Developer:

Nintendo

Publisher:

Nintendo

The sinister CIPHER organisation from Pokémon Colosseum is back! But this time they are determined that these super powered Shadow Pokémon will be unpurifiable. These Pokémon, have been captured by evil Trainers and had their hearts closed... they are only able to do the bidding of their evil masters. And with all new and even more fearsome Shadow Moves, these Pokémon are swift and effective in battle. These unique moves, including Shadow Mist and Shadow Half aren't available to standard Pokémon and are devastating to all Pokémon types . You will need to have your best battle-honed skills on you when you come across those Trainers who send two Shadow Pokémon into battle.

But that's not all, CIPHER have created the Ultimate Shadow Pokémon (eXtra Dark Pokémon), Shadow Lugia, who is specialised in fighting and has exclusive moves. CIPHER believe that Shadow Lugia can never be purified...

As the game's hero, you set out on an epic journey, along with your Pokémon companion Eevee, to "Snag " and "Purify" these Shadow Pokémon. Shadow Pokémon are unlike any others and are not catchable using normal Poké Balls. However, your character's mother works at the high-tech "Pokémon HQ Lab" supporting the brilliant Dr. Krane, who has developed equipment specifically to combat the Shadow Pokémon menace.

Once snagged, a Shadow Pokémon will still remain under the dark influence of CIPHER, so to truly set it free the player must purify it. There are several ways to do this. Thanks to Professor Krane who has been developing the Purify Chamber there is a new and faster way to release these Pokémon from their Shadow state. The Shadow Pokémon is placed inside the chamber along with up to four regular Pokémon to help open its heart again. The more compatible the type of Pokémon that you place in the chamber around the Shadow Pokémon, the faster the purification process takes place. After purification the Pokémon forget their Shadow moves, but special moves, which they wouldn't ordinarily have, become available to them.

Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness is a full RPG game in Story Mode, allowing players to experience the excitement of hunting for Pokémon in a vivid and colourful 3D world as well as snagging and purifying Shadow Pokémon. And not only Shadow Pokémon...! It was thought that wild Pokémon didn't exist in the barren wasteland of Orre; but at Poké Spots players can capture wild Pokémon by leaving special food to entice them. In addition, there is the Battle Mode where players can also enjoy multiplayer fun in 2 and 4 way battles.

Along with the two main modes, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness features exciting new mini-games not seen on Nintendo GameCube since Pokémon Stadium. One of these is a battle based mini game called Battle CD, which lets you experience virtual battles in various different situations. But there's a twist! To clear these battles you have to fulfil certain conditions like defeating an opponent within a certain number of turns. You even get to fight Legendary Pokémon!

Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness is also fully compatible with Game Boy Advance Pokémon titles like Pokémon FireRed, Pokémon LeafGreen, Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire, as well as the forthcoming Pokémon Emerald. Using the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable (sold separately) human characters from these games can be imported to Pokémon XD . After finishing the game players will also be able to trade Pokémon between Pokémon XD and the Game Boy Advance versions.