former member of Team Snagem, yet remains by him because Wes had rescued her. Rui and Wes then proceeds to alert the major of these criminal activities, but not before meeting up with a mysterious man who has just left the major's office. The problem is that Folly and Trudly are causing more trouble at the major's office. However, Rui notices that one of them have a major change: a Shadow Makuhita. She then tells Wes that he has to rescue, that is, Snag, the Makuhita from the abusive Trainer. Whether Wes successfully captures the Makuhita or not, Folly and Trudly flee the major's office, then Rui motivates the rescue of all of the Shadow Pokémon. Before leaving Phenac City, three villains block the routes, each having a Shadow version of one of the first-stage evolutions of the Starter Pokémon, that is, Bayleef, Quilava, and Croconaw.

In Pyrite City, Rui and Wes notices that the town is under practical anarchy, especially since Duking is allowing Miror B., a boss, to take over the town. They later learn that Team Snagem is taking advantage of the Pyrite Stadium in distributing Shadow Pokémon, but, before the two can compete, they have to obtain a gear that powers the stadium. After participating and winning the Stadium, a villain leads the duo to the Hideout before discovering whom she really let in the hideout. The villain then battles Wes and loses. Rui and Wes then wander around the labyrinth that makes up both the laboratory and the cave that leads to Miror B. Defeating him leads to see a captive Plusle, which turns out to be Duking's. (Miror B. was taking Duking's Plusle captive, thus giving Miror B. leverage over Duking.) Out of appreciation, Duking gives the Plusle to Wes. After leaving, the Pyrite Fortune Teller tells the duo to go to Agate Village. There, Rui meets her grandparents, which tell Wes of the Celebi Shrine where Wes can complete the process of purification.

Throughout the game, Rui and Wes go around Orre, finding three more bosses. Defeating the three others unlocks Realgam Tower where Wes battles all four of the bosses. Before going to the end, Wes finds himself against his former boss, that is, the boss of Team Snagem. Defeating him leads him to let Wes pursue his goals. Wes then proceeds to fight four trainers in a row before finding Nascor, the mysterious man who has met with Wes after leaving the house of the major of Phenac City. Defeating Nascor leads to the major himself appearing there, albeit revealing himself to be the true boss. After defeating him, the fake major proceeds to escape, but Ho-Oh ends up blocking his escape. Rui's grandfather and the Pyrite police enter the scene, the police arresting the villains.

Shadow Pokémon[]

Shadow Pokémon had their emotions artificially shut, turning them into fighting machines. They radiate a purple aura that only Rui can see. Traits of a Shadow Pokémon include:

  • Gaining but not using experience, making level-ups impossible
  • Hidden Natures
  • Inability to be nicknamed
  • Inability to be transferred to another game
  • The attack "Shadow Rush" being available, other attacks being initially hidden

Shadow Rush is a type-neutral attack that also damage the user. Using Shadow Rush runs the risk of activating Hyper Mode when Shadow Rush gets an astronomically high probability of its Shadow Rush achieving a critical hit. However, Shadow Pokémon under Hyper Mode will attack trainers if ordered to use normal Pokémon moves and refuse to have any items (save for Colognes) used on them. Calling out the Pokémon will end Hyper Mode.

Turning a Shadow Pokémon back to normal is a process called "Purification." This process includes:

  • Calling out the Pokémon out of Hyper Mode
  • Leaving the Pokémon in Daycare
  • Using colognes
  • Using the Pokémon in battle
  • Walking around with a Pokémon

Interestingly, three of these tasks (daycare; battle; walking) increase the happiness of the Pokémon in the main Pokémon games.

A Shadow Pokémon's darkness is represented by five purple bars in the Pokémon's HUD in battle and the Pokémon's status screen in the menu. Purification drains these 5 bars. Draining the 5 bars not only gradually recovers three of the original Pokémon's attacks but also allows the player to fully purify the Shadow Pokémon in the Agate Shrine, the Pokémon being restored back to normal, benefiting of all experience gained, and earning a medal "awarded for clearing all difficulties."

Battle Mode[]

Battle Mode carries two types of modes: one that hosts battles similar to the Stadium challenges in Story Mode and a Mt. Battle mode that has the trainer defeat 100 trainers in a row with one team, similar in format to the Mt. Battle in Story Mode. Even so, the trainer has to register a team from either Story Mode or any of the main Pokémon games for the GameBoy Advance. The benefit of using a Story Mode team is that, if the player had Snagged and Purified all of the Pokémon in Story Mode, then winning Mt. Battle in Battle Mode would grant the player Ho-Oh.

Other Gameplay Changes[]

  • There are no wild Pokémon. Instead, the protagonist, Wes, has to capture the opponent's Pokémon, this process being called Snagging. However, Wes can only capture Shadow Pokémon.
  • There are no Pokémon Contests in the Orre region.
  • Instead of fleeing, the player has a 'Call' option that can get a Pokémon out of Hyper Mode and Sleep.
  • The player can enter tournaments where the player can win cash prizes and TMs.
  • There is no Pokédex. Instead, the trainer has a "Pokémon Digital Assistant" ("PDA") that has the functions of an e-mail receiver and a Pokémon viewer that allows the player to see Pokémon in 3D and a few more basic facts about the Pokémon in view. These Pokémon entries become automatically entered whenever the player encounters a new Pokémon in battle, but the additional details and the full view will not be available until he gets the professor at Phenac City to fill those entries.

Bonus Disk[]

People who pre-ordered Pokémon Colosseum got a "Bonus Disk" that had a trailer of Jirachi: Wish Maker, a trailer of Pokémon Colosseum (albeit using the Japanese footage), and the ability to send 1 Jirachi to a Pokémon Ruby or Pokémon Sapphire cartridge that has a save file that has the Pokédex and is saved at a Pokémon Center. Acquiring Jirachi also fixes the Berry Glitch in the games. Though one cartridge can only get one Jirachi, the Bonus Disk can give an infinite number of Jirachi, provided that there be enough cartridges.

Interestingly, leaving untouched the menu of the United States version of Pokémon Colosseum has the game play a trailer that is similar to the trailer in the Bonus Disc. The main difference is that the trailer in the United States version of the actual game is in English.

Reception[]

Pokémon Colosseum was generally well-received upon release, with respective scores of 73/100 and 73.46% from aggregators Metacritic and GameRankings. Allgame staff writer Scott Alan Marriott gave the game three and a half stars out of five, although he did not review the game with more depth.

Trivia[]

External links[]

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